Is there an Everything Water Parks thread/area?

[goofygal531]

I ended up getting an Umbrella at TL so I guess that's where we'll go. They had them at both. I thought maybe we'd like the family raft rides a lot, and it has 2. Anyway, now I have 1 more choice, and it's related to the WP but not solely.
We can either fly in really late on Wednesday night, get our own bags, get up and go to the WP or fly in really early and go straight to the WP after we land. We wouldn't be there when they open, by about 10:30 or 11:00, and stay till close. Since we have an umbrella, that would work wouldn't it? Is being there when they open important?

I'd prefer to fly in the late night, get a good night sleep and head to the WP in the morning.

Please come back and tell us all about your umbrella rental. I'm very curious if the locations are convenient to the wave pool.

 

[AngiTN]

That first hour at the park is the best time in the park, in my opinion, because it's relatively empty, so you get to go on lots of slides without waiting in line. After 10 the crowds start picking up, and at 11 there are already long lines for all the slides. I personally would never go to the WP that late.

Even if we aren't really worried about doing the slides? If we fly in late it will be after midnight when we land. I'm not sure we'd make it to the resort, to bed and get up much earlier than if we land at 7:30 AM and head over.

Please come back and tell us all about your umbrella rental. I'm very curious if the locations are convenient to the wave pool.

Will do

 

[amberpi]

Even if we aren't really worried about doing the slides? If we fly in late it will be after midnight when we land. I'm not sure we'd make it to the resort, to bed and get up much earlier than if we land at 7:30 AM and head over.


Will do

From years of taking early flights due to work, I always say go the night before. You don't sleep when you're worried about missing an early flight (or I haven't in the last 15ish years of 50+ flights a year), and its so much better to just know you're there and be all *ahhhhhh.* I've never gotten to a WP for RD and I'm a rope drop girl. I enjoy a spin or 2 on the "big rides" but honestly, after that, I just wanna float on the lazy river! I think you're day will be a lot more pleasant not getting up so early, but those 3-4 wakeups are murder for me, no matter how often I do them. I'm a night owl though and it might not be torture for you

Have a BLAST with your DGD!

 

[Belle & Ariel]

If you buy a one day waterpark ticket, you are allowed to "park hop" between the two waterparks. I would cancel the umbrella rental--you don't need it at that time of year--and start at one park, leave for lunch, and finish the day at the other. That way you know if you have a strong preference of one for future visits.
At TL, the big waves run for 90 minutes then they will have 30 minutes of bobbing waves which you DGD might enjoy. Typically when the park opens at 10, every even hour (10:00, noon, 2:00, and 4:00 will start big waves and run 90 minutes. Half past the odd hours (11:30, 1:30, and 3:30 will have much gentler bobbing waves for 30 minutes.
I think she will be able to do the activities at the older children's area at BB. There are floating icebergs to walk across, a swing you hold and drop into the water, and a few small slides as well as a tube ride. She might love the tobaggan racers.
We have Disney waterpark APs and will be there that week. TN will be well represented.

 

[AngiTN]

From years of taking early flights due to work, I always say go the night before. You don't sleep when you're worried about missing an early flight (or I haven't in the last 15ish years of 50+ flights a year), and its so much better to just know you're there and be all *ahhhhhh.* I've never gotten to a WP for RD and I'm a rope drop girl. I enjoy a spin or 2 on the "big rides" but honestly, after that, I just wanna float on the lazy river! I think you're day will be a lot more pleasant not getting up so early, but those 3-4 wakeups are murder for me, no matter how often I do them. I'm a night owl though and it might not be torture for you

Have a BLAST with your DGD!

We are usually a very early morning flight family. That's what DH and I did couple weeks ago. But yeah, I didn't sleep well. I figured with the WP closing at 6:00 we'd be done and able to get to bed early.

I did find a cheap room at AS Music for Wednesday night, so I guess we'll go on and do that late night flight. Lord help me if it gets delayed/cancelled, there isn't another till morning. We'll change to something else the next day (no more rooms at Music on Thursday night) but not sure where. DGD wants FQ (gave her the choice of any resort on property and that's what she picked). It's just for the 1 night so it won't matter much.

Transportation to/from the WP is wonky, right? Nothing from our resort, we have to transfer? What about between each other? Do they go between each other?

If you buy a one day waterpark ticket, you are allowed to "park hop" between the two waterparks. I would cancel the umbrella rental--you don't need it at that time of year--and start at one park, leave for lunch, and finish the day at the other. That way you know if you have a strong preference of one for future visits.
At TL, the big waves run for 90 minutes then they will have 30 minutes of bobbing waves which you DGD might enjoy. Typically when the park opens at 10, every even hour (10:00, noon, 2:00, and 4:00 will start big waves and run 90 minutes. Half past the odd hours (11:30, 1:30, and 3:30 will have much gentler bobbing waves for 30 minutes.
I think she will be able to do the activities at the older children's area at BB. There are floating icebergs to walk across, a swing you hold and drop into the water, and a few small slides as well as a tube ride. She might love the tobaggan racers.
We have Disney waterpark APs and will be there that week. TN will be well represented.

I thought about trying out both. The only reason I wanted the umbrella was to have a base for our stuff, to know we have a chair. You think we can manage to find a chair so close to Memorial Day? I know we are lucky in that our schools are out early but there are a lot of folks out then and it's the Holiday weekend. But if y'all really think it's ok I will go without, I'll give it a shot.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

We have a car so it is easy to start at one, go offsite for a quick lunch, then end at the other. It gets us out of the sun and most crowded time of the day.
If you are using Disney transportation, hopping might not be such a great idea. If you leave TL, you take a bus to Disney Springs then to your resort. I'm not sure if DS has a bus to BB. If it runs to AK, you can take it there then get a bus to BB. Last summer DH worked in the room a few days and I used the buses and I think they went from resorts to the WPs at park opening. Later in the day you went from resort to AK to BB or resort to DS to TL and reverse to get back to the resort .
Maybe I'll start a new thread asking about current transportation between resorts and waterparks. I did search and posts were from 2013. I know it has changed a few times since then.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

@AngiTN, do you rent a car when you go or rely on Disney bus? I don't believe there is a water park to water park bus, so water park hopping can be a pain and waste a lot of time, especially with the convoluted process of getting to each water park by bus. Driving or cab/uber would make hopping more realistic from a time perspective. But as a first time water park person, I wouldn't hop - not enough hours in the day and too overwhelming to figure it all out, IMHO.

I agree with the others that say it's better to RD a water park, or be pretty close to it - that is our preference. You can knock out some key rides early, then just chill/relax the rest of the day at a more leisurely pace. It's also better from a weather perspective in case you get some early afternoon storms roll in (eg, if they do by then you'll likely have done enough to call it a day).

I'd keep the umbrella just for the convenience. It probably isn't critical, but one less thing to worry about. But I could go 50/50 on this.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Maybe I'll start a new thread asking about current transportation between resorts and waterparks. I did search and posts were from 2013. I know it has changed a few times since then.

The current setup at all times of day is this:

For TL - resort to DS, transfer to a TL bus (going back is the same in reverse)

For BB - resort to AK, transfer to a BB bus (going back is the same in reverse)

They started this late last summer and it's been in place since then. Total pain in the *** if you ask me. I miss the direct resort to water park busses.

 

[amberpi]

Transportation to/from the WP is wonky, right? Nothing from our resort, we have to transfer? What about between each other? Do they go between each other?

It is super wonky. (I LOVE that word BTW, it makes me smile just seeing it!) I'd Uber for sure. Your DGD will probably think its super cool. I know I was in love with taking taxis when I was a kid since that's not something we did growing up in Murfreesboro, ya know?

 

[Belle & Ariel]

Angi I see you live on Signal Mountain. We live in Hixson on Big Ridge. It is a small world after all!!

 

[AngiTN]

Angi I see you live on Signal Mountain. We live in Hixson on Big Ridge. It is a small world after all!!

close. We lived in middle valley before moving to signal. DD went to high school at Soddy daisy

 

[AngiTN]

It is super wonky. (I LOVE that word BTW, it makes me smile just seeing it!) I'd Uber for sure. Your DGD will probably think its super cool. I know I was in love with taking taxis when I was a kid since that's not something we did growing up in Murfreesboro, ya know?

She does love it. We never take it around here but take it all the time in Disney. Long line for a bus, I call Lyft.

 

[AngiTN]

We do use Disney transport. No cars. We like to drink

 

[123SA]

Since you mentioned that your DGD is not a strong swimmer, my advice is to take her to the end of the slide so she can see where she will enter the pool at the end of the slide and how deep the water is - -usually it is not very deep but I have seen people panic. At TL the lifeguard had to save two adults, both non-swimmers, at the storm slides because they panicked and didn't simply put their feet down. Had they observed the slides first, they would have realized that they could stand. There are also slides that do not end in a pool, like Humunga Kowabunga.

Lilo and Stitch meet at Typhoon Lagoon.

Of the two pools, my kids are year round competition swimmers and LOVE LOVE the wave pool at TL, but they go all the way to the rope and avoid the worst of the crashing waves. Although they did enjoy the Blizzard Beach pool, you really need a tube to enjoy it. Sometimes you get a tube, sometimes you don't. Ironically, they managed to escape the wave pool unscathed several times, but my youngest whacked his head on the bottom of the Blizzard Beach pool -- he had a nice black & blue egg on his forehead for the rest of that trip!

 

[bnhonest]

How long should you give yourself at either water park to make it worth your while? We are driving in from Alabama, stopping in Gainesville, and finishing the trip this Saturday. If we show up at the water park at noon or even 1:00 and stay until 4:00, will that be worth it?

 

[JanelleB]

We are going on December, are the water parks open year round ?

 

[AngiTN]

We are going on December, are the water parks open year round ?

Yes, at least 1 is always open, unless the weather just gets too cold. They close each 1, 1 at a time, for refurb, in the winter. So in December, more than likely, you'll only have 1 to pick from.
I am not sure of the exact temps but if they get to the 50's they'll close them. May even be 60's, not sure, but 50's for sure. We've been several times in Dec, Jan and Mar when they closed them for temps

 

[Klayfish]

We are going on December, are the water parks open year round ?

I'm a huge fan of the water parks, LOVE them. But in my middle age, have become such a cold water and cold temp wimp. I'm not going into the water unless it's 85+ outside and the water isn't really cold. The shark reef at TL had freezing cold water and it would literally take my breath away for a moment every time I got in. Brrrrrrrr......

 

[linana514]

I'm a huge fan of the water parks, LOVE them. But in my middle age, have become such a cold water and cold temp wimp. I'm not going into the water unless it's 85+ outside and the water isn't really cold. The shark reef at TL had freezing cold water and it would literally take my breath away for a moment every time I got in. Brrrrrrrr......

You sound like my husband. He gets cold at waterparks in 90 degree weather, if the wind is blowing! He was freezing at TL on Memorial Day in 2015

 

[oufpat]

Does anyone know if any day of the week is less busy then others at the waterparks. We will be there in July, will be making FP+ soon and not sure what day to plan for wp.