Blizzard Beach is one of the one of Orlando’s water parks, and has an amazing collection of water slides suitable for children and adults of all ages. Disney legend says that there was a freak storm one winter and the area was blanketed with snow and ice. To make the best of the situation Florida’s first ski resort was built and became very popular. However, as the temperatures returned to normal, the ice melted and the powder snow turned into a slippery slush. What had previously been slalom courses, bobsleigh and toboggan runs now became downhill water slides. Rather than demolish the ski resort, it was turned into a water park - the chairlift carried swimmers instead of skiers and the ski jump became the fastest, steepest waterslide in the country.
I suggest you arrive as early as you can at this park, so that there is plenty of time to do everything. The first thing to do is to go and find a beach chair or lounger to use as your base for the day. There are plenty of them all round the park, some in the shade under the trees and some in the sun on the ‘beach’.
There are so many things to try that it will be difficult to choose what to do first. You might be restricted by the age of your group, but there really is a lot for all ages to do. Little Tikes area is for small children (maximum height 4 feet /122 cm) where there is a wading pool and they can go on gentle body slides, try an inner tube slide, play in interactive water fountains and have fun with water jets. For slightly older children there is the Ski Patrol Training Camp where they can go on inner tube slides, slide across the pool on a T-bar, whiz down curvy slides and cross the water on ice floes.
Elsewhere in the park there are thrilling slides, including Summit Plummet which, at 120 feet, is the tallest water slide in America. This is not for the faint-hearted as it sends you plummeting at 55 mph down an almost vertical slide into the warm waters below. Another thriller, although not quite as heart stopping, is the Toboggan Racers. Here there are eight lanes that go down the mountain. You need to hang on tight to your ‘toboggan’ as you charge down the course and over some dips and bumps. You are timed as you go and there is a competition each day to find the fastest racer (excellent for the more competitive people in your group!).
If you like a more gentle experience, or are maybe a bit full after eating lunch, then you could try Cross Country Creek which is a very gentle, very long lazy water ride which goes round the whole park. You sit in a huge inner tube and bob gently along the slowly moving river. There are various points around the park where you can join, or leave, this ride so you do not have to go all the way round each time.
The facilities are excellent too, as you would expect in any Disney park. There are plenty of places to eat, or to buy a snack or a drink. The changing rooms and showers are spacious. There are lockers, towels and children’s life vests available for rent.
There is plenty for everyone at Blizzard Beach, and even if you do not want to try any of the water activities, it is a great place to relax and watch the world go by.
I suggest you arrive as early as you can at this park, so that there is plenty of time to do everything. The first thing to do is to go and find a beach chair or lounger to use as your base for the day. There are plenty of them all round the park, some in the shade under the trees and some in the sun on the ‘beach’.
There are so many things to try that it will be difficult to choose what to do first. You might be restricted by the age of your group, but there really is a lot for all ages to do. Little Tikes area is for small children (maximum height 4 feet /122 cm) where there is a wading pool and they can go on gentle body slides, try an inner tube slide, play in interactive water fountains and have fun with water jets. For slightly older children there is the Ski Patrol Training Camp where they can go on inner tube slides, slide across the pool on a T-bar, whiz down curvy slides and cross the water on ice floes.
Elsewhere in the park there are thrilling slides, including Summit Plummet which, at 120 feet, is the tallest water slide in America. This is not for the faint-hearted as it sends you plummeting at 55 mph down an almost vertical slide into the warm waters below. Another thriller, although not quite as heart stopping, is the Toboggan Racers. Here there are eight lanes that go down the mountain. You need to hang on tight to your ‘toboggan’ as you charge down the course and over some dips and bumps. You are timed as you go and there is a competition each day to find the fastest racer (excellent for the more competitive people in your group!).
If you like a more gentle experience, or are maybe a bit full after eating lunch, then you could try Cross Country Creek which is a very gentle, very long lazy water ride which goes round the whole park. You sit in a huge inner tube and bob gently along the slowly moving river. There are various points around the park where you can join, or leave, this ride so you do not have to go all the way round each time.
The facilities are excellent too, as you would expect in any Disney park. There are plenty of places to eat, or to buy a snack or a drink. The changing rooms and showers are spacious. There are lockers, towels and children’s life vests available for rent.
There is plenty for everyone at Blizzard Beach, and even if you do not want to try any of the water activities, it is a great place to relax and watch the world go by.