Thanks for bringing your question to the Disney Parks Moms Panel, Janet!
My family and I absolutely love the
Walt Disney World Resort Water Parks. While each of the Water Parks does close during the winter and/or early spring for updates and refurbishments, one of the two Parks is always open. Currently
Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park is closed, but the
Park Hours calendar indicates that it will reopen on Monday, January 13. At that time
Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park will close for its refurbishment.
I’m not sure how long your
Walt Disney World Resort vacation is, but if your trip spans these two dates, I would recommend making time to visit Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park first (before it closes on January 13). Then if you’re staying until January 13, you can visit Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park for its 2020 reopening.
As far as Characters in the Water Parks are concerned, you’ll typically find Goofy wandering around in his swim trunks and tank top over at Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park, whereas Lilo and Stitch often make appearances at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park. There are actual meet & greet locations for these Characters at each Water Park, but we’ve often seen them wandering around, interacting with Guests and posing for photos. Typically there’s also an official
Disney PhotoPass photographer with them, too!
Enjoy your January visit to Walt Disney World Resort, Janet, and please let us know if there are any other questions we can answer for you as you plan your visit to The Most Magical Place on Earth.
Amy