AQUATICA - don't bother!

[bcon007]

I was really looking forward to visiting Aquatica on our recent visit to Florida. :d:
However, I don't think they have quite sorted themselves out yet. :( On the day I was there, the park was heaving. I think they are letting in more than the park can handle - there were no sunbeds left to sit on etc. :( My family and I didn't even attempt going on any of the water shutes as we could clearly see it was going to be well over an hour to get through the queue (for a 30 second ride!). :(
We left after 2 hours. I had a little moan at the person in the front desk, but she wasn't all that bothered at my grumbles. :nonono:
The gates were closed when we were leaving, so the park was FULL.
I see by other posts that people are finding they cannot get into Aquatica, so are going next door to Seaworld - I can vouch for that, as our visit to Seaworld was pasked out too.
My two sons (9 & 6) both loved Typhoon Lagoon. ;)

[pongo]

So many differing opinions on Aquatica im kind of glad im not going this year thats not to say that anyone has persuaded me either way i can make my own mind up but hopefully by next year any teething problems and mayhem will be sorted ! :erm:

[mouli1]

your experience sounds like ours ,the customer service is just not good enough and the crowds are spoiling Seaworld too.I read somewhere before we went that ther was supposed to be one sunbed for every guest ,maybe they are letting in more people than originally planned ,as I said on another post Busch are just money grabbing these days.

[madwife]

I'm beginning to regret upgrading our flextickets to include Aquatica :(

[Friday'sChild]

I'm beginning to regret upgrading our flextickets to include Aquatica :(

Me too. Hopefully though they will have gotten their act together by the time we arrive


Fran
x x

[paulap]

I'm beginning to regret upgrading our flextickets to include Aquatica :(

Everybody is different - you might love it.

We're still going to try it and if we don't like it, we'll go back to the villa.

[Dougie]

Aquatica and Seaworld are primarily businesses and if (as has been said many times on here ) it is full by 10.30 then they must be doing something right.

In every new attraction in Orlando there are teething problems.....its been open barely two months yet......just because its in Florida it doesnt make it perfect from Day one.

I am still going to see how it is but my expectations are nowhere near as high as others seem to have.

[Sue]

It's amazing how many different reviews we are getting on Aquatica - maybe it is always going to split opinion?
Good to hear all comments - ain't going to stop me trying it. If it's awful, we'll just leave early - plenty of other places to go.

[madwife]

Everybody is different - you might love it.

True - but I never seem to see numerous threads about how people dislike TL or BB :confused2

[whambar]

sounds a shame as it did look good in all the "hype" before it opened, I always have an open mind and think that I will go anyway to see for myself as its included in tickets that I have got, if its not all that great then we just won't go back and it will only be an afternoon wasted.

[debs2028]

I have it on my tickets aswell and was really looking forward to going.
Will heed warnings and get there early
will just have to see when we get there but I am not waiting in line for an hour in the August heat!!! :confused2

[Scotsmomma]

I'll still be going....I've seen a lot of bad reviews but a lot of good ones too......It's obvious it's going to be heaving being a new park....lol anyway so many people are deciding not to go just by reading others reviews that I'll probably have the park to myself

[Scobby Doo]

I agree, we went to Aquatica mid week on 10th April, we were lucky and we had booked a Cabana in advance. We got to just before Seaworld and the traffic was terrible (this was about 9:30ish in the morning). Everyone queuing up to get into Acquatica, we finally got into the Car Park at 10:15 at this time they had stopped charging for the car park too busy. We parked and the queue to get in was terrible (a very hot morning), I was told when I booked the Cabana we could get straight in and only need to go to the Cabana entrance (near themain park entrance). But the park assistant told us we would have to queue (even though the queue was for the normal park entrance). No way were we doing this I paid $180 for this cabana, we went to the front of the queue, met by another park assistant who said he would turn a blind eye, when we got to the park entrance there was no queue for the cabana entrance. The Cabana was lovely but the park was heaving the only pool we went in that wasn't heaving was the wave pool. My kids did not want to queue up, we waited for one water slide and gave up after 3/4 hour. I think once the newness of the park subsides it will hopefully be less busy I don't know wether the queuing up in your car will get any better I think it was not the well thought out when they built this park.

[Fiona]

There are so many mixed views on Aquatica and some people are even saying they now won`t be going there due to the bad reviews. IMHO far better to go yourself and then make the decision as to whether or not you like it. :-)

[mikey270262]

There are so many mixed views on Aquatica and some people are even saying they now won`t be going there due to the bad reviews. IMHO far better to go yourself and then make the decision as to whether or not you like it. :-)

Fair point Fiona, but the posters are, I think, trying to be helpful and counter some of the park's hype.
We went there 17th April and the queues for the main slides were horrendous. There isn't enough shade, too few loungers given the number of visitors, and the Dolphin Plunge is feeble - a pale imitation of the "artists impressions".
However, our kids (aged 7 and 9) LOVED the big Walkabout Waters kids play area, and the two big wave pools.
If you want theming - Disney. Thrills - Wet n Wild (go on, do the Bomb Bay people - you know you want to!).
Aquatica? Yeah, give it a go - just don't believe the hype. Oh, and get there very early, or very late.
Mike.

[mouli1]

thats a fair summation Mikey ,it has been so hyped that it doesnt meet expectations ,the kids area is good as are the fast rapids providing you steer clear of the rough concrete edges,it is such a pity that they allow so many people in ,personally I would rather pay a bit more so that they didnt have so many guests in

[princessfiona]

We are not going this year due to Baby Brown due july 13th so our disney fix is on hold. Im kind of glad in a way as I was really looking forward to AQ and by the sound of the mixed posts it is not living up to its exectations. I hope this is just due to it being a new park an by the tme we get to go back it will have calmed down and start living up to expectations.

[savo64]

Phew at last one good reason for stopping in the international plaza can always just walk back to hotel if its too manic

[Fester3125]

I went yesterday, one of the hottest days since I've been here. Got parked in preffered parking, despite not paying for it (which was good, right outside the parks doors). Not much of a queue to get in, it was 0930 and the gates were open despite being advertised as 1000 opening. Managed to find a space to sit under the big sun umbrellas, without too much hassle. Went on Whanau Way first, no queues, then to Walhalla Wave, Hoohoo Run and Taumata Racers, all with little or no queue. All great rides as well. Then went to queue on the Dolphin Plunge. After 35 min queue, which wasnt bad for the 'star' attraction, we got on, and I have to say it was really disappointing. Despite the water being deeper in the clear part of the tube to slow you down, it causes too much spray and you just dont see anything. Other than that, we went on everything else except Tassie's twisters (been on the same at Wet n Wild), and the queue for Whanau Way was never too big. All the queues got bigger and longer as the day went on, but what do you expect??? Left at 1400, all done, lovely clean and pleasant park. I appreciate that I went midweek when lots of hols have finished, but I didnt find it any worse than Wet n Wild for queues (except Dolphin Plunge) and my whole party thought it was great. Went over to SeaWorld, quite busy, but again not a real problem, only a 15 min queue for Kracken. All in all, I found it ok, bit of a 'been there, done it' type of place for me, a la WnW.

[Grumpy&Happy]

We wouldn't bother again!

I don't think it had anything over and above Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach. There is a charge for parking which you don't have at TL or BB and your not allowed to take in ANY food or drink. We were not even allowed to take in a bottle of water.

Having said that our 7 year old did enjoy the walk about waters. But it was closed off for about an hour because something was found floating in the water. It wasn't dealt with very well at all, it took them about half an hour to get everyone out and then they didn't seal it off so people were coming from elsewhere in the park and just walking straight in!

It put me off!!!!!!

[brody-maddison]

I personally think that you can only judge for yourself. I would never not go somewhere just because of mixed reviews.

I'd just get up early to be at the gate for opening and to grab some sunbeds or chairs and just take it as it comes.

I'd get the flex-ticket so that if it gets too busy by late morning you can leave and perhaps visit again another day and stay for the morning.

I'll definitely be giving it a go when we go next.

[Sue]

Just to add to all my 'see for yourself' comments on all these Aquatica threads - I have not seen or read any of the hype, artist impressions etc, nor have the others in my party.
What I have no expectation of cannot disappoint, is the way I look at it.

[carolmc]

Give it a go yourself. We visited on 15th, and with having a disability, found I could not "access" a lot anyway because of the queues!! Our adult sons were with us and gave up before I did.....they queued for over an hour to get on one slide.
Still, I would say go see for yourself.

[DisBeth]

We have planned a visit here on our itinerary.
Like I have just said to DP I was worried also about the mixed reviews but like he said it's new,it will encounter the odd blip but hopefully will get sorted out.
We will go and just take it how we see it. :grin:

[wayneg]

Our Seaworld/Busch Passports are due for renewal in Dec, can add Aquatica $40 for 2 years admission. If we don't add it until renewal we won't visit until August 2009 so hopefully teething problems will be sorted, must be worth £10/year to get in even if its not as good as Disney water parks.

[nbodyhome]

I went and had a great time, and friends went last week and had a wonderful time. Everyone is different, though.

[neilhd]

It's our first trip this year and I've decided to avoid it and just do one of the Disney ones, because a) The Disney ones are included in our tickets anyway, and b) I was expecting Aquatica to be really really busy because it's new, and therefore hopefully the Disney ones will be a touch quieter.

[nbodyhome]

It's our first trip this year and I've decided to avoid it and just do one of the Disney ones, because a) The Disney ones are included in our tickets anyway, and b) I was expecting Aquatica to be really really busy because it's new, and therefore hopefully the Disney ones will be a touch quieter.

I just think that there aren't enough water parks to go around. I doubt that Aquatica will change much as far as the Disney water parks (which is only 2 parks for 100,000 or so onsite guests plus other guests and locals).

[TravelBoo2]

We are just back and planned to visit Aquatice, we even bought a 7 day Seaworld/Aquatica ticket, but I had read a few bad reviews before we went.

Then on one of our trips on the I-Ride, a couple got off at Aquatica and when we were returning from our shopping trip 2 hours later, they got back on. Didn't they like it? So we decided not to waste a day. Anyone had a good experience yet?

[nattyk]

we went a few weeks ago with a group of friends and we had heard how busy it gets so we got there early - lucky for us the weather was abit chilly that day - so it as not busy and we had a fantastic time - did all the slides etc arrived at 9.30am and left at 6pm. I can imagine it being a nightmare if it is busy, but we would go again and the kids loved it...

nat

[wayneg]

Then on one of our trips on the I-Ride, a couple got off at Aquatica and when we were returning from our shopping trip 2 hours later, they got back on. Didn't they like it? So we decided not to waste a day. Anyone had a good experience yet?

Did you ask them? or just presume they didn't like it?
We often go into parks for 2 or 3 hours not that we don't like them just with AP's we can. I will have to try myself, no matter how bad reviews get even if its just to relax a few hours and not get on any slides.

[Earthbound]

Me & Denise have placed a few posts on Aquatica, it seems pretty much hit & miss at the moment - possibly because of the newness & the staff are on a learning curve!

[fletchie148]

you have to remember it all takes time to settle in, you canot expect things to be smooth straight away, however a new park opening and people reviweing it is like Johnathon Ross reviewing a film, not everyone likes the same things, has the same standards or expectations, so I agree you have to go and gve it a whirl for yourself. I am going to go and see what it is like to be honest we always go to every water park first thing in the morning and leave early afternoon so I think at this time you have a a good chance of a lounger and shorter lines. Go and see for yourself you never know you might just enjoy it!!!! :grin:

[stevey]

We spent the day at Aquatica last week and apart form the chaos in the morning for getting into the park, ( carpark late opening and a stagger system getting in at opening) it was OK. It was very busy so after the first hour, the slides became too busy. The park itself is comfortable and clean, water was lovely and warm and on whole was quite relaxing. I was glad we visited but if I was to go back soon, would more than likely give this one a miss in favour of one of the other water parks.

[bigcol300866]

I keep coming up with these threads, all i have to say is judge for yourselfs we loved it, yes it was busy but its brand new, things will get better once everyones been and it settles down, and it is new and everyone wants to go, i read a thread before we went and i wasn't going to bother going but iam really glad we did our DS9 loved it and so did i, DW liked the park and we will go again that for sure and i would tell everybody to try it. So don't listen to others jugde for yourself and then if you like it, ok if you don't well thats ok too just have fun :d: .

[mouli1]

it will be a nice park when it all settles down but only if they dont allow so many people in and improve their customer service.The park is just too small for the number of guests allowed in.

[chalky66]

we are giving it a go anyway. I could not go this year without even going and having a look for myself.

[mouli1]

yes thats how we felt and it wasnt a wasted day but it wasnt the best experience we had had either

[TyphoonTilly]

I'll definitely be giving it a go when we go next.

Same here - I want to make my own mind up xx
:cool2:

[Manesty]

We went last week and enjoyed it very much, my grandchildren who are 6 and 8 loved the childrens area. The rapid river thing is fantastic we have never laughed so much you bomb round. It was hot and I think the lack of shade could become a problem but we are glad we went and will be going back again in October.

[pinkypominnie]

We went twice over the last 3 weeks on our honeymoon and absolutely LOVED it! It is my favourite water park, great pool, fantastic slides, beautiful beach area with loads of space between lounges (unlike the disney parks-although I love them too!) dolphins and birds to watch....it was definitely no busier than of the other parks and we had a great time :) xx

[disneysmiffs]

We have just came back and loved Aquactica so much so we went there twice, we had no problems at all & my kids loved the rides the only water slide we queued for was the Dolphin one which I must say I was disappointed with as if you blink you miss seeing them through the clear water chute other than that and it didn't really bother me the park was great, also went to Typhoon Lagoon which again we enjoyed and was a different kind of park to Aquactica, we are going back next year and we will be going back.

[brindle]

We were there tuesday this week and realy enjoyed it:), the lines were not too bad we got on most slides very quick and there were loads of loungers and chairs;).It is a lovely family park, great fun rides not really big scary rides like wet n wild , it defo gets our vote:grin:.

[mouli1]

yes you can expect them to have it right when it opens ,imho it is not acceptable to take a product to market when you haven't got it right and the same applies here ,I cant believe the Busch corp are so naive that they didnt realize the level of interest this park would generate and therefore should have addressed their customer service problems .

[simon06]

visited tuesday 6th may, spent 3+ hours there and had an enjoyable time, the fast river is good without a life vest but even better with one, just floating in the water like a lump of wood letting the water take you. Got burnt front and back, just like a lobster, lol.

[TRACEYA89]

We are going to florida for a week and am dying to go to Aquatica but am going to wait until our 2 week trip in November when we get a flexi ticket. This time we are going to do lots of shops and may be 2 disney parks cos i have the tickets already.

[Tinkerbell]

We have booked to go on August, and have booked a cabana. I expect it to be busy at it is new, but dont know when i will be back, so willing to give it a go. Also $79 per person for water park and seaworld ) £41.00 approx) seems very cheap, so if i do not like it no great loss.


T
x

[WALT WORLD]

Personally probably wont bother with this water park next year, love the disney parks and they are included on our disney ticket.

I'm sure it will be settled down by then but to be honest with the 2 disney waters parks and the lovely pool complex at Regal Palms there really isnt any need to payout for what already comes as included on my disney tickets

[wayneg]

We have booked to go on August, and have booked a cabana. I expect it to be busy at it is new, but dont know when i will be back, so willing to give it a go. Also $79 per person for water park and seaworld ) £41.00 approx) seems very cheap, so if i do not like it no great loss.


T
x

Annual Passports even better. Cost us £75/year for unlimited access to SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch with free parking:grin:

[Tinkerbell]

Annual Passports even better. Cost us £75/year for unlimited access to SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch with free parking:grin:

I know we have been for the past 3 years and every year I say I am not going back:stupid: ROFL Then I book and wish I had got annual passes............I can be soooo stupid:wavey:

[mouli1]

the cabanas are nice and I am sure more relaxing but they dont get you on the slides any quicker ,should include a fast pass for that money !

[Tinkerbell]

the cabanas are nice and I am sure more relaxing but they dont get you on the slides any quicker ,should include a fast pass for that money !


The cabana worked out quite reasonable as it divided between the family, the reason for booking the cabana was to ensure that we had shade for the little one, as early reports were saying that there was little shade. I am not to bothered about the slides etc, will leave that to the others:pgig::pgig:

[disneyvisit]

Im going in June I would when we go to visit a friend. She's been a few times and love it, although its busy you would expect it for a new park. I just need to see it

[spendleb]

we had no problems last week and rides were about 10 minutes but its nothing special really and we all got badly burned as no cover

[Gemthedog]

We went to Aquatica four times over the last two weeks and found it, generally, very good. The first day, after reading about others' nightmares just getting into the place, we got there for 9.00 a.m. No queue for the car park, and only a very short queue, (half a dozen people), to get into the park itself. When we got in, the place was deserted and we had the pick of sunbeds and umbrellas. It's worth noting that the park doesn't actually open fully until 10.00 a.m., so if you arrive early there will be parts of the park closed off until then.

The next time we arrived well after 10.00 a.m and still had no problems at all with getting in, or getting decent sunbeds. The next two times, we arrived even later, (11.00 and 12.00), and still didn't have any problems, although the last day we went was Friday and the park was definately busier. As for lack of shade, to be honest, we spent a lot of our time moving our sunbeds out of the shade as the sun moved across the sky! Why go to Florida and sit in the shade?; especially when you are in one of the wettest places in the State! All in all we loved Aquatica, but there are both good, and not so good, points that we picked up on.

First, the not so good points. As has already been said, you have to pay $10 to park there and it's free parking at the Disney water parks. The entrance procedure is geared towards creating problems, and long queues, when it gets busy because, a) the bag checking area is too small, and b) the ticket reading machines don't work properly. There can be quite long queues for the lockers too because there just aren't enough places where you can rent them. There are just two tills dedicated to locker rental, (although we did find out later that if you just want a small locker you can rent one from the Banana Cook Out counter next door) There aren't enough showers either, so you either have to queue up for one in quite a small area, or go without a shower before you leave the park. Most of the not so good points seem to be created by everything being too small for the numbers of people using the park. It works when the park is quiet, but I can imagine that it could become a nightmare when it's really busy. The food available is not great, and why anyone would want an all day ticket for the Banana Cook Out for $19.95, when the options are so limited, is beyond me. Another big downer is the number of people ignoring the No Smoking policy. More people smoke on their sunbeds than at the designated areas, and the staff don't seem to bother with them. There are no signs up once you're inside the park, and there are very few announcements. They need to get a grip on this one before the beaches become giant ash trays.

Now the good points. The sand beaches are fantastic, a lot like Discovery Cove, (the entrance feels very much like Discovery Cove too), and there are plenty of sun beds and seats available. The two wave pools are great, especially for the kids. The special kids areas are also very good. A lot of thought has gone into them and there is a lot of variety in them for the kids, no matter how old they are. In fact, a lot of the kids slides are great fun for adults too! I doubt anyone would ever get bored in those two areas. The rapids are great fun too, and quite a work out if you walk or swim round a few times! The lazy river is quite small, but also quite picturesque. As previously stated, the number of empty tubes floating round does spoil it a bit though. The bigger slides are very good, but the queues for the more popular ones are a bit off putting. Those queues, I think, are partly due to the importance they put on safety at this park, which is a big plus really. There are plenty of lifeguards all over the park, and they do seem to stick to the rules rigidly, so no corners are cut to speed things up. It's a bright, colourful and airy place and will only improve as it matures. The Comerson Dolphins are wonderful and a delight to watch.

I certainly wouldn't be put off going by the negative reports that you read. It's a great place, and I'd much rather be there now than sitting here!

[sambartle]

I visited aquatica on the 28th April (Wednesday) and it was practically empty..

I wasn't actually that impressed, its basically closer to Wet 'n Wild than any of the Disney parks in terms of attractions, pricing (food etc) and overall design.. its a waterpark, theres a bit of landscaping but nothing like Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon, it has a few good rides but I much preferred the new ones at Wet 'n Wild (Disco H20 and Brain wash are both decent and new since I was last there)

The other thing is that whatever they have used for most of the ground at Aquatica gets very very hot (I know they all do.. ) much more so than Wet 'n Wild or any of the disney parks. (I dont know if this is simply because there werent any working drizzle sprayers that day or if there simply are none at all. At other parks these help keep the paths wet and a bit cooler)
It was actually painful to walk on sometimes.

The Commersons dolphin pool slide is ok.. but make sure you are in the left tube or you wont see anything except the other tube! The view isnt great.. you can see more from the view point where you can look into the pool where the slides go through.

[daaaveee]

went a couple of days ago and i have to say its WELL worth it, just for the Rapids IMO! just grab a life jackets and have fun floating around :grin:

[spendleb]

Have to agree about the Banana Cook Out, we paid for it and it's not worth it at all, they start off with breakfast items and then switch to lunch and it's pretty basic stuff and no variety.

[nialltruan]

We were in aquatica last week. It was busy but we had no trouble finding a couple of loungers, I imagine it will be heaving when the schools finish. There were queues for the rides, but it wasn't too bad.
A couple of things i would recommend.
Make sure you take some form of sandal/water shoe. There is loads of red concrete, which is like walking on hot coals.
You need to be careful walking into some of the water rides (river and wave pool) as it's incredibly slippery.
The best lunch thing is pizza and salad. Dont bother trying their steak sandwich and fries, you will still be chewing it on the flight home.