Aquatica Water Park :: Orlando, Florida

Opened in March, 2008, the Acquatica Water Park was created to accompany SeaWorld Orlando and has quickly become one of the most visited water parks in the country. In Acquatica’s first year it managed to rank fourth-most visited water park in the United States and eighth-most visited in the world. The park theme is based on the south Pacific and features a unique set of “park ambassadors” from Australia & New Zealand. Of course, this being a water park created by SeaWorld, the ambassadors are actual animals who travel around the park with their trainers greeting visitors. Keep your eyes peeled for Papa the Royal Spoonbill to see a truly unique beak or follow the laughter sounding birdsong of Kata the kookaburra. The Commerson’s Dolphins are definitely the stars of Aquatica, you can spend all day watching these distinctly marked dolphins play and race around. A great way to see them is on Loggerhead Lane, Aquatica’s lazy river, which takes you through the lagoon that the pod calls home.

The signature ride at Aquatica is the Dolphin Plunge, it features two enclosed tube slides that pass through the Commerson’s dolphins lagoon. There is also an eight lane racing slide called the Taumata Racer that lets guests slide down on mats through enclosed and open sections. Aquatica features not one but two lazy rivers. Loggerhead Lane is the tamer of the two, taking you on a leisurely trip passing through a grotto of cichlids as well as the Commerson’s Dolphin lagoon as mentioned earlier. Roa’s Rapids is a faster, more aggressive river with speed zones and geysers blasting water. Aquatica also has a bunch of different raft rides for single riders as well as groups. Whanau Way is another of the most popular rides in the park, it is a quadruple slide tower that offers riders four different height/speed options. Tassie’s Twisters is one of the parks most unique rides, located on an island in the center of the Loggerhead Lane, guests are sped out of tubes into a giant bowl where they spin and spin until they are spun back into the lazy river.

For those looking to have fun with the whole family on board we recommend Walhalla Wave, a thrilling group raft ride that shoots you through six stories of twists, turns and tunnels. Sharing the tower with Walhalla Wave is HooRoo Run, another group raft ride that takes you through three fast drops, definitely not for the faint of heart. Aquatica also has two great children’s areas, Kata’s Kookaburra Cove which features a beginner’s body slide and assorted rides as well as Walkabout Waters, which features a sixty foot tall rain fortress complete with a variety of slides, ladders and other great fun for the kids. No visit to a water park is complete without going to the wave pool, Aquatica is home to two that share a 80,000 sq. ft. beach area. Cutback Cove is the more aggressive of the two with waves constantly rolling through; Big Surf Shores has less intense waves that are either large or slow and easy.

All that fun can sure work up an appetite; thankfully Aquatica offers a lot of munching options. The Banana Beach Cookout offers guests a wonderful all you can eat buffet, you can purchase a one time visit or an all day pass which allows unlimited visits all day as well as all the ice-cold Pepsi products you can drink. The Mango Market is the spot to get some great fast food, enjoy pizza, wraps, salads, ice cream and much more. The WaterStone Grill offers a variety of fresh sandwiches, specialty wraps, kids meals and desserts. Don’t miss the five gift shops around the park offering all kinds of goodies like toys and souvenirs. Acquatica is located across from SeaWorld Orlando on International Drive and is open year round.