Orlando 2002: Blizzard Beach

Blizzard Beach made for the perfect mid-week break. Unfortunately, rain again intruded on our day. We enjoyed the morning swimming and zooming down water slide but by noon, the rain and lightening closed the park. We went back to the condo for lunch and returned to the park as the rain seemed to ease up. Though the rain returned later in the afternoon, it didn't spoil our fun

Expecting a typical water park with sandy beaches and tropical decore, Bodie and Shelby are a bit confused by the name Blizzard Beach???	Sure enough, bewilderment crosses their faces as they enter a snow-filled water park. Sure it is real, Bodie can't understand why it is not cold.
Seeing that the Florida sun may be setting in, Shelby and Brooklyn inspect the poor snow people who are starting to melt away as water drips from them.	Always the leader, Preston gives out the last minute instructions on just what the game plan is for the day.
Tropical Florida palm trees give a whole new look to snow.	The Family Raft Ride is the best water slide ever. In front of us are the Browns starting their trek down the slide.
This is Slumit Plumit where we all experience the thrill of the ski jump. Here, you can see a person who just launched from the jump. Shelby and Bodie wait below to see us descend.	After surviving the jump, Trina has to reposition everything. Seems that your suit has a lot to do with you slowing down at the end of the jump.
Goofey stops by in the wave pool to make sure everyone is OK.	]The wave pool is still a favorite for the kids. Equipped with waterfalls and constant waves, this sandless ocean keeps everyone entertained.
Around 3:00, the thunderstorms finally catch us and cause the park to shut down. Determined to wait this shower out, we are herded into safety areas as the lightening strikes close by. On the way to the shelter, Brannon takes advantage of this time to pick on one of the life guards by jumping in and out of the water as we walk. A life guard we called Blondie took her job way too seriously and ended up getting pretty upset at us.	Not wanting to spend any time with Blondie, we joined a different group under a shelter. We have a great time taking turns burring the kids and one of the life guards in the sand.
During the storm, Bodie thought he would catch up on sleep. The hard table didn't seem to bother him at all.	Bored after almost an hour, the life guards in our safety area decide to liven things up a bit. After attempting to engage other pavilions in spirit yelling competitions, we resort to using latex gloves as water balloons. Our balloon fights, yelling competitions, and some even shooting moons must have warded off the rain as we are soon released to enjoy the park once more.
After going back to the water areas, we realize we are some of the few people who waited out the storm. It feels like we have the entire park to ourselves.	The t-lift is normally to take people to the top of the mountain. Here the t-lift is used to drop the kids down the mountain. At the bottom of the mountain, the t-bar stops and kids fly off the end and into the pool.
Bodie and the rest of the kids can't get enough of this. Soon they were flipping off the end and seeing how big of a splash they could make.	Although this area is reserved for kids only, Brannon thought he could get around the problem by staying on his knees. Although they tried to kick him out, he just kept going as fast as he could and kept away from the life guards.

Blizzard Beach turned out to be a blast. We wish that it would have stayed opened until midnight. We were probably the last ones out of the gate as we left with our heads down.