Disney's Blizzard Beach water park will reopen to guests for the 2021 season on March 7, the Walt Disney World Resort announced today.
Disney World's water parks did not reopen along with the theme parks back in July, after the resort closed to guests due to the pandemic in March. In September, Disney announced that the water parks would remain closed until March 2021, with one of the parks returning then. But the resort did not specify whether it would reopen Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon.
Today we learned it would be Blizzard Beach.
The winter-sports-themed water park was closed for its 25th birthday on April 1 of this year, so next year will mark the park's 25th anniversary season. Home to the 120-foot, 65-mph Summit Plummet water slide and the 3,000-foot Cross Country Creek lazy river, Blizzard Beach was the third-most-visited water park in the world last year, according to the TEA/AECOM Theme Index report, trailing its sibling Typhoon Lagoon and the world leader Chimelong Water Park in Guangzhou, China.
And, in case you were wondering, there's been no announcement about a reopening date for Typhoon Lagoon.
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Oddly, while Six Flags Great America was closed all year in Illinois, the Hurricane Harbor water park was open in the summer (and I still scratch my head how wearing a mask on water slides can work well).
Both water parks pose an interesting challenge in terms of employment. Many of the cast, lifeguards included, were part of the Disney College Program. With that on hiatus, Disney will need to find alternatives for staffing. I believe Blizzard Beach is the smaller park, making it a better option.
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Oddly, while Six Flags Great America was closed all year in Illinois, the Hurricane Harbor water park was open in the summer (and I still scratch my head how wearing a mask on water slides can work well).