Walt Disney World Review: Typhoon Lagoon Water Park

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Shark Reef; water slide roller coasters; plus lots of normal water park fun

Cons: I love water parks, so none for me.

The Bottom Line:

Typhoon comes in and

Leaves behind fun water park

Unique attractions

The Aftermath of a Typhoon Has Never Been This Fun

I knew my trip to Disney World was a trip I couldn't redo on a regular basis (fortunately, I live an hour from Disneyland), so I decided to try to cram as much as I could into that one week.  I decided I only had time for one water park, and ultimately settled on Typhoon Lagoon.  There were several factors involved in the decision including a couple of attractions this park had the other didn't.  Plus, some of the friends I went with wanted to go to this park and had no interest in the other one.  We all had a great time.

Since this is Disney, they can't just have a water park.  It must have a theme.  In this case, the park is decorated as if a tropical island has been hit by a typhoon.  In between the trees, you see ships scattered about.  And the signature shot of the park is a boat stranded on top of a volcano.

The heart and soul of the park is still water slides and other water fun.  In this regard, the park is no different than any other water park I've been to.  And I'm not saying that as a bad thing.  I had a great time.

When we first arrived, we rented a big locker.  Four of us were able to put all our stuff in the one locker.  The cost was $7 for the day with a $2 refund when we returned the key.  And it was one of those you could access as much as you wanted that day.  You could also rent towels, but I chose to bring an extra from my hotel.  (Don't worry, I returned it that night.)

Our first stop was the wave pool.  I was actually looking forward to this for one very silly reason.  It has real waves.  Every minute or so, it creates a wave like you would have in the ocean.  And these are big, powerful waves.  If you aren't paying attention, they can knock you down - trust me.  However, if you stay in the shallow water or watch the waves, you can brace yourself and not get knocked over.  The waves are big enough to body surf, although there were enough people in the pool I'm not sure you could do so safely.  And we were there on an uncrowded day.  The other guy in the group and I swam out to the deep end (8 feet) and back a couple of times, which was a fun challenge.  They do rotate the beach waves with the more traditional wave pool waves (what I call storm waves).

This pool is surrounded by sand, but I am impressed with how clean the water was.  I thought it would be cloudy with sand, but it wasn't.  The bottom was a little rough, and I got a slight scrape one time when I was floating on a wave.

From there, we hit the Castaway Creek.  Basically, this is an endless river.  Jets from the side keep you moving forward as you float along on park provided inner tubes.  (Disney is the first park I've seen that doesn't make you pay for the use of tubes all day.)  This river is gentle enough that anyone can enjoy it.  But that's doesn't mean it is always boring.  There are some spots where water sprays on half the river.  We had fun trying to stay dry while getting others wet at these parts.  In fact, at one point I was laughing so hard I could barely breathe.  Who says you need tons of high tech stuff to have a good time.  There are multiple entrances and exits, so you can use the creek to get from one side of the park to the other or spend twenty minutes just floating all the way around.

Since I was with a group that didn't have any kids, we only walked past the kiddie area.  Ketchakidee Creek is designed for those under 48 inches and includes a miniature slide and some things to climb around on while shooting water at each other or parents.  I was a little jealous.  What I saw looked like fun.

From there, we worked our way around the park hitting all the slides.  We all fit into the big family tube for Gangplank Falls.  Keelhaul Falls require the use of an inner tube (again, Disney provides), while Storm Slides are curving body slides.  You don't get going too fast on any of these, and I had a blast going on them.

And I even got talked into going on the speed slides.  Called Humunga Kowabunga, these slides require you to be over 48 inches.  There are three slides next to each other, so you can race a friend or two.  These are not the extreme slides you'll see at other parks.  In fact, I would call them more racing slides than true speed slides.  That doesn't mean you can't get going pretty quickly on them, just don't expect extreme speeds.

But we have yet to get to the two features that were the biggest selling points to me.  First up is the Shark Reef.  Yes, you can actually swim with sharks.  They provide mask and snorkel for you before you swim one way over a reef with some more docile sharks and other fish in it.  Honestly, this sounds slightly cooler than it is.  You must swim one direction in a straight line and can't dive down.  The cold salt water is deep enough the sharks aren't that close to you.  It was over much too quickly, but it was also very cool.

The other selling point was Crush 'n' Gusher, aka the rollercoaster water slide.  Again, you have to be over 48 inches to enjoy them.  You board tubes designed for two or three people and go up and downhill at fast speeds before crashing into the water below.  The jets really do propel you quickly up the inclines.  I just had to do these, and I loved them.  In fact, I wish we had more time to do them more.

I was there the last week of September, and there were hardly any crowds.  In fact, my biggest complaint about the park is that the walkways to get to the top of the slides were so long.  Often, they'd go up and down steps and over land before finally climbing to the top.  I'm sure in the summer, these are full of guests waiting to ride.  But all they did was keep me from getting to the top.  Impatient, aren't I?

As with any water park, there are lounge chairs scattered all over the place.  Honestly, I go to a water park to ride the slides and get wet.  I can read or nap by a pool at home.

I was so busy having fun, I also never stopped for food.  They do have a few places you can get something to eat, like sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, soda, and ice cream.

If I am every lucky enough to return to Disney World, a trip to a water park will be a must.  I think I would lean toward the other one just because I haven't been to it yet.  But if it is closed, returning to Typhoon Lagoon would be an absolute pleasure.