Float Your Cares Away at Castaway Creek (The Lazy River at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon)
If you’re looking for a truly slow day at Walt Disney World, you might consider visiting Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon. While everyone else is taking on the slides, raft rides, and incredibly fun water coaster, you can hop in the lazy river and enjoy the ride. Anyone who needs you can stand over one of the bridges and wait for you to float through.
Okay, I’m partially kidding. You, too, might want to join in on a few thrills. Castaway Creek, the lazy river, will be waiting whenever you’re ready to slow things down. It’s the perfect place to float your cares away and truly one of the most relaxing rides at Walt Disney World.
Below, we’ll take a photo tour of Castaway Creek. On our way, we’ll stop at each landing. Not only can you take long breaks in the lazy river, but you can also use it as a means to tour the park. It’s an excellent form of transportation. And if you miss a stop? No worries! Just keep floating until you return to the same stop. Or you can always exit at the next landing and walk back to an attraction.
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.
Both Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach have lazy rivers that circle the park’s perimeter. However, the lazy rivers travel in opposite directions. Castaway Creek circles the park clockwise, while Cross Country Creek circles the park counter-clockwise.
Another difference is the types of floats available. Castaway Creek has more options than Blizzard Beach. Guests can choose from single, double, and half-moon inner tubes and smaller ones designed for toddlers and preschoolers. Complimentary life jackets in various sizes are available for all guests and can be worn in the lazy river. Typically, you’ll have to wait at the landing for a float to come by. The half-moon floats are the easiest to sit in and the hardest to find. I usually float around in a regular inner tube until I find one.
Castaway Creek is 2000 feet long and flows continuously around the park. It takes approximately 20 minutes to travel the lazy river, which has five landings.
- North Shore Landing
- Village Landing
- Tilly’s Landing
- South Shore Landing
- Happy Landing
North Shore Landing is at the very front of the park, between the wave pool and Singapore Sal’s gift shop. It is the closest landing to the park’s main entrance. The attractions closest to the lazy river’s North Shore Landing are:
If we’re walking the park counter-clockwise (in the opposite direction of the flow of the lazy river), we’ll run into Village Landing. This is where you’ll find:
Moving on, we have Tilly’s Landing. It’s right before you go through the cave. Stop here for a restroom break or to check out the seating area formerly home to the park’s shark reef. Unfortunately, it closed many years ago.
We’ll continue our way behind the wave pool and through the tunnel. Here is a photo of the walkway running parallel to Castaway Creek. The wall on the left side of the photo supports the Surf Pool.
On the opposite side of Castaway Creek, a beautiful waterfall cascades the mountainside. The rope bridge in the picture below is part of the Mountain Trail.
If you enjoy hiking or exploring, don’t miss the Mountain Trail. It’s a fun walk, and you’ll almost always have the place to yourself. I’m convinced that most guests are entirely unaware this attraction exists.
We’ll continue through the Forgotten Grotto. I didn’t take my camera underwater because I didn’t want to ruin it. You can see how water streams down over the entrance of the cavern. So you might get a little wet as you pass through.
You may notice that the flooring along the walkway is wet. Disney’s water parks provide sprayers to cool the ground. They are usually found every couple of feet throughout many park areas. However, we wouldn’t recommend visiting without water park shoes. If you forget, you can buy a pair in the gift shop. But it’s much cheaper to purchase them ahead of time and bring them with you.
Our next to last stop is at South Shore Landing. This is where you’ll find the park’s “falls” slides and children’s aquatic play area. If you’re on Castaway Creek, you’ll want to exit at South Shore Landing for the following attractions:
The lazy river passes through a small area where it splits before reaching the last landing.
Below is a photo of one of the landings. Each has a wide staircase that leads down to the lazy river, which averages between two and three feet in depth. Most of the landings exit inside the lazy river. Each exit has a bridge within the vicinity if you want to exit the area.
Happy Landing is the last stop before we are back to the front of the park. (Since we walked this backward, it would be your first stop on the float.)
Happy Landings is one of the quick-service dining locations at Typhoon Lagoon. It sells ice cream treats. It’s hard to see, but if you look closely, a giant ice cream cone cutout advertises the stop to all those floating down Castaway Creek. Additionally, you can exit in this area for the Bay Slides. Oh, and don’t be surprised if someone sprays you when you pass by this area. There are a couple of sprayers on the deck that children love to aim at unsuspecting guests.
We’ve made it back to the front of the park!
The Resorts Gal Spin on Castaway Creek
We give Castaway Creek the green light. This is an attraction that you can do anytime! Make sure to enjoy it as much as possible. It’s a relaxing journey and the scenery along the way is perfectly themed to the rest of the park!
Resorts Gal Traffic Signals
Green Light
We give an attraction the green light if we consider it a must-do, regardless of the posted wait. We also give the green light for attractions we deem suitable to experience anytime. For example, some attractions have high capacities. Therefore, the lines continuously move and you shouldn’t have a long wait unless the attraction experiences downtime.
Red Light
We recommend checking the posted wait times for red light attractions. Then, make a quick judgment call on whether to wait, skip it, or return later. We also red light some attractions that we feel might not be suitable based on our experience.
Final Thoughts
Castaway Creek is the perfect place to relax on a leisurely afternoon. It’s also an ideal mode of transportation for getting around the park, as long as you’re not in a hurry! For more on the water park, you might also enjoy the following:
- Locker Rentals at Typhoon Lagoon
- Does Typhoon Lagoon Provide Towels?
- Typhoon Lagoon Height Requirements Guide
- Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Dining Guide
Or browse our entire Disney Typhoon Lagoon Guide for an overview of everything related to the park. You might also enjoy the Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park, which provides an overview of the park’s amenities. You can also preview all of our content related to Disney’s two water parks.
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In the Comments
What are your thoughts about Castaway Creek? Are you a fan of the lazy river? Let us know below in the comments.
