Never Hear About the Waterparks

[Frozen2014]

We came last October to DW and went to Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot...so we skipped AK and the waterparks.

I'm curious though...you don't hear much talk about the 2 waterparks on here. How come? Do they not have the "Disney magic" like the land parks? Do they get crowded in the summer?

 

[yaya74]

People don't talk about the waterparks probably because Water rides at the waterparks are not "unique" and would be similar as those in your local water parks. With the limited time people have, they would rather NOT spend time in the water park unless they have ridden all the rides in major 4 disney parks which are unique and one of the kind and have a better theme. Water parks tend to get busy in the afternoon so it is better to get there at rope drop. We got "waterpark or more" option for our upcoming trip. my plan is to spend half a day at a water park and only spend one evening at Epcot and probably visit the water park again after a morning at DHS or AK, and definitely waterpark again on my checkout day. .. I am so looking forward to visit the water park than anything else!

 

[Klayfish]

I'm new to the boards, so I can't comment on why they're not talked about much here, but others can I'm sure.

Do they have the Disney magic? Yes, but it's different than the theme parks. It's kind of hard to do the same things that MK, HS, etc...do in a water park. But the slides and everything else are very well done. For example, the lazy rivers are well suited to the theme of the parks. We really enjoy them. Yes, they get very crowded in the summer.

 

[mousefan73]

I've always heard about them. Can't miss the huey, louie, dewey typhoon lagoon sign. They are an add on and cost more time. I think for most first timers, shorter trips, people invest time and money on the parks.

Glad they are not a must do; would make them more crowded. I do see lots of locals. One woman told me they only comebhere as WDW is great at bug control. Said you can forget any public pool in central florida; eaten alive.

 

[Vylette Rose]

The waterparks are wonderful. I would think the primary reason they are not talked about as much is there is no strategy to do them. Most of the talk about the 4 major parks is how to attack them and where to eat, and the planning around that. Whereas the water parks there are no fast passes, and limited food choices, so it really is just a matter of going and doing, not so much planning.

 

[Ladyfish77]

We went to TL for the first time on our trip this May. DS and I enjoyed it. We went on a Saturday so I expected it to be crowded, but it wasn't crowded at all. I think it may have been because the forecast called for thunderstorms all day long up to the day before. I decided to risk it, as it was best day for us. It never rained at all that day! Weather was great, crowds were low. We got to do all the slides with little wait, then did the lazy river. Went back and did a couple of slides with still a short wait. We arrived at opening and left at about 2pm, and we had done everything and were ready to leave. We enjoyed it. I thought DS would want to go back for another day, but he didn't. So as an add-on to our tickets, it was cheaper than a one day pass so still a good value even if only going one day.

 

[Klayfish]

The waterparks are wonderful. I would think the primary reason they are not talked about as much is there is no strategy to do them.

Oh yes there is... It's called RD and run (well, speed walk since you're not allowed to run). The big slides will get long lines fairly quickly, and since there is no FP+ for anything in there, if you don't get on early, you just have to wait. Waiting for those in the hot baking sun isn't always the most fun. Some rides have good shade and/or mist fans to help, but it's still blazing hot. If you get there at RD, you can hit every single big slide time after time for about the first 45 minutes. Last summer, my kids nearly wore themselves out running back up the stairs to get to the top of the giant slides. They'd do one, get off and sprint back up the stairs. I'm physically fit, and I was huffing and puffing by time we were done.

 

[Vylette Rose]

Oh yes there is... It's called RD and run (well, speed walk since you're not allowed to run). The big slides will get long lines fairly quickly, and since there is no FP+ for anything in there, if you don't get on early, you just have to wait. Waiting for those in the hot baking sun isn't always the most fun. Some rides have good shade and/or mist fans to help, but it's still blazing hot. If you get there at RD, you can hit every single big slide time after time for about the first 45 minutes. Last summer, my kids nearly wore themselves out running back up the stairs to get to the top of the giant slides. They'd do one, get off and sprint back up the stairs. I'm physically fit, and I was huffing and puffing by time we were done.

LOL!

 

[Shellyb84]

I know many others love the water parks, but we went to TL once last July, and regretted wasting our time there. The biggest negative is waiting in line. And it just feels so much hotter there than at the other parks. All our DD wanted to do was the lazy river and the kiddie slide, both of which we had at our resort (BC).

 

[Frozen2014]

Thanks for the replies. Great comments. The first comment is what I was guessing (that its good but like other water parks), but for others it sounds like there is Disney magic.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We are on property 10 days. We hit both waterparks. The kids love it and the lazy river is the greatest. They are both fairly crowded but doable. Can't wait for September to come.

 

[maltdizzy]

They are fun and well themed. But they don't innovate or offer the same selection of rides many people have at their "local" waterpark, which usual always introducing new attractions. I don't think Disney has changed either watermark much since they opened them, the integrated layout doesn't allow for removing/replacing one ride.

We always upgrade and make use to them because we are usually go during the dog days of summer and the boy is the perfect age to love water slides. They are a great way to kill 4-6 hours in the hottest part of the day.

Yes. They get crowded.

 

[DVC-Don]

In 21 years of going to WDW at LEAST twice a year I've only been inside the water parks a total of three times. Been through the parking lots a lot on buses though and am glad the buses will not be going through them as often.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

DISers tend to favor RD, but PM peripheral hours are often more useful, IME.

That said, though I've been to the 4 main parks more times than I can count...I've only been to the water parks twice, and actually only one of the two.

Here are my other touring tips:
1. Minimize. You either have to pay for a locker, or leave your stuff (on a chair). There are lines- both rush hours- for the lockers.
2. Chairs get scarce mid-day, especially if you want a group of them together.
3. We didn't sit all day.
4. I don't like barefoot+ slimy puddles.
4B. We REALLY don't like barefoot + slimy puddles in the BATHROOM!
5. Barefoot and standing for hours does bad things to our feet.
6. Sore feet= less endurance....all week.
7. Water shoes take up a lot of luggage space.
8. Swim trunks with a waterproof zipper pocket = super! If not, try the type that hangs around your neck.
9. We prefer to change out of swimsuits OUTSIDE the water parks, but I should add that we're adept at changing in our car under a cover-up.
10. We prefer to drive to the water parks.
11. We managed just fine without a towel.
12. If you put stuff down, you have to hunt for it later.

 

[WhollyHeretic]

We love the waterparks. Usually we do 7 or 8 days and we do each waterpark at least once. Our upcoming trip will be the first one where we aren't doing them. It's just going to be a 4 day trip and we just couldn't fit it in.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We really like both water parks. My kids (15 and almost 13) have asked to hit one of the water parks every day of our trip next week that we possibly can, and that is what we are planning to do. RD at a main park, leave after lunch and spend a few hours at a water park for our "break". We all wear water shoes or cheap flip flops to the water parks, so we don't have to deal with hot concrete. We bring our own beach towels, sunscreen, and water bottles and leave it all on one chair. We don't go back to the chair to sit, just long enough to get a drink. We drive to WDW, so we don't have to mess with the buses to the water park.

 

[newestkg06]

We go to Wisconsin Dells nearly every year, sometimes twice. For those nearby, you know that WI Dells is the waterpark capital of the world, with lots of resorts and famous major waterparks. I had thought we didn't need to go to a waterpark at Disney as many said. It's expensive, it's not anything we haven't already done, WI Dells are better, etc. Still, we went as a "rest day" and had a wonderful time. It was crazy hot in Sept, so even though we loved our hotel pool, it was nice to get on a bunch of waterslides and not think about fastpasses or ADR's. I'm glad we did it, and plan on going more than once on our next trip.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We were just at Blizzard Beach on Friday - so fun!!! I REALLY wish they had FP+ though! We were able to get the big slides in right a few times right at rope drop, but around noon the lines had really built up.

 

[lborne]

We've been to every water park in South Florida a couple times each and have done Wisconsin Dells a few times, but our favorite water parks are the Disney ones. They are so much better for adults. My teens get sick of them after 3 or 4 days, but my wife and I can always find shade and soak up the music and drinks and its just different than the ones that are mostly concrete with umbrellas for shade because they don't have many palm trees.

 

[wilkeliza]

Big fans of Typhoon Lagoon. Some day we'll give it up to check out Blizzard Beach.

I've never experienced the head ache crowds that others are talking about but probably because we go during times that others might find too cold for a water park. We went in November this past year and I can't remember waiting longer than 5 minutes for anything. My fiance is obsessed with lazy rivers so TL is always a must do when we go for more than 4 days.

Biggest tip is get water shoes or sandles you don't mind getting wet. I almost never take me Tevas off at the water parks since they dry out pretty fast.