Family of 6 (kids 3-10) ... Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon?

I am not going to pay for shade. I will arrive at Typhoon Lagoon next month 20 minutes prior to opening and then me and my family will start the hunt for free shade first thing. I honestly was thinking about us separating into two groups of two and going in different directions to see what each of us came up with, then choosing only one of the spots.
 
I am not going to pay for shade. I will arrive at Typhoon Lagoon next month 20 minutes prior to opening and then me and my family will start the hunt for free shade first thing. I honestly was thinking about us separating into two groups of two and going in different directions to see what each of us came up with, then choosing only one of the spots.

You don't need to show up 20 minutes early, 3 minutes is more than plenty. There are tons of free shaded spots. Even if you show up mid-day, you can find one without much trouble. The problem I think a lot of people have is that they only look at the front, near Miss Adventure Falls and Crush Gusher. Head toward the "back" of the park and you'll find plenty.
 
yes my wife wants to be close by the wave pool and bars! She isn't going for chairs around back.
 
Ya, I wanted either close to the wave pool or the Crush and Gusher area. So hopefully with us being there early I will luck out.
 


Like I said earlier - we haven't ever gotten to the water parks until about an hour after opening. So doing opening you may have a lot better luck then we have had in July. Our water park days tend to be our days off - and I'm always pushing everyone up early to get to the theme parks at opening. So everyone tends to sleep in on water park days and we don't get out until closer to 10am.

Of course - historically we would be better off getting there early morning as by early afternoons we always get hit with major thunderstorm. I mean everytime we have been at waterpark!
 
Like I said earlier - we haven't ever gotten to the water parks until about an hour after opening. So doing opening you may have a lot better luck then we have had in July. Our water park days tend to be our days off - and I'm always pushing everyone up early to get to the theme parks at opening. So everyone tends to sleep in on water park days and we don't get out until closer to 10am.

Of course - historically we would be better off getting there early morning as by early afternoons we always get hit with major thunderstorm. I mean everytime we have been at waterpark!

I made an 8:30am ADR for breakfast at Kona. This ensures we will be up and out and will be waiting at the BB entrance at 10am! :-)
 
Ya, I wanted either close to the wave pool or the Crush and Gusher area. So hopefully with us being there early I will luck out.

You'll be fine. If you want to show up 20 minutes early, nothing at all wrong with it. But if you want that extra 15 minutes of sleep... :D ... than 5 minutes earlyl is more than enough, even in the middle of summer. We hit each water park at least 3 times every summer trip, they are such an awesome change of pace, especially on a hot day. We always show up right before the opening, which is 10am. The crowd at "rope drop" is nothing at all like the 4 theme parks. There will be people there, but not enough to fill all the good spots up front. When you go past the tap area, make a right when you get to the T...go past the changing area/showers. That's where they'll stop you. You can get close enough to the front that when they open the park, just walk quickly and you'll have pick of the litter.

We've never had to use chairs in the back of the park, as we always show up either at 9:55am or 4:00pm. At 4pm, enough people from the morning have left so that you can find a spot up front. We just notice when we're doing slides and things that even mid-day there are lots of empty chairs toward the back.
 


I seen those thatched roof things that have numerous chairs under them over towards the Crush and Gusher area, I was thinking those were open to anyone, or am I wrong on this one?
 
I seen those thatched roof things that have numerous chairs under them over towards the Crush and Gusher area, I was thinking those were open to anyone, or am I wrong on this one?

They are open to anyone. We use them sometimes too. Just note that you may get some guests who try to squeeze just one more chair into that area and make it pretty packed.
 
We've never had to use chairs in the back of the park, as we always show up either at 9:55am or 4:00pm. At 4pm, enough people from the morning have left so that you can find a spot up front. We just notice when we're doing slides and things that even mid-day there are lots of empty chairs toward the back.

When you have arrived at 4pm, how are the crowds vs. arriving at opening? TL will be our break day, so we had planned to sleep in and chill out since we're rope dropping every other day, and roll in mid-late afternoon.
 
We love both water parks, and I'd personally recommend trying them both. I'm almost truly 50/50 as to which I liked better, but if I was forced to chose one it would be Typhoon Lagoon.

I'm sorry, but I think a lot of the comments about the TL wave pool above are simply hyperbole. With just some very simple and basic common sense, it's completely safe. Sure, if you let your kid who can't swim go into the deep end of the wave pool, it's asking for trouble. However, it's a zero entry pool, and in fact one of the little kiddie areas is in the same pool of water, off to the side. If you child isn't a strong swimmer, they can go in up to their knees and be just fine. The waves loose a lot of power by time they get back that far. We've had our kids going in that pool since they were 11 months old...obviously at that age DW and I held them in our arms in the very shallow area. They're now 14, 10, 10 and they're "average" swimmers for their age. They love that pool and I have no problem letting them go in on their own. I'm in the pool with them, because I like it too, but they know how far out they're allowed to go and they're fine. I just don't buy into all the fear over the TL wave pool. By that token, I could argue the BB wave pool is just as dangerous, if not more. The waves there are much smaller, yes, but they're relentless. One after the other after the other. Makes a lot of currents and swaying in the water too. If you're out too deep there, you're really in trouble because the waves will continually go over you. At TL, after a wave goes through it's a solid 90 seconds to 2 minutes before the next one and the water is calm in between. We've spent countless hours in the TL wave pool, as I said, my kids absolutely love it. We've seen very few "rescues" there, and of the very few it was because someone was doing something really stupid. We've seen the same thing happen in BB wave pool.

I think BB is a great park, I like it as much as I like TL. Just don't let the hype over the wave pool deter you, IMO it's seriously overblown.

I don't think it is overblown. I am a decent swimmer and I was not very far out, maybe mid thigh, and got around and skinned up my leg.

I wouldn't say unsafe, just rough.

I always avoid TL. It is a combo of a few things. Wave pool being one. But I think the theme of bb leads to a cleaner feel, wider paths, better sight lines. I think they learned and changed a few things after tl.

I also think BB has a MUCH better kid area.
 
BTW, the theming at Blizzard Beach is awesome! Watch out for the “snow melt” that drips from above when you are on the 30+ minute lazy river - it is ice cold to keep with the theme.

THAT sounds AWESOME!! I'm not even going to tell the kids LOL ... cruel I know HAHA. Is the lazy river at BB really that long? 30+ minutes??

Also, the Chairlift to the top and then the Family raft ride will be a big hit with your group I suspect.

That sounds awesome! Will 6 people fit in a family raft and could my 3 year old actually go on it?

If your kids want to do the wave pool and aren't super strong swimmers as a former competitive swimmer, lifeguard, swim instructor, and swim coach I would for safety reasons select Blizzard Beach. I, for example, avoided Typhoon Lagoon with my own child when he was eight, as I knew he would want to do the wave pool and even being right next to him, didn't feel I could keep him safe at Typhoon Lagoon. To avoid that entire issue, I avoided Typhoon Lagoon and selected Blizzard Beach which was a real hit. Other posters agree with me on the safety issue too. See above. Also as quoted above by rkstocke5609 Blizzard Beach I think would be a hit with your kids.

YES, we will definitely be going to BB with how young my kids are. It sounds like there will be a lot more for them and not as "spread out" from the older kids ... or am I wrong about that?
 
When you have arrived at 4pm, how are the crowds vs. arriving at opening? TL will be our break day, so we had planned to sleep in and chill out since we're rope dropping every other day, and roll in mid-late afternoon.

It's still a bit crowded around 4pm, but there's a slow and steady stream of people leaving. By about 5:30 or 6:00pm it's really thinned out. When we do evenings at the water parks, they close at 8pm, we do the opposite of what we do in the morning... Start with lazy river and wave pool, then do big slides later.

I don't think it is overblown. I am a decent swimmer and I was not very far out, maybe mid thigh, and got around and skinned up my leg.

I wouldn't say unsafe, just rough.

Absolute truth. I've got a small scar on my knee to vouch for this...but it was my own fault...I was holding one of my kids over my head and took the wave square on. Knocked me down, but honestly I still laugh about it. I'm more referring to swimming safety, as in drowning potential. Skinned knees, feet, whatever are very much a possibility if you go out deep enough to be able to get knocked down.

BB wins with me because of Teamboat Springs - family raft ride.

Teamboat Springs is awesome, even DW loves it!!
 
THAT sounds AWESOME!! I'm not even going to tell the kids LOL ... cruel I know HAHA. Is the lazy river at BB really that long? 30+ minutes??



That sounds awesome! Will 6 people fit in a family raft and could my 3 year old actually go on it?



YES, we will definitely be going to BB with how young my kids are. It sounds like there will be a lot more for them and not as "spread out" from the older kids ... or am I wrong about that?

We never time how long it takes to go around BB lazy river, because we're just relaxing and time becomes irrelevant. :D But yeah, it's probably around 30 minutes.

6 will fit in the family raft...pretty sure the 3 year old is OK

The kids area at BB is in its' own area, but not really "separated" from the rest. There's Ski Patrol for kids aged 4-10 (roughly) and Tikes Peak for younger ones. Those two are side by side pretty much. Ski Patrol is at the base of the "mountain" where Summit Plummet, Slush Gusher and Teamboat Springs are.
 

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