Calling all ye Blizzard Beach experts!

[MHT to MCO]

im planning to go to Blizzard Beach with my almost 4-year old daughter and cousin one day during the last week in June. I have never been before so I want to preplan as much as possible and not figure it out the hard way. My questions are:

How busy will it be on a weekday the last week in June?
I’m not going to rent a cabana (polar patio) so where is the best place to go to “stake a claim?”
Should we get there when the park opens to get chairs or are there always a couple open?
How long are the lines?
How long would we be waiting at the Teamboat Springs?
Anyone ever see a 3/4 year old do the toboggan or Snow Stormers?
Any experience with theft? Or should you definitely get a locker. (Planning only on bringing clothes, Magic band for money and phone)

 

[4Spen]

We usually go in June and waterparks are pretty busy no matter when you go, especially during the heat of the day. With little kids, I'd try to stake my claim near the children's area, Tike's Peak. I'd get there early if you want a seat close to the water. (where kids could play while you're sitting and watching) Lines are typically longest during the heat of the day. I think the line for Teamboat Springs moves pretty quickly, though, even if it's long. I don't think we've waited longer than 15-20 minutes, ever. As for theft, we've never had an issue but we put valuables in a locker so we're not worried about it. We usually only leave towels, shirts, shoes and sunscreen etc. on the chairs. Hope that helps.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I've found BB gets crowded no matter when we go. Our strategy is to get there as soon as it opens, get a locker (I just feel safer with one) and start going on the slides. We don't even get chairs because we aren't "loungers". If you'd like chairs, if you get there at opening, you shouldn't have trouble finding some. We always do the bigger rides first. We tend to start with the ski lift chairs to get up to Teamboat Springs because that line gets long fast. After we do the ski lift, if we want to go back up to the Teamboat Springs and the bigger slides up there, we just use the stairs. We then typically head over to Runoff Rapids and, if we get there early enough, we get a bunch of slides in there - you will probably need to help your child the tube. We then do snow stormers and the toboggan, but honestly, if the lines are long for those, we skip them as the rides are super short and not wroth waiting 30 minutes or more for. We leave the wave pool, lazy river and ski patrol for the end because they are easy to navigate even if it's crowded.

 

[Shanti]

• It will be crowded any day you go in the summer.
• There is a really nice covered area not far from Summit Plummet that I would go for (you'll have to arrive early to get a chair there). This is a great place to sit as it will provide real shelter if it rains.
• Do your highest-priority rides first, before the lines start to really build. You do need to arrive early for this and hustle as soon as the attractions open. As the water parks don't open until 10am, the rope drop advantage doesn't last as long at the water parks as it does during the early morning rope drops at the dry theme parks.
• We have never had any issue with theft, but we also don't leave valuables lying around. If you have to bring valuables with you to the park & no one in your party will be sitting at a chair all day, rent a locker.

 

[Klayfish]

im planning to go to Blizzard Beach with my almost 4-year old daughter and cousin one day during the last week in June. I have never been before so I want to preplan as much as possible and not figure it out the hard way. My questions are:

How busy will it be on a weekday the last week in June?
I’m not going to rent a cabana (polar patio) so where is the best place to go to “stake a claim?”
Should we get there when the park opens to get chairs or are there always a couple open?
How long are the lines?
How long would we be waiting at the Teamboat Springs?
Anyone ever see a 3/4 year old do the toboggan or Snow Stormers?
Any experience with theft? Or should you definitely get a locker. (Planning only on bringing clothes, Magic band for money and phone)

The water parks are never as crowded as the theme parks. It won't be all that bad. The heaviest crowd will be from about 11am to 4pm. That's when the lines for the big slides can get long, as there is no FP+ (at least not yet).

The cabanas and umbrellas are a waste of money, IMO. There are plenty of areas all around the park with shade. As mentioned, you can look for spots near Tykes Peak and Ski Patrol. But if you don't get them, no worries. Head back toward Runoff Rapids. Spots back there that almost nobody uses.

The park will open at 10am. Showing up at 9:55am is more than enough.

The first hour the park is open, the lines are short. That's when you'll wan to do "big" slides like Slush Gusher, Summit Plummet, Downhill Double Dipper. The 4 year old can't do them, but if you want to, that's the time. After that, those rides in particular can get 60 minute waits. The rest will be around 20-40 minutes. That's usually when we hit the lazy river or wave pool.

Teamboat Springs never has a long wait, as it can hold 6 per tube

I can't recall how old our kids were when we first put them on the mat slides (Toboggan Racers and Snow Stormers). Maybe right around 4 or 5, but I do remember that we went first on Snow Stormers and waited at the bottom for them. It dumps into a pool. Toboggan Racers doesn't, so no really worries there.

We've never had our stuff touched at either water park, and I can't count how many times we've been to each park. But then again, we don't bring anything of value...old t-shirts, cheap phones, an old hat, food.

 

[pd1138]

At BB we would get there about 15 minutes before it opens (to get a locker and pick up towels if you are staying at a Disney Resort) and then we would stay all the way to the right and would get chairs in tykes peak under a roofed area. Kept us dry during a pop up shower. We did get a locker for our smart phones just so we didn’t worry but left towels, lunch, shoes, clothes and stroller at our chair without any problem. We would do team boat springs first thing and usually get two or three rides in before a line formed. We would just walk up the stairs. The chair lift is neat to do once, however it stops often and the line to it can get long. My kids did the slides when they could swim, I never took notice on other kids and ages. We were there in August and it wasn’t terribly crowded, agree 11-4 is the busiest so we would stick to bobbing wave pool and lazy river! Have fun!

 

[cbl1]

We usually rent a locker but I recently purchased one of these. I would think we could limit any valuables to put in this and not rent a locker.

https://theaquavault.com/collections/frontpage/products/flexsafe

 

[MHT to MCO]

Thanks guys, these responses are exactly what I’m looking for.



I love doing Disney research and all, but sometimes I just LOVE this hotline to all other Disney connoisseurs!

 

[Belle & Ariel]

We usually rent a locker but I recently purchased one of these. I would think we could limit any valuables to put in this and not rent a locker.

https://theaquavault.com/collections/frontpage/products/flexsafe

We bought this at typhoon lagoon a few months ago for about $40.

 

[Minniemouse07]

• There is a really nice covered area not far from Summit Plummet that I would go for (you'll have to arrive early to get a chair there). This is a great place to sit as it will provide real shelter if it rains.

I see that this is close to the Ski Patrol Training Camp, is it close enough to keep an eye on someone there or is there a similar covered shelter for the Ski Patrol area?

 

[Klayfish]

I see that this is close to the Ski Patrol Training Camp, is it close enough to keep an eye on someone there or is there a similar covered shelter for the Ski Patrol area?

There is covered shelter near Ski Patrol, outside of the bathroom/changing facility. You can see some of Ski Patrol from there, but it's hard to keep a complete eye on someone in Ski Patrol from any chair. There are benches in Ski Patrol, near the entrance to the iceberg crossing, if you want to really watch someone...but they are not in the shade.

 

[Shanti]

I see that this is close to the Ski Patrol Training Camp, is it close enough to keep an eye on someone there or is there a similar covered shelter for the Ski Patrol area?

You can't see much from the covered place I'm referring to.

 

[Minniemouse07]

There is covered shelter near Ski Patrol, outside of the bathroom/changing facility. You can see some of Ski Patrol from there, but it's hard to keep a complete eye on someone in Ski Patrol from any chair. There are benches in Ski Patrol, near the entrance to the iceberg crossing, if you want to really watch someone...but they are not in the shade.

You can't see much from the covered place I'm referring to.

Thanks...Good to know! I'm suspecting my non-adventurous 12yo will mostly be at Ski Patrol so we should be okay with me being able to see most of it.

 

[Klayfish]

Thanks...Good to know! I'm suspecting my non-adventurous 12yo will mostly be at Ski Patrol so we should be okay with me being able to see most of it.

The prime age group is about 4-10 or so. If he's not adventurous, I'd have him in the wave pool, lazy river or some of the smaller non-kid area slides. He's really too old for Ski Patrol and may feel awkward being there.

 

[Minniemouse07]

The prime age group is about 4-10 or so. If he's not adventurous, I'd have him in the wave pool, lazy river or some of the smaller non-kid area slides. He's really too old for Ski Patrol and may feel awkward being there.

I strongly suspect he won't care. The wave pool and lazy river are definitely the other two areas he will end up at, but he will really enjoy the interactivity and smaller slides of the Ski Patrol area.

Ds is on the spectrum. His sensory issues make big slides/thrill rides feel life threatening (not in the good way) and while he has come far in the social skill realm, he still doesn't "read" people well so he will be oblivious to anyone thinking he shouldn't be there.

Disney's site says it is geared to 12 & under so he should be fine.

 

[MinnieMSue]

My neurotypical daughter was 11 and very much enjoyed this area last time we were there. She didn’t care that she was older. Of course she also wishes she was shorter so she could do our local zoo’s playgrounds too.

 

[garada3]

Is the Ski Patrol area (water) off limits to adults? The kids go in alone? Where do parents watch from?

The 4.5 year old in our party swims, but I am not sure about watching her participate from a distance.

Will someone please explain how they handle having kids on the younger side play in this area?

Thanks!

 

[Sue M]

We get to water park about 20 min before rope drop to get covered seating in my desired area. I don’t pack any valuables. I pack a reusable plastic bag and bring the pool towels from hotel, wear cheap flip flops, I wear bathing suit under beach cover up. You dry so fast, esp in August I usually don’t bring change of clothes.
In my bag I have the towels, a comb and sunscreen, cheap sun glasses, I always use cheap pair for pool/beach because chlorine or salt water wrecks them. Maybe a mag or paperback book. I use my MB for charging. Leave cell phone in room safe.
If we aren’t going back to room I bring change of clothes and rent locker.
Yes, there have been thefts at water parks, so don’t leave anything unattended you don’t want to loose or rent a locker. I’ve read about someone buying those expensive Disney towels and having them stollen off their chairs. Among other thinks.

 

[Yoshi]

Is the Ski Patrol area (water) off limits to adults? The kids go in alone? Where do parents watch from?

The 4.5 year old in our party swims, but I am not sure about watching her participate from a distance.

Will someone please explain how they handle having kids on the younger side play in this area?

Thanks!

Other than the zip line and maybe those floating blocks you walk over, I think the rest of the attractions allow adults.