combining sealife exhibits tropical landscaping and an array of high-speed water slides this
slightly aging waterpark can still hold its own against stiff competition down the road but with
an ever increasing number of parks to choose from is it worth a shrimp pie I'm the frugal brand for
this video I'm gonna provide a breakdown of the good and then not so good things about Aquatica
Orlando to help you decide whether this waterpark is worth a visit on your vacation and at the end
I've got some great tips to help you get the best out of any visit here don't forget to
subscribe if you're interested in future Orlando vacation content okay so Aquatica is located on
a southern part of International Drive on the east side the opposite side of its sister Park
SeaWorld Orlando tickets cost forty dollars 99 cents when you purchase in advance but you do
get heavy discount if you purchase multiple Park tickets which include SeaWorld Busch Gardens and
Adventure Island alright so I'm gonna give a tour of all the rides and attractions starting from
the entrance and heading clockwise around the park with that said at number one we start with
dolphin plunge which consists of two corkscrewing slides which blasts you through a huge dolphin
tank this was an opening attraction at aquatic and it remains its most well known attraction
just don't blink if you want a good view of the Dolphins at number two we have one away which is
a double inner tube slide each tube has its own unique path but all feature curves drops and dark
tunnels next up at number three is omeka rocker where you can spin and slide down the halfpipe
tunnels of this skateboarding inspired ride at number 4 we have Kerry Kerry curl which is a
quater cos most recent attraction this aims to deliver a high adrenaline weightless experience
v traction is caught back Cove and big surf shores these are two alternating wave pools one of which
only operates seasonally a number six is the terrifying eye whose breakaway Falls which is the
steepest multi drop tower of its kind in Orlando there are two side by side drops house and you
don't know whether you are the person on the tower slide next to you is going to drop first I would
say easily the most thrilling attraction at this park and not for the faint-hearted that's for sure
on the opposite end of the thrill scale at number seven is catters kookaburra Cove which is a kid's
water play area this is great if you have kids in your group that are too young for the main
attractions but still want to enjoy some fun water slides next that number eight is Tam art
eraser which coincidentally features eight map ride slides where you'll compete headfirst to
become the fastest of all the riders at nine is walkabout waters which is a kid's splash
zone and playground bursting with color and excitement if you have young toddlers in your
group you will likely be spending a lot of time at this attraction next up at number ten is well
hallo wave which is an inner-tube family slide zooming you through a six story maze of twists
turns and tunnels before you surge back out into daylight at number 11 is aquatic is still fairly
new a family raft slide which occupies the same tower as well Halloway v' it's a four person raft
slide that includes water jet launches a giant translucent sphere and an open-air halfpipe that
resembles the shape of a manta ray next at 12 is the very popular rowers Rapids which is a
super-fast river Isle attraction sort of a lazy river but without a lazy given the speed you're
traveling round be sure to hang on the right side if you want to go as fast as possible
the last attraction at number 13 is Tassie's twisters and loggerhead lane
the loggerhead lane part is a lazy river and from this you'll make your way to the island
in the center and climb to the tower where you'll find a Tassie's twisters ride once
you're at the top you'll be blasted into a giant bowl before being thrown out back
into the lazy river where you'll be taken to a tropical fish tank hidden behind a waterfall
to start the positives I will say you cannot deny that the attraction that Aquatica are
at outstanding as outlined in the previous section there's a great variety of different
waterslide attractions that will appeal to all ages surprisingly the attraction that gets the
most attention in positive reviews was rowers Rapids this could be because it's something that
pretty much everyone in the family can enjoy whilst there's a lot of debate online it seems
that more people that not prefer the fast river add Aquatica when compared to volcano Bay this
is despite volcano Bay's fast river having extra special effects like tidal waves and bubbles etc
the price of admission is very competitive at only $40 ninety-nine assuming you purchase days
in advance online for comparison's sake volcano Bay costs $75 if you're traveling with a big
family saving $35 per person may be hard to resist when deciding between all the waterpark options
in around Aquatica is said by most guests to be very clean it has a picturesque tropical theme
that is very well received with beautiful lush landscaping the music is at the perfect decibel
with a pleasant choice of summer pop music and unlike its competitors this park impressively
mixes waterslide attractions with an aquarium and a dolphin habitat in a very unique way so
I talked about how great the ticket admission is but unfortunately there is very little in
terms of good value beyond the point of clicking online to purchase your tickets when you arrive
in the entrance you'll see signs advising you of it's $25 parking charge if you show up on the day
without a ticket you'll pay 40% more when you get inside the park you'll want to find a locker and
I'm afraid to say this is going to cost you $15 for a small Locker and $20 for a large locker at
this point you're already at least 35 dollars down before you've even got into your swimsuit I should
say for balance that the charges for parking and lockers are pretty much the same for the
other main water parks in Orlando and Disney but nevertheless it's got to be covered in the section
if you want to grab some food the options are not fantastic at Aquatica pretty poor value it has to
be said you rarely expect great food at a theme park and aquatic as offerings are not in danger
of changing your perception on this but again there isn't much difference in comparison to the
other water parks in Orlando another source of complaints that I saw on TripAdvisor was
just how busy it can get at Aquatica and I did a deep dive into these reviews and the worst month
to visit it seems by a surprisingly significant margin was dude a huge amount of one-star reviews
for this month but I did only check for 2019 I should know it probably won't be a revelation
to many of you to learn that the summer months are to be avoided at the water parks in Orlando
you won't get on as many rides as you would in spring or autumn what doesn't help here is that
there aren't signs to tell you how long a queue is gonna take also the parking and the traffic
when you try to leave the car park it can be an absolute nightmare on particular busy days in the
summer if you can't avoid traveling in the summer and obviously a lot of people will be in that boat
I do have some really good tips to compensate for this towards the end of the video compared to the
Disney parks the reviews of staff friendliness compare quite poorly from my analysis there's a
general feeling of I don't really care or I don't really know from staff when it's busy I did see
a couple reviews where people had highlighted that staff are not trained properly on certain
things such as the quick cue system ever since Aquatica opened Dolphin Plunge is generally the
most anticipated attraction for first-time guests and the problem with this is that the attraction
is a bit anticlimactic in the promotional videos they show people majestically sliding through the
dolphin tank in a transparent slide in slow motion but in reality you slide through so quickly that
it's pretty impossible to make any meaningful observation of the Dolphins I mean I feel a bit
silly for expecting more but like a lot of other guests you do just feel a little bit shortchanged
on this attraction given that it's usually the first attraction but people go on with it being
so near to the park entrance it doesn't really start the day off in the best way there's a couple
of areas where people have commented on volcano Bay doing things a bit better and to be fair with
Aquatica being much cheaper you should expect that at volcano Bay they figured out that one
of the big annoyances at a waterpark is carrying the rafts or the big flight of stairs so they
have a lift system that carries the rafts for you whereas our Aquatica you don't have this option
another thing like some guests mentioned about volcano Bay was the taboo taboo wearable device
that alerts you when it's your turn to go on one of the busier slides there's a way to manage hues
this system is actually not for everyone it's not perfect but there were those who travel to aquatic
it after they'd been to volcano Bay that noted the absence of this system the food policy at Aquatica
ever since I can remember is very frustrating for those looking to save money so you can only bring
in small snacks and baby food I remember back in 2013 I had to throw away a big bag of Doritos
and amusingly I can see that people are still complaining about this part of the policy today so
before I get into the tips for this attraction I'm gonna summarize my review very briefly Aquatica
doesn't quite compete with volcano Bay when it comes to the thrill rides and it certainly doesn't
feel as modern but as much as I love volcano Bay it does give the sort of feeling of a Las Vegas
hotel resort in places which is not for everyone whereas Aquatica in my probably controversial
opinion has a slightly better family vibe around the park so if that's what you're seeking I would
say it's definitely worth a trip to a quat ago the fact that it's $30 cheaper certainly helps
number one my first tip is to help those traveling in the summer months so I strongly advise to go
on a Monday if you can this is because a lot of the time people fly in over the weekend for
their vacation and it's rare that people choose to go to a waterpot first for some reason which
is why it tends to be a bit quieter this is a locals pro tip regardless of which day you're
traveling in the summer make sure you get there 30 minutes before the park opens if it's in a
sauna specifically if not then you probably don't need to bother with this so when the park opens
instead of heading to a locker or to one of the attractions I would instead try and sort yourself
out with a Sun Lounger with shade before they all get taken most doing this will head over to big
surf Shores which is a cool spot but if you've got small children with you I would probably head over
to the area near walkabout waters and have a look around for somewhere over here with its shade to
set up camp number two once you've found a place to sunbathe you'll then need some lockers to put
your belongings away I wouldn't head back to the lockers near the entrance they'll get quite busy
so instead you can take the short walk over to the lockers near Wray rush number 3 so Aquatica
will sell waterproof cases for your smartphone I believe they're $30 but you can of course grab
these for a lot cheaper online and this presents you with an opportunity to fight the system of the
unreasonable Locker charges because if you can get a car key in one or two of these your phone your
bank card your cash then you can maybe get away with not paying for a locker and just having your
non valuable items left at the Sun Lounger but maybe I'm taking frugality a bit too seriously
here an alternative strategy that I got from a review on TripAdvisor was to put your valuables in
a waterproof case and then hide them in the sand under your Sun Lounger if you're stationed in the
beach area feels a bit risky to me but interesting nevertheless number four once you've set up camp
and you're ready for the pool my advice is to act quickly in terms of getting around the attractions
I would recommend doing Rea rush first if you took my advice on lockers and then moving around the
park counterclockwise from this point if you're traveling in the summit don't expect much from the
park after around 12 o'clock this is when it can get quite stressful in the queues will be very big
by this point number five if you're traveling to multiple SeaWorld parks including Busch Gardens it
may work out as decent value if you buy one of the refillable cups if you keep hold of your receipt
it's free refills on the day of purchase and for every other day in the season it's 99 cents
for a refill well that's it for my first part review please hit the like button if you found
it useful and check out the useful links in the description if you're interested in more Orlando
vacation content including hotel reviews parte reviews and top 10 lists don't forget to subscribe