Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon with 7 and 5 year old?

[karasmom]

We have been to Disney plenty of times but never done a Water Park. In order to cross this off out Disney List we worked an extra day into out stay.

We decided to do this on the day we switch resorts since we assume it makes more sense to switch resorts and then head to the water park compared to loosing actual park time at MK.

We have a, by travel time, 5 and 7 year old. They both are avid swimmers and are in the pool daily over the summer. The little one is not yet a "strong" swimmer but the life jackets will take care of that.

I can't decide which WP to choose...? I LOVE the idea of Typhoon Lagoon's Shark Reef... but Blizzard Beach overall seems more geared toward the age of our girls...

Any suggestions/insights for me?

Thank you!!!

 

[NavyDad]

I would go with BB right now at their ages but you probably can't go wrong with either one...

Shark reef is awesome but the water is freezing cold and it took about 2-3 trips for our kids to grow to like it.

Our first trip our DD's were 3 & 6. I would say the first couple of trips they liked BB quite a bit more. As they got older TL turned into their favorite but they still love the slides at BB.

One last thing - the family water raft slide is MUCH, MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better at BB. We could do that thing 10 times in a row at BB and never get bored with it. The one at TL we would all be happy to never try again...

 

[NavyDad]

If I may add another comment....

If your kids enjoy the water they are going to LOVE either water park at WDW. We threw them in as an after thought our first trip and honestly our kids probably enjoy themselves at the waterparks more than the regular parks.

We now try to do 2-3 days at water parks every trip (usually 8-9 days). A day at a water park and then going to dinner or a show at night is the perfect break in between regular park days IMO.

OK... one more thing

If you get to the water park 30 minutes before park time you can easily reserve chairs under a shaded roof free of charge and keep it all day by just laying your towels out on the chairs. Having a cool shady place to relax in between all the fun makes it a much more relaxing day....

 

[Mommy to Kayla]

On our last WDW trip in 2013 we tried both water parks and liked them both, however for out trip next month DD decided to spend her 9th birthday at Typhoon Lagoon. She really loved the wave pool (it's amazing) there.

Both are great and you will have fun at either!

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We go to both each trip. My wife loves the lazy river on both. I love getting tumbled over and over at the Wave pool.

 

[stm61]

My kids didn't like the cold water in the shark tank or the wave pool at TL at those ages. The wave pool has a very rough bottom and they got some pretty bad scrapes from getting knocked down, mostly by adults who were knocked down by waves and washed up in the shallower water where the kids were. They really like the Ski Patrol area of BB, which is for kids from 4 to 12ish. The wave pool there is calmer, and they have a better family raft ride (which doesn't require a parent to haul the raft up stairs), and I think they liked the lazy river better for some reason.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Ditto above, the family raft ride at BB is very good while the one at TL quite frankly sucks. And the 5-year old is probably not tall enough for Crushin Gusher (IMO, TL's best ride).

So, I would suggest BB.

 

[twodogs]

We love TL and went there today! Took my girls at ages 5 and 7 and then today (now ages 7 and9). They loved it both times but got more out of it this trip because both are tall enough to do Crushin Gusher. I don't like the family raft ride there, but we don't mind because everything else is so great. Bigger slides for my daredevil older DD and DH and my dad. Calmer things for me, my younger DD and my mom. Even my 70 year old mom loved Crushin Gusher!

We didn't do shark reef last time but did it today. It was a disappointment to me, but I dive and snorkel all,over the world, so that is the comparison, which isn't really fair! It is very short (less than 2 minutes). You can't stay longer and there is not much to see. Yes the water is very cold. My kids haven't snorkled much and they don't give you more than a 30 second briefing on how to do it. So they weren't the best at breathing through the snorkel. If you can practice in you pool at home with a snorkel, do it! I would not choose TL over BB just to do the reef as it was not at all worth it to me. Others love it, but that's how I felt about it today.

We rent a beachcomber shack to have a shady place, free water, included towels (unlimited), refillable mugs, waiter service at lunch and all day. And a safe in the shack. Worth it to us not to have to rush to chairs and know we have 6 cushioned chairs in the shade.

Have not been to BB but love TL! Have fun. I don't think you can go wrong!

 

[Rosebud123]

They are both amazing, but for your kids' ages, I'd say BB wins by a landslide.

 

[Pinkos]

Another vote here for BB. We did both this week - the wave pool at typhoon was awesome and myself and hubby liked the 2 person tube rides( forget their names but they are awesome) BUT BB had more for my kids (6&4). The kid section at typhoon is excellent for really tiny kids. But the one at BB IS better for the ones a little older, not quite big enough for the thrill rides. Plus there are a few tube rides that your kids can go on that are better at BB and as pp said the family raft rude is way better at BB. The one at typhoon is very boring - but again excellent for younger kids (infant to 3).

If only hitting one, do BB. If I had my time back I would've done 2 days at BB vs one day at each.

 

[Terra Nova guy]

For the age of your kids, go to Blizzard Beach. My DD (Then age 8) got some very bad scrapes on her knees and hip after being knocked down in the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon. I have not been back since.

 

[Deanie1]

I love Typhoon Lagoon and it is great for older kids but I think, with your age of kids, Blizzard Beach would be your best bet. It might be fun also, to do the mini golf that is located close by.

 

[karasmom]

THANK YOU!

BB it is.

I really appreciate all your detailed feedback