Water Park Questions

[ajgardner]

My family will be in Disney World this August. We bought the tickets that included water parks since we know that it will be hot. Right now we think that we will only do one water park on one day. I'm thinking that Typhoon Lagoon will be our choice but am interested in others opinions on this as well.

I do have some questions:
1. My kids are used to wearing goggles when in the water, especially if there is any chance of getting splashed in the face - are they allowed to wear goggles on the slides?
2. My son is 6, will just barely be 7 when on our trip. However, he is currently 56 inches tall and probably a couple more inches by the trip. Will he be allowed to play in the Ketchakiddee Creek area? Even though he is big, he still likes the things that normal 6-7 year olds like.
3. Speaking of my son, he isn't going to go down any slides on his own - which slides allow for two or more at the same time? I'll keep going with this, not only is he big for his age, he has dyspraxia - essentially meaning that his muscles are weak and his motor skills are about 3 years below average. We manage at the parks with lots of park bench breaks and a GAC. I'm concerned about the amount of stair climbing - I know they don't have GACs, but are there any elevators or other alternatives in case he needs it?
4. Last one - the wave pool - is it too intense to play in? Is it more intense at some times than others?

Sorry for all the questions and thanks for any help!

 

[klangkat]

Hello,

1. I wear goggles on the slides, and did as a child too. I don't know what the 'official' policy is, but obviously dozens of CMs have seen me and never said a word.
2. Fairly certain the max. height for Ketchakiddee Creek is 48 inches, so that would be a no there...
3. Crush and Gusher certainly let you go down in twos (and possibly threes...?), Gangplank Falls is a group raft (up to six I think?), I'm sure there are others, but not that I know off the top of my head.
4. There aren't lifts as alternatives to stairs in Typhoon Lagoon - other than as access to the three Crush and Gusher slides, for this reason it would maybe be better to consider BB as it has the chairlift - though lines build and it's sloooow as a method of getting up to the slides.
5. I find the wave pool pretty intense, but plenty seem to love it! Watch some vids on Youtube and you'll see what happens/how many are left standing!

 

[pigletto]

You got some great advice above. I will only add that if you have tender feet at all I highly recommend water shoes for either park. The sand and the concrete are scorching hot in August, and my sons feet got pretty beat up from the wave pool.

 

[klangkat]

You got some great advice above. I will only add that if you have tender feet at all I highly recommend water shoes for either park. The sand and the concrete are scorching hot in August, and my sons feet got pretty beat up from the wave pool.

Good point raised there about water shoes, but also about the floor of the wave pool - not only do I find the waves intense, but the floor of the pool is like sandpaper. I've incurred some nasty grazes over the years.

 

[Jonathan Swift]

My family will be in Disney World this August. We bought the tickets that included water parks since we know that it will be hot. Right now we think that we will only do one water park on one day. I'm thinking that Typhoon Lagoon will be our choice but am interested in others opinions on this as well.

I'm doing the same thing, but unless you also bought park hoppers, it may not make sense to do the "waterparks and more" add-on if you're only using it for one day. Do you intend to do Downtown Disney, too?

General rule of thumb is Typhoon Lagoon as less thrill rides. If you want high slides, do Blizzard Beach. If not, Typhoon Lagoon.

 

[Brave teacher]

I'll help you out as best I can. We go to the water parks every summer for the last 4-5 years.

My family will be in Disney World this August. We bought the tickets that included water parks since we know that it will be hot. Right now we think that we will only do one water park on one day. I'm thinking that Typhoon Lagoon will be our choice but am interested in others opinions on this as well.

I do have some questions:
1. My kids are used to wearing goggles when in the water, especially if there is any chance of getting splashed in the face - are they allowed to wear goggles on the slides? Both of my children wear goggles throughout the day. No problems here. They especially wear them in the lazy river. They are not lazy there. My children swim laps in it with their googles.
2. My son is 6, will just barely be 7 when on our trip. However, he is currently 56 inches tall and probably a couple more inches by the trip. Will he be allowed to play in the Ketchakiddee Creek area? Even though he is big, he still likes the things that normal 6-7 year olds like. I'm not sure what would happen here.
3. Speaking of my son, he isn't going to go down any slides on his own - which slides allow for two or more at the same time? I'll keep going with this, not only is he big for his age, he has dyspraxia - essentially meaning that his muscles are weak and his motor skills are about 3 years below average. We manage at the parks with lots of park bench breaks and a GAC. I'm concerned about the amount of stair climbing - I know they don't have GACs, but are there any elevators or other alternatives in case he needs it?Never heard of or saw elevators at the water parks...it doesn't mean they aren't there. We just never had to use them. Blizzard Beach has the chair lift to get up the mountain to ride Teamboat Springs (family raft ride). Most rides are singles only. At TL, you can ride two at a time on the water coaster Crush'n'Gusher[ and Gangplank Falls (family raft ride). Other than those two, I believe everything else is a single rider.
4. Last one - the wave pool - is it too intense to play in? Is it more intense at some times than others?The wave pool at TL is very intense...lots of scraped knees. The water will knock you over. If you are all the way on the water's edge, you could play in the very edge like the beach, but I wouldn't plan to play in it. The wave pool at BB is better for playing.

Sorry for all the questions and thanks for any help!

 

[ajgardner]

Thanks for the info! Water shoes sounds like a great idea, I will need to add that to my list of items to pick up. We do have park hopper, so adding on the water park ticket made sense. Well, at least it did...I was talking to my son this afternoon and he is claiming that he doesn't want to go on any slides (we went to a local water park when he was 4 and the raft we were on flipped over at the end and he went underwater, apparently that has stuck with him even though it wasn't a big deal at the time). We'll see! I appreciate everyone's feedback!

 

[Reddy]

let your son know that the tube rides don't have a deep pool at the end
what we do is I go down first, then I let the life guard know that the next 2 boys are non-verbal austic then their dad will follow up so the life guard knows he really needs to watch my side then I move right to the gate their until I get the boys

remember that ticket also works for Disney Quest & the mini golf (golf before 4pm)

 

[tirecarver]

On our last two visits to BB I wore water shoes, the only place that I was asked to remove them was on Summit Plumit. I just took them off and held them and to my chest and put them back on once I was out of pool at the end.

Howard

 

[seashoreCM]

For those who are the least bit infirm (autistic, perhaps) ...

The tube slides and body slides end in a pool that is not very deep but you can be disoriented and take several seconds to find out which way is up (the surface).

I would not recommend the big wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon. Too easy to get a nasty open sore from the rough pool bottom that needs an oversized bandage and still bleeds all of the place, and adds much inconvenience getting it rebandaged every now and then. Note: If it hurts pulling off the old bandage then you will have pushed back the time it finally heals.

 

[DisneyFamily7]

My family will be in Disney World this August. We bought the tickets that included water parks since we know that it will be hot. Right now we think that we will only do one water park on one day. I'm thinking that Typhoon Lagoon will be our choice but am interested in others opinions on this as well.

I do have some questions:
1. My kids are used to wearing goggles when in the water, especially if there is any chance of getting splashed in the face - are they allowed to wear goggles on the slides?
2. My son is 6, will just barely be 7 when on our trip. However, he is currently 56 inches tall and probably a couple more inches by the trip. Will he be allowed to play in the Ketchakiddee Creek area? Even though he is big, he still likes the things that normal 6-7 year olds like.3. Speaking of my son, he isn't going to go down any slides on his own - which slides allow for two or more at the same time? I'll keep going with this, not only is he big for his age, he has dyspraxia - essentially meaning that his muscles are weak and his motor skills are about 3 years below average. We manage at the parks with lots of park bench breaks and a GAC. I'm concerned about the amount of stair climbing - I know they don't have GACs, but are there any elevators or other alternatives in case he needs it?
4. Last one - the wave pool - is it too intense to play in? Is it more intense at some times than others?

Sorry for all the questions and thanks for any help!

Regarding the kids' areas in the water parks, although there is a posted max height, I think it would be worth a try for you to take his Guest Assistance Card to Guest Services inside the water park and explain your situation. They make case-by-case accomodations according to each person's needs. I would think that they would allow a 7-year old to play in kid's area even though he is exceptionally tall. Especially considering that he has a motor delay and muscle condition that might keep him from experiencing the bigger attractions. I would fully expect them to make an exception for him. Have a wonderful vacation!

 

[mfulk]

We were at typhoon lagoon yesterday with our 4 children. Our older two (6yo & 8yo) are taller than 48". They aren't allowed on the little tube ride or the side by side slides but can play anywhere else. They love the part in the middle that looks like a ship and has water gun type things.

 

[G719]

In regards to the kid area, when we went we had a 4 year old that was under 48 in and a 6 almost 7 year old over 48 in. They were allowed to play together and the oldest went down the slides a few times. But then one CM told the oldest she was too big for the slides. This happened at blizzard beach. At TL nobody said anything.