Blizzard Beach – Winter Land Fun

Introduction
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Walt Disney World currently owns and runs two different water parks at two different ends of spectrum. One of these is Blizzard Beach which takes on the theme of a winter park.

Storyline
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Like all Disney parks there is always a storyline behind it. For this park it is no different. Blizzard Beach has the storyline that a large blizzard covered the land where a snow resort was able to be built up on that area therefore as you walk around the park there are props such as snowmen (which makes a good photo with) and huts etc.

Attractions
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Blizzard Beach has lots of rides on offer for the whole family.

Summit Plummet – Summit Plummet is an amazing ride that in tales you walking up many stairs to get to the top of a 120 foot slide. You don’t realise how steep it is until you go over the brow of the slide and fall almost vertically down to the bottom. As you go down you speed up to near 60 mph. I found this an amazing ride. A lot of my friends wouldn’t do this as they thought it was too steep. As I got half way down I found a lot of water was being pushed into my face which was kind of making me feel as if I was choking on water and took away my ability to see what was ahead of me but none the less I thought it was amazing. RATING 10 OUT OF 10 for this one. I’ve never come across a ride like it.

Cross Country Creek – Very similar to the lazy river at Typhoon Lagoon however I found this creek not to be as good. There was still props etc as I floated around but I found it too shallow and not too entertaining however it was good to just get into a tube and chill out in the sun for an hour as you floated on by.

Toboggan Racer – An amazing ride where you are able to race your friend on a toboggan. You lye on the toboggan and wait for the blue flag from the person at the bottom and the “GO” from the people behind and your off. You shoot down one of eight slides with water washing you down at high speeds. Excellent fun for a group of friends with a bit of competition in mind.

Chair Lift – When I went this ride wasn’t actually in use however it looked like a normal chair lift that you might see at snow resort that is able to take you around a small distance of the park while you look down on those below you. Not a bad idea.

Team Boat Springs – A family ride that is made up of an extremely large tube that allows up to five people to sit in. The tube is bought you by a conveyer where you walk up quickly and hop onto the tube ready to be launched down a very large slide. This was great however I thought the route was very repetitive as it went from left to right and back again over and over again.

Ski Patrol Training Camp – This is basically a small water assault course for kids to have fun on as they jump from float to float using ropes to assist them. Good fun for the kids. Didn’t really spend much time here because we spent most time on some of the other rides however I did have chance to have good look at what was going on.

Safety
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Disney is very big on not having accidents and allowing people to have fun without accidents from happening so to prevent this trained lifeguards are employed on every water stand possible to up hold safety.

Lockers & Towels
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When entering the park you are going to need to put your clothes and possessions into a safe place so Blizzard Beach provides lockers. Now here is the down side, they charge $10 for a small locker or $12 for a large locker. At the end of the day when you want to leave you are able to get $5 of the money that you have paid once the locker key has been returned. I thought this was a it of a rip off especially that Disney’s other water park Typhoon Lagoon offers lockers for free. I thought this was even worse when I paid the amount and it was explained to me that I would get the full amount back. I thought it was a right downer when I found myself with only $5 instead of $12. Damn!

Towels are provided free of charge by Blizzard Beach which can be picked up at various points of the park. They can also be returned once used to a towel return box that are also located throughout the park.

What to Bring
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Well just like going to a swimming pool its advisable to take the following:-

Swimwear – Obviously to go swimming in.
Flip Flops (footwear) – If its hot and your walking around the floor can get very hot so you don’t want to burn the bottoms of your feet. Also it isn’t very comfortable to always walk around barefoot all day long.
Money – Your going to need money for refreshments, lockets and for entry. It may be a good idea to buy one the containers that you can put your cash in that can hang around your neck.
Camera – If you don’t already have one you’ll need a water proof camera. If you don’t have one you can buy one from the shop on the park.
Sunscreen – To protect you from the sun. Chances are it is going to be a hot day, especially in the summer.

Location
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Blizzard Beach is located in Orlando, Florida amongst the Disney World Resorts. It can be found near the All Stars Resort.

Price
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The prices vary depending on what package you choose. If you want to have a few days your going to save a few dollars on each additional day that you spend there. If you just want the one day then this is going cost the following:-

Adults (10+) = $75.00
Child (3 – 9) = $63.00

Tickets can be bought online or prices checked at http://bookwdw.reservations.disney.go.com/ibcwdw/en_US/_framework/components/processEngine?startOver=true&gatewayID=landing

Opening Hours
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Blizzard Beach opening hours vary through different seasonal parts of the year. If your hoping to go in the summer like many people do the usual opening hours are 9.00am to 8.00pm. If you wish to make sure of the opening hours they can be found at http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/blizzard-beach/calendar/

Conclusion
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I would definitely recommend Blizzard Beach because it offers a good day out for people of all ages including families.

Thank you for reading :)