So I went to Aquatica on Monday! For those outside the Orlando area, Aquatica is SeaWorld's new water park that just opened a couple of months ago. So I headed out there with a friend and checked it out!
First impression: size. It's teeny! It doesn't take long to walk through the entire park. That does, unfortunately, translate into fewer rides, but this is a park still in its infancy, so who knows what will be coming in the future. We did almost every ride twice with plenty of time to spare.
Theming? Fantastic! Lots of greenery. The overall theme of the park is what I could best describe as "Try-Hard Aussie." :P It has a very South Seas feel, complete with an announcer guy that does all their spiels that has an over-the-top Aussie accent and randomly tries to throw in Aussie slang. He made me LOL. That being said, it's fun and upbeat. It was also lacking in the far-too-loud-rock-music category (which most water parks seem to fall into) so bonus points there. (They had softer, tropical sounding tunes occasionally interspersed with animal call tracks)
Okay, so here's the rundown on the rides:
Dolphin Plunge: The park's signature attraction, and easily the most disappointing. This is the one they advertise where you go through the Commersons dolphin exhibit. It had the longest wait of all the slides, easily. It's not a bad slide, but don't worry about trying to look for the dolphins - the time it takes you to pass through that part is so short that you likely won't even be able to see them unless they're right there as you go by. Also? The splashdown shoots a crapload of water up your nose. It is, however, the only body slide in the park.
Walhalla Wave: A raft slide, and lots of fun!
HooRoo Run: Skip it. It's like Walhalla Wave, but just goes straight. Go on Walhalla Run instead.
Taumata Racer: Best ride in the park, IMHO! A mat slide racer - the drop at the end is fantastic!
Roa's Rapids: River ride without tubes! Just jump into the current and drift through. Kinda relaxing, but not quite lazy enough without the tubes. :P
Loggerhead Lane: Lazy river ride! With tubes this time. There's a waterfall that's turned on so hard it hurts, but other than that, pretty nifty. The path splits at one point - go one direction and pass through a grotto with a big cichlid tank, or go the other way and go past underwater viewing for the Commersons. Very cool!
Tassie's Twisters: Tube ride into a giant bowl! I recommend taking a double tube, because you seem to shoot out much faster that way. Also, the entrance to this one is a bit annoying, you have to get into Loggerhead Lane and go halfway through it to get to the entrance.
Whanau Way: Tube slide! This one was a lot of fun. When the stairs split two ways, I recommend going left - you get a bit more of a drop at the end that way!
Cutback Cove: Of the two wave pools, this is the one on the left. Sharper, wilder, more erratic waves here.
Big Surf Shores: The wave pool on the right. Gentler waves... and less crowded because of it. :P
That's it for the rides. There's two kiddie areas, but we didn't try those ones out this time. :P
One really nice, convenient option for food is the Banana Beach Cookout pass. It's an all-you-can-eat buffet. The food isn't the greatest, but they have some decent stuff (hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, melon, side dishes, etc.). It's generally $12.95/person for a meal... but the best part is you can opt to just pay $20 upfront and get a wristband that lets you eat all you want there, all day. That was REALLY cool. It was easy to just pay that and not have to worry about getting more food later, we just stopped by whenever we wanted something. It also saved us the trouble of going back to the locker for cash or anything like that. So for sheer convenience, I recommend that!
As far as the animal aspect goes... well, you could almost be forgiven for not realizing this is a SeaWorld park. Seriously. There's the Commersons near the front, but people didn't seem to spend much time there. They're basically a footnote. I'm still a bit irked that they're there virtually for decoration. In the walk-in underwater viewing area there's a couple of hastily-added panels about conservation, but nothing else. There was someone there to answer questions about them as well. But like I said, it still felt like they were decoration more than anything. We saw only a few other animals here and there: the cichlid tank in the river ride, a few macaws, and an animal person walking around with what appeared to be a fish eagle. There was also a small education tent, but it was pretty much an afterthought. Other than that, the animal aspect was almost non-existent.
One of my only complaints was the bane of many a water park: hot pavement. It was upper 80s today, so by mid-afternoon those paths were KILLER on the feet. I can only imagine what they'll be like in the summer when it's closing on 100 degrees. Just a few misters here and there or even just a trickle to keep parts of it cool would be fantastic, but it may be a "wear sandals when not on the rides" park.
Bottom line: it's a fun little park. Nicely-themed and enjoyable, but the biggest drawback is the lack of rides. They need MORE. Hopefully they'll expand it a bit!
The major suckage? I burned LIEK WOAH, even after putting on sunscreen. My shoulders, back, and upper legs already huuuuuuurt... *hugs the aloe vera bottle* So I've called in the last two days, because putting a shirt on hurts so much I want to cry. (The shower did make me cry.) Blah. I feel bad losing the money from 24 hours of work, but I've worked so much lately, I suppose it's okay. And I feel less guilty taking the point because calling in two days in a row is still only one point. :P I got a few things done that I've been trying to get to for ages.
Also, in trying to compile lists of the guest casts from Flipper episodes for my website, I've found episodes with: Dwight Schultz, Virginia Hey, Lani Tupu, Helen Dallimore, and Don Jeffcoat (yes, my 80s childhood, Nickelodeon-watching kids, THAT one). And dammit, this show still needs fic. *grumbles* (oh, and a DVD release, too...)
Oh, and someone at TheRaider.net's boards posted a link to a football game that I'm hooked on now, Goal Line Blitz. You make your own football player and train him and play him and everything. OMG, it's like crack (like Travian and Furry Paws). Anyways, if anyone else wants to try, register!
SIX MORE DAYS UNTIL INDIANA JONES.
(LEGO Star Wars update: 70%)
First impression: size. It's teeny! It doesn't take long to walk through the entire park. That does, unfortunately, translate into fewer rides, but this is a park still in its infancy, so who knows what will be coming in the future. We did almost every ride twice with plenty of time to spare.
Theming? Fantastic! Lots of greenery. The overall theme of the park is what I could best describe as "Try-Hard Aussie." :P It has a very South Seas feel, complete with an announcer guy that does all their spiels that has an over-the-top Aussie accent and randomly tries to throw in Aussie slang. He made me LOL. That being said, it's fun and upbeat. It was also lacking in the far-too-loud-rock-music category (which most water parks seem to fall into) so bonus points there. (They had softer, tropical sounding tunes occasionally interspersed with animal call tracks)
Okay, so here's the rundown on the rides:
Dolphin Plunge: The park's signature attraction, and easily the most disappointing. This is the one they advertise where you go through the Commersons dolphin exhibit. It had the longest wait of all the slides, easily. It's not a bad slide, but don't worry about trying to look for the dolphins - the time it takes you to pass through that part is so short that you likely won't even be able to see them unless they're right there as you go by. Also? The splashdown shoots a crapload of water up your nose. It is, however, the only body slide in the park.
Walhalla Wave: A raft slide, and lots of fun!
HooRoo Run: Skip it. It's like Walhalla Wave, but just goes straight. Go on Walhalla Run instead.
Taumata Racer: Best ride in the park, IMHO! A mat slide racer - the drop at the end is fantastic!
Roa's Rapids: River ride without tubes! Just jump into the current and drift through. Kinda relaxing, but not quite lazy enough without the tubes. :P
Loggerhead Lane: Lazy river ride! With tubes this time. There's a waterfall that's turned on so hard it hurts, but other than that, pretty nifty. The path splits at one point - go one direction and pass through a grotto with a big cichlid tank, or go the other way and go past underwater viewing for the Commersons. Very cool!
Tassie's Twisters: Tube ride into a giant bowl! I recommend taking a double tube, because you seem to shoot out much faster that way. Also, the entrance to this one is a bit annoying, you have to get into Loggerhead Lane and go halfway through it to get to the entrance.
Whanau Way: Tube slide! This one was a lot of fun. When the stairs split two ways, I recommend going left - you get a bit more of a drop at the end that way!
Cutback Cove: Of the two wave pools, this is the one on the left. Sharper, wilder, more erratic waves here.
Big Surf Shores: The wave pool on the right. Gentler waves... and less crowded because of it. :P
That's it for the rides. There's two kiddie areas, but we didn't try those ones out this time. :P
One really nice, convenient option for food is the Banana Beach Cookout pass. It's an all-you-can-eat buffet. The food isn't the greatest, but they have some decent stuff (hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, melon, side dishes, etc.). It's generally $12.95/person for a meal... but the best part is you can opt to just pay $20 upfront and get a wristband that lets you eat all you want there, all day. That was REALLY cool. It was easy to just pay that and not have to worry about getting more food later, we just stopped by whenever we wanted something. It also saved us the trouble of going back to the locker for cash or anything like that. So for sheer convenience, I recommend that!
As far as the animal aspect goes... well, you could almost be forgiven for not realizing this is a SeaWorld park. Seriously. There's the Commersons near the front, but people didn't seem to spend much time there. They're basically a footnote. I'm still a bit irked that they're there virtually for decoration. In the walk-in underwater viewing area there's a couple of hastily-added panels about conservation, but nothing else. There was someone there to answer questions about them as well. But like I said, it still felt like they were decoration more than anything. We saw only a few other animals here and there: the cichlid tank in the river ride, a few macaws, and an animal person walking around with what appeared to be a fish eagle. There was also a small education tent, but it was pretty much an afterthought. Other than that, the animal aspect was almost non-existent.
One of my only complaints was the bane of many a water park: hot pavement. It was upper 80s today, so by mid-afternoon those paths were KILLER on the feet. I can only imagine what they'll be like in the summer when it's closing on 100 degrees. Just a few misters here and there or even just a trickle to keep parts of it cool would be fantastic, but it may be a "wear sandals when not on the rides" park.
Bottom line: it's a fun little park. Nicely-themed and enjoyable, but the biggest drawback is the lack of rides. They need MORE. Hopefully they'll expand it a bit!
The major suckage? I burned LIEK WOAH, even after putting on sunscreen. My shoulders, back, and upper legs already huuuuuuurt... *hugs the aloe vera bottle* So I've called in the last two days, because putting a shirt on hurts so much I want to cry. (The shower did make me cry.) Blah. I feel bad losing the money from 24 hours of work, but I've worked so much lately, I suppose it's okay. And I feel less guilty taking the point because calling in two days in a row is still only one point. :P I got a few things done that I've been trying to get to for ages.
Also, in trying to compile lists of the guest casts from Flipper episodes for my website, I've found episodes with: Dwight Schultz, Virginia Hey, Lani Tupu, Helen Dallimore, and Don Jeffcoat (yes, my 80s childhood, Nickelodeon-watching kids, THAT one). And dammit, this show still needs fic. *grumbles* (oh, and a DVD release, too...)
Oh, and someone at TheRaider.net's boards posted a link to a football game that I'm hooked on now, Goal Line Blitz. You make your own football player and train him and play him and everything. OMG, it's like crack (like Travian and Furry Paws). Anyways, if anyone else wants to try, register!
SIX MORE DAYS UNTIL INDIANA JONES.
(LEGO Star Wars update: 70%)
Current Music: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull OST
10 wishes | rub the lamp
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