Waterparks for a 1st timer?

[roselark]

I am 40 years old and have never been to a waterpark. The reason is because I have been overweight all my life and have not felt comfortable in a swimsuit. I have lost 60 pounds over the last year and while I still have a lot to go, I am finally at the point where I am much more comfortable in my body.

I am taking a solo trip in September and I am seriously considering visiting one of the waterparks for a few hours. I have a premium AP, so I am covered there. Which park would be best for a first timer? I am not interested yet in any of the big, scary slides. Baby steps...

EDIT: I would welcome any advice for a 1st timer as well. Should I wear water shoes, take a towel from the room, waterpark etiquette, etc...

 

[ghtx]

Either would be fine. Just go to whichever bus shows up first.

Enjoy!

 

[AB6876]

Typhoon lagoon... It is beautiful.

 

[Julie521]

I would say typhoon lagoon. Its gorgeous. They have an awesome lazy river that you can lounge around in. I dont think you would need water shoes unless your feet are sensitive and they would get uncomfortable. Whatever you feel better with. Couple cute places you can grab lunch at. A bar right by the wave pool. Some character meet and greets.

 

[JessM]

I am 40 years old and have never been to a waterpark. The reason is because I have been overweight all my life and have not felt comfortable in a swimsuit. I have lost 60 pounds over the last year and while I still have a lot to go, I am finally at the point where I am much more comfortable in my body.

I am taking a solo trip in September and I am seriously considering visiting one of the waterparks for a few hours. I have a premium AP, so I am covered there. Which park would be best for a first timer? I am not interested yet in any of the big, scary slides. Baby steps...

EDIT: I would welcome any advice for a 1st timer as well. Should I wear water shoes, take a towel from the room, waterpark etiquette, etc...

I would choose TL. They have 2 tube slides that are very tame and their storm slides (body slides, you can sit up) are tame and fun as well. BB has a lot of "race slides" which go faster IMO. TL also has a great lazy river and wave pool. Once you get comfortable try Crush and Gusher, its great!

Definitely wear water shoes. You can either wear them or hold them on slides, your feet and legs will thank you!

 

[mills10]

I did my college program at Typhoon so I might be biased, but I would say go to Typhoon. It's slides are tamer than Blizzard, and the wave pool and lazy river are better IMO.

As far as towels and water shoes. I would DEFINITLY wear water shoes! The ground gets really hot! You can bring a towel if you like, but know they also rent towels at the park, your choice. They also rent lockers if you want to store anything. When I was there a small locker rental was $13 and you got $5 back when you returned the key. Not sure if the prices have gone up since then (2010). You rent lockers from any register in the gift shop, that is also where you can rent a towel.

HAVE FUN!!!

 

[wookiebeck]

Yes on watershoes. The bottom of the wavepool and the sides of the lazy river are rough concrete. The TOPS of my feet were beat up when a wave knocked me over and when there was a tube-log-jam on the river.

 

[flortlebap]

Another vote for TL. It's much more relaxed than BB IMO and its a beautiful park. The shark reef is fun too (although distinctly lacking in fish compared to last year).

 

[roselark]

Awesome! TL it is! Relaxing sounds wonderful...

 

[ZoZo]

One thing I would recommend swimwear-wise is to wear some board shorts over your swimsuit. With all of the climbing in and out of rafts, tubes on the lazy river, etc. it's nice to have the extra coverage.

A few years back, a friend of mine was wearing a two-piece swimsuit at TL. She was struggling to get into her tube in the lazy river, slipped, and the bottom half of her swimsuit came down around her knees! How embarrassing. So I recommend a one-piece suit and board shorts, so you don't have to worry about things like that!

A couple of other items to mention . . . bring waterproof sunscreen (I like Coppertone Sport Spray - that stuff stays on all day!). I don't wear water shoes but lots of folks do. And I do rent a couple of towels at the water park, rather than bringing from my room. It's a pain to carry wet, soggy towels back to your resort. And final thing - it's nice to rent a locker for your valuables. You can leave other stuff on your beach chair, but it's smart to lock up your phone, money, etc.

 

[loislane]

And final thing - it's nice to rent a locker for your valuables. You can leave other stuff on your beach chair, but it's smart to lock up your phone, money, etc.

Jumping in with a quick, related question. If we have waterproof pouches to wear around our necks for our KTTW, can we keep those on while going on the water slides and such or will they make us take them off?

If we have to take them off, how safe is it to stow them in the bag with our towels on a beach chair? Hate to have to rent a locker just for our KTTW, but will if we have to.

 

[loislane]

I am 40 years old and have never been to a waterpark. The reason is because I have been overweight all my life and have not felt comfortable in a swimsuit. I have lost 60 pounds over the last year and while I still have a lot to go, I am finally at the point where I am much more comfortable in my body.

I am taking a solo trip in September and I am seriously considering visiting one of the waterparks for a few hours. I have a premium AP, so I am covered there. Which park would be best for a first timer? I am not interested yet in any of the big, scary slides. Baby steps...

EDIT: I would welcome any advice for a 1st timer as well. Should I wear water shoes, take a towel from the room, waterpark etiquette, etc...

Congrats to you on your weight loss. Such a great accomplishment!

I lost 75 pounds myself 2 years ago - so I know how hard it is to do. Great job!

I hope you enjoy your time at whichever water park you choose.

 

[AinW]

Jumping in with a quick, related question. If we have waterproof pouches to wear around our necks for our KTTW, can we keep those on while going on the water slides and such or will they make us take them off?

If we have to take them off, how safe is it to stow them in the bag with our towels on a beach chair? Hate to have to rent a locker just for our KTTW, but will if we have to.

I often wear a small (2" x 4") waterproof case on a lanyard & have been able to keep it on with no problem (they even sell them there).

 

[bookgirl2632]

I'll put my vote in for TL as well. It really is a beautiful park. The slides are fun, the pool is huge, and the lazy river is so relaxing. You can get a decent meal at their CS locations. We bought a refillable mug last time we were there, which was convenient. As for lockers, we never rent them, but only because my sister doesn't do the slides and isn't a big swimmer. She tags along and reads a book, holding down the fort at the beach chairs. She'll wade into the wave pool, but never too far.