Water Park logistics About This Page:

[sbJasmine]

Any tips on how to store items (camera, card key, money etc.) while at the water parks? I've read the line for lockers is long. Do you carry your key to the world on a lanyard while on rides? What about flip flops etc.?

It will be our first trip so I'm not sure how this all works. We have two teenagers and a three year old. I will probably be with the little one while my husband goes on the more wild stuff with the older girls.

Also I was thinking we could maybe go in the afternoon after going to parks in the morning. We will be there the first week of Sept.

I really love reading all the tips and suggestions on this site.

thanks!

[Caldercup]

Many people keep their money and resort cards on a neck "pouch" that is waterproof. They sell them at most resort gift shops now and also at the water parks. (You can see a similar one HERE.)

I didn't find the lines for lockers/towels to be that long...

You won't be able to wear flip flops on the water rides, but you can wear water shoes or "aqua socks" like THESE. (At least you could the last time I went to Typhoon Lagoon.)

This is what we did -- went to MGM until we were sweltering and then headed to TL. We didn't have as much time in the water park as we might've liked, but we had a blast and felt very refreshed.

Hope that helps a bit.
Eileen

[Spork]

The lines for lockers are not usually long when we are there. Any cash register in the stores can rent keys...people tend to bunch up at the first one they see, so sometimes peeking a little further will save you some waiting.

We also tend to go first thing when the park opens and then have our fun until lunch time and then split to the Earl of Sandwich at DD for lunch. By that time the water park is getting crowded with long lines and we don't want to be there anyway. Probably not as much an issue in September.

We get there, get a locker, stuff everything in the locker except for a bag with some towels and some water and snacks. A different bag is in the locker with shampoo, clothes to change into later, etc., after a shower when we are leaving. If the park has just opened, we then head off to our favorite ride, parking our towel/snacks bag someplace handy. After we're tired of doing our favorite ride over and over, we find a centrally located permanent place to leave the towels and stuff and head off to do more rides. We come back for water and snacks a few times.

One thing to remember about the water park is to keep hydrated...it sounds crazy but with all the exertion in the Florida heat you need to keep drinking water even though you're wallowing in the stuff!

Once we've had enough for the day (lazy river is usually our last wind-down ride) we pack up for the showers, get dressed, and head for lunch and a break before tackling another park.

[sbJasmine]

Thanks so much for the tips!

Eileen- I used to live in Philly (Center City and worked in Manayunk.)

[Caldercup]

Originally Posted by sbJasmine

Eileen- I used to live in Philly (Center City and worked in Manayunk.)

Cool - I grew up in the "historic" suburbs where George Washington slept just about everywhere and General Lafayette taunted the British until they cannoned my childhood church and it lost its steeple.

I'm still in the area and love it! It's a great city.
Eileen

[Sue M.]

I used the "neck pouch" I bought at our resort. My camera I left in my beach bag, under the towels. Nobody seems to bother your stuff. We have gone to the water parks in the A.M. & the parks in the afternoons on our water park days, usually the park with EMH. TL is my fav.I hope I can find what I did with that pouch, we're going to Aquatica in August.

[hockeyguysmom]

On our last trip we did not use a locker as one of us was with our younger son who was 13 mo old at the time we kept our bag on a chair in the little kids area.

Hey, I consider Delaware a suburb of Philly (Yep the whole state)

[kywdwmom]

One thing about cameras...

DH has a really nice Canon and has never taken it to the waterparks. Instead, we opt to buy the underwater/waterproof Kodak disposable film cameras. They work great!! They have a rubberband strap and DH takes it on everything. That way we never have to worry about the water or sand or someone being nosey around our stuff (although that has never happened in 5 years).

[TheMadonna3]

This is what we do:

We take a single use water proof camera with a wrist strap for pics. We take a bag with beach towels and sunscreen and our KTTW card. DH wears a bathing suit with pockets with velcro closures. He puts the KTTW in his pocket. When we get to Typhoon Lagoon we make a bee line for the beach and get ourselves 3 chairs. We use the beach towels to mark our places and we put our shoes into the now empty bag with the sunblock and put the bag under or between the chairs. We return to our chairs when we need to dry off, or take a rest, or get more sunblock, or get our crocs. (You can be barefoot in the park if you want, but the concrete hurts. Water shoes are recommended)

It is a quite common practice to do this and no one has ever bothered my things, but there is nothing for them to bother as my camera and my money are with me. You can rent lockers, but we didn't see any point in it. If you want to bring cash then the popular thing to do is buy one of those water wallets.

[RobDVC]

Originally Posted by sbJasmine

Eileen- I used to live in Philly (Center City and worked in Manayunk.)

SMALL WORLD!

I live in Roxborough.

[sbJasmine]

Would I be mocked by saying "its a small small world?"
I just couldn't resist

I really enjoyed living in Philly. Its a really cool city.

[modisney]

Here's a tip for using the waterproof cameras, get some sort of floatable key chain and attach to the strap to help if they're dropped in the water. A sporting goods store or place REI sells them.

[w-steele]

THis is all new to us. We'e going back to WDW for our first time and want to spend some time at TP. I am guessing you wear "street clothes" to the water park and then change into your swim wear. After you are done having fun, you are able to shower, dry off and change back into your "street clothes". Is this about right? Do the water parks provide towels are do we bring some from our Resort? Should we bring some sort of plastic bag to put our wet things into for the bus trip back to the resort?

[Courtney892]

I don't know if I can answer your questions correctly w-steel as this will be our first time at BB, but our plan is to go to the park in our swim clothes. DH will wear his swim trunks and a T-shirt, I will wear a 2 piece tankini type suit with a top that looks like a shirt and board shorts that can get wet over my bottoms. We both plan to wear water shoes.

Since I expect it to be hot, I thought we'd just dry off as we walked around and go back to the resort to shower and change when we're done. Wondering how that idea goes over or if most ppl think showering and changing there is a better option.

I just don't want to lug stuff around or rent a locker.

I have read that you are supposed to bring your own towel or you can rent them cheaply there. I am going to check out the $5 Walmart sale on beach towels mentioned on another thread

[Spork]

Originally Posted by Courtney892

Since I expect it to be hot, I thought we'd just dry off as we walked around and go back to the resort to shower and change when we're done.

I think most people do that. We wear our swimsuits + cover-ups to the park but then shower and change into street clothes after, but mainly because we either are heading straight to DTD for lunch or the water park is the last thing we do before driving home to the Tampa area.