As a first timer to both, I did a little write-up in my trip report. A couple folks have previously thought this was helpful, so on the off chance it's helpful to you, here it is
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Sunday 06/17/2012
TYPHOON LAGOON Slept in a little & hit the park around 9:15. Note: Signage for this park is not the best. Where Typhoon Lagoon is not mentioned, just follow Downtown Disney directions. First stop after the locker drop-off was shark reef. DD6 couldnt get along with the snorkel, so she & DW took off their masks & just floated. Cold water had me breathing rapidly, but I did okay. DD11 was a pro right from the start & loved it. Ultimately, shed do this attraction 4 more times throughout this day. Next up Crushin Gusher, the water coaster. Not much line, so we do all 3 flumes twice each. This ride a HUGE hit for the entire family. Next up wave pool & we promptly get pounded complete with scrapes & spilled blood (DD6 gets a bandaid & antiseptic from the first aid station, I pass). DD6 & DW decide to hang out in the very shallow end while DD11 & I attempt to body surf. I eventually swim ALL the way out to the rope & try it from there it actually works better (for me) at about 5 of depth than it does out by the rope. Waste deep proves to be the place to avoid as you get knocked around A LOT. Big waves seem cool, but the novelty wears off very fast. Paid close to $40 for a couple sandwiches & hot dogs, brought our own drinks. Food was good though. Off to Storm sliders. I found them okay, rest of the family really enjoys them. Family raft ride and the tube slides (forget what theyre called) are all boring as can be. Worse, the line for the raft ride was 40+ minutes. Worst ride of this type ever, a real snoozer. Did the 50 drop slide. Good drop, but as Id later find of all Disney drop slides, your back gets buffeted around a LOT, unlike similar slides at non-Disney waterparks. So, back to Crushin Gusher for several more rides before calling it a day.
Tuesday 06/19/2012
BLIZZARD BEACH after a late night the previous day, we slept in & hit the park just before 10:00. This is one of those kinds of generic waterparks that other than the theming has nothing unique. That said, ALL the rides are lots of fun. And overall we enjoyed BB more than TL. DD11 wanted to head straight to the Green Slope & Summit Plummet after getting a LARGE locker, so she & I took off while DD6 & DW splashed in the wave pool. Wait for Summit Plummet was ~15 minutes. Despite the 120 drop, you dont get the same sensation of height that similar rides have in other parks. Partly because the tower isnt very high off the peak, and also because of the tunnel. It also doesnt seem as steep of a drop either. Anyway, we both got pretty buffeted around again, as DD6 & I would later experience on Slushin Gusher, also on the Green Slope. No idea why these slides arent as smooth as those in other parks. Could be too much water. Still a couple pretty decent thrill rides though. Whole family then headed to the final Green Slope ride, Teamboat Springs, which we pretty much walked right on. This is a MUCH better family raft ride than the one at Typhoon Lagoon with a couple decent drops (but nothing too scary) and its a long ride to boot. We did this ride repeatedly, never waiting at all, although at one point the line suddenly backed WAY up. Turns out, the ride was down for some reason. Once it came back up, the line cleared right out again. On the back side of the Green Slope is the lone Red Slope ride, Runoff Rapids. The walk up the stairs to get on this ride is a killer. We had to laugh at the warning at the top about people with heart conditions. Trust me, if your heart isnt in good enough shape for this ride, it darn sure isnt in good enough shape for the stairs!! That said, the open slides for double tubes were great, and the enclosed slide for single tubes was even better. So, we burned lots of calories on this attraction hoofing it up those stairs. Never much of a line, either. On the purple slope is Downhill Double Dipper and 2 mat rides. As a bonus, there is a conveyor hauling tubes & mats to the top for you on these. DDD is a very fast, 6 second ride on a tube following a 30-40 minute wait. Worth the wait once a day, but wouldnt spend all day in that line to ride it a 2nd time. We all enjoyed the Toboggan ride (mat racers), but DW & I didnt care for the old-school mat slides that zigzagged down the hill. Kind of hard on our 40+ year old backs LOL. Really enjoyed this park, but there is a LOT of walking required with many rides spitting you out nowhere near the entrance to anything else, nor even the entrance to the ride you just finished.
Friday 06/22/2012 Final day in The World
BLIZZARD BEACH/TYPHOON LAGOON Slept in again & got to BB around 9:45. Rain would threaten pretty much all day, though we did get a handful of hot, sunny times. Grabbed a large locker & headed to Teamboat Springs. Road this several times over the course of the day and once again it shut down at some point. We overheard the workers explaining to each other that apparently it was not a malfunction, but an attempt to send a wheelchair bound guest on the ride that caused a major delay. DD6 & I did Slushin Gusher again, we played in the wave pool, lots of trips down Runoff Rapids, 1 Toboggan ride, and 1 round on Downhill Double Dippers (again with a long wait). We had chips & drinks, but no real meal here. Around 3:00, we planned 1 final ride on Teamboat Springs before leaving, but were driven off by nasty storm clouds.
Back to the cabin for lunch & to wait out the storm. Having 1 WPFM visit left on our tickets, we arrived back at Typhoon Lagoon shortly before 6:00 p.m. in light rain. Both girls made one more trip through Shark Reef, and we did all 3 Storm Slider slides. The rest of the time was spent on Crushin Gusher. With the weather, the line was so light we werent required to even turn in our tubes. Instead, we just went on it continuously losing count of the # of rides we took. At 7:45, the storms were coming back around & announcements of the pending park closure were heard, so we called it a day.
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