Touring Disney's Blizzard Beach (One-Day Itinerary)

Disney’s Blizzard Beach is a fun and thrilling water park that most children adore. When my son was younger, it was always his top pick. Legend has it that the ski resort was constructed during an out-of-the-ordinary snowstorm in central Florida. The investors went all in, creating wintery attractions, many of which were of a competitive nature. Unfortunately, they were left with a puddle when the snow melted, doomed for failure.

But just as the owners were about to close shop on the ski resort, they saw an alligator sliding down the mountain and splashing into a pool of water. A new idea was born: a water park with an alligator mascot who goes by the name of Ice Gator. Slolem courses turned into curvy slides, ski jumps became free-fall attractions for thrill-seekers, and inner tubes replaced sleds.

As a guest, you’ll have plenty to do and see during your water park visit, so I wanted to put together a suggested one-day touring itinerary for Disney’s Blizzard Beach. While it won’t be nearly as crowded as the theme parks, you’ll still want a solid plan for the popular attractions while leaving time for relaxation. I don’t know about you, but I could lap the lazy river all afternoon!

themed snowman family near the entrance of Blizzard Beach — This snow family makes for a fun photo opportunity near the park’s entrance.

How Disney Water Parks Operate

It’s important to note that Disney’s water parks operate on a rotational schedule. Blizzard Beach is typically open between early November and March, and Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon is open between March and November. You’ll want to check the exact hours and availability for your visit.

Blizzard Beach Itinerary

Here’s our suggested itinerary for touring Disney’s Blizzard Beach.

Park Arrival (Rent a locker and change.)
Take the Chairlift to the top of Mt Gushmore.
Ride Teamboat Springs.
Take the Chairlift back to the top of Mt Gushmore.
Ride Teamboat Springs again or Summit Plummet and Crush Gusher (if desired).
Take the Chairlift back to the top of Mt Gushmore.
Ride Run-Off Rapids.
Take Cross Country Creek to the Purple Slopes.
While in the area, you can experience the Purple Slopes attractions (Snow Stormers, Downhill Double Dipper, and Toboggan Racers) as desired.
Break for Lunch.
Take a few laps around Cross Country Creek Lazy River (This is a great place to let lunch digest.)
Experience Ski Patrol Training Camp or Tike’s Peak (If applicable, based on your party).
Hang out at Melt Away Bay, the wave pool.
For the last one to two hours, experience any attractions you would like to do again.

Ice Gator, the mascot of Blizzard Beach — Ice Gator at Disney’s Blizzard Beach

How it Works

Similar to our one-day itinerary for Typhoon Lagoon, this touring plan allows you to maximize your time in the park and experience every attraction, or at least the ones you desire. It also circles the park in what I like to call “circle touring” or “touring where you’re at.” That way, you’ll experience each attraction as you encounter it and not waste time backtracking.

It also focuses on first experiencing the most popular attractions, like Teamboat Springs, the park’s family raft ride. However, you’ll want to read about slides like Slush Gusher and Summit Plummet. These are thrill slides with a minimum 48″ height requirement. They probably won’t be suitable for everyone in your party. In those cases, you would adjust the itinerary to skip those attractions or ride Teamboat Springs a second or third time. These three attractions on the Green Slopes will have the longest waits for most of the day.

After we finish the Green Slopes, we return up the mountain via the chairlift for Runoff Rapids. You can also take Cross Country Creek (the lazy river) to the back of the mountain and take the stairs. (We try to take advantage of the chairlift as much as possible.) After Runoff Rapids, we continue down the lazy river to the Purple Slopes, where we find the Snow Stormers, Downhill Double Dipper, and Toboggan Racers. Again, you’ll want to research these attractions. Some have a height requirement or might not be suitable for everyone in your party.

By the time you’ve experienced these attractions, it should be lunchtime, if not a little later. At this point, we would stop by the locker and then get something for lunch. We usually eat at Lottawatta Lodge, near the front of the park and the locker area.

After lunch, we tend to slow down to relaxation mode. This is when our focus shifts to lapping the lazy river and the wave pool. However, if you have smaller children, they will, depending on their age and size, enjoy Ski Patrol Training Camp and/or Tike’s Peak, the Frozen-themed play area for little ones.

During the last two hours of the park’s operation, the lines for most attractions often dwindle as more guests leave. So we always plan to stay all day or visit later. We rarely visit and leave early because that’s what most other guests do, and we prefer to zig when everyone else zags.

the chairlift on the ascent of Mt Gushmore

Final Thoughts

Overall, we enjoy Blizzard Beach but feel that the attractions are more geared toward kids and teens, and that’s okay. Most guests are either team Blizzard Beach or team Typhoon Lagoon. I am the latter, but we still get a lot done when we visit Blizzard Beach. So make sure you research those attractions before you visit. You’ll want to know who will be up for riding what before you arrive! For more on the water park, you might enjoy:

You might also enjoy the Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Blizzard Beach, which offers a complete overview of the water park.

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In the Comments

Have you ever toured Blizzard Beach? Did you find our suggested touring plan helpful? Let us know in the comments section below.