A big part of Disney World has been shut down for MONTHS without any significant update from Disney on its status.

Though Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park has opened, Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park has been closed since January of 2022. Yes, that’s right. One of Disney’s water parks has remained totally CLOSED throughout the entire HOT Florida summer. So, what gives? Here’s what we know.

Reopening and Closure

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all 4 of Disney’s theme parks, its water parks, and more closed. The theme parks reopened part-way through 2020, but it wasn’t until March of 2021 that Blizzard Beach finally reopened.

We got a special preview of the water park, and then attended the official reopening. During our time there, we checked out what it was like to wear a mask at the park (which was then required), and shared a peek at the refillable mugs.

We also shared full reviews of the Honey Butter Chicken Sandwich, the Frozen Black Cherry Lemonade, and our Sand Pail FULL of ice cream.

But Blizzard Beach’s opening didn’t last all that long. Less than a year later — on January 2nd, 2022 — Blizzard Beach closed for refurbishment.

Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon reopened on the same date to accommodate the closure. Its reopening came with some colorful ice cream treats, create-your-own DOLE Whip, a SPICY DOLE Whip cocktail, and other water park fun.

Click here for our FULL coverage of Typhoon Lagoon’s reopening!

Since early January of 2022, Typhoon Lagoon has remained open while Blizzard Beach has been closed. So…what’s going on?

Refurbishment

Well, the first thing to know is that long water park closures to take care of those refurbishments aren’t unusual for Disney World.

For example, back in 2019, Blizzard Beach closed in September and then reopened in January of 2020. Closures for the water parks aren’t at all uncommon during the winter months. These are the months when Disney World gets “colder” and thus guests may not be as inclined to hop in the water. It makes sense to take advantage of that time to do some refurbishments and get the water parks ready for the summer season.

According to our friends at AllEars, Blizzard Beach closed from late October 2017 to early January 2018, and Typhoon Lagoon followed soon after — closing in early January 2018 and reopening in March 2018. In October 2018, Blizzard Beach once again closed through early January 2019. Typhoon Lagoon followed after, closing until mid-March.

So you can see the trend there — typically one water park closes during the later part of the year and reopens early the next year, at which point the other water park closes for a few months and then reopens — with both fully operational through the summer to accommodate all guests.

But that’s not what has happened here. Blizzard Beach closed in early January of 2022, at which point Typhoon Lagoon reopened. But, Blizzard Beach has yet to reopen. We’re well through the “main” part of summer for 2022, and still, there hasn’t been any Blizzard Beach update from Disney.

The Current Status

The Blizzard Beach website still notes that the park is closed for refurbishment and does not provide any reopening date.

In fact, the calendar on the Blizzard Beach page lets us scroll all the way to February 5th, 2023, but no times are listed available for that date.

But it does look like refurbishments are underway. On August 7th, 2022, bioreconstruct shared some aerial images of the water park via Twitter.

It appears that there is a crane staged near the park (on the left side of the photo), indicating that construction is still going on.

Aerial overview of Blizzard Beach. Closed for refurbishment. Note crane staged at left. pic.twitter.com/CYr45EpaQm

— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) August 7, 2022

Here’s a closer look at that crane. According to bioreconstruct, the crane is likely to move to a concrete pad that was recently added so it can reach inside the park.

Aerial look at a crane (lower left) being used to refurbish Blizzard Beach. Crane likely to move to the recently added concrete pad and reach inside the park with the extension currently on ground. pic.twitter.com/ySagPfWK2S

— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) August 7, 2022

It is a sign that construction is underway, which is a good thing in one sense because it represents overall movement toward an eventual reopening. But it may also suggest that we shouldn’t expect a reopening date to pop up anytime soon since construction is still very much actively being done.

Aerial look at a tall crane towering above Blizzard Beach. Seems like the crane will soon move closer and with an extension truss reach deep inside the park for next phase of refurbishment. pic.twitter.com/0J1jHiAWk5

— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) August 7, 2022

The next photo really gives a sense of how big the crane is!

Aerial photo that conveys height of a crane used for refurbishment of Blizzard Beach. Seems like the crane will move to a recently added pad soon, and with the extension (seen on ground) reach deep inside the park for the next phase of work. pic.twitter.com/J7fLpW17PU

— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) August 7, 2022

Here’s another look at that concrete pad in place.

Aerial look at a crane moved to a staging area at Blizzard Beach. Nearby is a recently added concrete pad for the crane. Seems like the crane will be reaching deep into the park for the next phase of refurbishment. pic.twitter.com/zAtm5bHwoj

— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) August 7, 2022

There are some other indications that progress is really being made here. Back on June 20th, bioreconstruct posted a photo of what appeared to be some water slide section replacement at Teamboat Springs. As of August 7th, it looks like that refurbishment is complete.

Seems like refurbishment is complete at Teamboat Springs in Blizzard Beach. Sections of the waterslide were replaced. See previous Tweet this Thread. pic.twitter.com/LTXbNOnUd5

— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) August 7, 2022

Additionally, there was a part of the parking lot that had been staging for new sections of a waterslide and it looks like things have been cleaned up there.

Aerial overview of Blizzard Beach. Closed for refurbishment. The parking lot at lower right had been staging for new sections of waterslide. pic.twitter.com/sjGDMnilzW

— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) August 7, 2022

Over the past few months, we have also seen some permits filed related to Blizzard Beach including one for “general construction” on an address tied to Melt-Away Bay (which is within Blizzard Beach). That permit has an expiration date of 7/21/2023 though, so that could indicate a longer construction period than expected.

There was also another permit filed to “install show elements” at an address associated with Tikes Peak (another spot within Blizzard Beach). This one didn’t specify an expiration date (meaning it’ll be a default of 1 year from the date of recording — which was back in May of 2022).

So things are moving forward but it looks like there could still be a lot of work left to do. One planDisney Cast Member told a guest that the water park was initially expected to reopen in the Spring (which would have made sense and given it the chance to open for the hot summer season), but “it remains closed, and we are not sure when the expected reopening date will be.”

Blizzard Beach’s future reopening remains a bit of a mystery at this point. It seems that work is actively being done there, but things may still have a ways to go. In the meantime, Typhoon Lagoon is open for all your water park needs.

You can also stay cool in the heat by checking out your hotel pool, picking up a neck fan, grabbing FREE water, and checking out our post ALL about staying cool.

Check back with us for more updates!

Click here to see how Florida Residents can get 2 water park tickets for the price of 1!

Are you a fan of Blizzard Beach? Tell us in the comments!