Want to see a winter wonderland in the middle of Florida? Head to Disney’s Blizzard Beach! As one of Walt Disney World Resort’s two water parks, Blizzard Beach brings a snow-capped mountain and ski lifts to sunny Bay Lake and offers plenty of fun in the sun. 

According to the backstory dreamed up by Disney Imagineers, Blizzard Beach is a water park that sprung up after a freak snowstorm on January 11, 1977 that led to Florida’s first-ever ski resort. However, once Florida’s temperatures returned to normal, the snow melted into slush – and the ski jumps, chair lifts, and other winter amenities were transformed into a water park featuring exhilarating slides instead of mountain ski runs.

Home to frosty fun for the entire family, Blizzard Beach offers a cool place to chill out – and cool down, in the Florida heat – while still enjoying the magic of a Disney World park. And it’s pretty popular, too. While most guests might head to Magic Kingdom Park for a day of fun, Blizzard Beach is actually the third-most visited water park in the world (its sister park, Typhoon Lagoon, is number two!).

Explore Blizzard Beach

• When is Blizzard Beach Open?
• Blizzard Beach Attractions
• Blizzard Beach Dining
• Blizzard Beach Shopping
• Blizzard Beach Transportation

When is Blizzard Beach Open?

Let’s be honest: Even with Florida’s temperate and wonderfully warm weather, there are seasons that aren’t exactly the best for visiting a water park. So, understandably, Disney will typically close down its water parks for refurbishment during the colder (and lower-crowd) months each year.

Typically, Disney World keeps at least one of its two water parks open throughout most of the year. The water is heated at both parks, which makes for a pleasant visit if you are visiting during a more frigid time of the year.

However, if temperatures drop or a cold snap hits, Disney will close down both water parks. It’s always a good idea to check the weather before you head to the airport so you can adjust your plans if needed based on how temps are looking.

If you’re hoping to avoid refurbishment season, it’s kind of impossible to do. Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon typically alternate during the year, with one closing during the summer and the other closing during the winter. 

While this means you can’t fit both water parks into one visit (unless you happen to plan your visit so the closure of one and opening of the other are happening!), it does ensure there’s always one water park guests can check out.

Blizzard Beach Attractions

Photo by Laurie Sapp

Like Disney World’s more “traditional” theme parks, Blizzard Beach features numerous attractions that range from thrilling high-speed slides to calmer, more kid-friendly places to play. While the water park’s layout is a bit different – there aren’t any lands here like you’d find at Magic Kingdom or even neighborhoods like EPCOT – it is divided into different areas, each of which is home to its own slew of attractions.

Here’s a look at the attractions you’ll find in each area within Blizzard Beach.

Green Slope

Blizzard Beach’s Green Slope is the area you’ll find at the highest point of Mount Gushmore – and if you’re looking for some seriously thrilling water slides, head here! It’s home to single-track water slides that will send you plummeting down the park’s iconic peak. Here, you can ride:

• Summit Plummet, a 120-foot tall slide that sends guests flying at 60 miles per hour (it’s the fastest free-fall slide in the world!)
• Teamboat Springs, the world’s longest family white-water raft ride that includes twists, rushing waterfalls, and room for up to six to ride at a time
• Slush Gusher, a 90-foot tall body slide that’ll reach speeds of up to 35 miles per hour

Purple Slope

The Purple Slope at Blizzard Beach is home to racing-style water slides, giving guests the chance to speed down the ski run with a friend in a high-speed race to the bottom. Here, you’ll find slightly slower attractions than those on the Green Slope, but there are still plenty of thrills.

At the Purple Slope, you can ride these attractions:

• Downhill Double Dipper, one of the only side-by-side racing tube slides in the world with a top speed of 25 miles per hour (and yes, there are time clocks to time your race!)
• Snow Stormers, a mat slide with three flumes that mimics a slalom-style ride with switchbacks and curves
• Toboggan Racers, a racing slide with eight lanes, plenty of dips, and guests flying down the slope on toboggan-style mats

Red Slope

Located in the back of Blizzard Beach, the Red Slope offers just one attraction: Runoff Rapids. This slide features inner tubes that fly down tube slides (two open, one enclosed). With twists, turns, and plenty of surprises along the way, it’s a classic water park ride most will enjoy.

Ground Level

Once you’ve mastered all of Blizzard Beach’s high-speed slides and thrills, there are more attractions to explore at ground level (sorry, there’s not really a fancy themed name for this area of the water park!). This is where you’ll find some of the park’s larger attractions, like a classic wave pool, as well as attractions for little kids and access to the chair lift that’ll ferry you up to each of the slopes.

Scattered across the park’s ground level, you’ll find the following attractions:

• Melt-Away Bay, a wave pool that sits at the base of Mount Gushmore
• Cross Country Creek, a slow-moving lazy river that takes guests around the water park’s perimeter in inner tubes, traveling inside an ice cave with some splashy surprises
• Ski Patrol Training Camp, an area design for tweens (or any kids under 12 who meet height requirements), with four attractions that offer smaller versions of more adult thrills: Leisure Pool, Fahrenheit Drops, Freezin’ Pipe Springs, and Cool Runners
• Tike’s Peak, an area with gentle slides, a snow castle fountain play area, and water jets for kids under 48 inches tall
• The Chairlift, a one-way ride that ferries guests from the ground level up to Mount Gushmore’s summit for access to most of the park’s thrill slides

Blizzard Beach Dining

Photo by Laurie Sapp

Blizzard Beach offers a variety of dining options to suit different tastes and dining preferences. However, it’s worth noting that because of its nature as a water park, most of the dining options and restaurants here are casual. 

You can choose from:

• Quick-service restaurants, which offer speedy, time-saving meals you can order and carry to a table of your choosing (or enjoy on the go)
• Snack carts and stands located throughout the park, including popcorn and churro carts

Blizzard Beach Quick-Service Restaurants

Lottawatta Lodge is the sole quick-service restaurant at Blizzard Beach. Styled after a classic ski lodge, this restaurant offers counter service, meaning guests can order food, pick it up, and bring it to any one of the tables within the covered outdoor seating area. 

If you’re looking for a true meal during your day at Blizzard Beach, this is where you’ll want to head. All of the other dining establishments within the water park feature lighter bites and drinks versus complete meals.

Blizzard Beach Snack Spots, Carts, and More

When you’re ready for a snack or a light meal, you can head to one of the six different snack spots or bars located within Blizzard Beach:

• Avalunch, which offers light bites and drinks
• Frostbite Freddie’s, a bar that serves drinks
• Polar Pub, a bar that serves drinks
• I. C. Expeditions, which offers ice cream, desserts, and drinks
• The Cooling Hut, which offers light bites and drinks
• The Warming Hut, which offers hot food and drinks

Blizzard Beach Shopping

If you’re searching for souvenirs or need to refill your sunscreen and water park supplies, there are three stores within Blizzard Beach you can visit:

• Shade Shack, a jewelry store
• Snowless Joe’s, a rental store that offers locker and towel rentals along with complimentary lifejackets
• The Beach Haus, a merchandise store with souvenirs and water park essentials (plus rentals like lockers and towels, too)

Blizzard Beach Transportation

Located right between Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme parks, Blizzard Beach is pretty centrally located within Walt Disney World Resort. It’s close to a number of Disney World Value resorts, making it convenient to get to and from the water park and wherever you might be staying on Disney property. 

There are two primary ways you can get to Blizzard Beach: via Disney bus or by car.

Bus Transportation

Anyone who’s staying in a Disney hotel on-property can use the complimentary bus transportation available to get to and from Blizzard Beach. Just check the bus schedule and routes at your hotel when you check in, and you can figure out when and where to pick up the bus that’ll ferry you over to the water park. 

Note that, depending on which resort you’re staying at, you may be required to transfer along the way. Some resorts will necessitate a stop at a resort like Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, for example, where you’ll get off and get on another bus to finish the trip to Blizzard Beach.

Driving and Parking

If you aren’t staying at a Disney World Resort hotel – or even if you are and choose to use a rental car instead of Disney transportation – you’ll find parking at Blizzard Beach easily. Parking is free at both Disney World water parks, though it can fill up quickly during the peak summer months.