Water Parks and Young Children

[fuzzball]

Can anyone share their experiences of Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach and River Country with me please. We arrive good friday for two weeks and I wondered if there is enough that my children aged 6,5 and 2 can do at these parks to justify the entrance fee.
There are a lot of thrill attractions which they can not go on so will we just be left with a big pool to play in. Also the childrens area seems to have a maximum height on it which my 6 year old is bigger than. Does this mean that we can not all play there as a family.

Thanks for your help

 

[MELSMICE]

Here's my thoughts & the situation we had when my children were younger.

We went one year & had passes that were 7 days plus passes, but at that time & with the passes we had the plusses would expire 10 days after the first use of the pass. My DD's were
5 1/2, 2 1/2 & 2 1/2. We did all the water parks because we figured they were available to us anyway. They enjoyed them, but tired quickly & couldn't go on any of the thrill rides as you said. They did have fun in the kiddie areas.

The next few years when we went to WDW we decided to stay at the resort pool because at their age they had just as much fun as they did in the water parks. We thought for the amount it would cost us we weren't going to get our money's worth. That's JMO.

As they got a little older we took them to River Country because it was the smallest water park. They could do all the attractions & we could watch them from the beach or the docks no matter where they were. Unfortunately, River Country is now closed. I loved that water park.

Now my DD's are 13, 10 & 10. They love the water parks & we spend at least 1 or 2 days there every trip. They especially enjoy TL.

Anyway, my suggestion would be to skip the water parks because of the age of your children, the cost & because you will be there during peak time. (So will we , we get there the same day as you). The water parks will be very crowded. If you do decide to go, make sure you get there minimally 15 minutes before it opens to guaranty admission.

Others will suggest you go even with young children, & that's fine. My opinion is to wait until they're a little older.

 

[fuzzball]

Thanks for sharing your experiences with me. It is exactly the kind of advice I was looking for. We will be staying at Port Orleans Riverside and I wondered if you had any experiences of this you could share with me. We took a long time reading posts and choosing a hotel and finally went for this one. The problem is after comparing the moderates and making a decision, you end up reading a negative post and wonder if you have made the right choice.

Thanks again

 

[MELSMICE]

We have never stayed at that resort.

I would not let negative posts make you 2nd guess your decision. The way I look at it is that everyone has their own opinions. We try things even if there are negative opinions & then we form our own opinion.

Like I said with the water parks, many people will say that you should take your children there even though they are young. We just found that they enjoyed the resort pool at young ages. It was more convenient for us because we could go back to the room if we needed something or DD's could lay down for a nap if they got tired.

I am sure you will have a great time. At this point, now that your trip is booked I would ignore all opinions & go form your own.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Let me preface this post with the disclaimer that I dislike water parks. They aren't my cup of tea.

However, last Easter the parks were extremely crowded. It was time consuming to get on any attraction and I was exhausted trying to entertain my DD's 2 and 1/2 and 4. My husband LOVES water parks and I relented. It was the best idea.

Ketcha Kiddie Cove at Typhoon Lagoon was hours of non-stop fun for the girls. There were no lines and they ran from one thing to another for hours. It wasn't crowded there at all. Although they let older sibling in the cove, the CM's were very good about chasing out the older gangs of kids.

My only complaint was that families would save as many seats as possible. We went later in the afternoon one day and were completely unable to snag a chair. However, dozen of chairs were "saved" but empty the entire afternoon. Very frustrating.:MAD:

We arrived at opening the next morning and had no problem.

If you have the option, I would definately go.

 

[Elk34]

We went to Typhoon Lagoon last week with our 7 year old daughter and our daughter who turned 4 during the trip. Our little one was afraid of all the big rides in the parks but loved every ride at TL. The only things she didn't so was the Shark reef because she couldn't swim good enough or use a snorkel, Wave Pool is too big for her and the 3 speed slides.

Other than that she LOVED everything else. Of course the 7 year old was fearless and did everything except for the speed slides. The tube rides have smaller tubes for littler kids that have bottoms in them so they can't fall through. There is one "family" ride where you all ride on one big tube that is fun. And the lazy river that circles the park is great for little ones too. Just get a tube with a bottom there too. She even did the 3 "body" slides and liked them the best. They aren't real fast just fun twists and turns.

Life jackets are free but you have to wait in a line and leave an ID and then wait in line to get your ID back at the end of the day. The kiddie area seemed geared toward 2 year olds and she quickly was bored there. But she liked playing in the sand there. I did see the lifeguards strictly enforcing the maximum height rule. They carried the measuring stick around with them. I hate water parks but the kids loved it.

One note: get the refillable mug. It is a great deal. We got one mug and everyone shared it all day. Just go up and scan the bar code and fill it up. Also, the Hot Deli sandwich was really good. Instead of plain lettuce they put Caesar salad on it. If you don't like Caesar it wouldn't be good but if you do it was really tasty.

 

[LMHB]

My children will be 5.5, 3.5 and 9 months when we go. We have also been deciding between Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, and have settled on Typhoon Lagoon. Blizzard Beach seems to center more on thrilling waterslides...great for my husband but not for my small children. Also, I have read that there is no shade at BB, a concern for little heads with little hair! I do remember shade at TL. I have read wonderful things about the childrens area at TL. We actually went there 8 years ago, but, being on our honeymoon, we weren't paying attention to the kids area!

 

[kel3420]

We have been to both TL and BB. River Country is closed by the way until further notice, which is fine by me, I never really had any desire to go swimming there, it just looked kind of nasty and dirty, lol. I much prefer BB over TL, and actually have no desire to ever go back to TL. I think the waves in their wave pool is way too much for the kids. Even when I would be holding one of my kids, even with a life jacket on them, it still scared me half to death when the waves come thru, and I am one of the most relaxed parents you will ever meet.

With BB, there is so much to do for everyone. My two 15 year olds love it and love to chose what slides to go on. They are able to just take off for the day, checking in every once in a while, and I feel they are completely safe. My six year old loved both playing in the kiddie area, and then off to the slides with hubbie or older sibs. My four year old just loved to stay in the kiddie area and the big beach like pool. There is something for everyone.

As for shade, there is alot of it, but the chairs there obviously gets taken very early. Many people get towels, and put them on both sunny beach chairs and on shady chairs. There have been times when we never see anyone on the chairs around us, even though they are all taken with towels and personal belongings. You just know that they have chairs other places too, and are not spending the ENTIRE time in the water, lol.

The trick to getting the appropriate chairs that you want is to either get there literally when the park opens. Even getting there 45 minutes after the parks open, means you are stuck with leftover chairs unless you go in the really slow time., and this in when we usually go. Get your chairs and then head off to get towels, life jackets, lockers, etc., OR go later in the afternoon, like around 4ish or later, when most people start heading home for dinner.

I also suggest going to these parks only if you have the Park Hopper Plus tickets, so that there is no extra fee. Otherwise I would suggest just staying at your hotel, and enjoying that pool. I love all of the Disney Resort pools.

 

[NUHuskies#1]

Hi there!

Go and enjoy the water parks! Sliding around is a nice break from walking around on tired feet all day! We took our 2 (5,9) boys to TL for the first time last year after many return visits to the four theme parks and it was the highlight of our trip! They had a blast and can't wait to go back this year. On the slides, my husband would go first, then each of the boys and me last. That way my husband would be at the end of the slide in the pool waiting for them and I could watch and help them get on. It worked out great! Enjoy!

 

[GlennandAnn]

River Country was the only water park for small kids IMHO. We tried Typhoon Lagoon when DS was 2- the problem was that the park is basically all concrete. There is hardly any sand. We spent the day following him around to make sure that he didn't slip and fall on the wet concrete. River Country was pretty much all sand, and I think geared more toward young children. It is a shame that it's now closed.
Ann

 

[Kim Styles]

We went to typhoon Lagoon with DD then 7 and DS then just 2.We all had the most brilliant time, the small area for littlies was great and DS even loved the wave pool while we held him. We spent 2 days there, we had passes, and DS REALLY didn't want to leave. I guess if you have to pay seperately for it then its does look expensive. We will definately be going again next trip.