Which Water Park With 5 Year Old?

[Rigby]

Hi! We'll be down in The World at the end of the month and I'm planning a water park day for my son and I. He just turned 5 and I was wondering which park you would recommend for me and the little guy. I know Typhoon Lagoon has the new family tube ride but I've never been to either park so looking for advice on which to pick. Thanks!

 

[nursejackie]

Blizzard Beach has a lovely area for young children, which is really safe but still fun with small slides they can ride themselves. Also, the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon is very strong, it literally knocks adults off their feet (it's amazing but I'm an adult) so could be too rough for a 5 year old. They also have a chairlift which your 5 y/o may find fun to ride to the top of the hill. If's he a good swimmer and quite brave they also have a section for tweenies with slighter more challenging attractions. We used to love it but not our soon to be 10y/o has moved on to Typhoon Lagoon.

 

[blackpearl77]

We went to Typhoon Lagoon last June when my son was 5. He loved it. They have a huge kids area (ketakiddee creek) that has kid water slides, kids tube river, splash areas, sand, etc. There is a also a photpass photographer that will take pictures of your child on the kiddie raft ride. Its a great area to introduce the water rides to kids before moving onto the bigger ones. And there are also kid water slides next to the wave pool. the wave pool is strong so we didn't go in it. We did the raft ride and the lazy river too. He loved it. I watched the new video for the new family raft ride and that looks fun too - it doesn't look to fast either. Showed kids on it and they didn't even really get wet. He wanted to go back to TL for another day but all our other days were planned. Next trip he wants to do 2 days there.

 

[brockash]

Hi! We'll be down in The World at the end of the month and I'm planning a water park day for my son and I. He just turned 5 and I was wondering which park you would recommend for me and the little guy. I know Typhoon Lagoon has the new family tube ride but I've never been to either park so looking for advice on which to pick. Thanks!

Blizzard Beach for sure with that age. I prefer TL, however there's more for younger kids to do at BB. Mine loved Ski Patrol and even the little kid area many 5 year olds play in and it's much better than the one at TL. The wave pool is also much easier on a 5 year old than the one at TL.

 

[Sleepy425]

Where are you staying? Make sure whichever park you choose has a bus to that water park. We are staying at AKL and I'm reading that they don't have a direct bus to BB anymore, so my husband is going to take the kids to TL for convenience. I don't know if any other resorts are limiting water park buses.

 

[brockash]

Where are you staying? Make sure whichever park you choose has a bus to that water park. We are staying at AKL and I'm reading that they don't have a direct bus to BB anymore, so my husband is going to take the kids to TL for convenience. I don't know if any other resorts are limiting water park buses.

Be careful...as far as I'm aware there is NO direct bus service from any resort to TL (all transfer at Disney Springs both ways). There are a couple (very few) that have direct service to BB, but I'm almost positive none have direct for TL.

 

[seashoreCM]

I suggest that small children not go in the large wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon.

It is too easy to get a skinned knee or skinned elbow becauise of the rough floor,. This can lead to more fussiness from an affected child and more time dealing with blood stains and bandages, possibly costing you a rope drop on a succeeding morning.

 

[Klayfish]

A lot of people want to say BB because it has the Ski Patrol area. I 100% agree it's a great kids area, fantastic. But TL has a really nice kids area too. It also has plenty of fun slides. Yeah, the wave pool is a monster, but it's an awesome one. We've had our kids in it since they were really little. It's a zero entry pool, so you can have them go in literally 6" deep water if you want and by time the wave gets there, it has a lot less power. Yes, the floor is rough, we've all had skinned knees or elbows, but not a big deal. There's also a fun little kids area right off the side of the wave pool, so that waves come through there as very gentle ones.

So what I'm saying is that frankly they're both great for a 5 year old. I pretty much like them equally, so you will pick the "right" answer either way.

 

[Sleepy425]

Be careful...as far as I'm aware there is NO direct bus service from any resort to TL (all transfer at Disney Springs both ways). There are a couple (very few) that have direct service to BB, but I'm almost positive none have direct for TL.

Ugh, thanks for the heads' up. I am not a water park fan so normally we don't go and I never pay attention to the buses to there.