Day 2: Saturday July 18, 2015
Because I fell asleep so early, I was awake fairly early. I watched a bit of TV and took my time getting ready for the day.
Eventually I headed down to the food court for a super healthy breakfast of Powerade and an apple turnover. From there, I headed back to my room and got my bag for the first part of the day, then headed to the bus stop.
Since it was, well, summer, and I had one day more than I usually have on my summer trips, I had decided to spend some time at Typhoon Lagoon. So that was my destination this morning.
Since it says everywhere that buses start running an hour before park opening, I had no reason to believe Typhoon Lagoon buses are any different. I got to the bus stop about 8 am. Not long after I got there a bus pulled up labeled simply Downtown Disney. So I asked the driver if he was going to both places. He actually radioed into dispatch to see if he could. Turns out that buses supposedly start running to the water parks half an hour before they open. He was told he could if I wanted him to. But I'd heard the whole exchange and felt weird getting there crazy early so I thanked him and told him I'd wait in air conditioning until the buses really start running, explaining that I had simply used the theme park guideline.
Now, to add to my confusion, Downtown Disney didn't open until 9:30 that day. Why would anyone want to go there an hour and a half before it opens?!
So I wandered a bit and then went back out to the bus stop about 8:20, just in time to step on a waiting bus for Typhoon Lagoon. Now my math is not the strongest, unless it involves figuring out which is a better discount: 20% or $10 (Thanks Macy's!) but last I checked, 8:20 is more than 30 minutes before park opening, and the bus had clearly already stopped at All Star Sports. Consider me confused.
Anyway, the trip to Typhoon Lagoon was easy. When the bus arrived, I saw other buses arriving, and many people already at the entrance gate. So I’m still a little confused about the water park bus situation. Oh well.
I headed for the entrance, hoping the ticket would work right. I had purchased it the day before at the hotel, so it was attached to my Magic Band. Thankfully there were no problems, and I was walking into the park minutes after stepping off the bus.
Once in the park, I hopped into the very short line for locker rentals, and before it was even 9, my stuff was stashed in a locker, and I was ready when they dropped the rope and let us into the rest of the park. I headed straight to the Crush n’ Gusher.
Last time I was at Typhoon Lagoon it was unseasonably chilly by Florida standards. It was April, so I was pretty ok with the low 70s, but apparently most of the world wasn’t, and it was a super uncrowded day at the water park. It was also pretty breezy. Because of the combination of low crowds and wind (I guess?) Crush n’ Gusher was only open to people riding in pairs. I was solo on that trip (shocker I know), so I didn’t get the chance to ride, because I was not cool with the idea of pairing up with some solo stranger to sit in a raft in swimsuits. That’s a bit beyond my comfort level. I was hoping that on a day approaching 100* in July I would not have the same issue.
It was a quick walk over to Crush n’ Gusher where I found an even shorter ride. I was more than a little confused when, despite stating that I was riding solo, I was directed to grab a double tube. That’s what I get for being a newbie on this ride. So I grabbed the tube, that was roughly the same height as I am, and headed for the stairs, trying to figure out how to haul that sucker up the stairs. That thing was heavier than it looked!
There were a lot more stairs than it looked too. By the time I reached the top of the stairs, I was really wishing I had a park buddy. That tube is heavy, I’m embarrassingly out of shape, and I’m one of those conundrums where the doctors can never decide if I have asthma or not, because my numbers are always JUST on the border. I was sucking some serious wind by the time I reached the top of the stairs...like hiking at elevation in Colorado style sucking wind. This ride better be worth it!
It was. But despite the non-existent line when I exited the landing pool, I did not keep my tube and rejoin the line like so many others. I knew a set of lungs that needed a bit of recovery time…
I wandered a bit, checking out the Shark Reef for a bit. I thought about trying the snorkeling, but hearing people’s screeches as they entered the cold water was enough turn off for me. It’s July. I’ll be encountering cold again in about 2 months (and, I was right, almost 2 months to the day, we saw upper 30s overnight!). After watching for a bit, I headed for the other corner of the park.
Next on the agenda was Mayday Falls. By now, crowds had started to arrive in the park so there was actually a small line. While the person behind me was not impressed, my lungs were grateful. I spent my time in line wishing I could ride Gangplank Falls. Mayday is fun, but one of these days I should really go to Typhoon Lagoon with more people than just me. Group raft rides are more fun.
After splashing down Mayday Falls twice, I was ready for some being lazy, so it was off to the wave pool. I stayed there for not long, before deciding to attempt Crush n’ Gusher one more time. I figured by now there might be a bit of a line. With pauses for the line, perhaps the trek up those stairs wouldn’t be quite as bad.
Wishing Fitbits were waterproof, I walked back over to Crush n’ Gusher. There was a brief wait for a tube, and then it was time to hike up the stairs again. This time went better. It really does help to have a line/have to pause occasionally. And yes, I’m still baffling the doctors…
After my second trip on Crush n’ Gusher, it was lazy river time. I had to wait a bit for a single tube, but eventually one came along. I did several laps in the river before I decided I’d had enough of kids trying to swim through the river. I really missed HersheyPark’s VERY strict policy that everyone must be in a tube in the river.
When I was done in the river, it was time for lunch. This is where the Magic Band shined. I found a spot I wanted for lunch, and hopped in line. I’ve never been one to charge to the room, because historically, I had to dig out the key card and if I was digging for the card, I might as well dig for the credit card. With the band on my wrist, I didn’t have to dig (or in this case, return to the locker) for a card. The Magic Band has changed the way I pay for things at Disney.
I had a chicken dish for lunch that involved beans, rice, and plantains. It was VERY good. After lunch, I decided I’d done everything I wanted, and it might be time for a break. So I packed up and headed out of the park, stopping for a couple pictures along the way, and considering finding a way over to Blizzard Beach, since those 1 day tickets are hoppers now. But, it was starting to cloud over and the crowds were pretty thick (people were now being parked on the lawn), so, since the crowds were probably just as thick at BB, I decided to just go back to the hotel. I stopped for a couple of pictures along the way.
It was a fairly short wait for the All Star bus to appear...and drive right by the All Star stop, to stop at the next one. Huh? The few of us that were waiting for it raced over to the next stop, where the driver apologized for going to the wrong stop. Haven’t seen that one before.
I kind of started wishing I had chosen the water park closer to my hotel and gone to Blizzard Beach instead of Typhoon Lagoon, as I shivered my way back to the hotel. The bus ride isn’t really that long, and I thought my swimsuit had had plenty of time to dry, but with the air conditioning blasting, it was a chilly ride back to the hotel. Once I thawed out and started thinking straight again, I went back to being glad I had chosen TL over BB. Granted, I’ve never been to Blizzard Beach, but, I see enough snow at home!
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