Disney water parks- questions, opinions & any good tips????

[MrsJobba1]

Hi guys,

Despite being a Wdw veteran ( 9 visits) we have only ever been to one water park back in 2000. We have numerous (non-exp tickets) left over from previous visits that have the old plus buts still valid. So we figured this August we'd try these out.

Now I remember nothing about our visit, so please bear with me

What do you wear?

If you take a bag, what do you pack?

Are lockers available ? Where?

Towels - do Disney provide them? ( we are not taking any of our own on holiday )

Which do you think is the best water park? ( I'm not into summit plum it scary rides, but enjoy slides & lazy rivers)

Food options - we have ddp what are your cs options -

Water shoes allowed on rides?

We are staying on Disney so we will be using their buses



Feel free to share any other tips / advice and thank you in advance for your help

 

[disneyholic family]

this is in reference to typhoon lagoon and blizzard beach...

What do you wear? - to ride the bus, i wear a swimsuit with a cover over it...i leave the cover on the lounge chair.....by the way, a one piece swimsuit is highly recommended if you intend to ride the slides....bikinis have a bad habit of not arriving together with your body at the bottom of the slide..

If you take a bag, what do you pack? - i take a towel, sun cream, money to buy food, my ticket...

Are lockers available ? Where? yes, there are lockers that you can rent...the rental location is towards the front of the park, after you go through the turnstile - you can ask where it's at or look at an online map...most everyone will be heading in that direction if you come just before opening...

Towels - do Disney provide them? ( we are not taking any of our own on holiday ) - you can rent a towel for a few dollars, i can't remember how much...or you can do what we sometimes do - we take towels from the hotel (that's what's in the bag you asked about)...then we bring the towels back with us to the hotel.....but we've also rented towels....it depends on our mood...

Which do you think is the best water park? ( I'm not into summit plum it scary rides, but enjoy slides & lazy rivers) - both typhoon lagoon and blizzard beach have lazy rivers...typhoon lagoon has the better wave pool in my opinion - real waves like at the beach.....personally i prefer TL to BB, but i enjoy them both and we always go to both...but we usually go to TL several times each visit as opposed to BB once each visit...TL also has crush and gusher - a fabulous slide!! But BB also has very nice tube slides and a really nice family slide...so they're both nice...you won't be sorry whichever one you pick...

Food options - we have ddp what are your cs options - there are options at both parks...

Water shoes allowed on rides? - i don't know the answer...probably yes, but i can't say for sure as i don't wear water shoes...

We are staying on Disney so we will be using their buses - no problem, there are buses that go straight to the waterparks from each disney resort - although try to dry off a bit before you get on the bus to go back to the hotel...the A/C will seem frigid when you're wet...

 

[joolz1910]

I've been researching this too. Apparently the consensus is to wear beach shoes as the concrete can get really hot. Some people have said that crocs come off when you are swimming / on rides and I personally find that well-worn crocs are slippery on wet surfaces. I will buy something like this: http://www.sportsdirect.com/ocean-pacific-splasher-jnr-10-224088

 

[MrsJobba1]

this is in reference to typhoon lagoon and blizzard beach...

What do you wear? - to ride the bus, i wear a swimsuit with a cover over it...i leave the cover on the chair.....by the way, a one piece swimsuit is highly recommended if you intend to ride the slides....bikinis have a bad habit of not arriving together with your body at the bottom of the slide..

If you take a bag, what do you pack? - i take a towel, sun cream, money to buy food, my ticket...

Are lockers available ? Where? yes, there are lockers that you can rent...the rental location is towards the front of the park, after you go through the turnstile - you can ask where it's at or look at an online map...most everyone will be heading in that direction if you come just before opening...

Towels - do Disney provide them? ( we are not taking any of our own on holiday ) - you can rent a towel for a few dollars, i can't remember how much...or you can do what we sometimes do - we take towels from the hotel (that's what's in the bag you asked about)...then we bring the towels back with us to the hotel.....but we've also rented towels....it depends on our mood...

Which do you think is the best water park? ( I'm not into summit plum it scary rides, but enjoy slides & lazy rivers) - both typhoon lagoon and blizzard beach have lazy rivers...typhoon lagoon has the better wave pool in my opinion - real waves like at the beach.....personally i prefer TL to BB, but i enjoy them both and we always go to both...but we usually go to TL several times each visit as opposed to BB once each visit...TL also has crush and gusher - a fabulous slide!! But BB also has very nice tube slides and a really nice family slide...so they're both nice...you won't be sorry whichever one you pick...

Food options - we have ddp what are your cs options - there are options at both parks...

Water shoes allowed on rides? - i don't know the answer...probably yes, but i can't say for sure as i don't wear water shoes...

We are staying on Disney so we will be using their buses - no problem, there are buses that go straight to the waterparks from each disney resort - although try to dry off a bit before you get on the bus to go back to the hotel...the A/C will seem frigid when you're wet...

Thank you so m uch for your reply.

That is a very good point about drying off before going on the ac buses

 

[MrsJobba1]

I've been researching this too. Apparently the consensus is to wear beach shoes as the concrete can get really hot. Some people have said that crocs come off when you are swimming / on rides and I personally find that well-worn crocs are slippery on wet surfaces. I will buy something like this: http://www.sportsdirect.com/ocean-pacific-splasher-jnr-10-224088

I just bought two pairs of water shoes today at Aldi, one pink and one lilac- they came to £7.98 for both.

 

[disneyholic family]

i was thinking about it and decided you really should go to both TL and BB - they're different enough that you won't feel like you're repeating anything..

just about everything is different..

i also forgot to ask if you have little ones...

if memory serves, BB has the nicer water play area for teenie tots...and also the nicer play area for teens....but i honestly don't remember as my kids are in their 20's now....so it's been a while...

but we LOVE the two disney waterparks....we go every visit and multiple times each visit....we just love love love them!!!

so really, i do suggest you try both of them!!

another tip - you should get to the parks before opening..
those lines for the slides get really long an hour or two after opening..

also, i think that you probably should avoid the weekend (more locals during the weekend)..

 

[willeve]

We always take towels from the resort pool(Disney) and then put them in the 'bins' at the water park when we're finished, they are the same as the ones you can rent

 

[Hollywoodsign]

I had never been interested in the water parks until I had an unlimited pass one year that included them so we went and gave them a try. Now I would list Blizzard Beach as one of THE things to do at Disney! I love thrill rides but I think BB has something for everyone.

What do you wear?
We went in our swim shorts and tshirts. You could wear what you would normally wear in the day time and get changed in the changing rooms while your there.

If you take a bag, what do you pack?
Wallet, suncream, waterproof camera. You can get little charge cards that you put any amount of money on and wear on your wrist. This will save you having to go to the lockers if you need to spend money on drinks, snacks etc. Im not sure if you can refund the money back tho :/

Are lockers available ? Where?
Yup, they are all clearly sign posted. Dont remember how much tho.

Towels - do Disney provide them? ( we are not taking any of our own on holiday )
You can take your own or hyer them there. again, dont remember how much.

Which do you think is the best water park?
Blizzard Beach! In my opinion Typhoon Lagoon is good but it doesn't compare to BB. Yes, TL has a HUGE wave pool but the place is a maze! We found ourselves spending a lot of time wandering round and not really getting anywhere. I was very excited about the shark swimming at TL and it was good but the water was very murky and the sharks stay right at the bottom of the pool so you cant get near them.
BB has more attractions and the layout is perfect. You can follow clearly marked out different coloured routes to where you want to go. There is also a chair lift to the top. Even if you dont want to go down the big slides its worth a trip up to the top for the view. You can see a lot of the other parks from there. I also remember there being a really good atmosphere at BB.
They are both good but in my opinion BB is far better.

Food options - we have ddp what are your cs options -
Sorry not sure on this one. Check on the official disney website

Water shoes allowed on rides?
Yes i remember seeing a lot of people wearing them.

Also, we got there and waited for it to open. They picked a boy to 'test' Summit Plummit. We all got to wait and watch him be the 1st to go down before the park was officially open for the day

 

[OldKeyWelsh]

If you are staying onsite I would suggest using EMH's. It's so quiet then and you can go on all the rides and slides without having to wait.
As for which Park is best - without a doubt Typhoon Lagoon, that wave pool is fantastic, especially if you go early during EMH.

 

[MrsJobba1]

Thanks for all the responses!