Which water park is best for a 5 year old?

[frankiemom]

We are thinking of going in May which one do you think would be best for my just turned 5 year old son ? Thanks

 

[cleo]

In all honesty, either one will thrill him. They're both fabulous parks, each with something different to recommend them.

TL is more relaxed, more tropical, with more body slides than BB, so possibly less for a 5 year old to enjoy if he's into thrills. On the other hand, it has that incredible wave pool. If your son is into that sort of thing, you may end up spending the day doing just that.

BB on the other hand has the best Family Raft ride and a few double-tube slides which allow smaller guests to ride with a parent if they're unsure or not strong swimmers. The atmosphere is more 'kid friendly' and the Ski Partol Training Camp is sure to please.

You truly can't go wrong with either. But if I HAD to choose one for a 5 year old, I think BB might JUST tip the scales in it's favor.

 

[sha_lyn]

BB for certain. The kids areas at BB are great. The one at TL is horrible. The family raft ride at BB is much better. BB has a wave pool too.

 

[Alice28]

Hmm...this is interesting. I have been to neither, and while we could probably fit both parks into our schedule, we definitely have TL planned for one day. Maybe I will switch? We have a 5 year old and a 21 month old...the atmosphere of TL appeals to me much more, but if there's better kid areas at BB maybe we will check that out for sure as well. Thanks for the info!

 

[dylansdad]

BB is great! Tons to do. 4yo DS loves the place.

 

[kevind65]

The kids area at BB is awesome. lots for the kids to do. the other slides(the bigger slides) are a little more tame over at TL and for a just turned 5 yr old are a little less intimidating, on the other hand, a typical 5 yr old make like the wave pool at BB a little better because it's a little more relaxing. you really can't go wrong either way. enjoy.....do both if time and budget allow.

 

[BuzzLightYear3]

I also vote for BB. We tried them both last June with 3 kids, DS-9, DD-5, and DS-2 (almost 3 at the time.) BB is great because they have a preschool area plus a Jr. Ski Patrol area specifically intended for 5-12 year olds. Additionally, both the 9 year old and 5 year old found plenty of slides they enjoyed ourside of the kids' areas (and neither if particularly adventurous or a strong swimmer.) I think they've done a great job at providing something for everyone. The family raft ride at BB is absolutely great too.

Although we'd always loved BB, we tried TL too because we'd also heard nice things about that. The wave pool was definitely bigger/nicer, the landscaping is nicer, and there was lots of sand to dig in, but we were disappointed in the preschool area. It was too tame for most preschoolers/early grade schoolers yet too much for our 2 year old.....virtually every slide had an area where water would spray in the face of a toddler/preschooler. The general kids area had a nice themed ship, but there were lots of jets of water that kids could direct, so just when my 2 year old would find a seamingly 'safe' place to play, he'd get 'shot down' by a big kid. (Certainly didn't hurt him, but didn't make him very comfortable either.) I eventually just went and bought him a bucket and shovel so he could sit by the side of the wave pool and dig.

We loved BB though.....seems they have a slide for just about everybody from early Toddlers through Adults.

 

[CuteKatCar]

Boy, you are all making me wonder about switching from TL to BB. We have been to TL twice and we love it there. I found an old magazine article comparing the two parks. It had one of those "take the water park test" to see which one you would like more. We scored higher for TL. The article made BB seem very slide oriented.

We are not into lots of slides. We like the wave pool and lazy river. How are they at BB? My DDs are too old for kiddie area (10 and 7). We were finally going to check out the snorkeling this year.

Anna

 

[cindy_k]

I took my the 5 year old to both water parks during his very first trip to Disney world.

He remembers Typhoon Lagoon. And still talks about the time we had there.

We found an alcove on the wave pool. When the large wave would come, (there's a boom noise) he would run over to me and I would pick him up. After about 30 secs to a minute a large wave would come and wash over us.

It was a lot of fun. The waves only come about once every few minutes, so in between, he and the other young kids would play happily in the now choppy waves, until the next Boom noise.

Blizzard Beach had a great kids section, but I had more fun playing with him at TL

Have a good trip, you really can't go wrong at either parks.

Cindy in NY

 

[sha_lyn]

CuteKatCar ... BB has a really good preteen area, but I think your 7 yr might like the slides in the kids are. They are much better than the ones at TL. BB wave pool has milder waves than TL. The lazy river is just as good IMHO, it just lacks the tropical scenery.

 

[Trish5768]

My DS 5 absolutely loves TL. We went in Sept. and that is all he talks about. Both my kids DD8 had a blast. DD went to BB with DH same trip and preferred TL. It is very laid back and has some great slides. We were only going to spend a few hours there and ended up shutting down the place at 6. Definately, one of the high points of our vacation. He would really like TL.

 

[kevind65]

my dd is now 11, but when we first took her at 5yrs, she liked the wave pool at TL better and the slides at BB better. Alot depends upon how adventureous your kids are. my dd is quite the little daredevil and was doing summit plummet at age 5. now, at age 11, she stills likes the wave pool at TL better, but, prefers the slides at BB. like others have said, you really can't wrong with either.