Typhoon Lagoon, have a few questions and seeking tips!

[Disneyplanners]

We will be visiting Typhoon Lagoon for the first time this August. It will be myself, DH, DS11 and DS8. I have a few specific questions, but I'm also seeking out any helpful tips.

I have read a few trip reports that talk about shark reef and the masks. Some of the reports are saying that the cleaner that is used to sanitize the snorkeling masks can burn you skin. One review said that it was a reaction with any sunscreen you may be wearing. Anyone have some first hand knowledge about this? I was thinking that maybe we could visit shark reef first thing, and then put our sunscreen on after we are done. Someone also suggested buying your own snorkeling masks, is it that bad that this is necessary? One more question about the masks. DS11 can barely see without his glasses. Would he able to wear his glasses under his mask?

When I first started planning our Typhoon Lagoon day, I thought that maybe we could go the last 3 - 4 hours before park closing, thinking that lines would be shortening a bit. After some research, it seems that it may be better to go at park opening. I'm looking for some strategies on what order to do the different slides / attractions.

Also, what are the rules on glasses in the disney water parks? I know at some water parks, DS is asked to take them off on certain attractions. Can he leave them on if he has a string on them?

Thanks so much to all who share their experiences!!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We didn't have any issues with "reactions" to the mask cleanser. There's a a shower though just after you get your equipment & you could rinse the mask if its a concern. Don't know if glasses will work with the mask. My gut says "no". 90% of the rides, you can keep glasses on if you have a strap - my sunglasses strap also has a float on it so my shades will float if they come off (which did happen in the wave pool).

Early on, the lines will be pretty short. Late in the day (after 6pm in Summer hours) is good too.

 

[kaybird]

Glasses under the mask will not work, as the arms of the glasses will break the seal. We have never had issues with the cleaner, but it is strong smelling. We love snorkeling with the sharks!

 

[skent10]

It's been a couple of years since we did the snorkeling, but I don't recall the cleaner being bad enough to cause a skin reaction. Perhaps people with sensitive skin issues noticed it? If you're one of the first to snorkel in the morning, perhaps the masks have been soaking in the solution all night? Or maybe if you're one of the first, you get a mask that has had time to let the sanitizer evaporate overnight? I can't answer that one, sorry.

Glasses are a definite no on the mask, though. The mask works by creating a vacuum seal around the face, and the glasses would prevent that. If he wouldn't be able to see the fish without his glasses, it may not be worth it for him to try the snorkeling. Glasses should be fine on the rest of the rides as long as he has a strap on. There may be one or two (maybe Storm Slides?) that would make him take them off.

My family loves the water parks, and we put in a FULL day at them. We have noticed, that they clear out usually about 4:00 pm (or whenever the summer afternoon rainstorm hits) and the last couple of hours are almost empty. If your family tends to like waterparks, I would seriously consider devoting a whole day in your schedule to TL, as I think it's one of the best we've been to. We're going in less than two weeks and plan to be there for the 9:00am opening until they kick us out at the 8:00pm closing. Then we'll zip over to the MK for a few hours, since it'll be open until midnight that night.

 

[JennyDrake]

You will be told on some rides/slides to remove your glasses. DO IT. A friend and I didn't listen and we lost both our sunglasses. Mine were cheap, her were not.

_I_ would not trust trust a string to hold them.

 

[Minnie824]

Not sure on the glasses/masks but... definitely go first thing in the morning.
We get the first bus of the day, normally 8:15 or so, and get there by 8:45. We get a locker and the wait for the 9am opening. find a chair then go right to crush n' gusher. We did that 3 times (each slide) then moved on to the other slides. We had been on almost everything by 10am. At that point we got donuts (you have to try the donuts), and did the lazy river and wave pool. We ended up staying til about noon. We did not do the shark reef though. Have fun! And wear water shoes... you can wear them on everything but the biggest couple slides.

 

[nkereina]

I don't have particularly sensitive skin but my face burned as though a lighter was being held to it when we got out of the tank. I attributed it to something on the mask, but I DID have sunscreen on so perhaps the sunscreen mixed with the salt water or mixed with the mask cleaner did me in. The burning lasted a good hour, maybe more, and I had to splash cold water from the bathroom on my face which didn't help. I would definitely avoid putting sunscreen on before the tank, since that seems to be what my problem was.

And as a caution, we are two adults that are fair to moderately good swimmers, and we both hated the snorkeling experience. The CMs say not to kick your legs in the tank so we found it difficult to swim, and there's no place you can "pull off" to rest for a second. There's a large rock in the middle but it was slippery and other people were clinging to it. I found myself swimming across the tank as fast as possible just to get out. Plus, it was shockingly cold. I wouldn't bother investing in your own snorkeling masks since all reactions might be different.

 

[ktate82]

As far as the glasses and masks, like other posters said, he won't be able to wear them. However, DBF found masks on Amazon for about $50 that had his prescription (he had gotten the correct numbers from our eye doctor). He hee hummed and hawed about getting them for about a week before he ordered them. That has been the best purchase! He was able to wear them at Typhoon Lagoon and in the wave pool, plus able to see. He may look a little strange walking around, but he doesn't care since he can see. He also used them a lot here at home when we go swimming.

 

[Liljo22]

We went the first week of August last year. I did not think it was overly crowded. The only rides that had a long line was the family raft ride and the water coaster. Most of the other slides had short waits. We did wait until later in the day to do the coaster. The wait time said 60 minutes but the CM at the entrance said it was more like 20 which is about what it ended up being.

None of my family had a reaction to the masks and we had sunscreen on. Like someone said, there are showers before you get on that you can use to rinse the mask off if you are concerned.

 

[CharmedLife]

We were there in February and my whole family had the burning from the masks as soon as we put them on. We did not have sunscreen on yet as we went first thing. DD14 has sensitive skin so I expect things from her, but all 4 of us had the burning. It was pretty bad and my kids still talk about it.

Otherwise we enjoyed the reef but I wish there were more fish in there! Didn't have problems with the no kicking part; just did breaststroke arms and it was fine (the water is salty so you float a little easier). Agree with PP that it is COLD which is required, I suppose, for the safety of the fish.

We were there in the off-season and went right away and still had to wait a while as they start you out in groups of 4 (although you don't have to wait for the previous group to get all the way across before starting). But it still was a bit of a wait so I would do this earlier rather than later.

As for arrival, I agree that coming to the park right at opening is the way to go and getting to all of the most popular rides first. Then you can hang out in the lazy river or wave pool to your heart's content. Just a word of warning, the waves in the wave pool are very STRONG and can easily knock you off your feet or toss you in a somersault. I wouldn't count on keeping glasses on and people who aren't strong swimmers should definitely stand closer to the shore at the beginning until they can get used to the waves and slowly acclimate to the deeper areas.

 

[MrsDuck]

The masks did burn my skin but I have very sensitive skin. We were instructed to rinse the mask and our faces off before we got in the reef. It helped! Don't put the mask on till you've rinsed!

DH wore his thick Ray Ban glasses under the mask with no issues.

Definitely not necessary to buy your own masks, in my opinion.

Your best bet is to go at rope drop and leave in the mid-afternoon. Ride the attractions you want to do the most first!

DH wasn't ever asked to take his glasses off, just warned that maybe he should. He had no problems.

Have fun! TL is my favorite!

 

[sethschroeder]

People have issues with wearing deodorant because it causes rashes this is the same thing. I wouldn't really worry about it as if it were an outbreak of people with burned skin there would either be a lawsuit or Disney would be changing something. No issues for either me or my wife when we went.

As far as lines I cant tell you about early in the day but we went in the afternoon with no issues. I would rather do a morning in the park than waste that time just at a waterpark. (This is from our trip July 7-15, 2013)

Morning - Theme Park
Late Afternoon - Water Park
Evening - Dinner / Theme Park

 

[nkereina]

We were there in February and my whole family had the burning from the masks as soon as we put them on. We did not have sunscreen on yet as we went first thing. DD14 has sensitive skin so I expect things from her, but all 4 of us had the burning. It was pretty bad and my kids still talk about it.

Were you there in the morning around rope drop? We did the shark tank during the morning, shortly after opening, and experienced the same burning. Perhaps they soak the masks in something overnight which causes this? I could see it maybe wearing off throughout the course of the day, which is why maybe it doesn't have the same effect on some people who go later in the day?

 

[BrittyRo]

How much time is needed in the water parks? In September they are open from 10-5. If I get there for RD at 10 how long would it take to get everything done in the park?

 

[MrsDuck]

How much time is needed in the water parks? In September they are open from 10-5. If I get there for RD at 10 how long would it take to get everything done in the park?

If you're there when it opens and do the attractions first (before the wave pool), I'd say you're good to go around 2 or 3 pm. That's including lunch, time for lazy river, and wave pool.

 

[Disneyplanners]

Thank you for the responses. We will go ahead and use Disney's snorkel gear, but just rinse well ahead of time. With the exception of DH, we all have sensitive skin, which is why I was worried.

 

[CharmedLife]

Were you there in the morning around rope drop? We did the shark tank during the morning, shortly after opening, and experienced the same burning. Perhaps they soak the masks in something overnight which causes this? I could see it maybe wearing off throughout the course of the day, which is why maybe it doesn't have the same effect on some people who go later in the day?

Yes, this was in the morning although we had done a few water slides first, so maybe about an hour into the day? But I agree that perhaps it wears off as the day goes on... And it was still a low crowd day (February + crummy weather) so even though it was an hour in, perhaps they hadn't been used yet.

We did rinse them out and rinsed off our faces, and then DD even went and asked for another one because it was so bad. Didn't make a difference. It didn't really leave marks on our faces, though. My kids are hesitant to do it again next month because although they liked it, they didn't like the burning.

Sounds like it's hit or miss, maybe they did a super-cleaning the night before!

 

[bigbabyblues]

We enjoyed TL two different days last year. My tip is to point out the Lost Children spot to your kids and make a mental note of where it is. Hopefully, you won't need it. My boys got separated from us in the lazy river last year. We had told them if they wanted out, to wait on the steps and watch for us to float by if we got separated. Well, they only waited about one minute and decided we were already gone; the lazy river was relly crowded. They ended up looking for us at our chairs and then wandering for a few minutes and then told a CM that they couldn't find us. They were walked around where they thought we were for a few minutes and then taken to Lost Children.