Aquatica
Aquatica is located just across the street from SeaWorld on International Drive off the Bee Line Expressway (FL 528), 10 minutes south of downtown Orlando and 15 minutes from Orlando International Airport. IT takes 20 minutes from the Villa, take I4 East.
Aquatica opens year round at 10 a.m. daily; 9 a.m. during peak seasons. Tollbooths open one hour prior to park open. Closing hours vary by season. Buy Aquatica tickets online or in advance and enjoy an "Hour-Early Exclusive" on Saturdays and Sundays now through the end of summer. Start your Aquatica fun an hour earlier than everyone else! Get there early, before 9 am to ensure you get a good position and make sure you get shade. You will need it!
Dining facilities are available throughout the park we take a picnic, although note, coolers are not permitted.
A one-time locker fee gives you a full days worth of unlimited access. Small lockers are $8 / large lockers are $10 per day. Beach towels can be rented for the entire day for a $4.00 each, with $2.00 refundable on return.
Life vests can be checked out free of charge throughout the park.
A private cabana is the best way to take in all Aquatica has to offer. The cabana is reserved exclusively for you for the entire day, until the park closes. Cabana rentals include a refrigerator stocked with a variety of sodas, juice, and water (16 beverages per cabana) as well as complimentary use of towels and lockers. While a security member is always present in the park, locker usage is recommended. Snacks and dining options are separate.
At Aquatica, the water is as warm as the South Seas themselves, 84F actually, warmer, and the same temperature as our pool in the villa.
Aquatica has 36 slides and flumes, six winding rivers and lagoons and rivals the other main Orlando water parks such as Universal's Wet 'n Wild and Disney's Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. Aquatica have announced a new slide called Omaka Rocka which will open in March 2010.
The high-speed eight lane Taumata competitive racing slide is 300 foot long and goes in and out of tunnels with a 360 degree turn at the top. You can race against other racers down any one of the eight slides, head first on a mat. The name comes from a 300 foot high hill in southern Hawke's Bay, New Zealand and is short for the original Maori name of "Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauot-ameteaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenakitanatahu".
The signature ride, Dolphin Plunge is a pair of side-by-side 250 foot tubes that take you zooming down underwater through the habitat of the Commerson's dolphins. Commerson's are small black and white dolphins, looking a little like miniature killer whales. If you don't want to get wet or you missed them in the flume, you can also watch these beautiful marine mammals from the Dolphin Lookout.
The Hooroo Run is a seven foot wide, straight down, 250 foot triple drop water ride. Each raft holds up to four people (no single riders) and you may feel a sense of weightlessness as you drop the equivalent of six stories.
Wihanau Way has four colourful slides that take you down 340 feet in double inner tubes with thrilling drops, twists and through water curtains before landing you in a crystal clear pool. Each coloured slide has a slightly different ride.
The 129 foot enclosed flume Tassie Twister takes single and double inner tubes. It throws you into a giant bowl before spinning you round and round and then spitting you back out into Loggerhead Lane. To reach the ride, you must make your way through the Loggerhead Lane lagoon to the island in the centre.
Like Hooroo Run, the Walhalla Wave also takes you down six stories but at a slightly slower pace. The family rafts take up to four people (no single riders) through 600 feet of enclosed tunnels with twists and turns.
A new ride called Omaka Rocka has been announced for SeaWorld's Aquatica water park and it is scheduled to open in March 2010. The South Seas name Omaka Rocka means 'rocking river'.