Tell Me About - Umbrellas at Typhoon Lagoon

[HaveKidsWillTravel]

We are going to TL on a Saturday in late April. Six people including two grandparents. We must have shade no question about it. We would rent two umbrellas. Grandparents are along for the ride and maybe lazy river. But will mostly just relax in a lounge chair. We are all super pale central NY'ers. My goal is to have a guaranteed spot with guaranteed shade.
My question is - are umbrellas available elsewhere? Like if we just show up early could we snag a 'free' one? Or are the only umbrellas those you can rent?
Are they well maintained? My fear is someone would 'take' our umbrella. Do we get wrist bands?
Any other comments? I'm curious to hear about these umbrellas. We've never done a Disney water park and the kids are pumped!!!
Also random - water shoes? yes or no?
Thanks!!!

 

[vicb]

Last time we were at TL was almost 4 years ago so take this with a grain of salt... we arrived ten min before the park opened. Right at opening we headed to the sandy area near Crush n Gusher and the lazy river. We snagged an umbrella and four chairs... then we noticed the signs that said "smoking area" We are not very tolerant of smoking. But at that point we decided to stick it out since we had shade. It turned out fine, we were near the edge of the area by the walkway and the few people who did smoke went toward the back and sat in the shade of some trees. We did not reserve an umbrella or cabana. Btw, that area was clearly marked smoking on the map, we just didn't look at that before settling.

We did rent one locker to put our phones and wallets in. This park is awesome and you will have a blast!

Here is a map to look at...

http://www.wdwinfo.com/maps/typhoon.htm

 

[Pakey]

My experience only-3 years ago with umbrella rental. The chairs were anchored to the umbrella and as the sun moves across the sky, it was difficult to continue to have shade on both lounge chairs-sometimes we could only get one of the two in the shade. The umbrella could not be moved or tilted and the chairs could only be moved as far as the anchor allowed. The reserved chairs/umbrellas were in a section so there wasn't people trying to take them. We did have wristbands. The property was well maintained. I do not know if all sections were like this but our section was. I don't know if it's still this way. The cabana rentals are expensive but you will have shade at all times for your entire group. I've rented a cabana several times.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Should the budget allow I'd opt for a cabana based on your wants. When you think of the cost per person (and the lack of discomfort) for a party of 6, it's pretty reasonable for a day spent not dodging the sun. You'll have a CM who'll get fresh towels, take your food orders and keep you stocked with cold water. Haven't checked the average temperature in April but I know for the summer I'm booking one this year.

I don't recall seeing any free umbrellas at either TL or BB but maybe we got there too late.

 

[VAfamily1998]

I'm glad you asked, and I hope lots of people who have experience with umbrellas/cabana rental respond. My two teen sons will be going to TL in mid April. One of them is on a medication that makes his skin very sensitive to sun...so that, plus the fact that he's been indoors most of this winter, makes me wonder if it's best for him to have a dedicated shady spot to retreat to if needed.

I've never rented a cabana or umbrellas, but from what I've been reading, it sounds like a cabana would be perfect for your group--especially since the grandparents will want to spend most of their time relaxing in the shade. I know a cabana will be more expensive than two umbrellas--but I think the benefits and comfort would be worth the additional expense. Also, I wonder if umbrellas are like rooms at a resort; will they guarantee that both your umbrellas will be next to each other, or could you end up with umbrellas in two different sections?

 

[Klayfish]

We go to the water parks a lot, and love them. However, we've never rented an umbrella or cabana. IMO, they're a huge, giant waste of money....but that's just based on our own feelings. There is plenty of free shade around, especially at TL. There are several covered huts that provide plenty of shade. If you go near where Miss Adventure Falls is, there are spots that are under trees, which are in the shade all day. In all of our trips there, which is dozens by now, we've never had anyone take/move/touch our stuff. Doesn't mean it NEVER happens, but it's never happened to us. To be fair, we don't spend a ton of time at the chairs. The huts can get pretty crowded, as a lot of people want shade. There are less crowded areas in the "back" of the park that you can go to. However, if you truly want your own private space for shade, then yes, you'll need to rent something. If you have grandparents who will spend most of the day in the chair, then I can see why you may want one. As I said, we've never rented them, but we've seen them plenty. They're in good shape from what I can tell.

Water shoes? Again, personal opinion, but for us no way! Wearing shoes in water just feels really, really weird. We love barefoot. The pavement can get pretty hot, so be aware of that if you do go barefoot.

Have fun!!!

 

[HaveKidsWillTravel]

I ended up renting two umbrellas. Cost per umbrella with tax is $42.60. Has two lounge chairs and two beach chairs plus a table. The CM I spoke didn’t seem to know a lot about the umbrella rentals. I asked about ‘wrist bands’ etc. she just didn’t know how the umbrellas were policed. The cost of the umbrellas is worth it to me to have a guaranteed shady spot with seats together. (Now watch it be totally dead the day we go! Or kids won’t want to leave the wave pool!) both reservations are under my name, so I’d assume we’d be together. Guess we will see when we get there! Cabana is $225.00 for our dates. I honestly don’t want to spend that on a cabana. I’d rather splurge on a few extra treats/meals over the course of the trip. But I could see it being worth it for some families for sure!

 

[focusondisney]

We rented an umbrella about 4- 5 years ago. It was fine my for DH & me. The umbrellas are in 2 spots. If you look at the map vicb linked above, you can see where the beachcomber shacks are. That is also where the umbrellas are. First, there are umbrellas interspersed with the shacks along the right of wave pool. The other area where the shacks are has a round sandy area near it. There are umbrellas along that sandy area too. We had an umbrella near the wave pool. The area is roped off & yes, you will get a wrist band. Towels & a locker rental were included when we were there. The area we were in was very quiet & private. We could not see the wave pool while seated, could have if we stood a bit in front of our chairs. I think you probably could have had a bit more of a view from other umbrellas in that area tho. We were able to wiggle the chairs around to stay in the shade most of the day. Be warned tho the table is very tiny & really pretty useless.

I thought it was worth the money, especially since the Lockyer rental was included. I would definitely book it again.

 

[Turn the Page]

I agree with Klayfish. If you're planning to be there at park open there is really no need at all to rent an umbrella. There are large pavilions all over the place with a ton of chairs underneath. You can grab one of those (we like the spot past Crush n' Gusher near where Shark Reef used to be) and as many chairs as you want. They are actual structures with a roof so you won't have trouble staying in the shade at all.

We also must have shade. I have very pale skin and my father has red hair. He has had skin cancer about a half dozen times already and I have had it once. We take sun protection pretty seriously. We used to go during spring break with a large group of about a dozen people and never had a problem getting a pavilion anywhere we wanted with all the shade and chairs we could want. Granted, we always showed up at park open.

 

[TXDisneyFan1]

I would definitely rent two umbrellas for your family. Best money we spent when we went to TL. If you do, I would request the area above the wave pool. It is an awesome location! It felt like our own little island. I liked not having to worry about getting chairs together in a good location or having them stolen if we went to enjoy the rides.

You will have a wristband and Disney CMs did a good job of keeping people out of the area when we were there.

I would also wear water shoes. Some of the cement is hot and other areas are hard on your feet (the surface of the wave pool is pretty rough).

 

[Selket]

We rented 2 umbrellas at Typhoon Lagoon a few years ago for our party of 5 people and we were put in a location that was steps away from a Lazy River entrance and right near one of the fast food places. Overall we loved it - it was a quiet spot without many people walking through and we knew we had our own space and didn't have to arrive at opening, etc. We were given a shady spot near some sort of trees but there were some umbrellas that day that went unrented that were out in the sun - probably would have been harder to have complete shade there. I loved it and would do it again

 

[TCB in FLA]

We rented umbrellas this past summer and were glad we did. It was great having a dedicated area that our boys could come back to and it wasn’t as crowded as the general chair areas. We didn’t rent a locker (we used magic bands for purchases and had the car keys in a waterproof lanyards), didn’t worry about leaving our clothes/shoes out.
However, there was nowhere near enough shade if we had brought my sunburn-worrier MIL along. She would have lasted maybe an hour at the park tops. I would have upgraded to the cabanas for her, despite the cost, just so she could have total shade, not just by dragging her beach chair to a different spot.

 

[NYCgrrl]

We rented umbrellas this past summer and were glad we did. It was great having a dedicated area that our boys could come back to and it wasn’t as crowded as the general chair areas. We didn’t rent a locker (we used magic bands for purchases and had the car keys in a waterproof lanyards), didn’t worry about leaving our clothes/shoes out.
However, there was nowhere near enough shade if we had brought my sunburn-worrier MIL along. She would have lasted maybe an hour at the park tops. I would have upgraded to the cabanas for her, despite the cost, just so she could have total shade, not just by dragging her beach chair to a different spot.

Ohmigosh!
Would you marry one of my sons?
Errrrrrr assuming your current SO doesn't mind.

 

[Starwind]

We rented an umbrela at TL this past November and are glad we did. It did provide shade, but not nearly as much as a cabana would. We were in the umbrella area near Leanings Palms QS and the lazy river entrance. GREAT location. Quiet, shaded.

The umbrelas area has a rope across thee entrance making it clear it is restricted access. You are issued a wristband, but we never saw anyone around to enforce that. That said, there were only two other families in the umbrelas area on the day we were there. Also one family in the cabana near our umbrella.

We liked having a known shady place to come back to when we wanted. We left some things there, but other things we rented a locker for.

For sun protection: I am highly sun sensitive and also react to almost all sunscreens, and did appreciate the shade. However, it is not "enough" if you are really sensitive. if nothing else, you still get bounceback of the sun off the sand. I therefore wear sun protective clothing. At a water park that means a longsleeve rashguard and longsleeve swim tights that I wear over top of my swimsuit. Both are UPF 50+. At typhoon lagoon I also wore UPF 50+ swim gloves and swim socks and I wore Crocs swiftwater water shoes. My rash guard had a hood and I wore that (protecting head and neck) and then wore a chlorine water-safe sun hat over it. Pretty much if it could reasonably be covered by sun protective clothing, it was. I was comfortable and most importantly no sunburn or sun reaction If looking for brands, I highly recommend Coolibar. LLBean and Lands End also have good gear.

SW

 

[TCB in FLA]

Ohmigosh!
Would you marry one of my sons?
Errrrrrr assuming your current SO doesn't mind.

Hahahahaha! I’m pretty sure my DH of almost 22 years might not like that.

 

[maryr1oz]

Great advice here, thanks for asking this question

We are also planning on renting umbrella chairs in September, and this information has cemented the choice

 

[GirlDreamer]

Is it really necessary to reserve these in advance? We're having a pretty relaxed trip, so we don't have every day planned out and will go to TL whichever day we feel like it. We're going in september, so would we be able to rent it same day? Or perhaps just reserve it at our hotel the day before or a few days before?

 

[TCB in FLA]

Is it really necessary to reserve these in advance? We're having a pretty relaxed trip, so we don't have every day planned out and will go to TL whichever day we feel like it. We're going in september, so would we be able to rent it same day? Or perhaps just reserve it at our hotel the day before or a few days before?

I’m not sure what it’s like now, but when we went last July, there were several unused umbrella set ups where we were. It was a sunny warm day mid week. I would think you would be okay by calling when you are at the hotel and have figured out your plans.