One mom & two kids at the water parks, will we have a good time?

[MommyMK]

DH is attending a conference in Orlando at the end of June and we've decided to use our DVC points to join him. We have water park passes left on some old tickets and since it will be ungodly hot at this time of year, we've decided that I will take the kids to the water parks while he attends his conference. The kids in question will be 9 and 5 at the time of travel and they are actually at swim lessons as I type this post. The 9 year old is a fine swimmer but the 5 year old hasn't quite gotten the hang of it yet. I plan to keep her in swim lessons until it's time for our trip hoping that she will learn to swim on her own before we go.

We plan on attending both water parks and I'm really trying to figure out how I will manage them. The wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon has me a little freaked out, my littlest will be in a vest, but should I have my oldest wear one too? She won't be happy with that, but I will make her if I need to.

My littlest is under 48" so any slides with height requirements are out which stinks but we will make the best of it. What about tube slides? Can you use single or double tubes on the slides? Or is it just double tubes only? If that's the case, I can't think of a way for us to ride :-( If it's single and double I can go with my youngest while my oldest follows on her own, would that work?

How about the children's areas? My oldest is small for her age and is only maybe 49" tall, but still technically too tall to play in the Tike's Peak area of BB and the Ketchakiddee Creek area of TL. Are they strict with this? Will they kick her out? On the other side of that will my 5 year old be allowed to play in the Ski Patrol training area? Just trying to figure out the logistics and to find areas where we can all enjoy the attractions together, especially where mom can sit and rest a minute! I know they would both enjoy the Tike's Peak and Ketchakiddee Creek area, but I can't ask my 9 yo to sit out by herself while I try to watch her sister and my 5 yo will not want her sister to be left out either. There is a possibility that my SIL and BIL (locals) will be able to join us for one day at the water parks, which park would it be more beneficial to have some extra adults around? The speed slides at BB don't appeal to me but I think my oldest and I would love to take a ride on Crusher and Gusher so I'm thinking Typhoon Lagoon? But maybe I am wrong?

I feel very much an expert at the theme parks, but not so much at the water parks, feeling very out of my element planning this trip.

 

[CaptainCook]

My DD (7) loved the wave pool at TL but only because we warmed her up to it by using the wave pool at BB first. It is much tamer. I would visit BB first and see how that goes before going to TL - odds are that they will be fine with it. Neither my 7 year old or 9 year old wore life vests in either pool. There will be a ton for them both to do in both parks. There are some great family raft rides that you can all ride in. I think most of the tube slides will take either single or double tubes.

 

[staceyeileen]

We plan on attending both water parks and I'm really trying to figure out how I will manage them. The wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon has me a little freaked out, my littlest will be in a vest, but should I have my oldest wear one too? She won't be happy with that, but I will make her if I need to.

If the 9-year-old is a strong swimmer she should be okay, but I would still keep a close eye on her. I'd probably just assess how you feel about this once you get there and actually see how the 9yo does.

My littlest is under 48" so any slides with height requirements are out which stinks but we will make the best of it. What about tube slides? Can you use single or double tubes on the slides? Or is it just double tubes only? If that's the case, I can't think of a way for us to ride :-( If it's single and double I can go with my youngest while my oldest follows on her own, would that work?

There are single, double, and even triple tubes (on Crush n Gusher).

How about the children's areas? My oldest is small for her age and is only maybe 49" tall, but still technically too tall to play in the Tike's Peak area of BB and the Ketchakiddee Creek area of TL. Are they strict with this? Will they kick her out? On the other side of that will my 5 year old be allowed to play in the Ski Patrol training area?

No, I'm pretty sure I always see kids taller than 48" inches in the Tike's Peak area. They even let adults go down the body slide with the kids, so I don't think they'd kick out a 9 year old with their younger sibling. Not so much the KC area but in general my 5-year-old is even bored there. The 5 year old loves the ski patrol area at BB.

There is a possibility that my SIL and BIL (locals) will be able to join us for one day at the water parks, which park would it be more beneficial to have some extra adults around? The speed slides at BB don't appeal to me but I think my oldest and I would love to take a ride on Crusher and Gusher so I'm thinking Typhoon Lagoon? But maybe I am wrong?

If you're not interested in the big BB slides, they I agree with TL. You'd also have a couple extra pair of eyes to keep an eye on the kids in the wave pool. Shark reef is a good time, but your 5yo will probably not be able to do it so extra adults would be helpful there as well.