Blizzard Beach is currently closed for refurbishment
Blizzard Beach is the second of Walt Disney World's current water parks, it is based on a melting ski resort and its attractions and layout are a little different to Typhoon Lagoon, so I like to try and do both.
So lets start with the children's area and then work our way around the attractions:
Tike's Peak
This is a fun children's area featuring scaled down slides - body and tube, a shallow pool area with waterfall and a fountain play area with water jets. It has just had a Frozen make-over with Olaf and his Snowgie pals.
Cross Country Creek
A huge lazy river that encompasses almost all of the park, there are caves with "melting ice" and it can take 20 to 30 minutes to do a full circuit. Grab a tube and relax.
The Chairlift
An actual chairlift that takes you to the top of Mount Gushmore
Mount Gushmore
There are three areas around Mount Gushmore, each with different attractions, first up is the Green Slope:
Ski Patrol Training Camp
This area is aimed at children from about 7 to 11 and has four attractions to keep them occupied:
Melt-Away Bay
This is a 1 acre wave pool at the bottom of Mount Gushmore, the waterfalls create a bobbing wave motion and you are allowed to use tubes.
Things to know/remember
Blizzard Beach is the second of Walt Disney World's current water parks, it is based on a melting ski resort and its attractions and layout are a little different to Typhoon Lagoon, so I like to try and do both.
So lets start with the children's area and then work our way around the attractions:
Tike's Peak
This is a fun children's area featuring scaled down slides - body and tube, a shallow pool area with waterfall and a fountain play area with water jets. It has just had a Frozen make-over with Olaf and his Snowgie pals.
Cross Country Creek
A huge lazy river that encompasses almost all of the park, there are caves with "melting ice" and it can take 20 to 30 minutes to do a full circuit. Grab a tube and relax.
The Chairlift
An actual chairlift that takes you to the top of Mount Gushmore
Mount Gushmore
There are three areas around Mount Gushmore, each with different attractions, first up is the Green Slope:
- Summit Plummit ~ The third tallest and fastest free fall slide in the world, it is 120 feet tall and you can go up to 60 miles an hour.
- Teamboat Springs ~ The world's longest whitewater family raft ride it is exhilarating.
- Slush Gusher ~ A double dipper body slide where speeds of up to 35 miles an hour can be reached and you can catch some air!
- Downhill Double Dipper ~ A side by side racing tube slide.
- Snow Stormers ~ This is a "mat slide" and has three flumes, you lie face forward on toboggan style mats.
- Toboggan Racers ~ An eight lane water slide where you race to the finish line on the toboggan style mats, this one is fun for all the family.
- Runoff Rapids ~ This is actually three different slides, two of them are open slides allowing double tubes and the third is an enclosed dark slide which only allows single tubes. These slides are all fun, but beware you need to carry the tube from the bottom to the top and you finish in a pool of water almost 4 feet deep
Ski Patrol Training Camp
This area is aimed at children from about 7 to 11 and has four attractions to keep them occupied:
- Leisure Pool ~ The pool contains "icebergs" for the children to try and walk across.
- Fahrenheit Drops ~ This attraction is a rope drop that deposits the children into deep water.
- Freezin' Pipe Springs ~ This is a short body slide that drops you into the same deep water as above.
- Cool Runners ~ Two wide open tube slides
Melt-Away Bay
This is a 1 acre wave pool at the bottom of Mount Gushmore, the waterfalls create a bobbing wave motion and you are allowed to use tubes.
Things to know/remember
- Right next door to Blizzard Beach is Disney's Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course which I think is brilliantly themed and great fun to play
- Parking at the water parks is currently free
- Lockers are not free, last time I went regular was $10/day and large was $15/day
- Life jackets are provided free for children
- You can not take your own floatation devices
- Make sure you wear waterproof sun cream
- Dotted around the park you will find Disney Photographers