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The Typhoon Lagoon Game Plan at Walt Disney World

Looking for a way to cool off on your next Disney trip? Look no further than Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon, with thrilling drops and slides just for kids this park offers something for everyone!

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1. Try to plan for a weekday visit

If possible, try planning your day at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon for a weekday, especially if you are visiting the Walt Disney World Resort in the summer. Many locals plan trips to Disney’s waterparks on the weekend, and most out of town guests prioritize the theme parks in their planning. Depending on the time of your visit, you may still have to work with some crowds, but in general weekdays tend to be easier to navigate than weekends at Typhoon Lagoon.

2. Visit in the afternoon or on a rainy day

If you do not plan on spending that much time in the park, or if rainy weather doesn’t conflict with your waterpark plans, visiting during these times can be another way to avoid crowds. The majority of guests visiting Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon arrive early and leave well before the park closes to return to their resorts and get cleaned up before heading back out for their evening activities. If you have other plans in mind for the morning, sometimes an afternoon visit to the waterparks means you’ll be arriving as other guests are exiting. Rainy days work similarly. When Central Florida experiences afternoon storms in the summer, Typhoon Lagoon may empty out. If you don’t mind sticking out the rain, you will likely find less crowds when the sun comes back out.

3. Do the popular attractions early

The most popular slides at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon are typically Crush n’ Gusher and Humunga Kowabunga. If you plan on doing either of these attractions, it never hurts to make them your first stop. Within the first hour or two of the park opening the crowds are often pretty light, even on busy summer days. If you only have time for one of the two, you may want to opt for Crush n’ Gusher. It’s a thrilling water coaster unlike anything you’ll find in other waterparks. Humunga Kowabunga is arguably more of a thrill ride, however it’s straight down plunge is not a slide that’s unique to this park.

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4. Eat lunch at off times

If you don’t mind eating lunch at off times of the day, you’ll be able to avoid crowds and lines both at the slides and at the quick service restaurants in the park. If most of the other guests are getting lunch, you can take this opportunity to get on some of the most popular slides with shorter wait times. If the lines are still long for Crush n’ Gusher or Humunga Kowabunga, consider some of the family raft rides. Miss Adventure Falls is the newest slide in the park, and the first of its kind to feature an Audio Animatronic figure. Gangplank Falls has slightly smaller drops but is still a thrill for the whole family with no height requirement.

5. Check height requirements in advance

Unlike most theme park rides, waterpark attractions have height requirements and maximum height restrictions (due to the shallow water at the foot of slides in kids’ areas). Checking the height requirements before your trip can save you from a lot of headaches while you’re in the park, especially if you’re traveling with kids. If your little ones aren’t keen on the idea of going down slides in the kids’ area that mom and dad are too tall for, it’s helpful to know this before you get to the park. Likewise to theme park rides, knowing which slides the kids may not be tall enough for in advance can also help you avoid meltdowns during your visit.

6. Rent a locker

It’s understandable that the added cost of a locker may not be appealing when visiting Disney’s theme parks, but for the waterparks specifically getting a locker is totally worth the $10-15 (depending on the side of the locker). If you plan on setting up camp around some of the lounge chairs, you may be comfortable leaving a beach bag and towels, and maybe some incidentals like sunscreen, but you likely won’t want to leave wallets or cell phones. (And since these are items you can’t really take into the water, having a locker makes visiting the park so much easier.) Not interested in walking back and forth to your locker? Hop into Castaway Creek, the park’s lazy river and skip the walk.

7. When lines are long head to the wave pool or lazy river

You’ll never need to wait in line to get into Castaway Creek or the Typhoon Lagoon Surf Pool. Floating around the park in Castaway Creek is a great way to relax, while the Typhoon Lagoon Surf Pool does quite the opposite. The Surf Pool is not your average wave pool—As its name suggests the waves create prime surfing conditions so the deeper you go, the more intense the waves will be, reaching up to 6 ft. (You can even sign up for surf lessons before the park opens!)

8. Take in the details

We don’t often think of waterparks as being extravagantly detailed in the same way we may regard the theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort, but we should. Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon has so many details that tie together the story of an island getaway that was hit by a typhoon and transformed into a waterpark. Even the queues for attractions (or the slides themselves) are so well-themed, and all of these details really make a trip to Typhoon Lagoon unique compared to any other waterparks you may have visited.

About Brittany DiCologero

Brittany is a New England-based writer focused on the history of the Walt Disney World Resort. She is the author of "Red, White, and Disney: The Myths and Reality of American History at the Walt Disney World Resort," and "Brittany Earns Her Ears."