Touring Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon (One-Day Itinerary)
It’s no secret that Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon is a favorite water park for many, including a Resorts Gal favorite. From its tropical landscapes to thrilling attractions, the park is an incredible place to enjoy a sunny day. It’s also an excellent spot to relax and take things slow.
While Typhoon Lagoon isn’t typically as crowded as the theme parks, touring the park can be daunting. But with a little research, you can create a solid plan to get things done and leave time for relaxation. Below, we’ll share a suggested one-day touring plan for Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon. Our itinerary includes the best times to tackle popular attractions like Crush ‘n’ Gusher and Miss Adventure Falls. We’ll also discuss planning a little downtime, dealing with inclement weather, and an overall perspective on how to make the most of your day.
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.
Typhoon Lagoon Itinerary
We’ll start with our suggested itinerary for touring Typhoon Lagoon.
- Park Arrival (Rent a locker and change.)
- Crush ‘n’ Gusher (Ride twice if desired before lines form.)
- Miss Adventure Falls (Ride twice if desired before lines form.)
- Humunga Kowabunga
- Storm Slides
- Cross the Mountain Trail to access the “falls” slides.
- Gangplank Falls
- Mayday Falls
- Keelhaul Falls
- Break for Lunch
- Castaway Creek Lazy River (This is a great place to let lunch digest.)
- Typhoon Lagoon Surf Pool (Relax or catch some waves!)
- For the last one to two hours, experience any attractions you would like to do again.
Over the years, we’ve tested this touring plan many times. We believe it allows you to maximize your time in the park and experience every attraction, or at least everyone 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 hit each attraction as you encounter it and not waste time backtracking.
Often, we tour the park together until lunch. Then, after lunch, we tend to make a loop around the lazy river. From there, I’m ready to take a long afternoon break at the wave pool while my son likes to do a few slides independently. So I’ll find a spot at the wave pool. Then, he’ll know where to find me when he’s finished.
How it Works
Our touring plan is simple to follow, but you’ll need to consider a few things like height requirements, who wants to participate, and who can participate. Not every ride will be suitable for everyone. We have a separate list of height requirements at Typhoon Lagoon if you think this might apply to your touring party.
It’s also important to note that a few attractions, like the Bay Slides and Ketchakiddee Creek, are geared toward toddlers and younger children. Ketchakiddiee Creek is the park’s significant aquatic play area for kids. These areas will not require a touring plan, but you’ll want to incorporate them into your day if you visit with little ones.
Upon arrival, we like to rent a locker and store our items. Locker rentals at Typhoon Lagoon are near the entrance next to Singapore Sal’s. You’ll also find the park’s primary restrooms and dressing rooms here. (We like to arrive at Typhoon Lagoon about 30 minutes before the park opens. That gives us time to park, gather belongings, and rent a locker.)
After storing our items, we throw on our water park shoes and head straight to either Crush ‘n’ Gusher or Miss Adventure Falls. If you are facing the wave pool, these rides are on the right-hand side of the park. For reference, this touring plan circles the park counter-clockwise. So we won’t skip any attractions or double back for anything until lunchtime.
Miss Adventure Falls and Crush ‘n’ Gusher are immediately beside each other. They are two of the most popular attractions in the park and often have relatively long lines. Miss Adventure Falls is a family raft ride suitable for almost everyone. (It’s also the park’s newest attraction, even though it opened some time ago.)
After riding Miss Adventure Falls, we return to the Crush ‘n’ Gusher entrance, a water coaster with a height requirement. Little ones might have to sit this one out. At this point, we would either do Crush ‘n’ Gusher or Miss Adventure Falls again. You can choose to do either, depending on your preference. (Again, these rides are popular, and the lines won’t likely die down for them until later. So the earlier you can get them out of the way, the better.)
However, if you are at Typhoon Lagoon on a day when long lines are forming quickly, you’ll probably want to ride each of these once and then move on to other attractions. So, after finishing up with these two, we’re continuing counter-clockwise around the park toward Humunga Kowabunga and the Storm Slides. Humunga Kowabunga is the large thrill body slide at Typhoon Lagoon. It has a 5-story drop and a considerable height requirement. You won’t see me on this one! But thankfully, a waiting area is available at the bottom for anyone who wants to sit it out. It’s also fun to watch others make a big splash!
Next door to Humunga Kowabunga, you’ll find three Storm Slides. These body slides are gentle and curve their way down the mountain. I have found that I enjoy the Storm Slides much more than the “falls” or inner tube slides. While the waterslide is relatively fast, you don’t feel like you will flip out of a tube on the way down. I don’t know about you, but I get a little frightened when my tube starts making its way up the sides of the slide.
After knocking out a round or two on each slide, we take the Mountain Trail to the “falls” attractions (Gankplank, Keelhaul, and Mayday Falls). The Mountain Trail is a lovely, scenic walkway that crosses Mount Mayday. The trail starts immediately next to Humunga Kowabunga and ends near Gangplank Falls. You’ll cross a rope bridge over the lazy river on your way.
If you do not want to climb the trail (it requires a decent amount of steps), you can follow the path adjacent to the lazy river. From the Storm Slides area, you’ll continue around the park, going in the opposite direction of the lazy river. Technically, you can take the lazy river around, but you’re a much shorter walk to the falls slides from this area.
You’ll soon run into the three falls slides. Gangplank Falls, a short family raft ride, usually has the longest line. We will knock it out first and then do Mayday Falls and Keelhaul Falls. Depending on how busy it is, you might ride these slides several times while in the area. I’m the first to admit I’m not a fan of Gangplank Falls. I always feel like it’s more effort than it’s worth. You can read any of our attraction reviews to learn more by selecting the highlighted links in this article.
When I’m with family and friends, they always know I will tour the park hard with them in the morning and ride everything (except Humunga Kowabunga). But after lunch, I’m usually ready to alternate between the lazy river and the wave pool. I leave it up to them how they want to tour the park in the afternoon.
While we’re still in the area, I wanted to mention that Ketchakiddee Creek sits on the far side of these three attractions. If you have toddlers or smaller children, this water play area is a great place to take a break.
At this point, we’ve covered the slides at Typhoon Lagoon, and if you’ve made it this far along on the touring plan, it’s probably time for lunch. With a 10:00 a.m. start, we usually complete this first round by 12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. We’ll take the lazy river back to the front of the park, pick up a few things from our locker, and grab a bite to eat. We often get lunch from Typhoon Tilly’s or Leaning Palms. You can learn more about dining in our Typhoon Lagoon Dining Guide.
After lunch, we almost always make a couple of laps around Castaway Creek, the lazy river. Then, we split up for most of the remainder of the afternoon.
After that, I’m off to the wave pool. My son usually knows where to find me. Of course, he’s old enough to explore the parks independently.
What if it Rains?
It is common during the summer months for a storm to pass through at some point during the afternoon. While this might put a damper on the day, I have found that a quick rain shower improves things tremendously at the park. When storm clouds appear, many guests leave. I recommend checking the weather to see how long the storm system will last.
On most of our visits, there is a 30-minute period of rain before the sunshine returns, and the park is usually pretty empty at that point. If this situation occurs, and you wait out the rain, head straight to any desired attraction when the pools re-open. You can usually ride anything with minimal waits multiple times. Some of our best experiences at Typhoon Lagoon have been on days when a storm cleared nearly everyone out.
Additionally, you will have good luck touring Typhoon Lagoon later in the day, regardless of the storms. For whatever reason, water parks tend to empty earlier. So many guests make dinner reservations for Disney Springs on their water park day. They’ll leave early to return to their hotels and get ready for dinner. My suggestion? Don’t do this.
While a day at a water park can be relaxing, you spend the entire day in the sun. Additionally, being in the water for an extended time tends to wear most people out. I’m not saying you shouldn’t go out for dinner. But on our water park days, we’ll return to our hotel and pick up a quick-service meal. Then we’ll enjoy our meal at the resort’s pool and maybe even catch the nightly Movies Under the Stars. You probably won’t find us trekking all over Disney Springs after a full day at the water park.
So many people try to pack it all in when they are at Disney. I learned many years ago that I find joy in the little things. My little thing is sitting in a chair at the back of the wave pool until the park closes. It’s so relaxing to watch the waves as they come and go. The last thing I want to do is leave that spot and rush to get ready for something else.
Final Thoughts on Touring Typhoon Lagoon
Hopefully, this touring plan provided a good idea of how to go about your day at Typhoon Lagoon. While there’s plenty to do, you can usually experience everything at least once during a day’s visit. For more on the water park, you might like:
- Beachcomber Shacks (Cabana Rentals at Typhoon Lagoon)
- Typhoon Lagoon Transportation Options
- Character Meets at Typhoon Lagoon
- Refillable Mugs at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon
Or you might like our Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon. 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
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