Typhoon Lagoon

...my trip to Orlando was Typhoon Lagoon. I had last been there in about 1992 so was interested to see it again. Typhoon Lagoon is part of the Disney family and was opened in 1989. The idea behind the park is that it was created as the result of a huge storm which caused the rapids to form and the boats to be blown there from a nearby fishing village. As with everything Disney, this is another land of make believe!

LOCATION:

...A single day in Typhoon Lagoon costs $40 for anyone over 10 and $32 for anyone 3-9 years old. You can combine your Typhoon Lagoon tickets with other tickets for parks in the Disney World complex and if you are staying for a long time in Disney then this definitely cuts the cost down. We were only spending two days, however, and we already had one ticket from a previous trip, so we just paid when we got to the park.

OPENING TIMES:
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The first theme park on my trip to Orlando was Typhoon Lagoon. I had last been there in about 1992 so was interested to see it again. Typhoon Lagoon is part of the Disney family and was opened in 1989. The idea behind the park is that it was created as the result of a huge storm which caused the rapids to form and the boats to be blown there from a nearby fishing village. As with everything Disney, this is another land of make believe!

LOCATION:

Typhoon Lagoon is part of the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. You can reach Disney World many ways, although we used hire car. Driving there is very simple and Walt Disney World is signposted straight off the I4 (the main road passing through Orlando). The nearest airport is Orlando International, to which many airlines fly direct from the UK. You can get shuttles from the airport. Once inside the Resort the signposting is fairly good, even if all the road systems look exactly the same! Be careful though as the signs often run out when you're close to your destination (why does that always happen with tourist attractions??).

PRICES:

As soon as you see anything associated with Disney you know this is not going to be a cheap day out. A single day in Typhoon Lagoon costs $40 for anyone over 10 and $32 for anyone 3-9 years old. You can combine your Typhoon Lagoon tickets with other tickets for parks in the Disney World complex and if you are staying for a long time in Disney then this definitely cuts the cost down. We were only spending two days, however, and we already had one ticket from a previous trip, so we just paid when we got to the park.

OPENING TIMES:

The opening times of the park can vary a lot. At the moment the park is opening at 9am and is open until 8pm, however, this changes from September when the hours will become 10-5. The park is closed for refurbishment in November and December this year (with no indication as to whether this carries on until January and I'm not sure if this refurbishment is a one off or an annual event). The opening time is extended for one day a week for those people staying in a Disney Resort hotel, which is great because you get the park to yourself for a couple of hours and means the queues go down to nothing. My advice is to check the online calendar before you go and to check with your hotel about opening times.

The park can close at times due to the weather. Florida is notorious for thunder storms and obviously these aren't such a great mix with a water park!! If there is a thunder storm within a certain radius then they shut all the rides. This happened to us not long after we arrived (we got there in the afternoon). If the weather is bad enough they will shut the park completely. Closing the rides for a little while can actually be a good thing because we went and got some food and a lot of other people left which meant that we didn't have to queue for anything after they reopened the park.

THE EXPERIENCE:

We got to the park in the afternoon and parked easily, fairly close to the park entrance. Whether we went on a quiet day or whether others had already left I'm not sure, but it wasn't over-crowded when we went.

Once we'd bought our tickets, which was an easy process, we made our way through the electronic gates (where you also have to give your fingerprint so they can make sure you are using the same ticket if you re-enter the park). You then make your way through the various bits of tat that they are trying to sell you into the park proper. We made our way to the toilets to get changed. I have to say I was quite unimpressed by the toilets and changing facilities considering it was a water park and that it was Disney. They were dark and although clean they weren't spotless. Once changed we paid for a locker ($10!!!! With $5 back at the end) and headed to find some chairs to put our stuff down on. I would say don't bring anything valuable and then you won't have to worry about leaving your stuff on the chairs but in reality at least one person has to bring the room key or the car keys or a wallet so hiring a locker is the only option unless one person stays with the things all the time. As we were on a girly holiday we wanted to do all the rides together so the locker was duly paid for! We did find seats, although finding 4 together was quite a challenge. We then headed for the various attractions which I shall go through one by one:

The Surf Pool: This is the main pool in the park and is right in the centre. The pool starts off very shallow, so that you walk into it. Every minute or so there is a wave released from the deep end of the pool. Everyone waits for this wave so they can swim in on it. The pool is really fun, but I found that there's only so much time you can spend in there as it's quite repetitive. The pool is good because it's so shallow at the one end that any age can go in it. However, I did find that the bottom of the pool is really rough and you can easily scrape yourself on it. I did notice a couple of kids with grazes on them (you would think they'd change this given how health and safety conscious the Americans are!). Also, the wave is big so you'd have to be careful with children. The deep end is also very deep so you would again have to be careful. I had a few water up the nose incidents! There are lifeguards on duty around the pool which gives peace of mind.

Humunga Kowabunga: This was definitely one of the best but one of the scariest slides in the park. It's a bit like the kamikaze slides they have in some water parks, in that it goes straight down vertically. There are three slides. You sit at the top and wait for the light to go green and then let yourself go. I closed my eyes - it was that mix between sheer terror that you're dropping and excitement. It was over in a matter of seconds. Don't be surprised if you have a wedgie when you get to the bottom as the force of falling followed by shooting through the water at the bottom pushes your swimming costume up. I ended up with a wedgie and am fairly sure I flashed the audience at the bottom of the slide (oh yes, I paint an attractive picture!).

Storm Slides: These are the more everyday slides that children can go on as well (although not the youngest as there is a height restriction). There is a choice of three slides which go around and through tunnels etc. These were fun and lasted longer than the Kowabunga, but were tame in comparison. We were lucky on the day we went that weren't a lot of queues so we went on all three of the slides.

Shark Reef: This was excellent. You are given a snorkel and mask and you can swim with sharks! As you queue up you are given a lot of safety information. You are then given another safety briefing when you enter the water. The water in the shark reef is freezing! The sharks themselves are not very big and they're obviously harmless but it's still a thrill. There are other fish in there as well which are beautiful and very colourful. I'd definitely recommend doing this one!

Crush 'n' Gusher: This was another complex of slides. For this one you collect you go in twos or threes. You collect your inflatable at the bottom of the hill and then walk up the steps to the top. I think they should have installed a conveyer belt to take the inflatables to the top so that you don't have to traipse up the stairs with them! This was a great slide, lots of ups and downs and quite fast. I really like the fact that you're on there with someone else - I think it makes it more fun!

Gang Plank Falls: This is another slide where you are on with other people. You ride a tube for four people down the rapids. This was a really fun ride but we did find that ours bums were dragging on the floor of the ride (and no - we haven't all got big bums!!).

Mayday Falls and Keelhaul Falls: These two rides are again on tubes but this time you go down on your own. They were fairly standard water rides and were fun.

Castaway Creek: This is one of the more famous features of Typhoon Lagoon. The creek winds its way around the park. You sit in a rubber ring and the current pushes everyone round the creek in the same direction. This is a relaxing ride to go on, although if you fall asleep you will get woken up as you go through the waterfall! There are also opportunities for people on the side to squirt you with water guns - not keen on them! We only went round this once as it was nice to relax but we wanted a bit of fun! If you go on here with children be careful as the current can mean you lose people quite quickly (the last time I was in Typhoon Lagoon we lost my cousin like this - she fell asleep and just kept going round and round!).

Also in the park there are beach areas, which we didn't use, but which are good if you have little kids. There are places to eat as well. We ate while the rides were closed down during the thunder storm. The food was the usual mix of American fast food. I had a burger and chips which was tasty but nothing to write home about. The prices were not too stupid for a theme park. There were also lots of stalls selling food such as ice cream and drinks. The others had ice creams (huge things) but I don't like ice cream so didn't partake. They sold one ice cream sundae in a bucket and you were given a spade to eat it with (literally!)….I would suggest sharing this one!

There were some shops and stalls in the park selling the usual bunch of tourist fare. There were lots of swimming related items (towels, snorkels etc). Lots of the items had Disney characters on them. Again the prices seemed fairly average for theme parks (i.e. overpriced for what you're getting!). We didn't buy anything, deciding to save our money for the outlets later in the holiday!

RECOMMENDED?

Absolutely! Typhoon Lagoon is a really fun park to visit. There are lots of slides to do and they are really fun. To save money I recommend taking your own food as this can really add up if you have children. I think it's great for all ages. We were all 25 and had no children with us and we had a great time. It is expensive to get in but I think if you're heading for Disney World in the first place you know that it's not going to be a cheap holiday! I would say that one day is enough in the park and we saw everything in a couple of hours (mainly becuase the queues were tiny). In this way it is perhaps not the best value but I still think it's worth a visit. 

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