Photo TR: Aquatica!

WillMontu · February 25, 2008

More pictures are on Page 2. Video coming soon

In case you haven't heard already, SeaWorld Orlando has been building a new waterpark next to the property. There were stories about the park having dual toilet bowl slides and a ride that went through an dolphin tank. Today, I got a chance to check the place out during the passholder preview day.

The park itself is pretty good. It has the type of theming that one would expect from a Busch park and has a southern Pacific type theme. The logo of the park includes a Kiwi, the national symbol of New Zealand. There was a bit of confusion though. The voiceover for all the ride warnings, park announcements, and such has more of an Aussie accent (I know what a Kiwi accent sounds like), but begins by saying "Kia ora", which is actually the greeting of the Maori people of New Zealand.

One feature I noticed about the park was the changing rooms. They were brand new, but they offered "private" areas for showers and changing. I think they should put something on the floors though, as it would be very easy to slip.

I have a lot of stuff to post for this trip. In addition to the regular digital pictures I took in the park, I shot a few panoramic shots, and also had a waterproof camera and will post those when I develop the film. A video is also in the works.

More stuff will be on the way.

This seems to be a common feature of Busch parks. We didn't see any beer though.

In case you wanted to know what the passes looked like. They also give these out as locker deposit refunds. Instead of cash, they give out gift vouchers that can be redeemed at Aquatica or SeaWorld gift shops.

It also has a few slides

The second play area is more suited for younger children and is a bit "quieter"

I'm sure this will be much more crowded during the peak of summer.

This slide tower, Whanau Way, has two mirrored pairs of slides

The other wave pool is right next to it, and had smaller waves. The park can probably adjust the times and wave sizes to cater to different groups

This one had decent sized waves

There are two wave pools. This is one of them

Aquatica also has these beach cabanas that are available for rental. I've been told that they cost $150/day to rent

Sounds a bit more Aussie than Kiwi

...filled with dolphins

But then it plunges into a pool

The Dolphin Plunge slide looks simple enough

HooRoo Run is the faster of the two, and is like a fast, but not as intense, version of Hubba Tub at Wet'n'Wild

This slide tower is at the back of the park, and contains Walhalla Wave and HooRoo Run.

You don't have to be a kid to enjoy the play structure

Taumata River is the eight-line racing slides. Riders face head first on mats.

Of course, the real name would be Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotameteaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenakitanatahu River, but that wouldn't fit on the sign

This play area is one of those large play areas with lots of fountains, hoses, and water jets. There are also two large water buckets

This section is fun. The current flows around the corner very quickly

Another view of the rapids

It almost looks like a submarine is surfacing in the river

The second river, known is Roa's Rapids is much faster, and is shown in the foreground. One of the play areas is in the background.

Erik Johnson, and Eric Johnson, took some pictures too and may post them within the next few days.

This is the second "lazy river" though there's nothing lazy about it.

Both the toilet bowl slides empty out into the lazy river, so one can re-use the same tube.

Another view of the same lazy river, this one from a different location

The lazy river is well themed, and this is one of the aquarium viewing areas

In the foreground is the entrance to one of the Lazy Rivers. The lazy river is unique in that it has two aquarium areas. In the background is Tassie's Twisters, a pair of toilet bowl slides.

The park map, showing the layout and location in relation to SeaWorld

But first we need to get a locker, and Erik needs to get the key out

They have burgers, hotdogs, and a few other items

It's an all-you-can-eat buffet format, though ACErs will be disappointed in the lack of gravy.

Banana Beach Cookout is one of the park's food establishments. The all-day deal is ideal for coaster enthusiasts.

The back of the park has a beach type area with sand, volleyball, and two wavepools

Some of the random theming

The "Kiwi Traders" store. I was disappointed because they didn't have Weet-Bix, hokey-pokey, Buzzy Bees, or even Chocolate Fish. What were they thinking?

I'm not sure if this will be a regular "exhibit" at the park, though most of use wanted to head to the rides

The turnstiles are similar to the systems at other Busch parks

A closer view of the entrance

Everyone gets a free T-shirt on entry

Getting in took a while, as they had bag check

Unusual roots for the tree. I think they may be fake

As said above, this is a "sneak peek", and I believe the park will open to the public in March

This is the line to get into the park

The Dolphin Plunge slides tower over the main entrance

Unlike Adventure Island, Aquatica charges for parking. Since everyone had annual passes, it didn't matter anyway.

This was just the line to get in. A lot of people were there for the opening

See what I mean by the Kiwi?

On the way to the park. Kraken is visible, as well as Good Journey.

Golfie · February 25, 2008

Aww, I love Busch parks! This one is extremely colorful with a ton of plants. Some of the play areas look really dense with slides and things. Nice TR!

Erik Johnson · February 25, 2008

I found it to be a nice waterpark made especially for families. None of the slides are too intense or really made for thrill seekers. If you are going to be visiting the park in the summer, make sure you bring plenty of sunscreen. There is very little shade in the park. I will post a trip report later, once I get the rest of my photos finished.

canadianfreak · February 25, 2008

What an awesome looking water park! Love the slide with the dolphins. I really need to get out of this cold country and get back down to Florida.

YoshiFan · February 25, 2008

Great pictures, that dolphin slide looks awesome

Erik Johnson · February 25, 2008

What an awesome looking water park! Love the slide with the dolphins. I really need to get out of this cold country and get back down to Florida.

The Dolphin slides were pretty cool, but you really need to ride them a bit later in the day. They were pretty fogged up in the morning so I could not see much of anything. The 2nd time we rode they were a lot clearer. You do fly through them pretty fast, but you can slow yourself down a bit as you go through the last section of the slide.

kraken613 · February 25, 2008

Thats a really nice looking waterpark! Cant wait to see more pictures! Im not much of a waterpark person so ill probobly never go but its still cool!

sam06pr · February 25, 2008

I went yesterday and it was okay. I got on all the slides. I really enjoyed all of them. what I found a bit disappointed was the small lazy river which I thought was going to have a big cave with a bunch of tropical fish, but all I found was a tank full of not so tropical fish in a small section. I was expecting the dolphin exhibit to be much larger and a longer ride but it was not. I do think it has a cute different theme with vibrant color. There are two family sections that are great for kids. I think they should add more slides in the years to come, like a water coaster, something like typhoon lagoon has or one of those bowls like the one that Wet N Wild just added. But I do not see a lot of land to expand on, unless they move the parking lot to an empty piece of land they have next to them. But why am I even talking about expansion if it is about to open? lol. The lazy river was small, they had another river but it had some type of currents, so it was not a lazy river(lol) and it was longer. I think the mat race slide was very high up and scary. The Blue Family Raft ride was pretty scary for me as well. lol. I thought they were going to have, apart from marine life, some exotic birds, unlike the pics above i did not see not one bird. I was disappointed at the fact that there was not a lot of marine life. I managed to see the dolphins when I went down the slide, my little sister managed to go slow down the slide by opening her arms wide and saw the dolphins better. But the tubes are already a bit blurry. Overall it was a fun park

SharkTums · February 25, 2008

Thanks for getting the report up so fast Will, very interesting to see the park!

Frade · February 25, 2008

Hola

When I was leaving the AQUATICA, I found these TPR members ( Los Tres Caballeros ) , and yeah that park is fun, original, and made for crowds.

All my other photos are on my Facebook, here is the link: http://fit.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018737&l=b28a1&id=37402060

Adios amigos

AQUATICA

the construction of the new coaster

Accidents happen the first day

Los Tres Caballeros

Cool

My favorite slide

The nice showers

Groteslurf · February 25, 2008

Great TR.

I'm happy to see this new waterpark seems to be very beautiful with a lot of rides.

I especially liked the Taumata River pics. I love the colors.

Golfie · February 25, 2008

It's so funny seeing people go to a water park at this time of year... while up here in the midwest, we're freezing our butts off! What's that? 3-6 more inches of snow today? Great...

thrillgeek · February 25, 2008

Great pictures! Wish I could go to Florida again I miss it so much. That place looks huge. I like all the colorfulness in the park. It adds a cool tropical feel.

matteocrepaldi · February 25, 2008

This waterpark looks great! Nice photo trip report.

sfotkid · February 26, 2008

Wouldn't be awesome if the Dolphin slide broke and the dolphins got in and rode the slide?! That made absoulutley no sense, did it?

knottslover77 · February 26, 2008

It looks like the park has quite a bit of room to expand.

--Jay

coastercrazed49 · February 26, 2008

This park looks great, and so does that racing slide. It really looks like they have plenty of room to build the new attraction, and hopefully its as good or even better the Kraken.

WillMontu · February 27, 2008

I've got more pictures, though I still need to get those rolls of film developed

As always, I have higher resolution versions of the panoramic shots available if anyone wants them.

A 360 shot of the wavepools and the beach area.

A general park shot, showing the two bowl slides and the slower of the lazy rivers

Slides seen from the entrance to the parking lot

The second play area is geared towards younger kids, and includes a selection of small slides

This is one of the water play areas. This one is designed for older kids (and adults), and includes two "dump buckets" and lots of hoses and other ways to spray people.