Typhoon Lagoon - Surf Lessons

[BigredNole]

This is not an easy question and I cannot get an definitive answer from Guest Relations. I don't think they know the answer.

DD is scheduled for surf lessons in the early morning. I know you have to exit and re-enter the park. What is not clear is whether we have to lug everything out of the park and lug it back in.

We are not taking a ton of things. However, I will have my big camera to film and take pictures, sports camera for in the water, and another waterproof camera for pictures throughout the day. We will have our own towels and beach bag (sunscreen, etc).

What I am trying to find out is if we can just leave the beach bag on a chair when we exit? This way I can take the big camera gear back to the car, re-enter, and head straight to slides instead of looking for a chair to put our stuff down, then go hit slides.

 

[acpalmer]

This is not an easy question and I cannot get an definitive answer from Guest Relations. I don't think they know the answer.

DD is scheduled for surf lessons in the early morning. I know you have to exit and re-enter the park. What is not clear is whether we have to lug everything out of the park and lug it back in.

We are not taking a ton of things. However, I will have my big camera to film and take pictures, sports camera for in the water, and another waterproof camera for pictures throughout the day. We will have our own towels and beach bag (sunscreen, etc).

What I am trying to find out is if we can just leave the beach bag on a chair when we exit? This way I can take the big camera gear back to the car, re-enter, and head straight to slides instead of looking for a chair to put our stuff down, then go hit slides.

When we did this last summer, no they did not make us haul everything out with us. They allowed us to find chairs, set all of our "stuff" down on them, and then escorted us out so we could use our tickets to come back in. We did what you want to do--went straight to the slides when we walked back in. Now, I can't guarantee that's how it will work for you, but that was our experience last June.

 

[BigredNole]

Thanks Anne. I am slowly finding and getting more information. I was told by a CM from the Disney site, who claimed to know, that you are able to "stake out" your claim, walk towards the entrance with the surf group. If you already have passes, you do not exit Typhoon Lagoon. They have a small roped off section they take you to and when the park opens, you are on your way. If you do not have a pass for TL and you want to go back in, she said they let you go to the ticket booth, get your ticket, and then let you back in with the rest of the surf group that is staying. If this is accurate, then it makes my life a whole lot easier. I can bring everything we want with us and not have to lug it around. We will probably pack snacks and lunch in a cooler to bring as well. We plan to stay until about 2PM. I think DD will be completely "wiped out " by then.

She asked me to send an email in as well, put Attn to her, reference what she stated, and they will get it to the right people to provide the exact answer.

 

[I'm a foo fighter]

When we did this last summer, no they did not make us haul everything out with us. They allowed us to find chairs, set all of our "stuff" down on them, and then escorted us out so we could use our tickets to come back in. We did what you want to do--went straight to the slides when we walked back in. Now, I can't guarantee that's how it will work for you, but that was our experience last June.

This is different from our experience of four weeks ago. If we were staying the CM scanned our tickets/magic bands on an iPhone. Than we had to gather all our stuff and walk towards the exit. He told us if it opened before we got to the roped off area we were free to leave, we walked really slow. If not he would leave us at the rope. As we approached the roped off area(there were two, the main area and a area behind the lockers/shower), he directed to wait in the locker area. The quest ratio difference was crazy. Total of 10 people in the locker area. At least 100 people in the main area. The roped of areas are separated by a building but are at most 50 feet from each other.

Once they dropped the rope it was like adults at a easter egg hung, not pretty.

 

[BigredNole]

Good to know. I have not received a definitive answer. But the answers I did receive have been consistent that we could leave our stuff if we had passes.

 

[BigredNole]

We returned about a week ago. My DD's lessons were about 2 weeks ago. All I can say is this was the absolute highlight to her trip. She talks about it all the time. If anyone is on the fence about trying it with your kids, I cannot recommend it enough. It was that good. However, there are some things to be aware of when making the decision that I will point out below.

There were 3 instructors for her lessons and 12 participants. The more people participating, the fewer waves you are going to get. You never know how many are registered so it is hit or miss. Jen was the lead instructor. She is a professional surfer, been part of the Ron Jon Surf School since it opened, and has surfed in competitions around the world. She also founded a group to allow special needs people the opportunity to learn to surf as well. Just an all around great woman. She stays up top, watches, encourages, and makes a few corrections for the surfers between waves. Chip was an in the water instructor. He has been surfing and judging international surf events for about 50 years. Tons of experience and a great guy. He helps push the surfers off with the wave to give them the best chance to get up on the board. Thomas is younger and maybe around 20. He is a local student at a college near there. Great surfer kid. He was in the water as well. He was on the second wave, helped convey what Jen saw happen on the first wave, try to help correct it on the second wave. Just a great kid. I call him a kid because to me he is.

Now to some of the more important issues of deciding whether it may be right for you. The reason I point this out is because it does take some level of athleticism to get the best experience. Believe it or not, the 2 youngest one (my DD and another boy) did the best.

• You have to have some level of coordination and be completely open to their coaching. One guy never surfed, insisted he knew more, and refused to follow what they said. He never got up on the board. He was just to set in his ways. Another guy insisted he was a surfer and just "had" to go on the big wave. The problem was he was too slow to do anything he had to stop the run since it took him so long to try to get up.
• For small kids, the boards are heavy. It is a good long walk from the end of the wave pool back to the front. You have to loop around. My DD could not carry it. I had to go meet her at the edge of the pool and carry it for her. No big deal, but something to think about.
• Don't get discouraged. DD was a little upset on her first 2 waves because she didn't get up. Jen talked to each person about what they did right and the things that went wrong. Wave 3 DD got up on the board and road it in. Wave 4 she went on the first wave (big wave is about 4-5 feet), she almost got up on it the first time. Of the 10 waves she took, she got up on 6 of them. Not bad for a first time.
• For pictures, getting in the right spot to get the wipeouts makes for some very funny pictures. My Canon 7D in fast frame rates took some excellent pictures of DD wiping out. They are that funny.
• For the lessons to be successful, I think you need to be honest with yourself. The one dad was very upset with it. He refused to accept his skill set did not match what it took to surf. He was also completely wiped out after 4 waves. He did not even try any more after that. There may be some videos up on the lessons somewhere. If there are, watch them, practice at home before going, and see what you can do before getting there. Try to do some balancing on things like 2x4's or something. It will help.