How does Aquatica stack up against Central Florida's other waterparks ?

Golf » How does Aquatica stack up against Central Florida’s other…

Eric M. Davis — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:17:12 GMT

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re: How does Aquatica stack up against Central Florida's other waterparks ?

Eric M. Davis — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:53:36 GMT

We(myself, GF and her 6 yr old daughter and 11 yr old son) went to Aquatica the first monday in April and it was packed. I am pretty sure it reached capacity. I thought it was great. Is it as heavily themed as TL or BB, no but it has more of a theme than most waterparks. I think the big complaint among locals is that the animal exhibits weren't as impressive as they made them sound and does not look as lush as the concept art and the model they built. The other complaint is the whoever designed the lazy river/slide area was an idiot. You have to cut across the lazy river, get a tube from it to get to the 2 slides on an island in the river. Yes, it is cool that the slides end in the river but it just creates a giant bottleneck on top of the fact that the lazy river is a joke. It is way to short and the views into the dolphin tank and fish tank are def not as impressive as they were made out to be.

However, the water play structure and the fast river I thought were the best part of the parks. Why more parks have not put in one of these rapids river is beyond me. You put on a life vest and float down the river at a high speed with sections that have rapids and various other water effects. We probably stayed in it for almost an hour.

The water play structure was a blast. I can remember when water parks only had a section for little kids to play in now you have one that everyone can play in. We had a blast with that. It was awesome and I felt like a kid again. Dumping water on people and turning on and off all the different spray effects. Even the slides were cool.

Also, one thing they def have that is better than any waterpark I have ever been to is the food. We did the Banana Beach Cookout which is an all you can eat buffet that you can either pay for one time or all day. We did the one time thing and the food was excellent. Fresh fruit, bbq chicken, burgers(including veggie), all kinds of salads and some of the best chocolate pudding I have ever had at a park. And it was reasonably priced. esp since it included your drinks.

I think Busch has a hit on there hands but it def. needs some tweaks(a few more animal exhibits to play up the selling point of the park) and does need another slide tower or a real lazy river to help with capacity. I don't know why more parks don't follow Disney's lead and put in a long lazy river. It has a large capacity and it is a nice way to relax for a little while.

re: How does Aquatica stack up against Central Florida's other waterparks ?

Eric M. Davis — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:21:39 GMT

What exactly is the capacity issue? Is it too crowded, or do they stop admittance to the park? Also, what are the average wait times? Just curious...

re: How does Aquatica stack up against Central Florida's other waterparks ?

Eric M. Davis — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:26:54 GMT

So what's the best park for childless 30-somethings? =)

Of course, money-wise it's always going to be TL or BB for us, since admission is included in our Disney passes. =)

re: How does Aquatica stack up against Central Florida's other waterparks ?

Eric M. Davis — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:24:25 GMT

That was (without question) the single best review I have ever read about a waterpark. We (my family) are waterpark veterans. We've held annual passes to the Walt Disney World waterparks for better than five consecutive years.

We were delighted with our visit to Aquatica. Like any waterpark you absolutely MUST arrive early. You do the "line-up" attractions first (slides) early. And then you do your "No-line-up-just-plunge-in" rides when crowds build (wave pools, lazy river, kids areas).

HUGE KUDOS for noting the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon. Not only is is PERFECT in EVERY SINGLE WAY, but I would contend it is the most UNDER-RATED attraction in Central Florida.

A great, great report!

re: How does Aquatica stack up against Central Florida's other waterparks ?

Eric M. Davis — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 02:17:21 GMT

My family and I spent the day at Aquatica on April 11th. I thought the fast river was an innovative and fun experience. We also rented a cabana for the day. The cabana was a must have because shade is a hard thing to come by in this park. Overall I perfer either of the Disney water parks over Aquatica. It had long lines and like others have said, the lazy river/toiletbowl ride area was an absolute clusterf***. I would rate it better than Wet-n-Wild, but I even perfer some of the Wisconsin Dells parks over Aquatica. I give it a C+.