Which water park?

[DisneyCAL]

DH now wants to do a water park. He has never been to one and it's on his bucket list. We have a couple built in relax days and if one of them looks to be rain or storm-less we would like to add in a water park day. Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon? Which has best layout...more rides....less waiting in lines? DD6 and DDS are over 48" and are adventurous so kiddie stuff isn't that important anymore. We are going mid-late august and staying at BCV if that makes a difference. Which would you choose?

 

[Shanti]

DH now wants to do a water park. He has never been to one and it's on his bucket list. We have a couple built in relax days and if one of them looks to be rain or storm-less we would like to add in a water park day. Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon? Which has best layout...more rides....less waiting in lines? DD6 and DDS are over 48" and are adventurous so kiddie stuff isn't that important anymore. We are going mid-late august and staying at BCV if that makes a difference. Which would you choose?

They're both great. My favorite is Typhoon Lagoon, because I really like their theming & their water coasters, but I enjoy both of the parks. I'm not a fan of TL's super-intense wave pool, but lots of people love it. Look at the WDW website & you'll find the list of attractions at each park. You can decide which you like better based on that list. Both parks will have lines in the summer- that's unavoidable.

 

[MrTMorrow]

I'm also pro Typhoon Lagoon, mainly bc of theming. But both are great!

 

[Ashley Nadeau]

Typhoon Lagoon is my absolute favorite! The wave pool is amazing!

 

[SaraSpringsIsHome]

DH and I did both on our honeymoon a few years ago and both agreed we like Blizzard Beach more. We loved the gentle wave pool and always found an inner tube for it, as well as the lazy river. We enjoyed not having to haul the rafts up to the top for the inner tube rides. Oh, and I loved the music they play at BB!

Typhoon lagoon was fine, but we probably only stayed half as long as we did at BB. It seemed way more crowded for some reason.

We will be heading back to BB in July!

 

[dmband]

BB for kids stuff imo but you dont need that
TL for the shark snorkeling and/or "scuba"
BB if you want a more relaxed wave pool/lazy river
TL if you want a wild one, the kids better be a good swimmer though if they are going out in it
Rides and waits, otherwise, seems similar

If I was going to pick one I would lean toward BB as it seems to be more family friendly and on that note has min golf outside too

 

[hakepb]

BB for kids stuff imo but you dont need that
TL for the shark snorkeling and/or "scuba"
BB if you want a more relaxed wave pool/lazy river
TL if you want a wild one, the kids better be a good swimmer though if they are going out in it
Rides and waits, otherwise, seems similar

If I was going to pick one I would lean toward BB as it seems to be more family friendly and on that note has min golf outside too

TL closed Shark Reef (snorkeling)
They did open a new family raft ride.

It's all personal preference, but my boys prefer the stronger wave pool and better lazy river at TL. (The lazy river at BB is only 2.5' deep, so you need to be on a tube and not in a tube, and there were a bunch of pine needles in the water when we were there)

I can see how a slide-dominated stay would prefer BB.

 

[helenm29]

We've only been to Typhoon lagoon and had a really fun time. I'm not a water slide kind of person so I like the wave pool even though it can really beat you up when you get close to the shallows. I think we are going to try one of the others this September depending how my knee is working.

 

[Klayfish]

DH now wants to do a water park. He has never been to one and it's on his bucket list. We have a couple built in relax days and if one of them looks to be rain or storm-less we would like to add in a water park day. Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon? Which has best layout...more rides....less waiting in lines? DD6 and DDS are over 48" and are adventurous so kiddie stuff isn't that important anymore. We are going mid-late august and staying at BCV if that makes a difference. Which would you choose?

Frankly, there isn't one that's better than the other. We've been to both dozens of times. At their core, they are very similar. They both have big thrill slides, both have tube slides, family tube rides, lazy rivers. Both have plenty of places to sit. Both have fairly long lines during the peak of the day. Whichever one you chose, get there 5 minutes before opening...no need to get there super early. The first hour (and the last hour) you can get on the big slides over and over with little to no wait. Here are the biggest differences between the parks:

Theming of course. One is beach themed, one is winter wonderland

Wave pool. BB is a gentle, consistent wave. The waves there are small, you can float on an inner tube. It's constant up and down bobbing. TL wave pool only pushes a wave every 2 minutes or so, but they are incredibly big and powerful. You need to be a strong swimmer if you go in to the deep section of it. I personally love it, but make no mistake, the waves are HUGE. The bottom of the pool is rough, so don't get dragged on it.

TL has Crush N Gusher - it's a complex of 3 tube slides that are sort of "roller coaster" style in that a strong jet of water pushes your tube, even up small hills.

 

[Turn the Page]

We are a Typhoon Lagoon family.

The theme at Blizzard Beach doesn't appeal to us.....likely because we live in a ski area so we see the real thing all the time. The older raft rides and family tube ride are kind of lame but Crush n' Gusher is amazing. I am really excited to try the new family tube ride too. The old one was really short and really not that good. The lazy river is better and I feel the layout and seating options at Typhoon Lagoon are way better than at Blizzard Beach. The wave pool is really strong, don't underestimate it, but it is also really fun.

Both are fun and I'm sure you will have a blast no matter which you choose.

 

[michael85]

DH now wants to do a water park. He has never been to one and it's on his bucket list. We have a couple built in relax days and if one of them looks to be rain or storm-less we would like to add in a water park day. Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon? Which has best layout...more rides....less waiting in lines? DD6 and DDS are over 48" and are adventurous so kiddie stuff isn't that important anymore. We are going mid-late august and staying at BCV if that makes a difference. Which would you choose?

Who is DH?

 

[michael85]

Who is DH?

bump....

 

[Gentry2004]

bump....

A "DH" is an abbreviation for a poster's husband. I think it stands for "dear husband" - DD is dear daughter, DS is dear son, etc.

 

[michael85]

Man I need to brush up lol

 

[SL6827]

TL is the better of the two.

 

[HopperFan]

TL
- Huge powerful wave pool
- NEW raft ride
- A coaster ride (I was not impressed)
- Huge drop slide
- Assortment of smaller slides
- Chaotic kids area (added later)
- Lazy River
- Very lush, great for relaxing and less thrill

BB
- Gentle bobbing wave pool
- Most AWESOME Family Raft Ride
- 2 Huge drop slides
- Thrill slides
- Well planned, set apart kiddie land
- Cool themed and fun tween area
- Lazy River
- Very themed, fun cartoon atmosphere with lots of high fun
- 2 Mini golf if spending all day (fees) but we do these on different days

Both have quiet areas to sit, shade or sun, rentable spaces, comparable food etc.

A "DH" is an abbreviation for a poster's husband. I think it stands for "dear husband" - DD is dear daughter, DS is dear son, etc.

Man I need to brush up lol

Actually I consider since we are on DIS they are DisneyHusband , DisneyDaughter etc

 

[Nick6300]

I like Hopper's thorough breakdown list. I've asked this question many times between fam/friends and all of my closest prefer TL for it's theming, the wave pool - used to be the world's largest (now I think one in Atlanta surpassed them), snorkeling, and the tube coaster, which I personally try to go on at least 10-15x before it gets busy in am. There are more slides at BB (vs tube type rides which I prefer). Summit Plummet, the large slide at BB in which you have to take a ski lift to get to the top... still gets me a bit nervous when I'm climbing into the launch area and looking down (also bad exp. on it). Even though we prefer TL, we will be visiting BB more this trip. But only because we've been neglecting to go to BB, and there is now a direct bus (and 1 mi walking option) from Sports vs. TL still having a connection via DS.

 

[Klayfish]

I like Hopper's thorough breakdown list. I've asked this question many times between fam/friends and all of my closest prefer TL for it's theming, the wave pool - used to be the world's largest (now I think one in Atlanta surpassed them), snorkeling, and the tube coaster, which I personally try to go on at least 10-15x before it gets busy in am. There are more slides at BB (vs tube type rides which I prefer). Summit Plummet, the large slide at BB in which you have to take a ski lift to get to the top... still gets me a bit nervous when I'm climbing into the launch area and looking down (also bad exp. on it). Even though we prefer TL, we will be visiting BB more this trip. But only because we've been neglecting to go to BB, and there is now a direct bus (and 1 mi walking option) from Sports vs. TL still having a connection via DS.

Just FYI, the Shark Reef at TL is now gone. You also don't need to take the ski lift to get to Summit Plummet or Slush Gusher, there are stairs....they're actually a good bit quicker to use than the lift. Though it is a lot of stairs...just consider it building up a good sweat before getting in the cold water.

 

[Nick6300]

Just FYI, the Shark Reef at TL is now gone. You also don't need to take the ski lift to get to Summit Plummet or Slush Gusher, there are stairs....they're actually a good bit quicker to use than the lift. Though it is a lot of stairs...just consider it building up a good sweat before getting in the cold water.

oh man, darn on the shark reef. Thank you for the let down. just kidding. Thought I heard a rumor about it closing a few yrs ago, but I don't think we've been there since 2014 or 2015 either.

Summit still makes me nervous. I'm still not sure I'm climbing those stairs or taking the lift up. I had crossed my feet and they lifted up and ricocheted off the top of the side walls, which seems tough for normal people to do.

 

[DisneyCAL]

What are the wait times typically like say in August? Are we talking an hour or more like 10-20 minutes? I know the major rides like the new ride at TL and summit plummet at BB would probably get long waits ( we would probably do the majors first) but what about the other rides? It would be dissappointing to spend several hours there and not experience each slide at least once. Perhaps the new Volcano Bay opening will lessen the crowds....