Day 127: Typhoon Lagoon, Orlando, FL

It was a wet and wild day as we visited our first Disney park, Typhoon Lagoon. The boys were stoked! 

We found out after booking our spot at the Disney campground that this got us free entry into a Disney water park on check in day, so today was a fun freebie. Can’t argue with that.

We arrived at park opening, collected our beach towels from the very welcoming cast member (what they call park employees here), secured lounge chairs under a sun umbrella and we were off.

We quickly checked off the coconut and banana coaster rides at Crush ‘n Gusher. These were fun but the rider numbers were not in our favour with each coaster requiring only two and no more riders. That left one family member out each cycle which was less than ideal. Next was Miss Adventure Falls. This was a tame family tube ride but still fun.

My favourite ride of the day was Gangplank Falls, which was a bumpy family tube ride under lots of waterfalls. It was very fun. We waited a long time for the first run but when we checked back later there was no line at all so we rode two more times! We also tried Keelhaul Falls, a solo tube ride, but it was less exciting.

We headed over to the body slides next. We tested all three tubes at the Storm Slides and all liked the middle cave slide best. Next were the speed slides at Humunga Kowabunga - these were unexpected. After pushing off we dropped 5-storeys in complete darkness. It was over before my mind had time to process what was happening and I found myself laying in the sunshine in the water trough at the end of the ride thinking what the heck just happened?!

The real winner of the day was the surf pool which is the largest wave pool in North America. It produced 6 foot tall waves every 90 seconds and was the most fun thing ever. The waves were absolutely humongous and you could body board them from one end of the pool to the other. It was incredibly exciting and we absolutely loved it. This was everyone’s favourite attraction, except for Ian who most enjoyed the lazy river. We saw a real snake swimming through the river chased by a cast member trying to herd it into a pail and move it out. Yikes!

This park was a bit like a botanical garden meets a waterpark. The greenery was gorgeous and the gardens throughout the whole park were pristine. There was not one dead plant in the whole place, and almost all the plants were thriving and many were fruiting.

This was a really fun, relaxing but also exciting day. We lasted five hours at the park and just as we finished up a crazy rainstorm rolled in. We have never in all our lives seen it rain so hard.

We waited out the storm in the Walmart parking lot before heading inside for some breakfast foods to fuel our next few days visiting the other parks. 

We then checked in to our campsite at Disney’s Fort Wilderness. Everyone is so nice here! The check in lady was the nicest and happiest person I have ever spoken to.

Ian made us jambalaya for supper with fresh strawberries for dessert. The boys were asleep by 8 pm. Time to recharge before tomorrow’s adventures.