If you're heading to Disney this summer, expect crowds at both Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. Who wouldn't want to spend the day wet when the temperatures are soaring well into the 90's?
I've found a couple ways to fend off some of the crowds. First, we never go to the water parks on the weekends. Locals who have annual passes often go at that time adding to the crowds.
Disney resort guests get the added benefit of being admitted every day into the water parks at 9 a.m. while everyone else has to wait till 10 a.m. Add to that the fact that many people won't get up early because they were out late, and you have very low crowd levels at both water parks early in the morning. Many people choose to hit the parks in the morning and head to the water parks in the afternoon. I reverse that and head to the water parks in the morning and get on all the popular rides multiple times before the big crowds arrive. Then when it starts getting full, we head to the lazy river or the wave pool. We usually have lunch in the water park and by early afternoon when the crowds peak, I'm wrapping up my water park day. This also allows us to escape the ever-popular afternoon thunderstorm that's a regular occurrence in Florida during the summer months. Disney has an elaborate radar system that is used to determine how close to the parks (and resort swimming pools also) lightning is striking. Disney takes no chances when it comes to thunderstorms and lightning and acts quickly to get guests out of the water until the storm passes.
Both water parks have their own unique highlights and I wouldn't recommend one over the other. I always try to get to both parks when there during the warm weather.