Free water park day worth it?

[emilymad]

We will be visiting in early May before both waterparks open. Is it worth it to use the free waterpark on check in day? All I read about it is how crowded it is, hard to park, etc and it seems like a big hassle. We will getting off a cruise on a Saturday so we should be able to get there fairly early but we only have one day before going home.

 

[goofyernmost]

If it's free... at the very least it would have to be worth it, I think. That's dollar value, of course, and the idea of would it be worth it physically/mentally would be something that no one but you could decide. There is hardly a spot in WDW that isn't busy and if it is a warm day, then people will be drawn to it like moths to a flame. It really boils down to how much do you enjoy a water park. Enough to possible put up with a some hassle or would you rather not?

 

[beccasmom]

Traveling can be exhausting and we often opt for a leisurely lunch and some time by our resort pool on our arrival day. Perhaps a visit to DS if the mood strikes. But if we are traveling with the grandkids (and arrive early enough and the weather cooperates), we might get talked into it. It’s a nice perk.

 

[Djm_in_buffalo]

I think that a waterpark day with no further cost of admission, other than showing up, is definitely worth the entry fee. Whether somebody wishes to redeem it is up to the person.

 

[emilymad]

I read reports over on the Rumors board that people were turned away in their cars and had to go back to the resort to travel by bus. Then the traffic lines to get into the drop off area was over 15 minutes. This is what I meant by worth it. We would prefer to not travel by bus but even Uber isn't going to help in these scenarios.

 

[ExcitedForWDW]

It was worth it for us. We only went for a couple of hours but lots of fun and it's FREE. Alway take advantage of free perks lol

 

[scrappinginontario]

Totally a personal decision. Each person decides if they want to take advantage of this free offering. Only you know what is truly worth it to your family.

 

[Dave006]

I read reports over on the Rumors board that people were turned away in their cars and had to go back to the resort to travel by bus.

Yes that happens in the morning when everyone drives their car, and the parking lot fills up fast for that 10 AM opening. If you don't want to use the bus then use a Rideshare.

Then the traffic lines to get into the drop off area was over 15 minutes.

Yes but the car drop off line does drop off after the first hour. And it is still faster then the 2 buses for most resorts.

Dave

 

[BorderTenny]

I read reports over on the Rumors board that people were turned away in their cars and had to go back to the resort to travel by bus. Then the traffic lines to get into the drop off area was over 15 minutes. This is what I meant by worth it. We would prefer to not travel by bus but even Uber isn't going to help in these scenarios.

As far as I know, that only happened on one single day, and there was a perfect storm of multiple factors contributing to the spike in demand for that day. None of which should be a factor in early May.

 

[Grankm21]

I definitely think it’s worth it IF you can arrive before 11:30am or if you were planning to arrive after 3pm and only stay for a few hours. If you were planning to arrive between 11:30am-3pm, during busy season, I’m not so sure.

We visited Blizzard Beach last week during Spring Break. We flew in late one night so we stayed at a hotel by the airport. The next day we were checking in to All Star Music. Since we arrived the night before, we were able to get to Blizzard Beach right when it opened at 10am on our resort check-in day. It was busy from 11:30am-3pm. Not uncomfortably crowded, but people arriving during that time had a really hard time finding chairs and you could see the long lines for the slides. Our kids, 6 & 8 were more into the lazy river and wave pool so the lines for the slides didn’t bother us. We would have liked to ride the ski lift, but the line was too long all day. We had a great time and stayed until about 3:30pm, we probably would have stayed longer had we not had dinner reservations.

 

[PetePanMan]

Has anyone tried going later in the day around 3:30? Interested in parking availability and line ups

 

[Just People]

I think its bad form that Disney won’t offer the free waterpark day for any day of your vacation. It doesn’t cost them any more!

 

[scrappinginontario]

I think its bad form that Disney won’t offer the free waterpark day for any day of your vacation. It doesn’t cost them any more!

It doesn’t cost more but far more people would take advantage of it and I feel definitely overwhelm the water parks. I feel the offer is a good one. Some will use it, others not.

Our flight lands before 9AM in Aug and even then, I’m not sure we’ll as we’ll be excited to get to the MK!! If we could use it any day of the trip we definitely would and I’m guessing too many others would also.

 

[Disneylover99]

I read reports over on the Rumors board that people were turned away in their cars and had to go back to the resort to travel by bus. Then the traffic lines to get into the drop off area was over 15 minutes. This is what I meant by worth it. We would prefer to not travel by bus but even Uber isn't going to help in these scenarios.

It’s a freebie, so we’d drive there on check in day if we were in the mood, but honestly, if we were turned away in our car, we’d just go back to our resort and swim. It wouldn’t be a big deal to us.

 

[CaroM8]

Our flight lands before 9AM in Aug and even then, I’m not sure we’ll as we’ll be excited to get to the MK!! If we could use it any day of the trip we definitely would and I’m guessing too many others would also.

We are in the same boat for our September trip. Will be landing around 10AM. Still debating if we do the free water park or just do an extra park day. I hesitate just in case we have delays...

 

[Grankm21]

Has anyone tried going later in the day around 3:30? Interested in parking availability and line ups

When we left around 3:30pm last week we did noticed a few chairs becoming available as well as parking spots as people were leaving and few people seemed to be arriving. However I’d be cautious to say the lines for the slides were getting any shorter. For context the park was open until 6pm the day we were there.

 

[mrandmrsthomas0618]

We are excited to try it out in July. Doing BB for the first time. Since we are DVC, we like to take an evening flight, stay at the airport hotel, then get to the resort in the morning to save that first night points. So works great for us having it on arrival day.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

We don’t land until 9p. Do we get the free water park for the next day? Or we simply don’t get it at all. All good either way.

 

[traveler9]

We don’t land until 9p. Do we get the free water park for the next day? Or we simply don’t get it at all. All good either way.

You won’t get it at all if you land that late on your check in day.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We don’t land until 9p. Do we get the free water park for the next day? Or we simply don’t get it at all. All good either way.

It is only valid the day your resort reservation begins so you would not be eligible.