Waterpark safety

[pamom]

Could someone tell me from experience how safe the water parks are for children who are not good swimmers. My kids are so excited about visiting the water parks, and I am too, but I can't help feeling a little uneasy about it because I'm worried about their safety. I have a 7 year old who can keep her head above water, but she is not a real good swimmer.

How deep is the water at the end of the slides?

Are there many life guards around?

Are there any slides that are too wild for a 7 and 10 year old?

Excited, but worried (a typical mom, I guess)

Counting down.....69 days till Disney!!!

[This message was edited by pamom on 03-15-01 at 05:14 PM.]

 

[n2mm]

Blizzard Beach has several different areas. Tykes Peak for the little ones with slides and tubes. Then there is an area for the bigger kids, but not adults (unless accompanied by a child). There are life jackets that are available for free for peace of mind too. Lots of life guards around, but they do not replace a parent's supervision. There is probably much more info on this site. Go to the "home" page above and check out all of the info there, including costs and hours. My grandson (age 6 last August) loved the wave pool at Blizzard Beach. We were with him the whole time, though he is a beginner swimmer, we did have to pluck him up a few times. He loved it! And couldn't get enough. I think "tykes peak" is a good starting area for you.

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[DixieDreamer]

My DD who was 8 last year (and is not a good swimmer either) had a great time at both waterparks last year. Virtually all the slides end in very shallow pools.

However, I must give you a heads up on the slides that are in the "ski patrol training camp" area - the area for preteen kids. There are some slides there that are called Frozen Pipe Springs - they look like an old pipe and it drops the sliders into eight feet of water at the end. Unfortunately, the start of the slide is such that you cannot see the end of it and the parent steps to descend to the end is a bit long... which led to the incident with my daughter - we had been finding all the slides great for her throughout the park because they ended in very shallow water - so when we came to these - off she went and I trudged down the steps to meet her at the bottom. When I got there - I about panicked! She was struggling to get her head above water (she was panicked) and I thought she was drowning! Luckily, she kept her wits and started treading water successfully and made it to the stairs okay. We both were pretty shaken up. So, I will tell you that almost all the slides are wonderful for "not so great" swimmers. But there are a few places where your children can end up in trouble. Do yourself and them a favor and ALWAYS check out the landing, and overall slide BEFORE letting them take off on them.

This little incident did not stop us from having a perfectly wonderful time at both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach - I highly recommend them and know you will find TONS to do with your kids. We are heading back to both of them in less than TWO WEEKS! Wiser for the experience.

Disneyland - several times - most recent 1998
CBR - 2000
DXL - 2001