Resort pool or Typhoon Lagoon

[Jadyreen1282]

We squeeze in both waterparks. And we do quiet pools late night. Worth it for us.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We have 3 day park tickets for Friday Saturday and Sunday and were hoping to go to Typhoon on Thursday after check in with buying the park hopper plus.
When I called Disney the CM said I would have to use one of my park tickets for Thursday. So that's why I thought we needed to buy water park tickets.
Are you saying the CM is wrong ?

Yes, the CM is wrong. With a 3-day PH plus ticket, you get 3 visits to the waterparks, mini-golf, Oak Trail and/or the ESPN complex. You can use that ticket anywhere first - either one of the theme parks or one of the "plus" options. The ticket will then expire 14 days after that first use. You don't have to use a theme park ticket first. Here's some info from Undercover Tourist: https://www.undercovertourist.com/blog/disney-park-hopper-plus-option/

 

[Sue M]

Sounds like you have a very short trip, and although we also love the WPs, I don't think you'll really have the time to enjoy it. We get there at opening and do all the slides until lines get too long. In the afternoon we just enjoy the pool and lazy river. Lines are long in afternoon. And with DxDdp you are wasting a TS by cancelling Saana.
As mentioned WPs freq close in August due to the afternoon T-Storms.
I say save the water parks for a longer trip when you can enjoy them. But just my opinion.

 

[Skippyboo]

Saana isn't super popular and kind of out of the way. Could you just adjust your adr to slightly later that evening?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Saana isn't super popular and kind of out of the way. Could you just adjust your adr to slightly later that evening?

TL closes at 5 pm the day OP wants to go and the Sanaa reservation is at 6:45 pm. I think that gives them plenty of time to get ready to go to dinner.

OP, another option, if the weather is iffy, if there is a flight delay, etc. is to make the decision day-of and simply upgrade your tickets at your resort or at TL when you arrive. That way you won't spend $45 to upgrade now on something you may not end up using since you have no other plans to use the "plus" options during your trip and would be out $45 if you upgrade now and can't go on Thursday.

 

[Monima]

TL closes at 5 pm the day OP wants to go and the Sanaa reservation is at 6:45 pm. I think that gives them plenty of time to get ready to go to dinner.

OP, another option, if the weather is iffy, if there is a flight delay, etc. is to make the decision day-of and simply upgrade your tickets at your resort or at TL when you arrive. That way you won't spend $45 to upgrade now on something you may not end up using since you have no other plans to use the "plus" options during your trip and would be out $45 if you upgrade now and can't go on Thursday.

That is a great idea. When I started planni g this months ago i had no idea how many options there are.
So IF we are not too tired on Thursday when we get there ( hopefully around 11am) and IF the weather forecast is good, we can purchase the park hopper plus at the resort during check-in, did i understand that correctly ?

 

[Monima]

Saana isn't super popular and kind of out of the way. Could you just adjust your adr to slightly later that evening?

Thanks for your reply. We chose Sanaa for the adventure of eating while watching the animals. Hubby and I are not thrilled with the menu, but our 12yr old pick this restaurant as one of her choices.
Everyone got to choose 2 restaurants and 2 attractions, no debating by the rest of the family, lol.
Typhoon closes at 5pm, do time wise we will be ok.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

That is a great idea. When I started planni g this months ago i had no idea how many options there are.
So IF we are not too tired on Thursday when we get there ( hopefully around 11am) and IF the weather forecast is good, we can purchase the park hopper plus at the resort during check-in, did i understand that correctly ?

After you check-in, you can go to the lobby concierge and they can do the upgrade for you or you can do the upgrade at the ticket window at TL.

I would highly recommend using uber/Lyft or the Minnie Vans (uber/Lyft will be cheaper) if you decide to go to TL that day. Currently, Disney transportation requires you to bus to Disney Springs to then catch a bus to TL. With your limited time at TL and the 1 hour 45 minute timeframe between TL and Sanaa, travel time could really eat into your schedule. Also, if you shower and change at TL and go directly to AKL, it will give you time to stop in Jambo before heading over to Kidani for Sanaa. There is a gorgeous savannah outlook at the back of the lobby in Jambo (plus the lobby itself is spectacular) and a great gift shop. You can then use the AKL provided shuttle to get from Jambo to Kidani for dinner (you can do this after dinner, too, but it will probably be dark by then).

 

[Monima]

After you check-in, you can go to the lobby concierge and they can do the upgrade for you or you can do the upgrade at the ticket window at TL.

I would highly recommend using uber/Lyft or the Minnie Vans (uber/Lyft will be cheaper) if you decide to go to TL that day. Currently, Disney transportation requires you to bus to Disney Springs to then catch a bus to TL. With your limited time at TL and the 1 hour 45 minute timeframe between TL and Sanaa, travel time could really eat into your schedule. Also, if you shower and change at TL and go directly to AKL, it will give you time to stop in Jambo before heading over to Kidani for Sanaa. There is a gorgeous savannah outlook at the back of the lobby in Jambo (plus the lobby itself is spectacular) and a great gift shop. You can then use the AKL provided shuttle to get from Jambo to Kidani for dinner (you can do this after dinner, too, but it will probably be dark by then).

Thank you so much. You are awesome.
I already had a driver scheduled from CBR to Sanaa for that evening. I will just ask him to pick us up at Typhoon instead of CBR for dinner. And we can get an uber from CBR to Typhoon after check-in.
Really appreciate all this information. You just made a 12yr old really happy.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Thank you so much. You are awesome.
I already had a driver scheduled from CBR to Sanaa for that evening. I will just ask him to pick us up at Typhoon instead of CBR for dinner. And we can get an uber from CBR to Typhoon after check-in.
Really appreciate all this information. You just made a 12yr old really happy.

Oh good! Let us know how your day goes!

 

[pixarmom]

I know OP has already decided, but thought I'd add in case someone else reads this thread in the future for advice. We've been going to WDW for years, and started adding summer trips with our APs. We've done Typhoon Lagoon. Our kids are now 10, 17 and 18, and as much as our youngest would love (and lobbies for) a return to the waterparks, it's not going to happen. We truly love to see him happy, but we're balancing the craziness of the parks with some more quiet resort time. Although the term "quiet" is relative, as our oldest son reminds me, because of the resort pool games. Also, having experienced the waterpark day afternoon thunderstorms a previous poster mentioned, I agree it's hit or miss with water park plans. We're arriving in 10 days, and our arrival day will be pool (weather permitting) and dinner. Our rainy afternoon back-up plan is always a monorail crawl for shopping and snacks.

 

[Monima]

I know OP has already decided, but thought I'd add in case someone else reads this thread in the future for advice. We've been going to WDW for years, and started adding summer trips with our APs. We've done Typhoon Lagoon. Our kids are now 10, 17 and 18, and as much as our youngest would love (and lobbies for) a return to the waterparks, it's not going to happen. We truly love to see him happy, but we're balancing the craziness of the parks with some more quiet resort time. Although the term "quiet" is relative, as our oldest son reminds me, because of the resort pool games. Also, having experienced the waterpark day afternoon thunderstorms a previous poster mentioned, I agree it's hit or miss with water park plans. We're arriving in 10 days, and our arrival day will be pool (weather permitting) and dinner. Our rainy afternoon back-up plan is always a monorail crawl for shopping and snacks.

Hmmm, what's a monorail crawl ???
Yet another option, lol.
I like back up plans

 

[pd1138]

If it were me, I would probably cancel my reservation and stay at TL until close . That's just because my family really enjoys the water parks.

We just got back from a water park trip and the lines are definitely shorter in the morning and closer to closing time. Miss Adventure Falls and Crush n Gusher had long waits all day. If you only have a short time in the park I would look at MDE and maybe YouTube to see what your priorities would be if you won't have enough time for everything. I'm sure the lines will be better at the end of August then my July trip though.
My boys (12 and 5) loved TL! They both did everything in the park multiple times. We stayed from open til close. If you don't mind spending the extra $ and can squeeze it in, it's worth it to me . We can never fit the water parks in on our theme park trips so we started taking summer trips for water parks and Disney Springs.

Oh wow! We are doing this too! Last year we did the WP for the first time and the kids LOVED it! They specifically asked this year if we could go down and just do both the WPs! So we booked a waterpark trip and are leaving in ten days!! My kids were just as happy at the pool and waterpark as they were in the theme parks!

Also love the idea of a monorail crawl if it rains! Great idea!

 

[pixarmom]

Hmmm, what's a monorail crawl ???
Yet another option, lol.
I like back up plans

Depending on where we are staying, we get ourselves to either MK or a resort on the monorail. Sometimes we're already staying at a monorail resort, so that's really easy. Later this month, we're staying at AKL, so we'll take the bus to MK and start from there. Then we take the monorail to CR, Poly, GF and sometimes boat to WL. Our stops include lots of different combinations of the following:

shopping at CR
snack in the California Grill lounge with view (+beverage!)
a dole whip from Poly
shopping at Poly
Tambu Lounge at Poly (great view, great drinks and pork nachos!)
watching cartoons in the lobby for a few minutes while eating candy from the gift shop (our youngest loves to do this at Poly and GF)
shopping at WL
boat rental at Poly or CR (although not the best for a rainy day, we've done this on a sunny resort day)
snack at Territory Lounge at WL (great apps and beverages!)

And Geyser Point at WL is definitely on our list for our upcoming stay.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Hmmm, what's a monorail crawl ???
Yet another option, lol.
I like back up plans

Yes, the monorail crawl!! DS9 and I did one in December (granted, the Christmas decorations were up, so it was really pretty) and we had so much fun! He's already asked to do it again.

This is what we did:

Arrived at Poly around 3:45 pm and got in line to get into Trader Sam's at 4:00 pm (ordered drinks and apps and watched the special effects and antics), poked around the gift shop, walked out to the beach
Took monorail to GF, walked around (we got gingerbread, but that won't be an option in August)
Took monorail to CR (ate a Cali Grill, which you won't want to do)

You have more time to fill, so you may even want to take the resort bus to MK, walk to CR (poke around), take the boat to WL (look around) and to Ft. W (check out stables and gift shop), boat back to MK (or CR), take the monorail to Poly (still try to time this to get into Trader Sam's around 4 pm!) and GF (if it's close to your Sanaa reservation, you could then take an uber over to AKL). If it's raining, you may want to eliminate the boat option over to Ft. W and WL. Other rainy day activities - Splitsville or a movie at AMC at Disney Springs.

 

[Pipkin]

We were at TL at opening this morning. Friday's and Saturday's tend to be busy but we found chairs in the semi shade, did several water slides and when the lines got long, which they did rather quickly, we floated in the Lazy River. By the time we left at 12:30, it was getting packed. Morning is the time for the water parks.

 

[Monima]

Depending on where we are staying, we get ourselves to either MK or a resort on the monorail. Sometimes we're already staying at a monorail resort, so that's really easy. Later this month, we're staying at AKL, so we'll take the bus to MK and start from there. Then we take the monorail to CR, Poly, GF and sometimes boat to WL. Our stops include lots of different combinations of the following:

shopping at CR
snack in the California Grill lounge with view (+beverage!)
a dole whip from Poly
shopping at Poly
Tambu Lounge at Poly (great view, great drinks and pork nachos!)
watching cartoons in the lobby for a few minutes while eating candy from the gift shop (our youngest loves to do this at Poly and GF)
shopping at WL
boat rental at Poly or CR (although not the best for a rainy day, we've done this on a sunny resort day)
snack at Territory Lounge at WL (great apps and beverages!)

And Geyser Point at WL is definitely on our list for our upcoming stay.

So I take it monorail is free if you ate staying on property, correct?
And we could grab lunch somewhere, cause by that time we will be tired of eating sandwiches and chips, lol.
Love this back-up plan.
And love this group.
Thanks to all of you our first trip to Disney will be magical.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

So I take it monorail is free if you ate staying on property, correct?
And we could grab lunch somewhere, cause by that time we will be tired of eating sandwiches and chips, lol.
Love this back-up plan.
And love this group.
Thanks to all of you our first trip to Disney will be magical.

Yes, the monorail is free!

 

[OFF2NVRLAND]

Oh wow! We are doing this too! Last year we did the WP for the first time and the kids LOVED it! They specifically asked this year if we could go down and just do both the WPs! So we booked a waterpark trip and are leaving in ten days!! My kids were just as happy at the pool and waterpark as they were in the theme parks!

Also love the idea of a monorail crawl if it rains! Great idea!

This was our 2nd water park only trip and we love it! I was worried that I would be disappointed being there and not going to the theme parks but I never was. My family really enjoys the water parks. We stay from open to close. On both trips we made dining reservations at Disney Springs and shop. We never seem to have enough time to squeeze in water parks and downtown into our theme park trips anyway. We have started a tradition of going to the theme parks even number years and water park trips on the odd since 2014. It works for us