Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon

[jenifferf00]

We are doing one day at a water park during our August trip. We have two kids, one 9 who loves thrills, one 7 who isn't so much a thrill seeker, one is over 48", the other may or may not be over 48" depending on if she can gain a 1/2" over the summer.

I've gone through the descriptions and they sound fairly similar, with BB having a couple more thrill rides and TL having the new family ride. Both have wave pools, both have a lazy river. I'm leaning toward TL since it seems to have more 2 plus person rides, which I think will be helpful with my less thrill seeking kiddo.

Who has experience with these parks and what are your thoughts? Would love some insight before we make a final decision.

 

[hakepb]

Different families will have different answers.
For us, it's Typhoon Lagoon. I figured the big draw of the water parks was the slides/raft rides.
My adventurous one (goes on everything, including Summit Plummet) prefers to spend time in the TL wave pool and TL lazy river instead of doing slides all the time.
(we all think the BB lazy river is too shallow..like 2.5' in parts).
My less-adventurous one .. also prefers to spend most of his time in the TL wave pool and lazy river.

FYI, The TL wave pool has larger, more powerful waves.. and the textured concrete bottom is a big negative to some.

 

[stm61]

at 9 and 7 my kids liked BB's Ski Patrol area. We'd set up camp there so the kids could run around that area, then they could go out to the lazy river, wave pool, and slides. They hated the wave pool at TL until they were big enough/strong enough swimmers to get out into deeper water. They liked the waves, but hated the rough bottom because they kept getting knocked down by other people and getting scraped up.

 

[frostymom]

So glad you asked this! we are going to try to make it too. Is the bottom of the tl wave pool so bad you wear water shoes?

 

[leahlefler]

We really loved Typhoon Lagoon with our 7 and 9 year olds when we went. We didn't have water shoes with us for the wave pool, but they would have been helpful as 3/4 of us ended up with rather scraped toes. The wave pool and lazy river were the favorites for us, too - though we also did several slides. We'd pick it again in a heartbeat, as we loved the tropical vibe and it was a wonderful day!

 

[heidijanesmith]

We love TL!!! The surf pool is amazing, we spend hours in that pool. We are all good swimmers and really enjoy the surf pool. If you go early you can really ride the waves. There are some good slides there too and we like the lazy river quite a bit.

We have been to BB as well and thought the slides were top notch. Daredevils will enjoy the slides there.

 

[BLLB]

Been to both, prefer TL. One of my DS and my DH wear water shoes. Myself and other DS do not. All of us do the same activities and the boys spend a ton of time in the wave pool.

 

[Berlioz70]

Depending on when in August you go - there's also characters at both parks. I'm not sure if it matters for you or the kids, but TL has Lilo and Stitch (Lilo is only available at 'Ohana outside of the summer) and BB has Kristoff and Olaf (this is Kristoff's only M&G at WDW).

 

[mslhb]

We went to both in March with our then 8 year old. I don't think you can make a wrong choice. Overall we prefer Typhoon Lagoon. I like the theming better and the large beach area to setup camp. I think the lazy river at TL is slightly better. And my very ride timid DD LOVES the wave pool. Personally I prefer the chill wave pool at BB! Again I think they are both great and you will enjoy whichever one you choose.

 

[auntfrannie]

You might want to check TheTimTracker on youtube. He just visited several water parks this past week, including TL and BB.

 

[Klayfish]

We are doing one day at a water park during our August trip. We have two kids, one 9 who loves thrills, one 7 who isn't so much a thrill seeker, one is over 48", the other may or may not be over 48" depending on if she can gain a 1/2" over the summer.

I've gone through the descriptions and they sound fairly similar, with BB having a couple more thrill rides and TL having the new family ride. Both have wave pools, both have a lazy river. I'm leaning toward TL since it seems to have more 2 plus person rides, which I think will be helpful with my less thrill seeking kiddo.

Who has experience with these parks and what are your thoughts? Would love some insight before we make a final decision.

You wont go wrong at either one. We've been to both countless times. They really are very similar. They both have thrill rides, both have moderate slides, both have family tube rides, both have lazy rivers. Some notable differences....BB kid area is more "organized". That doesn't mean it's better, but it's just more defined. It also has a zip line for kids, which TL does not. TL has Crush n Gusher, which is sort of a roller coaster water slide, BB does not. The wave pools are very, very different. TL has monster waves once every two minutes or so, BB has continuous small waves. Both are perfectly safe for kids, just keep them in shallow water sections in TL if they aren't strong swimmers.

We prefer TL, but literally by a 51/49 margin.

So glad you asked this! we are going to try to make it too. Is the bottom of the tl wave pool so bad you wear water shoes?

No. It's rough, sort of "gritty", but you don't need water shoes to walk on it. If you get dragged along the bottom of it, you can get a rug burn, but walking on it is just fine. Then again, I'm very biased against water shoes. I'd rather walk on jagged rocks barefoot than use water shoes...I despise them.

 

[jenifferf00]

Thank you for all the responses. I watched the Tim Tracker and really liked the videos, gave a great overview of the parks. I think we're going to go with TL. The rides are slightly less thrilling, which I think will be best overall for our family. My kids are used to beach waves and love a good wave pool, so I think they'll love the TL wave pool, definitely packing water shoes for all!

 

[LiveToTravelNicely]

Been reading through this thread. We're trying to decide whether to do one water park or both. Sept will be our 6th trip to WDW, and we've never gone to either! Is TL more shaded than BB? It seems from the pics I've seen that it is, but that can be dependent upon what is in the picture background. Thanks!

 

[abarriger]

I would advise watching Tim the Tracker's videos of the two parks. I think it gives a pretty good sense of what they are both like. He walks around and does all the rides, and you can see the theming (which is a big part of what will ultimately make up your mind.)

Personally, I prefer TL but that is just my preference-- I won't do crazy rides, and I love the theming at TL. the wave pool is nuts, though. Like I just don't understand why it is so intense-- I have tried it on two separate occasions and both times the force pulled me under, I scraped myself on the bottom, and I ran right out. I think this year I will look carefully and try to visit during the short time periods where it is calm.