Waterpark Questions

[cbg1027]

While I feel I am a seasoned Disney veteran, I have NEVER been to the waterparks. So my DISer friends, I need some advice!

I'm looking in to a water park only trip sometime in the first 10 days of June. Has anyone been during this time? Do the touring plans crowd estimates work when thinking about the water parks - meaning is the crowd level roughly the same, or is it going to be more crowded than say Epcot on the same day because it's a water park in June?

There are no FP's at the waterparks, correct?

About how long do you spend at each water park? If we got there for 9am RD, how long would we need to do most of the attractions? Do people generally tire out before they've done the whole park?

Are there shower/changing facilities?

Is the food all just boring CS burger and fry joints? Or is there anything actually worth eating? We were thinking we hang in the park until we got hungry for lunch and then go somewhere else to eat for more interesting food.

Any other advice and suggestion are appreciated!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

There are no fastpasses.

There are changing rooms and showers. Lockers are in two sizes, $8 or $10 for the day plus a $5 refundable key deposit; unlimited opens and closes during the day.

The mini-donuts are wonderful.

There are people who will comne for only a few hours, while there are some who will stay from opening to closing.

 

[cbg1027]

Bump....Anyone else?

 

[stitchlovestink]

Have done both BB and TL but each on different trips.
I would suggest getting there when the park opens, you will get quite a bit done quickly in the earlier AM hours...save the lazy river, or wave pool for last...
And I agree. I would leave for lunch.

Be sure to swim with the sharks if you choose TL. We all enjoyed this enough to do it twice. Be prepared though, that water was COLD!!

 

[Noel22]

I totally love TL and it's a must do for each of our trips!

We go in the morning and stay till lunch / or afternoon.

Go early: If you go in the morning, you'll get a nice spot in the shade, which is absolutely necessary in june!!

Attractions: Then, do the slides - it won't be that crowded in the morning. My favorite attraction is the castaway creek - I could do this for hours! (no joke )

Lunch: I loved the Chicken Wrap at Typhoon Tilly's!

Shower/ Changing: no problem at TL, there are many showers.

 

[Rhonna]

We love the water parks. We usually travel in off season so we go to whichever water park happens to be open. On some trips one would be open at the beginning of our trip and then it would close and the other would open near the middle/end of our trip, so we were able to do one day at each.

TL theming is very popular and tropical but we really love BB. The lazy river is longer and we think more fun. Teamboat Springs is longer and more fun than TL. We love Ice Gator (look for his "home" and audio on the lazy river). Since you are going in June both should be open and I would definitely do both of them.

We like basic foods for the water park days. Always like the hot dogs. But, they did have a really good coffee/espresso cart in the AM that had freshly ground beans like some of the carts in the other parks. Was VERY happy with that.

We usually go in early, stay most of the day and then leave in enough time to go back to the resort, get cleaned up properly and go to a nice dinner. Simple lunch, fancy dinner.

Oh, and as for crowds: the locals go on the weekends - especially in summer months when you will be going. So definitely try to do the water parks mid week or at least on a Mon - Thurs. (Fri-Sun will be packed). We always pick a Wednesday to break up our theme park touring.

 

[crazyfordisney2000]

mmmmmmmmm, mini doughnuts!!!!!

We love the waterparks, when we have the kids we usually stay all day, but when it's just DH and I we usually stay 1/2 a day. We do eat there, though. Yes, it's just burgers, nuggets, wraps, dogs, simple stuff. But the doughnuts, yummmo!

 

[mjp12831]

bb and tl are both great, but get very crowded by mid day. Advice to go early and do the main slides first is good.

Leave stuff like the wave pool and lazy river for mid day.

I don't think they're full day parks in busy times - unless you want to wait 60 minutes for a 20 second slide ride - advice to leave after lunch and go to a main park is good.

 

[ProudMommyof2]

I have read advise that says most people leave after lunch so go after 3pm in the summer and the crowds are really reasonable. Has this been anyone's experience?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

We sell a "Florida Resident Water Parks After 2:00pm Annual Pass" for $60 ($48 child) so there must be a reason.

 

[ProudMommyof2]

We sell a "Florida Resident Water Parks After 2:00pm Annual Pass" for $60 ($48 child) so there must be a reason.

Yes- so does this fill the park up on a weekday at the end of August?

 

[SunnyP4Disney]

We sell a "Florida Resident Water Parks After 2:00pm Annual Pass" for $60 ($48 child) so there must be a reason.

That's what we usually get for summer break and have never had any problem finding a spot to sit or crazy long lines for the slides. My mom and I usually just ride around the lazy river while hubby and kiddo go hit the big stuff.

 

[jedijohn]

My tip is to get there early to reserve your lounge chairs; I hear they run out if you get there too late.

 

[ChristaDeVil]

We've been during the time period you are planning, and it does get crowded later in the day. However, we are Rope Drop kind of people, so it is best to get there early, stake out your chairs, and try to do as much as you want to do before lunch. As for lunch, we love the chicken wrap at one of the TL places. At BB, their CS wasn't that great.

 

[RabFlmom]

We sell a "Florida Resident Water Parks After 2:00pm Annual Pass" for $60 ($48 child) so there must be a reason.

LOL but it might also be that people leave because it storms part of most afternoons beginning in June, too. Locals might be the ones who take the time to wait out the lightning while the tourists head back to hotels to get ready for parks for the time after it stops.

 

[jmkjr72]

we have only been in january and becuase of that have only done tl
but we do the whole day at the wp when we go to a wp

heck we will go to wisconsin dells and do 3 days in the same water park there becuse we are at the resort for 3 days we do go and do a tour during the day

 

[romeoc]

For either park, as soon as it opens is the best time to start your day. It is not busy, and you can knock out the popular rides & slides as fast as you can get back to the start.
At TL we did the Crush & Gusher 6 times in a row with no wait. On our way out of the park around lunch time, the line was about 45 minutes.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

We will be doing waterparks that same time.
We get the waterpark and Disney Quest annual pass--it is about $30 more than the WP annual pass.
Our fave is Typhoon Lagoon and we usually start the day there at opening. We stay till noon or one and head to the resort for lunch and a few hours out of the sun. We head back about 3 and spend the last few hours there--it has cleared out and is very nice. Often storms come through midday and hordes will leave. Sometimes instead of going to our resort at noontime, we take a bus to a different resort to eat in their food court and walk around to check out different resorts.
After dinner we go to Disney Quest for a few hours--it is open till about 11. It is indoors and has 4 floors of video games, interactive games, and a create your own roller coaster like Sum of all Thrills at Epcot.
We do this 3 vacations during our pass duration and never tire of it.
I anticipate crowds by the hours the waterparks are open. Early June the waterparks open an hour later and close an hour earlier than mid June, so I think they historically have less crowds that first week or so.
When you are at TL, you are across the street from Downtown Disney and all the restaurants they have if you want a break from the fast food and sun.

 

[cbg1027]

Thanks for all the advice everyone!