Seaworld Aquatice Review from the Orlando Sentinel

[minstrel]

I know there has been a lot of interest in Seaworld Aquatica recently, especially as it only opened on the 1st of March. The Orlando Sentinel did a fairly lengthy article on Aquatica that I'll post below.

Dewayne Bevil | Sentinel Staff Writer

Dang, those dolphins are adorable. Just don't bank on admiring them during the descent on Dolphin Plunge, the main attraction at Aquatica, SeaWorld Orlando's water park, which opened to the public Saturday.

For months, the black and white dolphins have been featured in the pre-opening advertising blitz frolicking amid park guests zipping by in clear tubes. However, in the few seconds you're in the tank, the odds --and gravity -- are against you spotting Wai, Tere, Horo and Kaha.

The flipping foursome can be seen through glass from dry land outside the ride, from one of the lazy-river attractions and during their feeding times. It's merely a matter of adjusting expectations, and it shouldn't detract from the overall fun of Aquatica's rides and slides. There's not a dud in the bunch at Central Florida's first major water park to open since Disney World's Blizzard Beach in 1995.

Busch Entertainment Corp. probably won't like it, but kids are already referring to Tassie's Twisters as "the toilet bowls." It's hard to argue that one as you shoot down a tube before being flushed out of what looks like a salad bowl into the Loggerhead Lane river.

Loggerhead has the potential to be a logjam as folks vie for tubes for both the Twisters ride and floating across the river, which forks into two paths: one for another peek at the dolphins and one for an exotic-fish tank. There is a second, faster river known as Roa's Rapids, where you are encouraged to wear a life jacket. It's fun, somewhere between flying and water ballet. No tubes are allowed in the Rapids, which helps keep things moving.

Taumata Racer sports eight lanes of guests going headfirst on a mat down a steep waterside. One warning: It's steeper than it appears on the guide map.

The other rides -- Whanau Way, Walhalla Wave and HooRoo Run -- are variations on the same theme. Walhalla winds through another disorienting dark stretch while HooRoo is a straight shot with a bouncy triple dip. The current guided me down this one backward, and we did shout "HooRoo! " as instructed.

Missing from the Aquatica lineup is the dramatic, steep, open-air, no-raft drop, the kind that gets your swimsuit in a bunch. There are thrills but no nightmares. The dueling wave pools work. One side is fairly peaceful, the other pretty choppy. The beach, lined with thousands and thousands of lounge chairs, buffers the pools from the rest of the park.

Walkabout Waters, aimed at preteens, makes the totally wet even totally wetter. The multilevel playground, 60 feet tall, features short slides, water cannons and an endless stream of spray. Think perpetual-motion machine. Two large, slowly filling buckets eventually topple to drench those below.

For the even smaller set, Kata's Kookaburra Cove offers various low-angle slides that kids and parents may conquer together. We saw one little boy who didn't look as if he had enough weight to carry him down on the slide. As a safety precaution, Aquatica insists that people shorter than 48 inches wear a life vest in all water areas.

The theme of Aquatic is South Seas-inspired, but it's almost more of a decorating scheme. The park's location near the tourism corridor hurts the escapism factor. Once you climb any of the slides' towers, you see International Drive hotels and office buildings.

In addition to the dolphins, Aquatica will have animals and trainers roaming the grounds. We had fun encounters with a hysterical-sounding, laughing kookaburra and Papa, a roseate spoonbill, who circled above our heads. Anteaters, a fast-moving tortoise and macaws are among the stars.

Food offerings were interesting, particularly the all-day-buffet option at Banana Beach Cookout. If you've got a kid who wants a chicken leg every hour, this is a deal: $19.95 for adults, $12.95 for children. Soft drinks are included, which add up fast during a long outing.

Mango Market, near the beach area, had many stop-and-go meals and provided a basket to transport the food. Waterstone Grill's healthy sandwiches looked heavier than I wanted on my stomach for water slides.

This is the "soft opening" period for the water park, a dress rehearsal, before the official April 4 opening. Expect to pay the full admission price anyway: $38.95 general, $32.95 for ages 3 to 9 for a single day.

There are many beautiful days to come, and now could be the right time to visit Aquatica. Although many gathered to be first in the gates Saturday, neither the place nor the parking lot ever approached crowded status.

As an aside, Seaworld Aquatica is currently in a "soft-opening" phase. What does that mean exactly.

[spondishy]

I guess "soft-opening" means that they can't guarantee the park will necessariliy be operating certain attractions, or in a worst case scenario that the actual park may be closed.

In Aquatica's case, the "soft-opening" period is between now and the official opening ceremony in April.

[cinderella]

I can't wait to check out aquatica. I hope it's not "just another water park" and has cool attractions to offer!