Bensmom Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Alright. I'm interested :) What do I need to know about going to Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon? If we only do one, which one? All day or a few hours? Does WDW transportation go directly between the two parks for hopping? Towels provided? Locker rentals? Do you leave clothing (shoes etc.) unattended or in a locker? Are bare feet okay or are water shoes a must? Food recommendations? How crowded will it be in early/mid May? Favorite must-dos? TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Definitely Typhoon Lagoon. There's even a shark tank you can snorkel in. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Ok, the quick and dirty on the water parks in the five minutes I have before I have to correct my son's math. LOL Which one? They're both great, although I like Blizzard Beach slightly more for younger kids. What to bring? Travel light. Water shoes are a MUST! Bring your own towels, they're not supplied, although you can rent one for $2.00. You can bring a cooler, although we don't because we fly to Disney...and I'm not paying a luggage fee for a cooler. Rash guards are a good idea as far as swimwear. Do not wear a bikini on the waterslides. You won't be wearing it when you get to the bottom. Get there EARLY. Once the shady spots are gone...they're gone. Same for the chairs. We have paid extra to get a covered cabana. Pricey, but worth it on a hot day. It's $300 for a cabana (or covered deck), 6 cushioned chairs (2 lounge chairs), a table (soooo nice at lunch), a cooler stocked with water, a locker, towels, refillable soft drink mugs, and a cabana boy who stops by every twenty minutes. Seriously. For $50, you can reserve two lounge chairs and a table under an umbrella. Well worth it in my opinion...especially if you're there in summer. They have standard life jackets available for kids...for free. You cannot bring your own tubes, water toys or noodles. Sand toys are ok. Babies must wear swim diapers. Lines can be long in hot weather..and the lines aren't in the shade. This is why we go early and leave around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. This gives us plenty of time to get ready for our dinner reservations. The characters are in the water parks and it's fun to get photos with them in their beach attire. There are plenty of places to get food in both parks. You cannot use Disney transportation to get from one waterpark to another, but the buses that go to Animal Kingdom stop at Blizzard Beach. Snorkeling at the Shark Reef in Typhoon Lagoon is really fun! Typhoon Lagoon has the largest wave pool in the USA. I love hanging out there. If I missed anything, ask away...I can come back and answer them during lunch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 I ditto everything Diane said. We get one small locker for our essentials. We don't bring food in..... but we don't tend to eat much when we're "moving" that much. We drink a large water on our way there and get some water/snacks there throughout the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bensmom Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 Thanks for all the great info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 ETA- My n key isn't working well - sorry!! What do I need to know about going to Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon? We much prefer Typhoon Lagoon. We like the rides there a lot better. The Unathorized Disney book has great information on the water parks, too. If we only do one, which one? TL All day or a few hours? ALL DAY. Solid. We wear out the parks when we go! We've done MK in the morning to when TL opened, spent the whole day to closing there, showered, then to HS for the rest of the day to the fireworks close out there. Not for the faint of heart! Does WDW transportation go directly between the two parks for hopping? No idea. We stay off property and drive. Parking is free. Towels provided? No. Locker rentals? Available but we don't use them. We pack light, leave the valuables locked in the car ad don't sweat it. Never had a problem. Do you leave clothing (shoes etc.) unattended or in a locker? In our bag. We've been a number of times without incident. Get there at opening, scope out a spot (get cover if you can), and then go start the rides. We usually stake out a spot ear the coconut slides and little pool. There's a bathroom and water fountains nearby. At the end of the day we shower there and change. There are usually long lines but they move OK. Bring soap, shampoo, etc.... Are bare feet okay or are water shoes a must? Depends. I'm a bare footer, as are my kids, DH wears toe shoes. Some rides you have to take your shoes off. Food recommendations? We don't like fried, fast food, so we pack a lunch and water bottles. We take PBJ, chips, drink mix, etc. in our bag. Love that. Late in the day at TL we get a bucket-of-ice-cream sundae. For $10 it STUFFS 4 of us and we end up chucking some. Great deal. For dinner we like to go to Sweet Tomatoes near Downtown Disney (have to drive there). For around $40 all you can eat for a family of 4 - salad, soup, bread, good drinks, etc. Healthy and yummy and cheap. How crowded will it be in early/mid May? No idea.... Favorite must-dos? We love EVERY slide at TL except the steep tunnel one, and I don't usually like rides. They are all so much fun!! We love the swimming with the sharks but it's COLD. Be ready. We usually do that 5 times! My kids could live in the wave pool. Watch the shallow area becuase it's non slip and will TEAR UP little one's skin if they try hanging out there when waves are coming. At BB we loved the HUGE family tire ride. Very funny. When we went the lines there were so much worse than TL. The rides also seemed more aggresive to me but we had a great time there, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Thanks a lot people!! LOL! :D Now we're adding a waterpark visit -- or two! -- to our Disney agenda for May! Seriously.... this is great! We had something special planned for everyone on this trip (i.e., oldest dd - lunch at Rainforest Cafe; oldest ds - Star Wars Weekend events; youngest dd - character lunch at Hollywood & Vine) but I didn't have anything special planned for my youngest ds -- until now! He watched the clip on the other Disney thread about the Summit Plummet and THAT is what he wants! Hey...13 year old boys don't have a lot of sense. :lol: Off to do more planning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 We did the Star Wars thing lay year by accident -- AWESOME!!!!!!! Get to the show EARLY - its worth the wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I'm so glad!!! Your son will love the waterparks. Here's two more videos with lots of great POV shots. First up: Typhoon Lagoon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20pPrGZxKSM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 And Blizzard Beach: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I have a Disney guide book and, after reading the descriptions of both water parks, he chose Typhoon Lagoon. The swimming with sharks was what won him over completely! He'll be thrilled to have a new video to watch. :) My hubby, meanwhile, is thrilled that adding the Waterparks and More option to our tickets gets him a round of golf at Oak Trail! He's a happy camper now! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I have a Disney guide book and, after reading the descriptions of both water parks, he chose Typhoon Lagoon. The swimming with sharks was what won him over completely! He'll be thrilled to have a new video to watch. :) My hubby, meanwhile, is thrilled that adding the Waterparks and More option to our tickets gets him a round of golf at Oak Trail! He's a happy camper now! :D It also gets you admission to Disney Quest in Downtown Disney. We usually do that on our first night there. Our flight gets to Orlando at 4:30, so when we get to our hotel, we go to DTD to eat, then hit Disney Quest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 What IS Disney Quest? Is it like laser tag? That does sound interesting, too! And..silly question...if you have the Water Parks and More Option...can you go to Disney Quest in the morning and then Epcot in the afternoon using your base ticket for that? Or do I need park hoppers? Or if we wanted to go to Epcot for fireworks after spending the day at Typhoon Lagoon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 What IS Disney Quest? Is it like laser tag? That does sound interesting, too! And..silly question...if you have the Water Parks and More Option...can you go to Disney Quest in the morning and then Epcot in the afternoon using your base ticket for that? Or do I need park hoppers? Or if we wanted to go to Epcot for fireworks after spending the day at Typhoon Lagoon? Disney Quest is a five story indoor amusement park. Here's a link: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/entertainment/downtown-disney/disney-quest-indoor-interactive-theme-park/ With your waterparks and more option, you get as many days at the waterparks and Disney Quest as you do at the theme parks. So....if you have a 10 day Waterparks and More, you have 10 admissions to EACH park (the water parks counts as one...if you go to Typhoon Lagoon, going to Blizzard Beach that same day would use up another water park admission). If you choose to go to Epcot after the waterpark, you are using up one full theme park admission. We always have Park Hoppers, so I'm not sure how that works with the water parks and more option. This past year it was $57 per person to add the park hopper option...no matter what day of your stay you add it. So, if you decide on day six of your stay that you want to park hop.....it's still $57 per ticket. Same as if you had added it on day one. The park hopper gives us more freedom, and we do hop, so I always get it. A Disney cast member can tell you how it all works without the hopper option. I *think* you can go to a water park in the morning and then Epcot afterwards, but I'm honestly not sure. If they let you, it will eat up one of your theme park day admissions though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 We're working the water park option this year likeDiane mentioned. We're buying the 4 day military park hopper with water park option. We'll do 4 park days in February, then in the fall (early Sept) we'll go back for 4 full water park days. This past year we had oe day left on the water park ticket so I took my kids for a day. We ate a character breakfast at Cape May (awesome - 4 families there - TONS of character time), did the water park all day, then ate out, and went to the Polynesian and watched the fireworks over the MK for free (with the accompanyig music at the P). Unreal. A real Disney day without even entering a major park. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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