Water Park time of day question with my DS

[jaysue]

Thinking of going to the water park mid-afternoon on a Wed or Thurs - maybe around 3pm. Have the crowds started to leave by then? The visit is for my DS (3 1/2) as opposed to me - is it worth the visit in your opinion and if so should we go BB or TL?

thanks
Jason

 

[FreshTressa]

I think that is when it is the MOST crowded, when people are trying to escape the heat!

I would devote an entire day to it but, then again, I am a water baby!!

 

[jeffreyml]

We just returned last week and tried both water parks for the first time. If you want chairs and a good spot to sit, I would suggest arriving at opening. It seemed like most of the people started to leave around 4pm at both parks.

Depending on when your going the parks may not be that crowded at all. We were there the week before Easter and found all of the parks to be abnormally uncrowded. They started to fill up the Friday before Easter.

Our 4 year old loved TL as well as DW,DD & DS. The lagoon is quite large with plenty of great spots to keep an eye on the kids. The waves come about every hour with a break in between. He was happy sitting by the waters edge when the smaller waves came into the lagoon...Our kids also enjoyed the Lazy River. There is a great spot on the left side of the lagoon that has small water slides for younger kids with a sitting area for the adults to watch or wait at the bottom of the slides for the kids.

BB seemed like it was for the older kids compared to TL. There are more water slides and the beach area is much smaller than TL.

 

[tbear]

....our family tradition has always been to take that mid-day break, and head to the waterparks(alot of folks dont see this as downtime, but keep on reading).

TL, is a wonderful way to relax, IMHO. I have yet to set my behind in any chair there, they are always gone when we get there....so, first things first...go get a LARGE locker, everyone already has the suit donned because we stop at the resort first.....take all the other stuff(with the exception of the disposable waterproof camera(get one, you'll love the pics you'll get of your kids having a blast)and head directly to the lazy river....wait for a tube thats empty(should take you all of 15 seconds to find...the double tubes are harder to find, but you'll get one!!
Get your child situated(dont worry, take your time....the CM will even help you get settled if you need another hand, and even some folks who are waiting will help you out as well...if I see a mom or dad struggling to get the kid all set I usually try to help out)...get on that tube, and lay back...enjoy yourself, and DONT GET OUT until you have gone ALL the way round at least once.....you wouldnt believe how relaxed you'll be..it takes approx. 20 minutes to go around once...if your son then wants to do something, find out which 'stop' is closest to the activity(why walk when you can gently ride there)...and most of all, take you time to unwind!!!

As far as the time you'll be arriving, we usually go at around 11/12....stay till about 3, and head back to the resort to go to whatever park we want to see in the evening...I know that when we leave there is still a group of people coming in, but just the same amount of folks leaving.
I think that the waterparks hold true...most folks take the waterparks as a break...and from what I have seen, its three major sections...those who arrive at opening, stay till around noontime, those who arrive at noontime, leave at 3, and then those who arrive at 3, and leave at closing.NOW....this is only observation, but it seemed to be there were lots of folks coming and going at these times.

Whatever you choose to do, its going to be wonderful...just remember to take your sons pace, let yourself relax, and enjoy the park.

As another posted, TL does seem to be more set for those with the younger kids, while BB is geared to the older set......again, its just an observation....but what I do know from experience, is that I and my wife feel like we've got plenty of time to unwind at TL, while at BB we feel that we need to always be active.....maybe its the themeing??Not sure, but I have seen others post similar reactions.

 

[grinningghost]

Since you'll be going when it's very warm, I think early morning might be best for a 3 1/2 year old. It's less crowded so he'll have more room to play. It gets a little crazy when there's alot of kids in one area (little ones love the little kid area) - they start bumping into each other, which gets nervewracking. But rest assured, no matter when you go, he will have a ball. The waterparks, IMHO, are usually the greatest part of our trips.