Disney's Blizzard Beach

Disney's Blizzard Beach
	;
Location	Walt Disney World Resort, Bay Lake, Florida, U.S.
Coordinates	28°21′06″N 81°34′31″W / 28.351804°N 81.575415°W
Status	Operating
Opened	April 1, 1995
Owner	Disney Experiences; (The Walt Disney Company)
Operated by	Walt Disney World
Theme	"Melting" ski resort
Operating season	Year-round with annual maintenance closure
Website	Official website

Disney's Blizzard Beach is a water theme park located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida near Orlando. All water areas are heated to approximately 80 °F or 27 °C, with the exception of the melting snow in the ice cave of Cross Country Creek.

The park opened on April 1, 1995, as the third Walt Disney World water park.^[1] In 2016, the park hosted approximately 2,091,000 guests, ranking it the third-most visited water park in the world behind its sister park Typhoon Lagoon.^[2] Blizzard Beach is open year-round with an annual maintenance closure in the winter. During the Blizzard Beach closures, Typhoon Lagoon usually remains open.

Most major attractions at the park are found atop Mount Gushmore, an artificial hill with an elevation of 90 feet (27.4 m). Mount Gushmore is split into three colored slopes to aid guests navigating around the park: Green, Red, and Purple.

The park's winter theming was conceived by designer-Imagineer Marshall Monroe, a Creative Executive and Principle Technical Staff at the Walt Disney Company. Innovative elements of the park include a beach chair-themed chair lift, complete with beach umbrellas, and pretend snow skis. The setting and atmosphere of the park blend together tropical landscaping with simulated melting snow. The central mountain is unique as a large structure in the high water table Floridian woodland. The architecture brings together an aesthetic of alpine lodges with Caribbean colors and accents.

The water park, along with all the other Walt Disney World parks, closed in March 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon remained closed while the four other Walt Disney World theme parks reopened from July 11–15, 2020.^[3]^[4] Disney's Blizzard Beach reopened at Walt Disney World Resort on March 7, 2021,^[5] after being closed for nearly a year.

^ "A History of the Walt Disney Company". The Walt Disney Company. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
^ Au, Tsz Yin (Gigi); Chang, Bet; Chen, Bryan; Cheu, Linda; Fischer, Lucia; Hoffman, Marina; Kondaurova, Olga; LaClair, Kathleen; Li, Shaojin; Linford, Sarah; Marling, George; Miller, Erik; Nevin, Jennie; Papamichael, Margreet; Robinett, John; Rubin, Judith; Sands, Brian; Selby, William; Timmins, Matt; Ventura, Feliz; Yoshii, Chris (June 1, 2017). "TEA/AECOM 2016 Theme Index & Museum Index: Global Attractions Attendance Report" (PDF). aecom.com. Themed Entertainment Association. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
^ Laughing Place Staff (May 27, 2020). "Live Blog: Walt Disney World Presents Reopening Plans to Orange County Economic Recovery Taskforce". Laughing Place. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
^ Brown, Genevieve Shaw (March 27, 2020). "Walt Disney World, Disneyland closed 'until further notice'". ABC News. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
^ "7 Reasons to Be Excited for the Opening of Disney's Blizzard Beach in March 2021". Disney Parks Blog. December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.

[D23_Disney.com-1] "A History of the Walt Disney Company". The Walt Disney Company. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2017.

[2016_Report-2] Au, Tsz Yin (Gigi); Chang, Bet; Chen, Bryan; Cheu, Linda; Fischer, Lucia; Hoffman, Marina; Kondaurova, Olga; LaClair, Kathleen; Li, Shaojin; Linford, Sarah; Marling, George; Miller, Erik; Nevin, Jennie; Papamichael, Margreet; Robinett, John; Rubin, Judith; Sands, Brian; Selby, William; Timmins, Matt; Ventura, Feliz; Yoshii, Chris (June 1, 2017). "TEA/AECOM 2016 Theme Index & Museum Index: Global Attractions Attendance Report" (PDF). aecom.com. Themed Entertainment Association. Retrieved July 26, 2017.

[3] Laughing Place Staff (May 27, 2020). "Live Blog: Walt Disney World Presents Reopening Plans to Orange County Economic Recovery Taskforce". Laughing Place. Retrieved May 27, 2020.

[4] Brown, Genevieve Shaw (March 27, 2020). "Walt Disney World, Disneyland closed 'until further notice'". ABC News. Retrieved May 14, 2024.

[5] "7 Reasons to Be Excited for the Opening of Disney's Blizzard Beach in March 2021". Disney Parks Blog. December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.

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