Aquatica Orlando is the water park just across the street from SeaWorld.
In a market filled with highly themed water parks, Aquatica can get lost in the shuffle. While it may
not have a 200 foot volcano or a snow-capped mountain, it does have a satisfying tropical
atmosphere and a good slide lineup with arguably the most intense water slide I’ve experienced.
Find out in this review, if you should visit Aquatica the next time you’re in Orlando.
Aquatica Orlando opened in 2008. This would be the first of three Aquaticas. The second would
be built at the San Antonio park in 2011. The third would be the former Soak City in San Diego,
although that park has been rebranded as Sesame Place.
For simplicity, all mentions of Aquatica from this point forward in this review
will be in reference to the Orlando location. Aquatica is a separate gate and ticket from
SeaWorld Orlando. Whatever you do, buy tickets in advance. Tickets at the gate cost $90, but you can
save $30-45 if you buy them online. The park is also included with some SeaWorld annual passes,
which is how I’ve always experienced Aquatica. This is a pretty big water park,
spanning 59 acres. And the entire park looks great. It has the feel of a tropical resort,
which creates a relaxing feel. You have a sandy beach area in the center of the park.
Then you have palm trees, foliage, and architecture reinforcing this theme. And your
feet won’t burn up here with the abundance of shade and sprayers along the midways.
I have always visited Aquatica in the winter months to avoid the crowds. When I visited on
a 70 degree November day, every single slide was a walk-on. When I visited in February,
the park had a lot of tourists but the locals stayed away. If you visit during these times,
lines shouldn’t be much of an issue. If you visit on a busier day, the park does offer
a paid Quick Queue system. The set-up is a bit awkward though on several slides since they’re
routed up the same stairs as the standby queue and need to squeeze past everyone else.
Lines move at a steady rate, as the staff dispatches rides as soon as they’re allowed to.
And speaking of the staff, they’re awesome. Everyone I interacted with was super friendly,
particularly the operator at Ihu’s Breakaway Falls.
And that slide is the signature attraction here for thrill seekers. There are three
trapdoor slides. Each one has a sudden and thrilling initial plunge giving the usual
freefall sensation, but the rest of the slide is what steals the show. You hurtle through a
rapid-fire series of turns. The turns are so fast that they will forcibly untwist your legs and you
will wildly slide up the side of the trough. They also exert some decent force for a water slide.
Then there’s also a fourth slide with two thrilling drops for variety.
This quartet of slides may be the best and most intense set of body slides out there
given their height, speed, and power. The other body slide is iconic one traveling
through the dolphin tank. I rode this attraction back when it was Dolphin Plunge,
but it has recently been rebranded as Reef Plunge. While the placement is cool off-ride, you travel
through the tank too quickly on-ride to appreciate the visual. The slide ultimately feels like your
average body slide, no more and no less. Aquatica has quite a few family raft slides.
The best of the bunch is Ray Rush. This is a diverse slide featuring a launch at the start,
a miniature funnel, an airtime-filled plunge into a halfpipe, and an illuminated tube finale.
The rest of the slides are solid but not spectacular.
Karekare Curl features just Ray Rush’s halfpipe.
It’s fun, but I’d just recommend riding Ray Rush both have similar waits.
Walhalla Wave is your traditional family raft slide with some little dips and turns.
For tube slides, you have some decent tube slides in Whanau Way
and Omaka Rocka. The latter has these mini funnels on the way down for a turbulent change of pace.
Riptide Race is a racing slide. The turns and dips are pretty average, but the
open-air fly-by sections add some excitement. Tassie’s Twisters is a duo of tube bowl slides.
The placement of these slides is weird since you need to take the lazy river just to access them
since they’re located on an island. The final adult slide is Taumata Racer,
which is a racing mat slide with a shockingly large drop at the end, but it rode fairly
similarly to the smaller ones in my opinion. For kids, you have a two areas. Walkabout Waters
is a colorful play area with some smaller slides, sprayers, and a giant dump bucket.
Then Kata’s Kookaburra Cove is an even smaller area for the youngest of guests.
If you want to relax, you have the aforementioned lazy river plus two wave pools side-by-side. Then
you also have a faster paced action river in Roa’s Rapids. This is a must if you’ve
never experienced a ride like it since it’s cool being pulled by a rip current down the course.
So do I recommend Aquatica? I think the other major Orlando water parks have superior themes
and slides, but if you have a SeaWorld annual pass, I think it’s worth visiting Aquatica for
a few hours. Ihu’s Breakaway Falls cannot be missed if you love intense speed slides
and the park has a well-rounded slide lineup. Plus you have that relaxing tropical atmosphere.
So those are my thoughts on Aquatica Orlando. How do you think it compares to the other water parks
in Orlando? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review,
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more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!