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Free Traveling Guides » States » Florida » Walt Disney World Blizzard Beach
Blizzard Beach, a popular water park situated at the Walt Disney World Resort, was established on April 1, 1995. It was the third water park to be established at WDW after River Country Water Park and Typhoon Lagoon. The Blizzard Beach is themed after the ‘Disney Legend’ of a strikingly unusual snowstorm in the area, which led to the formation of the first ski resort in Florida. The snow did not last long, as was anticipated, and left behind several water-logged chair lifts and ski jumps. The resort failed and while it was in the process of closing, an alligator was seen sliding down a chute and spattering into a pool of water, screaming "Yahoo!!!!" Thus, the ‘ski-resort’ was restructured to a water park, with Ice Gator, the alligator, as the mascot.
The majority of the water areas in the park are heated to nearly 80° F (27° C), with the exception of the melting snow in the Ice Cave of the Cross Country Creek. The main attraction at Blizzard Beach is the spectacular Mount Gushmore, an artificial hill with an elevation of 90 feet (27 m). Most of the major attractions of the park are hosted atop the mountain, which also aids in hiding the pipes in the park. Mt. Gushmore features slopes of three different colors, green, red, and purple, in order to facilitate the guests in navigating around the park. All the Green Slope attractions are situated at the highest point of Mount Gushmore and can be accessed either by a chairlift or on foot. Summit Plummet, a 120 ft (36.57 m) tall flagship attraction, is the tallest and the fastest free-fall body slide in the world. Other major green slope attractions include the 1400-foot (430-m) long Teamboat Springs, the world’s longest white-water raft ride, and the 90-foot (27-m) tall Slush Gusher, a snow-banked mountain gully body slide attraction that reaches a maximum speed of 35 mph (56 km/hr).
The Purple Slope attractions, on the other hand, feature two identical tracks, which are specially designed for racing. The most-frequented attractions in this section include the Downhill Double Dipper, the only side-by-side racing slide in the world; Snow Stormers, a 350-foot (110-m) long mat-slide featuring three flumes; and the Toboggan Racers, an 8-lane, 250-foot (75-m) long water slide. The Red Slope, situated at the rear of the Park, features only a single attraction, known as the ‘Runoff Rapids’. This multi-slide attraction has different slides and is not apt for racing. In addition, there are a number of exciting attractions at the ground level, against the base of Mount Gushmore. Some of these attractions include the Melt-away Bay, a 1-acre (4000 sq. m.) wave pool constantly fed by ‘melting snow’ cascades; the Cross Country Creek, a 3000-foot (900-m) long slow-moving water attraction popularly known as the "lazy river"; Ski Patrol, an area with attractions, such as the Leisure Pool, Fahrenheit Drops, Cool Runners, and Freezin’ Pipe Springs, for pre-teenage children; Tike’s Peak, a scaled down version of other attractions at Blizzard Beach; and the Chairlift, which carries a maximum of 3 guests from the base to the summit of the craggy Mount Gushmore.
The Blizzard Beach water park is also home to a number of food and beverage joints, including the Polar Pub, Frostbite Freddie’s, The Cooling Hut, Sled Dogger, and the Warming Hut. The Beach Haus, situated in between the main entrance and the Lottawatta Lodge, is the main merchandise store in the area, offering souvenirs, swimwear, footwear, etc. Authentic pearls can be purchased from North Pearl, situated in the Village across the changing rooms. Locker and towel rentals as well as complimentary life jackets are made available by Snowless Joe’s. Blizzard Beach offers fun and excitement for visitors of all ages and is truly worthwhile.
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