Ice Skating in HS - Wait times?

[webshark3]

I'd like to do the ice skating with a couple of my kids. Does anyone know what the wait times are like? I understand there's a line to get into the area, then another station to rent the skates, etc.. so two lines?

I'm wondering if it's better to attack it early morning, or if it can be done more casually if not a lot of people want to pay to skate. I saw the disboards blog on it, but couldn't get a good feel for wait times.

 

[mjhannaf]

I've been a couple times and lines a very manageable. The most I've waited to get into the building is 10 minutes (not including opening day, but they've changed the queuing since then).

The skating is 30 minutes so you can figure in waiting for the group in front of you plus 10-15 minutes to get skates.

No more than an hour at worst I would think.

 

[Itinkso]

The skating sessions begin at 30 minutes after the hour. 9:30 is the first session and then the rink is cleared, the Zamboni does its thing, and then there is a skating demo @ 15 minutes after the hour. If you plan your arrival for the top of the hour, you can watch the figure skaters right before you skate.

 

[webshark3]

Thanks guys! I wasn't sure if there would be extended wait times (example 50+ people waiting to skate, but only 15 at a time for 30 minutes plus Zamboni/show downtime).

 

[tsme]

There's ice skating in HS? Can anyone tell me about it? I've never heard of this before. I'm assuming it's something to do with Frozen.

 

[Itinkso]

There's ice skating in HS? Can anyone tell me about it? I've never heard of this before. I'm assuming it's something to do with Frozen.

Good guess! It's located in Oaken's Trading Post/Funland next to TSMM. $10 for skates, helmet, and 30 minutes of skating.

 

[mjhannaf]

There's ice skating in HS? Can anyone tell me about it? I've never heard of this before. I'm assuming it's something to do with Frozen.

Yep, part of Frozen Summer Fun. It is in between Toy Story Midway Mania and the Backlot Tour. It's $10 for a half hour of skating. Here's a little more info on the area:

http://blog.**********.com/?tag=/Frozen-Summer-Fun

 

[BrianL]

I love ice skating, and apparently you can bring your own skates. Unfortunately, I find that pretty unweildy for a day at the parks. I'd like to see WDW put in a real Ice Rink, with great theming. They could count it like a Mini-Golf or DisneyQuest type of admission. That'd be worth schlepping my skates down to Orlando for!

 

[pgowder]

We did the ice skating two weeks ago. The wait wasn't bad at all.

We went after the parade. They let you sign up for your time later in the day. We picked 5:30 I believe. They gave us wristbands. Then when we came back we got our skates and helmets with no wait.

 

[webshark3]

We did the ice skating two weeks ago. The wait wasn't bad at all.

We went after the parade. They let you sign up for your time later in the day. We picked 5:30 I believe. They gave us wristbands. Then when we came back we got our skates and helmets with no wait.

Great information. Thanks!

 

[webshark3]

I love ice skating, and apparently you can bring your own skates. Unfortunately, I find that pretty unweildy for a day at the parks.

Yeah, I wondered who would bring their own for this too. And on top of that, in the blog photos I see they rent Bauer Supreme 4.0. Not only do I not want to being my skates, I'm wondering if I can sneak out with a pair of theirs! LOL Kidding!

 

[pgowder]

Great information. Thanks!

You're welcome!

We had a great time.

The featured skaters only perform until around 3 I think. Then the refs do a little performance.

Ice Skating - Frozen Summer Fun by Paul Gowder, on Flickr

Brooke's 10th Birthday WDW Trip by Paul Gowder, on Flickr

 

[maxnhenrymama]

Do you have to wear a helmet? I don't allow my children to put things on their head that are not ours.

 

[webshark3]

Do you have to wear a helmet? I don't allow my children to put things on their head that are not ours.

Little trick we use for the pitching helmets and our T-Ballers. Have them wear their baseball cap backwards (or whatever hat they have), and put the helmet on over it.

If they're required, I don't know. But I haven't seen photos yet of anyone without a helmet.

 

[Itinkso]

Do you have to wear a helmet? I don't allow my children to put things on their head that are not ours.

Helmets are mandatory; your kids won't be allowed to skate without them.

 

[pgowder]

Little trick we use for the pitching helmets and our T-Ballers. Have them wear their baseball cap backwards (or whatever hat they have), and put the helmet on over it.

If they're required, I don't know. But I haven't seen photos yet of anyone without a helmet.

Helmets are required. One of the attendants told my daughter she could leave her hat on if she wanted.

Keep in mind that the rink is not run by Disney. It is run by a company that set ups temporary rinks around the country. We got to talk with one of the owners for a few minutes. So these are not necessarily Disney policies.

 

[aristocatz]

I hope they extend the ice skating through the holidays-seems like a perfect addition to holiday festivities

I can see why helmets are mandatory-Disney doesn't want to deal with a head injury lawsuit.

 

[maxnhenrymama]

Thanks for the reply regarding helmets. I will put a couple skull caps in my bag to put on under the helmets. Both my boys play hockey and I think they would enjoy skating at hs.

 

[BrianL]

Yeah, I wondered who would bring their own for this too. And on top of that, in the blog photos I see they rent Bauer Supreme 4.0. Not only do I not want to being my skates, I'm wondering if I can sneak out with a pair of theirs! LOL Kidding!

Hey, at least the rentals are good. The rinks around here rent saktes that are pretty much garbage. I actually use figure skates though, so do they only rent hockey skates?

 

[twoplustwins]

Does anyone know how long this will last?