Water Park - Blizzard & Typhoon - Questions

[JZCubed]

My family will be making our first summertime vacation and I have a couple of questions about the Water Parks - Blizzard Beach & Typhoon Lagoon:

Is one of them geared to younger children and/or does one of them have more height restrictions?

Regardless, which Water Park do you and your family prefer and why?

I recall buses from Animal Kingdom Park going to Water Parks, is my recollection accurate?

Does Disney transportation run as frequently to/from the Water Parks as to all others (the so-called 20 minute rule)?

Is it safe to assume that these Parks are most crowded during the afternoon hours (let's say from 12pm-4pm) so that people can escape the afternoon sun during summer?

Thank you.

 

[dawnhaze]

Each park has a kids' area for children under 48" tall - BB calls it Tike's Peak, TL calls it Ketchakiddie Creek. But, BB also has another section for bigger kids called Ski Patrol Training Camp with more stuff like a zip line that drops into a pool. I think it's for kids under 60" - I could be wrong on the height for that one.

Off the top of my head, out of BB's attractions, Slush Gusher, Downhill Double Dipper, and Summit Plummet all have 48" minimums. Also, the chair lift doesn't allow babies on laps, but I don't know how old/tall kids do have to be.

TL's height-restricted attractions are Crush n Gusher and Humunga Kowabunga, which are also 48" to ride.

As to your other questions:
- Yeah, afternoons are usually the busiest times, especially in the summer. I've only gone to the water parks in the off season but I hear they can get pretty crowded.
- I've never seen buses from Animal Kingdom park to the water parks, but like I said, I've never been looking for them during the peak season.
- The buses seem to run just about as often to the water parks as they do anywhere else, in my experience.

 

[staceyeileen]

We prefer Blizzard Beach overall. Most people seem to prefer the theming at TL but we think the actual slides/activities at BB are better and there are more things for our 4yo to do.

- family raft ride is better at BB
- toddler area better at BB (tike's peak)
- there is a whole separate area for older kids at BB that doesn't even exist at TL. my 4yo likes this too even though he can't do everythig. (ski patrol)
- 4yo loves the mat racing slides at BB
- thrill slides for the big kids/adults better at BB

Now, with that being said... my 4yos favorite thing to do at either park is the TL wave pool. It's way better than the wave pool at BB. Your child should be a strong swimmer and/or very closely monitored with a life jacket. Our ideal park would be BB + TL wave pool. A close 2nd for him is the raft ride at BB.

The lazy rivers at each park are pretty much equal. Slight edge to TL because the one there seems to have less leaves in it, which probably is just due to the different types of foliage in the parks. Palm trees don't really shed too much. We adult like the shark reef at TL which is unique to that park, but our son can't really do that yet. The big attraction at TL other than the wave pool is crush n gusher water coaster, which my son is too short for and we could really take it or leave it.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We enjoy both, but BB has more things to do overall, especially for the under 48" crowd. I have our fsmily "review" of both in the link in my signature.