Ashley,
Thanks for asking your question to planDisney!
This is a very common question. No, you do not have to use your water park passes on days where you are also going to a theme park. In fact, I don't even recommend it! Why cram a water park visit and a theme park visit onto the same day, when each visit can get its own day?
Admissions to the water parks and to the theme parks run independently of each other. So yes, you could go to a theme park in the morning, then visit a water park. But your 4-day park hopper plus passes let you redeem all those different park admissions, both for the water parks and the theme parks, across a 7-day period, at your discretion.
RECOMMENDATIONI love to put a water park day squarely in the middle of my trip. While there are plenty of thrills in a water park, those visits are typically a bit more relaxing, and can be a nice break in the middle of a vacation. For my family the plan is to do 2 theme park days, then a water park day, then back to the theme parks to round out our magical fun!
BONUS TIP #1But what are you going to do when you are in the water park? If you would like to plus up your water park visit, you might want to consider booking one of the reserved spaces, like the
Beachcomber Shack or the
Umbrella reservations at
Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park.
Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park has similar options as well. Just call
(407) WDW-PLAY or
(407) 939-7529 to make a reservation.
BONUS TIP #2
Before you ask, no, you do not need to make a Theme Park Reservation using the
Disney Park Pass System for a water park visit.
Please feel free to
write me back directly if you have any follow-up questions.
Have a Magical Vacation!Doug