Blizzard Beach – Disney’s Cool Water Park for the Whole Family!

Recently I took my family to Blizzard Beach, one of Disney’s water parks, and incidentally one of my favorite places to take my husband and two sons Mitchell (age 10) and Sam (age 12) for a day of fun. It’s really economical in the big scheme of things, it offers something for children of every age group, and it’s a water park done up like only Disney could do. It is a water park designed like an Alpine Village. As a visitor you “ski” or slide down mountains, you take a “ski lift” to the top of the mountain to enjoy the water slides, or play with your little ones at “Tike’s Peak.” As you play for the day you hear Christmas Carols and see “snow everywhere,” yet the sun shines, the wave pool invites, and the sand glistens.

Blizzard Beach opens most times of the year at 10:00am and closes at 5:00pm this time of year, so of course we arrived at 9:45am, parked our car for free (one of the money saving tips at Blizzard Beach), and were already prepared with our bathing suits & sunscreen donned, our cooler packed, and smiles on our faces.

Incidentally, having a cooler with us is another money saving attribute to visiting Blizzard Beach. The fact that they allow coolers with food and drinks (no alcohol though) is a great money saving value. Although Blizzard Beach has many snack stands and food vendors including yummy homemade donuts, fried fish and French fries, salads, sandwiches, pizza, burgers, and frozen desserts, we always bring our own snacks and sandwiches as well as water and juices and fruits to satisfy us throughout our day. What we do is freeze our juices the night before to make them nice and slushy the day we are there. When Sam & Mitch are hot & sweaty after sliding and swimming and splashing the slushies are just the ticket for a refreshing treat!


Entering the park is swift and sure for us as we have annual passes, but even if you were visiting the water park for the day the lines would have been quick and painless. The crowds are thin in the months of September, October, and November (before Thanksgiving) when visiting the theme parks in Orlando, so visiting Blizzard Beach or any Disney Theme Park at this time can ensure you shorter lines and fewer crowds.

Blizzard Beach was awesome for us as always on this day. We set up camp in our usual spot which has a shady area to protect us from sunburn, a picnic table, and numerous chairs. It’s always best to get your chairs early at the water parks, because they can fill up fast. Our next step is always to assign a meeting time so that our two boys can head off for their thrill rides while my husband and I can relax for a while on Cross Country Creek, which is a wonderful, relaxing, floating tube ride. So the meeting time was set and our 10 and 12 year old boys headed off for the Summit Plummet (a completely vertical water slide AAAH!), Slush Gusher, Toboggan Racers, and Downhill Double Dipper Rides. These thrill rides are great for older teens and adults.

After lunch we enjoyed the rides that don’t require quite so much nerve like Teamboat Springs (a Family Flume type ride), Run-Off Rapids (more tube rides that end in a wonderfully cool plunge-pool), Snow-Stormers (water slides), and then we floated on the Cross Country Creek again as a family. By the way, Blizzard Beach includes life jackets for any child of any age that requires one, so no parent should be afraid of taking their child into the Cross Country Creek or any other child-friendly area. And there are life guards everywhere to help out in case you have a scare – so there really is no need for fear in the Blizzard Beach environment! The boys went off again to enjoy their thrill rides, and we relaxed in the shade, but not before we rescued some international tourists from a “bug scare.” We happened to notice quite a few international visitors swatting bugs off of them and wondering if they should leave or purchase some sort of insect repellent. We alleviated their fears because the bugs they were swatting were what we call “love bugs.” These bugs only visit Florida a couple of times per year and when they visit they stay about two weeks. They don’t bite or sting or anything. They simply fly around and land on you accidentally. As Floridians we think the theme parks should let everyone know in advance about them so that they aren’t concerned when they see them! Well, our family was happy to help out that day!

If we had toddlers or small children we would take them to “Tike’s Peak.” This are is just for children 48 inches tall or less – no bigger children are allowed. It is a beautiful area with water slides and splashing areas and climbing and swimming just for little ones. It’s a fear-free area for parents to enjoy themselves with their children in the water. Toddlers are required to wear diapers of course, but the area is completely safe and fun for babies and toddlers and pre-schoolers of all ages. It is so much fun to sit with your little ones and splash and sit in the water and slip and slide and all in a safe Disney environment! Children don’t need any swimming skill at all in this area – just moms and dads. And there are life guards there as well.

We had to leave about 3:30pm because the afternoon rain showers came to visit our sunny day, but for us the day was complete. Our day at Blizzard Beach was a success as always. To me, The Most Miserly Mom, smiles on our faces and an economical day of play makes a success!

By Kelly Goode

Blizzard Beach One Day Pass
Adults 10 and up $36
Children 3-10 $30
Children under 3 free

Please remember that if you are traveling from another country you may be able to save money on your water park pass if you include Blizzard Beach in a complete travel package. Ticket prices can vary using Magic Your Way pricing

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