The semi-annual Disney World water park swap has occurred and Blizzard Beach is now open for the 2023 holiday season. The opening of Blizzard Beach means the closing of Typhoon Lagoon. While only having one water park open for the winter season isn’t uncommon, Disney World still hasn’t operated both water parks at the same time since March 2020. At this point, it can’t be a staffing issue and has to be a breakeven/budget issue. Obviously, there won’t be enough attendance during the cold(er) winter months, but even during the summer, it seems like guest demand simply isn’t at a level where it makes sense for Disney to operate both parks simultaneously. Anyway, back to the Blizzard Beach reopening.
Guests were let into Blizzard Beach roughly 30 minutes before the park opened, which has been standard procedure for a while. Guests will then be held at the bridges that crosses Cross Country Creek lazy river until official park open. Before we step inside, here’s a look at your transportation options if utilizing the Disney World bus system.
A few dozen guests were at the park when we arrived shortly before 9:30am and more would arrive before the 10am rope drop. Temperatures were in the low 70s at park open, but made it up to the low 80s for a high.
Here’s a look at current pricing, which reflects a recent price increase.
Time to hit the slopes!
Blizzard Beach Backstory
As legend goes, it was a meteorological phenomenon of the strangest order. One balmy day, a freak winter storm developed over the western end of the Walt Disney World Resort and covered the area with a thick blanket of powdery white snow. Before you could say “hot cocoa,” plans were underway for Florida’s first ski resort.
Ski lifts were put up, toboggan runs were laid down and an entire resort area blossomed around the mountain of snow. Yet before the first skier could strap on a pair of boots and stick their poles into the snow, the temperatures returned to their normal Florida levels and the powdery snow quickly turned into slippery slush.
The ski resort operators saw their dream melting down the hillside. Yet, that’s not all they saw. As the slush began cascading down and pools of water began to form, an echoing “yahoo” was heard from the summit of the mountain. Everyone looked up to see a playful alligator careening down the melting hillside. He slid to the base of the mountain and landed in a pool of water with a thunderous splash. They knew at once that they were back in business.
Slalom courses, bobsled, and toboggan runs became downhill waterslides. The creek of melted snow that formed at the base of the mountain became a relaxing tube ride. The chairlift carried swimmers instead of skiers. The ski jump became the tallest and fastest water slide in the world.
The ski resort became known as Disney’s Blizzard Beach, the most slushy, slippery, exhilarating water park anywhere!
Just beyond the gates (and as you exit) is a sign that advertises the new water park seasonal pass.
Snow flurries are available periodically near the park entrance, but we didn’t notice them anywhere else inside the park. This area is where Santa Claus will meet starting November 11th.
All of the rides were open today, but we started our tour with a look at the Frozen-themed section, Tike’s Peak, before it got too busy. This was a new addition about a year ago now, but it still looks great.
Crossing over Cross Country Creek, we’re going to head up toward Summit Plummet, the most recognizable water slide at the park.
As we pass through the Ski Patrol Training Camp (a young kids adventure area), we are always happy to see Ice Gator remain the icon for the water park. There was some concern that the park would become completely Frozen-themed when the Tike’s Peak retheme was announced, but those concerns were unfounded.
There isn’t an itemized list of what was done during the lengthy closure/refurbishment, but some areas look like they received a fresh coat of paint (while others definitely didn’t). Officially, the only thing that is new at Blizzard Beach is some food, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
As we climb up to Summit Plummet, we get a good overview of Blizzard Beach water park.
Making our way back down the mountain, we’ll continue our photo tour of a wonderful November day.
It looks like even 7+ months of refurbishment wasn’t long enough to get new signage installed.
In terms of what’s new, the only announcement was new churros and new wings. Here’s a look at those two offerings.
Here’s a look at the current refillable drink and beer options and pricing.
A few more photos from around the park before we check out merchandise on our way out.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!