Water Park Question

[Brwneyedgirl72]

We are arriving at WDW this Friday, and we are planning on going to a water park that day. Since they are open until 8, we will be going to the park around 2:00PM and spending the remainder of the day there. My questions are 1) Which is the best water park for kids aged 5 and 2 1/2? and 2) What kind of crowds can we expect late in the day? Thanks!

 

[Dwarful]

We were just at the water parks. I liked the lay out of Blizzard Beach it just seemed easier to navigate, the wave pool wasn't as intense, etc.

 

[Philo]

To me, Blizzard Beach has the better layout for kids (and there is no chance of them being knocked down by the massive waves at TL).

The crowds at 2.00pm might be quite high. Generally speaking, during busy times the parks are very crowded from just after opening through to early afternoon. They start to get a little more quiet after around 3ish.

I would take my time getting myself settled at the resort and then aime to get to BB around 3.30 - 4.00pm. The crowds should then be a little lighter and you will avoid the super hot midday heat.

 

[GoofyMom2]

We like TL for young kids.....just my thoughts:

There is a lot of shade at TL, plus areas with sand for little ones to play in. If you go to the "sides" of the wave pool, they waves are very gentle and my kids always enjoyed playing there. (Now that they are older, they are more into the "big" stuff!)

There is a nice play area for little ones but on the downside the restrooms are pretty far from it. No idea why they planned that so poorly!

The lazy river is nice and has some great scenery.

There are usually Photopass people in the water parks, make sure you take advantage of them, we have gotten some great pics this way.

Either way you choose, you'll have a great time!

Don't forget your sunblock and sandals, crocs etc. Coolers can also be brought in, but no glass or alcohol.

 

[DisneyWall-E]

I like them both vary much for different reasons. BB dose have a much better layout and is easier to navigate, but when I was there last they didn't have a lot of shade. I remember my feet burning on the walkways all the time. And, at TL there is tons of shade to be had, but when my DW and I were there last year we did have a tough time trying to find the rides due to a real difficult layout. But IMHO you could just flip a coin, because they are both excellent themed waterparks.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

You'll probably find the waterparks pretty packed until late afternoon in the height of summer

 

[gettingsmaller]

This is very much a personal/family preference question. You and your kids are unlikely to be bored at either one. They both have things that are unique and fun.
Our family seemed to prefer Typhoon Lagoon, BUT--if your kids haven't ridden a ski lift or something like it--you have to go to BB and ride the ski lift at least one time (assuming tall enough kids).
Our kids were 4, 6, and 8 when we went in Sept last year. As I mentioned, we seemed to prefer TL. The kids had lots of fun in the kid areas, but also on the bigger-people tube slides.
As far as I'm concerned wave pools in general can be pretty rough when you are small (or when you are big and trying to be in shallow water with a small person). We mostly avoided the wave pools...

Well, anyway, you almost have to try both and figure out the answer on "best one" by yourself. They both have lots of fun things to do and great theming. Each person is going to have different reasons why they think one is better than the other--and they may not even be able to really say why... At this point, I can't tell you exactly why we liked TL better... I think part of it may be the lushness (green and shade everywhere). I think BB seemed a little more sunny/stark/bright (of course, with the theming being SNOW, it's going to be brighter...). I'm pretty sure both parks have a kid area with sand to play in, etc...

One more note: we found the water parks to be a great place to slow down and really enjoy ourselves. At the big parks, it was go-go-go from morning until crashing at night. The water parks were a great place to slow down, play in the sand, etc.. So, if you are there for a pretty long time (we had 12 days), I highly recommend a water park visit 4 or 5 days into your vacation.

 

[The Pauper]

Both are fun, but Blizzard Beach (in my opinion) has a better kids play area for the age range you mentioned and the wave pool is better.

A couple of things to remember:
- there is no such thing as too much sunblock, so bring lots of it
- sunglasses for the everyone (even the kids) are important at Blizzard Beach due to the omnipresent glare from the white "snow" theming everywhere
- water shoes or sandals are really important at the wave pool because the floor/bottom is a bit abrasive
- although the crowds do die down in the afternoon, please remember that we get afternoon thunderstorms here in Central Florida this time of year and many attractions will shut down if there is a risk of lightning (this past week has been relatively storm free though)

Have fun!!!

 

[Brwneyedgirl72]

Thanks to everyone for their input! We were leaning towards BB, and I think that this will likely be our destination. Any other tips anyone might have would be appreciated!

 

[slappy magoo]

I've yet to go with kids, so it's hard for me to make a call based on that criterion, but for the sake of your feet, I'd highly suggest Typhoon Lagoon. There's pretty much NO shade at Blizzard Beach, and if you're arriving late afternoon, the pavement's about as hot as it's going to get. TL has more shade, and of course, sand which gives you some protection from even worse blisters.

If you decide on Blizzard Beach, I'd suggest those tight swim-slippers some people have, over flip-flops or other sandals. Probably better when your kids have to use the rest room, too.

 

[Lucky]

Crowds will depend on the weather. Often it rains in the afternoon and there are no crowds afterward.

I hope you have a car if you're going in the afternoon. If you're taking the resort buses to a water park in the afternoon, it takes longer than in the morning. If you board after 11:30 or so, the TL bus will stop first at Downtown Disney, and the BB bus will stop first at AK.

 

[KingStefan]

If you choose BB, you'll find Tike's Peak delightful for the little ones. It's for kids 48" or under. The 5 yo might be a bit bored after a while - so for a little more adventure there's the ski patrol training camp. It's really for a bit older kids, but it depends on how adventurous he/she is, and how independent. Use your own good judgement. There are two very tame slides there, and a bunch of more adventurous stuff, including a t-bar zip line that drops you in 8 1/2 feet of water. So there is a wide variety of difficulty here.

There are free life jackets available as well - so keep that in mind.

Don't be scared away from TL just by the wave pool. There is a very cool pool on the "outside" of Castaway Creek (the lazy river) behind the lockers. It's called Hideaway Bay. It is a fairly large zero-entry pool with a large beach that is almost never crowded. It is a bit hard to find shade over there, but the zero-entry with no waves is perfect for the smaller kids.

There is also Ketchakiddee Creek - TLs equivalent of BB's Tikes Peak. It's also for the under-48" crowd. It's a little larger than Tikes Peak. Part of the reason is that there is no equivalent of the ski patrol training camp at TL.

So for the 7-12 yo kids, I'd say BB is a better choice, because the ski patrol training camp is just for them, and it's very cool! (But a 5 yo can enjoy the milder things too). But for younger kids, I would say it's about equal.

Another reason I like BB is that you have to carry your tubes less often and not as far.