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The following text we
received in an email and thought viewers would like to read it!
2008 - Aquatica
- (2/25/08) Previews of Aquatic started on Friday. The park has the
quality atmosphere of Discovery Cove, but has mixed in a bunch of great
slides and attractions and is very colorful. I’ll include some quotes
from a park review I received about the various attractions to “wet” you
appetite.
Dolphin
Plunge
- This is the only adult body slide in the park, interestingly
enough. It's fast, and very dark until you get near the Commerson's
Dolphin pool. Admittedly, you dash through the pool very quickly (maybe
1.5 seconds), so you're probably not going to see one of the animals,
but the tunnel entering the water is still a rush, and there are plenty
of ways to see the critters besides this one. It's still fun, without
question.
Whanau
Way
(Raft Slide Tower) - Like other water parks, guests receive tubes from
others who are exiting the pool. There's no queue area here, which may
come back to bite them when a capacity day hits. The normal line is, of
course, on the tower itself. The stairs branch off and each side heads
up to two different slides. As expected, a fun slide tower.
Cutback
Cove & Big Surf Shores
(Wave Pools) - There is a pathway that extends down between the two
pools, feeding a bunch of cabanas so it doesn't look like they can
interact with each other as we've been hearing. I spent most of my time
in Cutback Cove, which has the strong, aggressive waves. Water was
pleasantly warm, and the waves operated on a 20-minute cycle (8 minutes
on, 12 off). A digital clock rests on the back wall of both pools,
displaying current time, temperature (in both F and C) and, when the
waves are running, time remaining in the cycle. I did hear guests say
that only one pool was open at first, until other guests arrived. No
inner tubes allowed, which was kind of welcome, as you don't have them
bumping into you or getting a foot to the face. The beach is wide and
long, with easily hundreds of chaise lounges. The sand appeared to be
very deep, as I saw kids burying each other or trying to dig down and
find the bottom. A very nice touch.
Kata’s
Kookaburra Cove
(Kiddie Area) - While not zero-depth it did look like fun. All guests
under 48" in height are required to wear live vests (provided free of
charge), which are also recommended at other attractions. Signs at
Cutback Cove recommend them for *all* guests who venture into the deeper
water, but it's not required.
Roa’s
Rapids
(Swift River) - A few surprises here, some good and some not so good. On
the good side, the ride is very long, with two put-in points on opposite
sides, so it can be a good transport from the beach to the other two
slide towers. The water also moves very fast, with plenty of geysers,
sprays and rapids sections. The not-so-good surprise is something I
figured would be an obvious part of the attraction ... no inner tubes
allowed. I asked the life guards, and they said it was a safety issue. I
can buy that to a point, since the current is so swift, much more so
than a typical lazy river. Frankly, again I didn't miss them.
Taumata
Racer
(8
Lane Slide Tower) - This was my first and last ride of the day, and I
absolutely loved it. There were tons of mats available, and they were
dispatching sliders very quickly. This will be a good bulk-loader during
busier days. The slide is boarded while standing up, to give you that
little boost as you start down. The artwork on the map isn't entirely
right for this tower, but here's a tip; the maroon slides (load in the
middle, end up on the outsides) are incredibly fast.
Walkabout
Waters
(Water Fortress) - Huge fortress, with two water buckets and plenty of
things to do.
Walhalla
Wave & HooRoo Run
(Family Raft Slide Tower) - This one had a hiccup early in the day, when
its conveyor belt got stuck and sidelined the tower for much of the
morning. It was back up and running in the afternoon, and the immediate
favorite among the guests was the Walhalla Wave, the blue twisty
slide. It is long, to be true, which is probably why it was popular; but
those who tried the HooRoo Run, the green dipping slide, got rewarded
with a faster line and an overall faster speed.
Loggerhead
Lane
(Lazy River) - This lazy river will be popular for sure, for several
reasons. It does allow inner tubes, and offers both single and double
tubes. This also serves the two animal exhibits, a tank with African
ciclids and a second view into the Commerson's Dolphin exhibit.
Tassie’s
Twisters
(Cannon Bowls) - I've never done these slides before, and I have to say
I may have a new favorite. On both sides, I got plenty of speed and
several rotations before I slipped to the middle and out the
bottom. Single riders must use the single rafts, by the way, and the
double tubes far out-number the singles.
Retail
& Food
– There are four gift shops, providing plenty of logo merchandise, swim
wear, shoes, sunscreen, etc. Kiwi Traders is the main facility, near the
center of the park, and others are scattered about. Food-wise, it's the
same superb grub you'll find at other A-B parks (probably my favorite
facet of their services). Waterstone Grill, where I took lunch, has a
good selection of food and is centrally located, across from Kiwi
Traders and adjacent to the underwater viewing window for the
dolphins. Mango Market is over at the back end of the park and is more
grab-and-go, while Banana Beach Cookout offers all-you-care-to-eat
dining for $13, or $20 for an all-day access wristband (drinks
included).
Facilities
- The main bathhouse is right near the center of the park, and it had
one of the last nice touches. The showers provide free body wash,
shampoo and conditioner in pump containers ... I don't know if Disney
does this (haven't been to Typhoon or Blizzard), but I'm thinking they
should. (Editor Note – You’ll find this same perk at Discovery Cove as
well).
Animal
Interactions
- There are other animals about such as a flock of parrots that hang out
across from the beach, and trainers are located at the dolphin pool to
answer questions. They were feeding the dolphins near the end of the
day; I never realized how small the Commerson's dolphin is! At the exit,
another trainer had a kookaburra out and was letting guests get pictures
with it.
Other
Notes
- The staff and guards were all very professional and genuinely happy to
see the guests enjoying themselves. The loudspeakers play a good loop of
fun, Australian and island-inspired music (mostly instrumental), and the
park's announcer speaks in an Australian accent. While on the subject of
miscellany and trivia, if you've been to Aquatica's website, you've seen
the colorful animal icons. They do have names now, and are the park's
"ambassadors," visible throughout the park on signs or on statuary ...
on the main page, working clockwise from the top, they are: Kata
(kookaburra), Papa (stork), Ihu (lizard), Roa (kiwi), Motu (turtle) and
Wai (dolphin).
All told, Aquatica is about to make a big splash on the Orlando
water-park scene!
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