Water parks with young'uns- would you bother?

[*123JOANNA123*]

We're planning on staying 7 nights as part of the FT package (GF) and seeing as we have UPH's as part of the package we wondered if we should give the waterparks a go.

My problem is that we have a 4yo and a 2yo, and I don't think they would get the benefit of a waterpark. I really don't want to waste time getting there, only to find it's a disaster to be there with toddlers/preschoolers.

We're early risers, so it would be possible to be there when the park opens and spend a few hours there, but I wonder is it worth it?

Any thoughts?

 

[ShaneV]

We took our 18 month old to Typhoon Lagoon and to our surprise it was one of his favorite times. They have a GREAT kid area that has sand beaches and little slides. It was well worth it for us!

 

[DisneyVillain]

We spent an entire day at TL without going on any of the big slides. The little ones LOVED it! One of the best days of the trip.

Awesome kids play area, a small slide to the side of the main wave pool. The waves at the main pool die on the beach, so the little ones can enjoy that. We floated around the slow river together. It was great fun!

 

[lucysdad]

We first took our daughter to TL when she was 2 and she loved it. She still practices shouting, "We want waves!"

 

[grinningghost]

Without a doubt this will probably turn out to be the best part of your vacation. The kids don't get hot and cranky, and neither will you. The kids areas are really great. They don't get enough glory, but the waterparks at WDW are probably the best kept secret. They don't have a Cinderella Castle, but they sure are magical.

 

[katerkat]

Bah! TL doesn't have the best kids area! BB does!

BB has Tikes Peak, a shallow pool with mini slides and water spouts and such. AND shaded picnic tables and a mini-beach and such. I loved to work Tikes Peak, the kids always seemed to have so much fun. I got stuck at the top of a slide there because of a broken toe -- there's nothing like playing with kids all day!

 

[bearapples71]

this really helped me out...we have a soon to be 6 yr old and a soon to be 5 yr old and we have always skipped the water parks in WDW but this year we wanted to try one...thanks for the tip about TL, my DD will LOVE it since she's sort of a water rat kid

 

[bobcat]

Since you will have UPH's then you really should try out a water park. Even if you find you don't like it you can always leave and go to a park. My bet is you won't want to leave.

 

[hookedup]

I am so glad this was posted. We are going with our 3 year old in August. He loves the water but is not a "swimmer" yet. We are debating between buying a 5 day park hopper or a 5 day park hopper plus.
We weren't sure how much he would enjoy a water park day or if we should just stay at the resort and use the pool.
So would a 3 year old have more fun at BB or TL? Thanks!

 

[MinnieGi]

With a UPH I would definetly go to the water parks in fact I would probably hit both at some point during your week. Our little one (2yo) loves any type of pool/water activity and we usually have a hard time getting her to leave!!

 

[makelab]

also, TL has shark reef. i made my DS go in (a little scared), but you can see a whole lot without going in. sharks, rays, fish, etc. you could also probably be able to stand in the pebbles and pet the rays when they swim by.

 

[DizzyLaura]

I have been to WDW and never went to the water parks either. This year we are definately going to go to BB. My 8 year old DD has an eye on the "extreme" slide. I do wonder if they rent life jackets for the younger ones (18 months) or should I bring my own?

Thanks
Dizzy Laura

 

[DisneyVillain]

Originally posted by DizzyLaura
I do wonder if they rent life jackets for the younger ones (18 months) or should I bring my own?

They won't let you use your own in any of Disney's pools or water parks. They do have them in small sizes.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

Okay, I'm going to post my not popular opinion. Please don't hurt me. We had PHP's and went to Typhoon Lagoon on an "off" day. It wasn't horrible, but we aren't planning on going on our next trip. My dd, 4 at the time, enjoyed swimming at the CBR pool much more. Besides being unbelievably crowded, the thing we didn't like about the kiddie area is that there was no depth to the water. It doesn't even cover your feet. The highlight of that day was finding watermelon at one of the food stands. We left by noon.

 

[sha_lyn]

the kids are in TL is horrible. The one at BB on the other hand is wonderful.

you could also probably be able to stand in the pebbles and pet the rays when they swim by.

No standing and no stopping is allowed in the shark reef. You can stop and kneel on the little "island" in the middle but that is it.

 

[the4moores]

We took 4 year old and 2 year old DS to BB. The 4 year old is a little fish and ended up going to the bigger areas with daddy to do the slides(she would have been happy in the tykes area), my 2 year old doesn't like the water that much and hates to be splashed in the face or put her face under water and she loved Tyke's Peak at BB. Went down the couple of water slides and had a ball. We floated around the lazy river and she fell asleep. I would have gone around more on the lazy river but you have to go under a waterfall and I thought she wouldn't like to be awaken by cold water! I think you should go and try it.

 

[dmonroe]

I am so happy to hear about the water parks! I am planning on taking our 4 yo in September to one or both of the water parks. I think we'll plan on BB and maybe work in TL later in the week! Thanks for the great info!

 

[hygienejean]

We loved the TL kids area. My DS was almost 3 and my DD was 11months. the lazy river was a blast and my DH and I never ventured to any other slides...we didn't even miss them! Have fun!