Waterparks - use watershoes?

[threeboysmom]

I'm trying to decide whether to buy new watershoes for all my kids for vacation. We are planning on one day at Blizzard Beach. Now it seems that last time we went to TL, many of the rides didn't allow watershoes so we found ourselves always having to take them off; in which case, the kids can just wear their flip-flops for easy on, easy off.

Does anybody know if watershoes are allowed on all the slides/rides at Blizzard Beach? I hate to buy them if the kids are just going to have to keep taking them on & off.

 

[tbear]

hi 3boysmom!!
from experience...YES, WATERSHOES are a MUST HAVE!(or flip flops if you will)...but..I will explain.
Watershoes IMHO are probably better in the long run, and will be more comfortable for your boys, but they WILL have to take them off at ALL slides...the reason is for safety.
The same is true for flip flops.
I do however understand the problem with taking off and putting on watershoes...this is what I have had my kids do, maybe this will help yours as well.
With watershoes, when you are finished riding the slide, make sure to put the water shoes into the water, step out of the pool (which is the landing area of all the slides) and slip your foot into the shoe immediatly..the water inside the shoe will help to ease the shoe back on.(as will your wet feet)...dry water shoes are probably the hardest thing in the world to put on outside of a dry wetsuit.
The problem I found with flip flops, is the occasional flip flop blowout...in other words, your walking along, and bang, the flip flop turn into two pieces(the strap seperates from the sole....making them impossible to continue using)
Whichever you decide, it really is better to have either, than have nothing...the ground, even if it is shaded, is BRUTAL on your feet(and I am not a person to get much discomfort from walking around on pavement barefoot..I go all summer without shoes for the most part)but the walkways at BB and TL seem to be made from the raw ends of fiberglass and razor blades

NO..IM JOKING..theyre not THAT bad..but, still, after a good long time, your dealing with some ripped up feet..the ouchy kind, not the bleeding kind.

I hope you have a great time tho, and like I said...try the water trick..works wonders...and if not, get each kid a spare pair of flip flops just to be safe!!!!

ENJOY!!!

 

[poohbear2]

That's funny..Every time I have been to TL I was never told not to wear my water shoes down the slide. OOPS...I hope I wasn't offending anyone! Has this been going on for awhile?

 

[CarrieAP]

My girls and I hate those silly water shoes but let me tell you by April/May it is getting hot and even if running or hopping foot to foot your feet begin to burn quite quickly.

 

[jimmybop]

yes, bring the water shoes... the paths at blizzard Beach get extremely hot on sunny days.....

the only rides u have to take them of are the body slides (Summit plumit and slush gusher). The life guards and ride ops will let u know before you go on the ride ENJOY UR TRIP!

 

[tjmw2727]

Can you wear the water shoes on all or most rides?
TJ

 

[jimmybop]

Originally posted by tjmw2727
Can you wear the water shoes on all or most rides?
TJ

ummm... SP and SG are the only two that i cant think of... (all you have to do is hold them in your hands while going down) other then that you should be safe (from what i can think of)

 

[tbear]

...and this is local too...we(the whole family) have been told to lose the water shoes...in other words, take them off, hold them in your hands, cross your arms to your chest..LOL..anyway, everytime, no matter the size of the slide, we have been told the same thing....NO WATERSHOES!!!

If others have not been told to do so..I throw up my hands with a "I dont know why we got told this, but we did"LOL

I believe that if I recall it right, it is about safety concerns...as in, if the shoe were to catch the slide in such a way, the momentum might cause some discomfort(in other words, if your shoe catches, and your body is still going, your foot may end up where your head is...can you say SNAP!!!!)

the above still holds true tho....WATERSHOES or FLIPFLOPS are a must.
(Again, this has been our experience in this family...and it has been a few years since our last visit...but at least here, watercountry wont allow watershoes on the slides.There was a visit to another waterpark out in Ohio that actually had us throw our watershoes down to the ground, from the top of the slide....I think the slide was about ten/twelve stories high...lol....and we almost hit someone with the shoes...OOOOOOOPPPPPSSSS!!!Not our fault..the ride attendant told us to do it...which I still cant believe we were told to do....oh well)

 

[NotUrsula]

The reason that the shoes are dangerous on slides is that they are rubber. Have you ever tried to go down a playground slide wearing rubber shoes? If you have, you know that you have to hold your feet up off the slide surface if you want to keep sliding down.

If you forget and put your feet down on a feet-first water slide the rubber may snag the surface of the slide. If you are going at all fast, you run a strong risk of snapping a bone if that happens. I've seen it happen twice, and both times it was a leg broken just above the ankle; not fun. Skip the shoes altogether if you have fireproof feet, but otherwise, just hold them across your chest while you go down the slides.