We have lived in Florida for nearly two decades, and in that time, Disney has become part of us. We have been annual pass holders off and on for almost as long, and in all that time we have never visited a water park. Not once. How can avid Disney world fans do such a thing? It’s easy. Our special rate passes don’t include water parks, and we tend to avoid Orlando tourist attractions in the summer. We can go anytime, why visit when it’s overly crowded and during the worst weather of the year? This year, however, my sons came down in late July for a visit and wanted to do a theme park. Ugh. What fun could be had in the dog days of summer at a theme park for 3 kids ages 20, 12 and 6? These are decent age gaps not easily filled. I had a task, and I would not fail. We had done Aquatica with great results, but I didn’t want to return. We have the benefit of being able to book rooms at the military resort, Shades of Green; hence, Disney made a fairly obvious choice.
The decision as to which of the two parks was a difficult one. Should we go tropical and do Typhoon Lagoon or pretend it isn’t 98 degrees and 100% humidity and hit up Blizzard Beach? Turns out; I didn’t have to decide. When you buy a Disney water park ticket, it’s a park hopper. Meaning, you can split your day between both parks. During the summer they are both open from 10am-8pm. A bonus is that the drink mug you purchase in one park is good for them both on the same day. So if you’re debating buying it, do it early and get your money’s worth. You don’t have to feel obliged to purchase, however, as these parks allow families to bring coolers filled with drinks and snacks into the park so long as there is no alcohol or glass. The other perk of being a Disney resort guest, and yes, Shades of Green is included, is that the $2 towel rental fee is waived. Well, that was easy.
After having read through various other blogs and boards, I learned that the parking lots for the water parks are a lot smaller than the other theme parks and we should arrive early. The plan was formulated to spend 3 hours at Typhoon Lagoon first. Why first? That night was H20 glow party, and we knew at 6pm the guests from that separately purchased event would begin arriving making the park even busier. The point at which we decided to switch parks was perfect for a late lunch then on to Blizzard beach to close out the day. We pulled into Typhoon Lagoon at 9am much to the despair of my sleep loving family and were not the first family parking but nowhere near the last. The lots have much more tree cover, hence, more shade still not having to walk from the far end in swimsuits was a blessing. We did have to wait until 9:30am to be allowed in and then another 25 min to get past the ropes. Luckily, the bathrooms, towel rental, and life vests were on our side of the ropes. We were allowed in a few minutes before opening and made a beeline to a set of 5 lounge chairs. Our prime spot was a back row in front of the lagoon under a copse of palm trees also located a short walk to the bathrooms and drink refills. It was a perfect spot. We actually only used it for a very brief time, and we gave up all but 2 places to latecomers. We did rent a locker for cell phones and car keys. Well worth the $10 for piece of mind.
First up was Miss Adventure falls, the only animatronic ride in either water park. The three kids and I piled into a large, but not large enough, raft and were carried up a hill. The view was thrilling, and then we made our way swiftly down the “falls.” Finding there was still no wait, we rode again in two rafts. I am 6′ tall and my eldest son is 6’9″. Even with two smaller kids, it’s challenging to find space for legs altogether. The next ride was Crush’n Gusher. We rode all three courses, each more fun than the last. I think this may have won for the best ride. We spent the next few hours being blasted by tsunami style waves every 90 seconds and exploring all the other rides. Most we did together, but a few the kids branched off without us. I would not allow my two youngest into the deep end of the lagoon alone. The waves are no joke, and neither are the throngs of people being thrown at you. Most rides outside of the kiddie park had a 48″ height requirement, and I don’t believe we found any with height maximums. Yes, there are some rides at nearly every major theme park with restrictions over 6’8″. This typically doesn’t apply to enough people to be a concern, but if you’re exceptionally tall, you are good at the water parks. 3pm arrived, and we made a short trip to our car and headed to the golden arches for a quick, relatively cheap lunch. Not my favorite, but a kid favorite and a guarantee everyone would eat. Plus, the ice cream machine was working, and those $1 icy cold treats were a savior.
We pulled into Blizzard Beach expecting the worst. I had images of us not finding parking, or seating, or shade or waiting in terrible lines. I was wrong. We found a front row parking spot and had our choice of shady lounge chairs. The early morning crowds had cleared out, and the after 2pm water park pass people had kept at bay. We took the chair lift, our most extended wait, to the top where the boys decided to take the Summit Plummet’s 12 story drop slide. I chickened out. I went to the observation deck and watched my family fly down the slides. My husband and daughter did the double dipper. He’s a big guy too, and he told me he went airborne after dip two. The Summit Plummet has a speedometer at the bottom so you can see how fast you’ve gone. The fastest person I saw was going 52 mph! We did Teamboat springs together as the only ride that holds 6 people at once. We didn’t have a problem fitting each of us onto one raft, and it won for the best ride in this park. The only ride we did multiple times, though, was the Runoff Rapids. There was never a line. It seems pretty self-limiting in that you have to climb several hundred stairs to make it to the top. There are two open tubes and one enclosed. The enclosed is mostly dark with pinpricks of light but goes a lot faster and seems so long. The lagoon here is much more my style. With a bottomless, but manageable wave pool. Chilling in my raft, bobbing on the waves was relaxing, and we stayed until park close.
Both parks have magnificent lazy rivers, sandy beaches, kiddie areas, great slides, and big lagoons. The photographers will give you a laminated card with a rubber band at the start of the day and load all your pictures onto it. If you have the app, they will all pop up for you to peruse by the next day. Oddly, I expected in the heat of summer for these parks to be a madhouse. We experienced wait times no longer than 15 min, we never had a problem parking or finding a seat and never lacked a raft when required. The cost being under $70 per person with two parks to choose from was a steal. Even in winter, the pools are heated. I don’t know why we put this off so long, but we will be back again for sure.
Eating Around 