Toddlers at Typhoon Lagoon

[hols124]

I will have an almost 3 year old and a 1 year old when we go in June. We are going to TL for a few hours one morning. I know of the Ketchakiddee play area but was wondering about the Castaway Creek.

Do they have floats small enough for our 3 year old to float in? He will also have on his swim vest but wanted something for him to "ride" in/on. I will be bringing a baby float for my 1 year old. Also, I know the floats are free but where do you get them?

Thanks! (First time with little guys so lots of questions.)

 

[NotUrsula]

You can't use a baby float in the "lazy river", aka Castaway Creek; you are restricted to their provided flotation devices.

The baby will have to ride on your tube with you, wearing a life vest (the parks provide them FOC). If your 3 yo is really confident in water AND in what to do if he's separated from you, you can have him use one of the smaller white kiddie tubes, which do not have a hole in the center. (And also wear a life vest, of course.) The thing is, there is a lot of traffic in the creek, and a small child on a separate tube can VERY easily get separated from a parent. It is very difficult to keep another tube right beside you in the current. It might be a little bit easier to do if you had a short rope with you (2' or so) that you could loop on a tube handle and hold, but I'm not sure that the lifeguards would allow that -- I'm guessing that it is frowned upon.

I find that the trickiest part of taking small children into this attraction is getting on and off the tube safely. It's especially difficult to get off whilst holding a young child. We tag-team it; one of us floats with the baby, while the other goes a bit ahead and dismounts first to transfer the baby safely (we plan ahead what landing we will get off on.)

The tubes are available at all of the "landings" (entry step areas) along the creek. You just have to wade in and grab one as it floats by.

PS: I just re-read and noticed that you said "almost-3yo". In that case, I think that you need to have him ride on a big tube with an adult. IMO, there is rather a big difference between 2 and 3 in being able to keep balance on and stay on top of a kiddie tube.

 

[hols124]

Thank you for all the information. Knowing all that, I think we'll probably skip the lazy river and just stay in the little tide pools and kid's play area.

Thanks again!

 

[sabrecmc]

If you have the water parks included in the pass, it might be worth it for the 1 & 3 year old, but honestly, I would not worry with it for that age if I had to pay extra. My 3 year old was just as happy at the hotel pool and it would have saved us quite a bit in ticket costs not to go to the water park. I'm glad we tried it, but the kiddie area just wasn't big enough to justify the cost for us.