Water Parks

[scritchell]

Hi All,

Do the water parks have majority rides that let parents on with kids?
Just thinking of my little one, he will be 7 when we visit but isn't the most confident of swimmers

TYIA

 

[nickys]

Hi All,

Do the water parks have majority rides that let parents on with kids?
Just thinking of my little one, he will be 7 when we visit but isn't the most confident of swimmers

TYIA

Not sure how many you can actually ride together. But just wanted to let you know that they do have life vests in all sizes.

Each water park has a special area for little ones, but not sure of the height limit.

 

[dieboy]

Obviously, some of the rougher or more vertical water slides will be probably out of the question. That said, if he meets height requirements, crush and gusher is a two person ride, along with a family tube slide at Typhoon Lagoon. The water slides are fairly tame, and I'd guess at the end of them, when you actually stand up in the ending 'pool', you can touch the ground, I'm guessing maybe three feet of water. I'd feel safe sending them down first and following behind. The tube slides are also fun and kinda tame at Typhoon Lagoon.

 

[scritchell]

Obviously, some of the rougher or more vertical water slides will be probably out of the question. That said, if he meets height requirements, crush and gusher is a two person ride, along with a family tube slide at Typhoon Lagoon. The water slides are fairly tame, and I'd guess at the end of them, when you actually stand up in the ending 'pool', you can touch the ground, I'm guessing maybe three feet of water. I'd feel safe sending them down first and following behind. The tube slides are also fun and kinda tame at Typhoon Lagoon.

It will only be with him, so wouldn't be happy sending him down first or leaving him on his own

 

[dieboy]

I do not think you will find any water parks with a large option of double slides/tube slides. You will *always* find a couple, at every water park, but the majority of them will be mostly single slides or tube slides.

I want to say there are maybe 3 double rides at Typhoon lagoon (5 if you count each crush and gusher option individually).

I checked the new Volcano Bay at Universal, and they appear to have maybe 4 slides that are NOT single rider. So about average for a water park.

If he is not a comfortably strong swimmer, maybe the themed pools would be a better option for another year or two, especially if you are paying for a ticket just for a couple slides?

 

[scritchell]

I do not think you will find any water parks with a large option of double slides/tube slides. You will *always* find a couple, at every water park, but the majority of them will be mostly single slides or tube slides.

I want to say there are maybe 3 double rides at Typhoon lagoon (5 if you count each crush and gusher option individually).

I checked the new Volcano Bay at Universal, and they appear to have maybe 4 slides that are NOT single rider. So about average for a water park.

If he is not a comfortably strong swimmer, maybe the themed pools would be a better option for another year or two, especially if you are paying for a ticket just for a couple slides?

How safe would you say it was to send my son down the slides first and for him to wait at the bottom for me?

 

[dieboy]

I'm not comfortable giving any safety advice out.

One thing I would say, if I were in the same boat, and questioned his swimming ability to the point of not sending him down a slide alone, I probably wouldn't. There are life guards almost everywhere, in each splash pool at the bottom and also at the top of every slide.

 

[NelleBelle]

They will make whoever "goes first" exit the pool. I tried years ago to try and wait in the pool for my son to come down after me and the lifeguards definitely yelled at me to exit the pool. I think I was allowed to wait on the steps, but not any closer due to safety. But I was ok with him coming down as long as he had a life vest on.

 

[DarthVader]

How safe would you say it was to send my son down the slides first and for him to wait at the bottom for me?

You cannot wait in the water for him, the life guard will not give the all clear until everyone is out of the water at the bottom of the slide.

Blizzard beach has a family/group slide where you get in a large raft, but that's about it for slides that accomodate more then one person. The life guards take safety very serious and so you're really limited in acompanying him down a slide.

 

[scritchell]

You cannot wait in the water for him, the life guard will not give the all clear until everyone is out of the water at the bottom of the slide.

Blizzard beach has a family/group slide where you get in a large raft, but that's about it for slides that accomodate more then one person. The life guards take safety very serious and so you're really limited in acompanying him down a slide.

How safe is it for my son to wait out of the water then, if i spoke to the lifeguards before we started to queue?

 

[MomofPrincessGrace]

How safe is it for my son to wait out of the water then, if i spoke to the lifeguards before we started to queue?

I would think this would depend on your son. I would let my daughter wait for me because she knows not to run off. At 7, all I have do is tell her where to wait, and she does is capable of doing so. The lifeguards can't really "watch" your kid for you because they have to watch the water. If you would trust your kid to wait outside of a restroom for you, then the 1 minute it would take for you to come down the slide should be fine.

 

[Much-Pixie-Dust]

How safe is it for my son to wait out of the water then, if i spoke to the lifeguards before we started to queue?

Are you asking from a water safety or stranger danger perspective? Only you know your kiddo’s safety regarisng water perspective. From a stranger danger perspective, I have not had an issue with mine waiting for me at the bottom (outside of the water) or being the one to go second, when I went down a slide first.

Also, if it’s just the two of you, then you will have to ride with another group on the family ride at B.B.. They don’t just send two people on it (or three for that matter).

 

[21stamps]

OP, I go everywhere with just me and my newly 8 year old son. I can’t speak for the water slides at Disney, but we do have passes to a water park where we live, and Spend a ton of time there in the summer, for the past 4 years. I’ve been to several water parks over the years and haven’t ever seen a “deep” area after a slide.

When my son was 5 years old I was comfortable telling him to wait for me. I was also comfortable going first, probably a little more comfortable with the latter.
At ages 6&7, I definitely wasn’t worried in the slightest either way.

Most slides come out in a depth of 3 feet or less. Your son is more than likely tall enough to stand.

I don’t think I’d put a child that age in a life jacket at a water park. It might make him feel embarrassed, maybe if you’re swimming in deep water you way want to do it.. but does Disney have tubes for most of their pools?

Anyway, I wouldn’t worry about the slides at all.

 

[NelleBelle]

Also, if it’s just the two of you, then you will have to ride with another group on the family ride at B.B.. They don’t just send two people on it (or three for that matter).

I’ll just add DH and I managed to ride just the 2 of us years ago before we had kids and then rode when we were a family of 3. But I’d go with the preparation that you could very likely/will be placed with another family

 

[RollerCoaster]

How safe would you say it was to send my son down the slides first and for him to wait at the bottom for me?

It's very safe so long as he is an able bodied swimmer. The parks have a lifeguard at the bottom of all waterpark attractions supervising the pool and watching for trouble.

I would never expect a lifeguard to supervise my child in a wavepool or lazy river, but in terms of the splash down pool of a waterslide I would say it's very safe to rely on them.

Regardless your child should be comfortable in a swimming pool. If they don't know how to swim or their skills are poor then a waterpark is not the best choice of activity.

Drownings in supervised waterparks are very rare. They do happen, but its not a regular occurrence. Rescues of various degrees happen all the time!

 

[Weather_Lady]

I can only speak for Typhoon Lagoon, but as others said, all of the slides have lifeguards/CMs at top and bottom, and there are a few that offer multi-person rafts so you can stay with your child. The "exit pools" at the bottom of each slide are also very shallow.

The places you'd most need to stay close to your child are the wave pool and lazy river (although there are lifeguards everywhere in those places, too), and that's easy to do. Also, the Disney water parks provide child-sized life vests, free of charge, since they don't allow you to bring your own flotation devices. I think kids can wear them on all of the slides except the body slides like the Humunga Cowabunga (the ones where you don't have a raft -- although those don't empty into pools, so swimming ability is a non-issue).