Cast: Me, 41, first trip to a WDW water park
DD, Kaylie, 14, first trip to a WDW water park
DS, Casey, 12 2/3, first trip to a WDW water park
Background: We are recently moved to FL, and we got FL resident seasonal annual passes. They are blacked out during Easter week, a good portion of the summer, and the week of Christmas.
In our many trips to WDW, we've never made it to a water park. Several times it was too cold, several trips were too short, etc. Our first family trip in 97, we had planned one day at a water park. That was back in the days when park hoppers came with "pluses", that had to be used within 7 days of the first usage of the pass. We used one plus to visit Discovery Island (told you it was a long time ago!), and planned to use the 2nd to go to a water park (back then there were 3) on an off-day. Well, best laid plans and all that. That day, DD came down with a nasty stomach bug, so we spent it at the resort instead.
Fast forward to March of this year during our Spring Break trip. Since we stayed at All Stars, we passed Blizzard Beach almost every day. And we heard all about the fun at the water parks from the Top 7 things to do at Disney. The kids asked to go, and I told them it wasn't included on our passes, and they dropped it. The kids have the two days around Easter off from school, and this Friday was my day off (I work 9 hours M-Th and have every other Friday officially off, even though I end up working most of them), so I started thinking about the water parks. While I was researching which one I thought the kids would like the best, I found out there is an AP just for water parks. It's about $100, and there's no discount for FL residents or AP holders. But I thought that would be perfect for this summer when our APs are blacked out, but the kids wanted a Disney fix! And this way, I wouldn't have to pick one water park for Good Friday, we could hop to both of them. So I ordered them last Saturday.
As soon as I started talking about the water parks, the kids said "we have to ride Summit Plummet. It's the 3rd fastest ride in the parks!" Now remember, DS is NOT a thrill rider. I kept saying "Are you sure you want to do this?" He said he did, and DD kept telling him "well, you can't back out, since you're saying you want to do this." I told him he could always change his mind, but we'd go to Blizzard Beach first, so we could try it before the line got too bad.
Now on to today, and the actual report!
I woke up about 5:15, and did some internet surfing. DD got up about 7, and I finally got DS out of bed about 7:45. The park opened at 9 (early due to spring break crowds), but I never intended to get there much before 10, because I wanted it to be above 70 degrees! We left the house at 8:15, and hit a little bit of traffic just before the exit. We got into the parking lot about 9:40, and parked fairly close. It took the girl at guest relations a while to find the information in the computer, but she finally printed out our tickets, and we went through the gate and were in. Quick stop by the bathroom, and we were off.
We found a chair to leave our things at (just one since we didn't plan on lounging around), and we were off to Summit Plummet. I had a couple of water safes left over from our first cruise, and I put our passes, my license, a van key, and a few dollars into the larger one and hung it around my neck. DD and I left our glasses (in their cases) with the towels, so DS was our seeing eyes! Actually mainly just for me, because DD's eyes aren't that bad.
We climbed the many stairs up Mount Gushmore (or whatever it is, sorry if I confused it with the other park!) since I missed the entrance to the chair lift. We got in line just at the bottom of the final stairs and waited probably 25-35 minutes (no watch today so times are really iffy). As usual, the kids found plenty of things to say to the guests around us in line. I told them they didn't know Disney provided in-line entertainment! Every so often, I would check with DS and let him know it was his choice to ride or not. As we neared the top, DD was fascinated with seeing Expedition Everest, the Tree of Life, Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, and EPCOT. All I saw were colored blobs, but once they'd pointed them out, I could recognize most of it. Then we were finally up to the final platform. The kids had decided that DD was going first, so DS could see how it looked, and she could check his time. DD stepped up and the lifeguard told her to take off her water shoes and hold them on her chest. So we all pulled our shoes off, DD laid down and was off.
Next up was DS. I was sure he was going to decide not to do it, but he didn't hesitate one bit! Up went the gate, and he was off!!! About that time, I started to realize what I was in for! Did I really want to put this 41 year old body down 120 straight feet at 50+ miles an hour?? Too late now! I sat down, crossed my arms (shoes in hand) and said "okay". The guard said "Cross your ankles." I said "okay, I'm ready." He said "You HAVE to cross your ankles first!" Oops, I guess I was so nervous I didn't hear what he actually said!! So I crossed my ankles, pushed off, and sucked in my breath for a really huge scream!! Through the tunnel, and the next time I blinked, I was skidding to a stop with the bottom of my tankini top up around my shoulders, and my white butt cheeks hanging out. I fixed the wardrobe malfunction, and ran over to the kids. DS was saying "Mom, I went 54, and you went 55!" And of course, DD was arguing with him that he really only went 51 cause she saw it. I told DS I was really proud of him, and he said he never even thought of not going.
After the adrenaline started wearing off, we decided on CrossCountry Creek with a quick stop by the chairs to get glasses for DD and me. We rode around once (boy are those waterfalls in the cave COLD!) and got out. The kids decided they were hungry, and they wanted to go to Typhoon Lagoon to go snorkling and ride the big waves.
We walked out, and as we got close to the van, I opened the water safe to get out my key. It was 3/4 full of water!!! DD said "Mom, did you check to see if the black ring thingie was still there?" I said "what black ring?" Somewhere along the line, the gasket had disappeared, which let all the lazy river water flood in! The only thing that was a big deal was our brand new water park annual passes, which were thoroughly soaked. I laid them on top of the dash board, pulled on some shorts and we headed out. I tried to talk the kids into Beaches and Cream, but they really wanted McDs. I told them I wasn't backtracking, so if they didn't want B&C, I was going to one of the resort food courts so we could use our DDE card. We ended up at Pop Century's food court, which was a chance for a preview before our September stay there. We were in the van by 11:30.
It was a little chilly in Pop's food court, since we were still damp, so I told the kids to get a table outside. I got in line, and DS came up and said "Mom, we're by the big rubix cube, okay?" Fine, thanks! I got a double cheeseburger, extra bun, chicken strip meal, two drinks and a lunar cheesecake (chocolate topping and marshmallows). Total was $18.95 after DDE discount ($4.45). I got a coke for DD, and found out that Pop has slushies in their food court, so DS got a blue rasberry slushie. Water for me. I went outside to look for the kids, and couldn't find the Rubix Cube anywhere. I even asked a CM working by the pool (she was doing tatoos), and she was stumped. About that time, DS yells "Mom!" Turned out they were INSIDE. Once I got back in, there were the rubix cubes, big as life! They were under a tv watching Lilo and Stitch. I told them that since there was TV in the food court, maybe they'd come with me for breakfast in September instead of mom delivered room service!
DS and I split the double, and DD ate the chicken strips. We all had some of the cheesecake. We refilled the drinks and headed toward Typhoon Lagoon. As we get close, there's a road sign that says "Typhoon Lagoon Closed. Reopen at 2:00." Hmmm. So we keep going and decide to stop by the West End of DD to kill time. We'd never made it down that far before, so it was all new to us. The kids checked out the magic shop, and spotted candy cauldron. They end up getting a snack there, which I paid for with my wet money (slightly under $6, but I don't know where the receipt went). We checked out the Planet Hollywood gift shop, then they found the fountain over between Planet Hollywood and AMC theaters. I wanted to head over to TL by about 1:30 so I could get the APs reissued before they opened at 2. The kids splashed around quite a bit, and we headed out. Once in the parking lot, they directed everyone into a turn around and told us that it was closed because it was full, and they weren't letting anyone in at all until 2. There were no parking places, etc. She said Blizzard Beach had closed before them.
The kids really wanted to try the big wave pool, so I drove around to kill the 20 minutes we had. We drove through Saratoga Springs (I told the guard I just wanted to look around, and maybe get a snack, and he let me in and gave me a map). The building look really nice, but this resort is REALLY spread out. I wouldn't want to be there without a car (especially since I'm the main errand runner!). We left there about 1:55 and went around DD toward TL. The sign had been changed to Closed until 3:00. So we decided to try Blizzard Beach again.
Back down the road, where we were let in, and found a parking spot unfortunately much farther than we were this morning! I pulled out the smaller water safe, checked for a functional gasket and put the stuff in there. As we got to the entrance, there was a big line for tickets. Ours had dried by then, but were curled up quite a bit. We decided to try them and if they didn't work, we'd go through that line. DD put hers in, and it jammed. The CM at the gate pulled it out, and DD said "They got wet when we were here this morning". I said "I'll go back to get new ones", but she said "come on in, since it's re-entry." Magic there!!!
We went in, and found a chair when a family was packing up just as we walked up. They had 4, but we just used one. The kids wanted to go back in the lazy river, but I wanted to do some slides. We agreed they'd go around no more than 3 times, and come back to the chair until I got back. And they'd stay together. I went over to Storm Slushers, and was through in about 15 minutes. So back to get my glasses, then stake out the Lazy River looking for the kids. I jumped in when they came around and we all went again. After that loop, I got them to come out and go on a slide with me. They ended up deciding on Storm Slusher, so I got to go again. Lots of fun! After that, they wanted to go to the wave pool. The line to put the mats back was huge, so I sent them on over while I did the mats. They were having a good time there, and couldn't be moved (I wanted to try Teamboat Springs, family raft ride). I got them tubes and they were bouncing in the waves. So I went over to find another slide (minus glasses again). Since I was pretty blind, I went to the first thing I found, which ended up being Slush Gusher.
As I was walking BACK up those many many steps, a CM was rushing down them saying "excuse me." And about 3 minutes later, she was leading 3 others up at a run. They were yelling "Make a hole", and really moving up those steps. They headed over to the Teamboat Springs line, and I could hear sirens pulling into the lot a few minuts later. I don't know what happened, but I hope it turned out okay.
When I got to the top of the hill, I realized that Slush Gusher shared a line with Summit Plummet, so I assumed it would go pretty quick, since people would be on SP instead. For some strange reason, this was the slowest moving line I've ever seen. I ended up waiting about 45 minutes and we just inched along. I did tell this nice lady in front of me my Summit Plummet story. She was soo funny. She said "I can tell you're still embarrassed aboout it!"
The CM at Slush Gusher was being very particular about height measurements, and I watched a couple of kids sent away in tears. I didn't see them measuring anyone until the very end, and I could imagine if a kid was 48" in the parks, they would think it was okay in the water parks. But shoes add a fair amount to their height. This might have been what was making the line go so slowly, because the last 8-10 people were down in about 2 minutes tops!
It was my turn, and I crossed my legs first thing! Can't fool me twice! Up goes the gate, off I pushed. Boy, what a RUSH! I went airborne on the second bump! Not quite as much wardrobe malfunction this time. The family who had been in front of me (mom and two teens) was waiting at the bottom, and they'd really liked it. They asked if SP was more of a rush than this. I said it was just different, but if they liked this, they should do SP, so back up the mountain they went.
I took the short walk back to the wave pool, where both kids were about worn out. If I would have known I was going to be gone so long, I wouldn't have done the ride, but I truly thought it would be about 15 minutes based on the length of the line. And every time I thought about just getting out of line, it would take a big leap forward. Anyway, it turned out fine, and the kids hadn't been looking for me, but were ready to go by then. I stopped by the ticket window to replace the passes. The guy said "You do know the parks close in less than an hour? Why do you want new passes?" I said "They're annual passes." At least I wasn't the only one having a day today! He replaced them and we walked back to the van.
DS wanted to try Typhoon Lagoon, but DD was pretty tired. We ended up deciding to stop by the McDs and get a snack for the road. Two McFlurry's, a chicken tender, a chicken nuggets pack, and a sundae and we were on the road. ($14.32, no discount there!). We were on the road by 5:15 and home before 6:30.
Weather today: Gorgeous! 71 at 9:30, mid 80s by the middle of the day, slight breeze.
Best thing today: DS riding summit plummet. I was so proud of him!
Worst thing today: How long the line was for Slush Gusher (if I knew it was long, I would have skipped it!)
Funniest thing today: This one's a tie. The confusion over crossing my legs at SP, along with the look on my face when I opened up the "waterproof box" and found a lake!
Today we tried: Boy, almost everything today was new. If I had to pick one thing, I'd say The Pop Century Food Court.
And the result was: I think this will be a good fit for our September trip.
The most magical thing today was: The CM who let us in when our passes were messed up.
That's it. Hope you liked it!
DD, Kaylie, 14, first trip to a WDW water park
DS, Casey, 12 2/3, first trip to a WDW water park
Background: We are recently moved to FL, and we got FL resident seasonal annual passes. They are blacked out during Easter week, a good portion of the summer, and the week of Christmas.
In our many trips to WDW, we've never made it to a water park. Several times it was too cold, several trips were too short, etc. Our first family trip in 97, we had planned one day at a water park. That was back in the days when park hoppers came with "pluses", that had to be used within 7 days of the first usage of the pass. We used one plus to visit Discovery Island (told you it was a long time ago!), and planned to use the 2nd to go to a water park (back then there were 3) on an off-day. Well, best laid plans and all that. That day, DD came down with a nasty stomach bug, so we spent it at the resort instead.
Fast forward to March of this year during our Spring Break trip. Since we stayed at All Stars, we passed Blizzard Beach almost every day. And we heard all about the fun at the water parks from the Top 7 things to do at Disney. The kids asked to go, and I told them it wasn't included on our passes, and they dropped it. The kids have the two days around Easter off from school, and this Friday was my day off (I work 9 hours M-Th and have every other Friday officially off, even though I end up working most of them), so I started thinking about the water parks. While I was researching which one I thought the kids would like the best, I found out there is an AP just for water parks. It's about $100, and there's no discount for FL residents or AP holders. But I thought that would be perfect for this summer when our APs are blacked out, but the kids wanted a Disney fix! And this way, I wouldn't have to pick one water park for Good Friday, we could hop to both of them. So I ordered them last Saturday.
As soon as I started talking about the water parks, the kids said "we have to ride Summit Plummet. It's the 3rd fastest ride in the parks!" Now remember, DS is NOT a thrill rider. I kept saying "Are you sure you want to do this?" He said he did, and DD kept telling him "well, you can't back out, since you're saying you want to do this." I told him he could always change his mind, but we'd go to Blizzard Beach first, so we could try it before the line got too bad.
Now on to today, and the actual report!
I woke up about 5:15, and did some internet surfing. DD got up about 7, and I finally got DS out of bed about 7:45. The park opened at 9 (early due to spring break crowds), but I never intended to get there much before 10, because I wanted it to be above 70 degrees! We left the house at 8:15, and hit a little bit of traffic just before the exit. We got into the parking lot about 9:40, and parked fairly close. It took the girl at guest relations a while to find the information in the computer, but she finally printed out our tickets, and we went through the gate and were in. Quick stop by the bathroom, and we were off.
We found a chair to leave our things at (just one since we didn't plan on lounging around), and we were off to Summit Plummet. I had a couple of water safes left over from our first cruise, and I put our passes, my license, a van key, and a few dollars into the larger one and hung it around my neck. DD and I left our glasses (in their cases) with the towels, so DS was our seeing eyes! Actually mainly just for me, because DD's eyes aren't that bad.
We climbed the many stairs up Mount Gushmore (or whatever it is, sorry if I confused it with the other park!) since I missed the entrance to the chair lift. We got in line just at the bottom of the final stairs and waited probably 25-35 minutes (no watch today so times are really iffy). As usual, the kids found plenty of things to say to the guests around us in line. I told them they didn't know Disney provided in-line entertainment! Every so often, I would check with DS and let him know it was his choice to ride or not. As we neared the top, DD was fascinated with seeing Expedition Everest, the Tree of Life, Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, and EPCOT. All I saw were colored blobs, but once they'd pointed them out, I could recognize most of it. Then we were finally up to the final platform. The kids had decided that DD was going first, so DS could see how it looked, and she could check his time. DD stepped up and the lifeguard told her to take off her water shoes and hold them on her chest. So we all pulled our shoes off, DD laid down and was off.
Next up was DS. I was sure he was going to decide not to do it, but he didn't hesitate one bit! Up went the gate, and he was off!!! About that time, I started to realize what I was in for! Did I really want to put this 41 year old body down 120 straight feet at 50+ miles an hour?? Too late now! I sat down, crossed my arms (shoes in hand) and said "okay". The guard said "Cross your ankles." I said "okay, I'm ready." He said "You HAVE to cross your ankles first!" Oops, I guess I was so nervous I didn't hear what he actually said!! So I crossed my ankles, pushed off, and sucked in my breath for a really huge scream!! Through the tunnel, and the next time I blinked, I was skidding to a stop with the bottom of my tankini top up around my shoulders, and my white butt cheeks hanging out. I fixed the wardrobe malfunction, and ran over to the kids. DS was saying "Mom, I went 54, and you went 55!" And of course, DD was arguing with him that he really only went 51 cause she saw it. I told DS I was really proud of him, and he said he never even thought of not going.
After the adrenaline started wearing off, we decided on CrossCountry Creek with a quick stop by the chairs to get glasses for DD and me. We rode around once (boy are those waterfalls in the cave COLD!) and got out. The kids decided they were hungry, and they wanted to go to Typhoon Lagoon to go snorkling and ride the big waves.
We walked out, and as we got close to the van, I opened the water safe to get out my key. It was 3/4 full of water!!! DD said "Mom, did you check to see if the black ring thingie was still there?" I said "what black ring?" Somewhere along the line, the gasket had disappeared, which let all the lazy river water flood in! The only thing that was a big deal was our brand new water park annual passes, which were thoroughly soaked. I laid them on top of the dash board, pulled on some shorts and we headed out. I tried to talk the kids into Beaches and Cream, but they really wanted McDs. I told them I wasn't backtracking, so if they didn't want B&C, I was going to one of the resort food courts so we could use our DDE card. We ended up at Pop Century's food court, which was a chance for a preview before our September stay there. We were in the van by 11:30.
It was a little chilly in Pop's food court, since we were still damp, so I told the kids to get a table outside. I got in line, and DS came up and said "Mom, we're by the big rubix cube, okay?" Fine, thanks! I got a double cheeseburger, extra bun, chicken strip meal, two drinks and a lunar cheesecake (chocolate topping and marshmallows). Total was $18.95 after DDE discount ($4.45). I got a coke for DD, and found out that Pop has slushies in their food court, so DS got a blue rasberry slushie. Water for me. I went outside to look for the kids, and couldn't find the Rubix Cube anywhere. I even asked a CM working by the pool (she was doing tatoos), and she was stumped. About that time, DS yells "Mom!" Turned out they were INSIDE. Once I got back in, there were the rubix cubes, big as life! They were under a tv watching Lilo and Stitch. I told them that since there was TV in the food court, maybe they'd come with me for breakfast in September instead of mom delivered room service!
DS and I split the double, and DD ate the chicken strips. We all had some of the cheesecake. We refilled the drinks and headed toward Typhoon Lagoon. As we get close, there's a road sign that says "Typhoon Lagoon Closed. Reopen at 2:00." Hmmm. So we keep going and decide to stop by the West End of DD to kill time. We'd never made it down that far before, so it was all new to us. The kids checked out the magic shop, and spotted candy cauldron. They end up getting a snack there, which I paid for with my wet money (slightly under $6, but I don't know where the receipt went). We checked out the Planet Hollywood gift shop, then they found the fountain over between Planet Hollywood and AMC theaters. I wanted to head over to TL by about 1:30 so I could get the APs reissued before they opened at 2. The kids splashed around quite a bit, and we headed out. Once in the parking lot, they directed everyone into a turn around and told us that it was closed because it was full, and they weren't letting anyone in at all until 2. There were no parking places, etc. She said Blizzard Beach had closed before them.
The kids really wanted to try the big wave pool, so I drove around to kill the 20 minutes we had. We drove through Saratoga Springs (I told the guard I just wanted to look around, and maybe get a snack, and he let me in and gave me a map). The building look really nice, but this resort is REALLY spread out. I wouldn't want to be there without a car (especially since I'm the main errand runner!). We left there about 1:55 and went around DD toward TL. The sign had been changed to Closed until 3:00. So we decided to try Blizzard Beach again.
Back down the road, where we were let in, and found a parking spot unfortunately much farther than we were this morning! I pulled out the smaller water safe, checked for a functional gasket and put the stuff in there. As we got to the entrance, there was a big line for tickets. Ours had dried by then, but were curled up quite a bit. We decided to try them and if they didn't work, we'd go through that line. DD put hers in, and it jammed. The CM at the gate pulled it out, and DD said "They got wet when we were here this morning". I said "I'll go back to get new ones", but she said "come on in, since it's re-entry." Magic there!!!
We went in, and found a chair when a family was packing up just as we walked up. They had 4, but we just used one. The kids wanted to go back in the lazy river, but I wanted to do some slides. We agreed they'd go around no more than 3 times, and come back to the chair until I got back. And they'd stay together. I went over to Storm Slushers, and was through in about 15 minutes. So back to get my glasses, then stake out the Lazy River looking for the kids. I jumped in when they came around and we all went again. After that loop, I got them to come out and go on a slide with me. They ended up deciding on Storm Slusher, so I got to go again. Lots of fun! After that, they wanted to go to the wave pool. The line to put the mats back was huge, so I sent them on over while I did the mats. They were having a good time there, and couldn't be moved (I wanted to try Teamboat Springs, family raft ride). I got them tubes and they were bouncing in the waves. So I went over to find another slide (minus glasses again). Since I was pretty blind, I went to the first thing I found, which ended up being Slush Gusher.
As I was walking BACK up those many many steps, a CM was rushing down them saying "excuse me." And about 3 minutes later, she was leading 3 others up at a run. They were yelling "Make a hole", and really moving up those steps. They headed over to the Teamboat Springs line, and I could hear sirens pulling into the lot a few minuts later. I don't know what happened, but I hope it turned out okay.
When I got to the top of the hill, I realized that Slush Gusher shared a line with Summit Plummet, so I assumed it would go pretty quick, since people would be on SP instead. For some strange reason, this was the slowest moving line I've ever seen. I ended up waiting about 45 minutes and we just inched along. I did tell this nice lady in front of me my Summit Plummet story. She was soo funny. She said "I can tell you're still embarrassed aboout it!"
The CM at Slush Gusher was being very particular about height measurements, and I watched a couple of kids sent away in tears. I didn't see them measuring anyone until the very end, and I could imagine if a kid was 48" in the parks, they would think it was okay in the water parks. But shoes add a fair amount to their height. This might have been what was making the line go so slowly, because the last 8-10 people were down in about 2 minutes tops!
It was my turn, and I crossed my legs first thing! Can't fool me twice! Up goes the gate, off I pushed. Boy, what a RUSH! I went airborne on the second bump! Not quite as much wardrobe malfunction this time. The family who had been in front of me (mom and two teens) was waiting at the bottom, and they'd really liked it. They asked if SP was more of a rush than this. I said it was just different, but if they liked this, they should do SP, so back up the mountain they went.
I took the short walk back to the wave pool, where both kids were about worn out. If I would have known I was going to be gone so long, I wouldn't have done the ride, but I truly thought it would be about 15 minutes based on the length of the line. And every time I thought about just getting out of line, it would take a big leap forward. Anyway, it turned out fine, and the kids hadn't been looking for me, but were ready to go by then. I stopped by the ticket window to replace the passes. The guy said "You do know the parks close in less than an hour? Why do you want new passes?" I said "They're annual passes." At least I wasn't the only one having a day today! He replaced them and we walked back to the van.
DS wanted to try Typhoon Lagoon, but DD was pretty tired. We ended up deciding to stop by the McDs and get a snack for the road. Two McFlurry's, a chicken tender, a chicken nuggets pack, and a sundae and we were on the road. ($14.32, no discount there!). We were on the road by 5:15 and home before 6:30.
Weather today: Gorgeous! 71 at 9:30, mid 80s by the middle of the day, slight breeze.
Best thing today: DS riding summit plummet. I was so proud of him!
Worst thing today: How long the line was for Slush Gusher (if I knew it was long, I would have skipped it!)
Funniest thing today: This one's a tie. The confusion over crossing my legs at SP, along with the look on my face when I opened up the "waterproof box" and found a lake!
Today we tried: Boy, almost everything today was new. If I had to pick one thing, I'd say The Pop Century Food Court.
And the result was: I think this will be a good fit for our September trip.
The most magical thing today was: The CM who let us in when our passes were messed up.
That's it. Hope you liked it!
