Need Water Park Advice

[Tricia732]

What are the best strategies for enjoying TL & BB in late June (a few weeks from now)? How early do we need to arrive? Do we need to take our own towels? Thanks for any insight.

 

[nalajms]

We were at BB last month. Saw towels in towel carts, but we had brought our own. Not sure if you pay for them or it's free. We went around 3pm, and people were heading out. Not crowded at all, but I'm not sure what it'll be like in June.

 

[Butler_chic07]

We've been in June before (we will be back in 8 days )....

It usually is slower in the morning, gets busy mid-day, and empties out again in the afternoon.

We always brought our own towels, and bag. We would pick 2 chairs and put our stuff on them (no one ever bothered them, but we also didn't leave anything too valuable).... I'm loving that the magic bands are waterproof so it'll make it easier for us so we don't have to carry all the other stuff with us!

We love the water parks because they are another side of Disney!

 

[jon18uk]

You have to pay to rent towels, so bring your own. We usually would rent a locker for valuables, sun cream etc as we don't use loungers. Ride the slides, return to locker for sun cream etc then relax in lazy river and the wave pool

 

[Kimosabe]

Towels can be rented ($2, I think) but they are not provided for free.

We tend to use the early morning "rope drop" water park strategy, arriving before the crowds, which we've seen grow around lunchtime, as people have hit the theme parks for a few hours and are ready to chill out in the water.

Based on PP's successful approach of waiting until mid-afternoon to hit the water parks, it sounds like there is a peak crowd time of probably 11:00 to 3:00...and early afternoon is also when there is likely to be the typical Florida brief but strong rain, which can shut down a water park temporarily if there is lightning. Assuming you're not intent on staying all day, I'd focus on one extreme (early morning or late afternoon) and extend your time as you see fit.

We have found that hitting it first thing in the morning, we can ride pretty much everything at least once without any crazy wait times. Then if you want to hang around with the crowds, you can do so in the wave pool, on your lounge chair or eating a macaroni and cheese dog from AvaLunch!

 

[nkereina]

You can rent towels for $2 each at the water park, or just bring them from your resort (if staying on property). We got to TL at opening in late September, which is a much slower time, and it got pretty crowded by noon. I'd recommend going at opening to avoid long lines.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Early & late (anytime after 5:00, the parks really empty out) are best for popular attractions. Mid-day for wave pool, lazy river, and lesser slides. Red slope at BB is great for midday as a lot of folks don't want to mess with those stairs, so those rides never get super busy.