Age range for Ski- Patrol area at Blizzard Beach?

[Schminston-Mo]

What is the age range of the kids in the Ski Patrol Training area at Blizzard Beach? I've seen it in a guidebook as "pre-teen."

My kids are 12 and 10 and will do the larger slides, but might want to go there as a change of pace during the day. Are they the right age or is it targeted for younger kids?

 

[marciemi]

It's for 12 and under. The first several times we went, there was no posted age, and my kids were younger then (probably 3-6 and 5-8) and they had a blast. When we went when they were 9-12, they still had a really good time (well, except for the fact that it was 58 degrees at the time! ). There's just a lot of fun stuff.

Last trip they were 12-15, and although we walked over there once, they had signs posted everywhere saying 12 and under and seemed to be enforcing it. My youngest didn't want to go by himself, so we just stayed away. This was mid-summer though, so it was definitely crowded. I think at a less crowded time, they'd probably give the kids the benefit of the doubt.

Only thing is the "hang on to a bar and slide" ride - not sure what its name really is, does have a 5 foot height limit, so you could definitely be 12 and over that and not allowed to ride just that one ride. For the most part, it's not like you have to line up for anything so you could certainly go and check it out and if they're bored in 5 minutes, leave!

We're in Wisconsin and go to WI Dells at least once a summer and they have a water park here with a similar area but open to all ages and even DH and I have a good time doing similar rides, slides, cargo net/icebergs, etc. so I'd think they'd enjoy it!

 

[disneyvoice]

Definately pre-teen (I think that's how they advertise it). My son went to SPTC last year for the first time and he was 6 - I would say that most of the kids there were right around that age. It's more of a "Fun with Water" area than a water slide area and even kids that aren't strong swimmers can enjoy the various activities. It's where kids go after they outgrow the baby/toddler area but aren't quite ready for the entry level bigger slides. I think that kids older than the 6, 7, 8 range tend to be better swimmers and are comfortable with at least the entry level bigger slides. There are some really fun activities in that area and my son got some amazing exercise during our two days at BB there last year.

 

[DisLaw]

Just wanted to add that my DD 13 really enjoys this area and does not like the big slides, but she was sad to see the height limit on the zip line thing (where you hold the bar, hang on and go over the water and jump in). She had done it about 3 years earlier but felt embarrased when the CM at the entrance said she was too big now.

Otherwise, she enjoyed doing the floating iceberg thing, and went down some of the slides which had no height restriction.

 

[Bowen9475]

We went to Blizzard Beach for the first time in Feburary. My kids were 12, 9 and 6 and all three loved this area. My 12 year old spent most of his time crossing the icebergs We stayed here for a few hours.

 

[Schminston-Mo]

Thank you for the replies! I was confused because when I hear "pre-teen" I think in the 9-12 range, but was reading a lot of posts that seemed to indicate it was more for the early elementary set.

It is good to know that if my kids want to hang out there, they won't be getting the stink eye from the parents of the younger ones!