Aquatica or Disney waterpark

[living20057]

We have been to Blizzard beach and Typhoon lagoon. How does Aquatica compare? Is it worth it or should be stay with Disney? We will be there in August.

 

[Taylor'sMom]

We've done Blizzard Beach and Aquatica. I'd do BB every time. Aquatica was ok... certaiy not bad... just a decent day. BB is so much more immersive in a fun theme and I think all areas of the park (from kiddie areas, to big slides, to wave pool) excede what Aquatica offers.

 

[living20057]

I love Blizzard beach, I don't want to be disappointed. This trip we're staying at our DVC resort but going to Universal and Islands of adventure.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Unless you have already decided (in your mind) that nothing can live up to the Disney waterparks, I can't imagine Aquatica would be disappointing to you. Its a lovely park with an Australian theme, and home to SeaWorld's famous Commerson dolphins. There's a nice mix of features from big slides to areas for the kids to lazy rivers and wave pools. I'm not a big "thrill" lover but my boys LOVE slides (the bigger, the better) and we all fell in love with Aquatica on our first visit.

Our favourite area at Aquatica is Roa's Rapids. Its a tubeless lazy river with a very fast current that is more fun than you can imagine. Its best enjoyed (even for adults who are good swimmers) by wearing one of the many life jackets which are available at the entrance to the rapids. Then wade in, and once you hit the current, pick up your feet and let it carry you around (and around and around and around!). We literally spend HOURS there on each of our visits, and hands-down its the best waterpark feature we have found anywhere. There's nothing else like it!

For "best value" dining there's the all-you-can-eat buffet at the Banana Beach Cook-out. Two different options are available...one visit or an all-day pass....and they offer pizza, barbecued chicken pieces, pulled pork, hot dogs, watermelon, brownies, warm yeast rolls, coke products, and more. There's also the Waterstone Grill (which is our personal preference) where you can get chicken tenders and fries, grilled hamburgers, salads, etc. all ordered a la carte.

If you have done the Disney waterparks, I would say give Aquatica a try. I'm all for doing something different and enjoying a new experience.

We are doing the Disney waterparks for the first time this summer, and the above posts about Blizzard Beach made me smile, because THAT'S the park that I'm worried about disappointing me. As someone who comes from a northern climate, the snow theme doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. While Typhoon Lagoon looks like a tropical paradise, BB to me looks "blech". But we're trying it out anyway, because like I said....I am all about new experiences!

I will post a bunch of Aquatica pics for you in separate posts so you can get a glimpse of the park. Stay tuned.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Aquatica pics, part 1:

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Aquatica pics, part 2:

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Aquatica pics, part 3!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

And a few more.....

 

[living20057]

It looks awesome. I always prefer real pictures over the stock photos from the Aquatica site. Thank you for sharing. The body rapids sounds like what they have at Water Country. I'm definitely open to trying new places.

 

[DOOM1001]

I've been to all three waterparks several times and I honestly can't give you a clear favorite,they each have positives that makes them great.If you go to the main theme parks and attractions board Typhoon Lagoon seems to usually be more popular than Blizzard Beach,people seem to prefer it's lush,tropical theme,better wavepool and unique attractions such as the shark reef and Crush n Gusher.Blizzard Beach has the most thrilling slides of the two Disney waterparks.Aquatica has a nice combination of thrilling slides and attractions most of the family would enjoy such as the Roa's rapids fast lazy river that's one of the coolest attraction in the three parks.Aquatica is not as lush with a more colorful theme with more palm trees than big trees but it has more areas for kids with a bigger kids play area that's even fun for adults.Aquatica also has better shopping and dining options than the Disney parks,a negative is that they charge for parking unlike the Disney ones which don't.Right now if I had to rank the three parks out of 100 points I would have 1.Aquatica with 93 points 2.Typhoon Lagoon with 91 and 3.Blizzard Beach with 90.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Good point about the parking charge, Doom . Complimentary parking is one very nice feature of the Disney waterparks.

One of the other things we LOVE about Aquatica is how affordable a cabana rental is there. The cabanas at Disney are $320 per day . On our August trip, they were only $100 per day, and in December, cheaper yet (I think regular price was $69.99.....we paid $30 with the passholder discount). They come with 12 bottles of Dasani water, your own fridge, your own large locker inside the cabana, 8 rental towels, and are located in a section of the park that's restricted to cabana guests only. Its a wonderful splurge that we will miss at the Disney waterparks this summer.

 

[chicagoshannon]

We really liked Aquatica. The kid areas are really nice and the fast lazy river was super fun. They do have a traditional lazy river but it was smaller and less scenic than the Disney rivers. We went to Aquatica at the end of April in2012 and it was not busy at all, another plus.

 

[kirstenb1]

We have BG season passes here in Wbrg, which lets us into Aquatica for free. Having said that, we loved Aquatica!!

 

[itisamymc]

What is BG?

 

[wiigirl]

Wow...maybe I should give Aquatica a chance...

 

[living20057]

What is BG?

Busch Gardens. The season passes is a great deal with you be visiting all the parks.

 

[Jamie25UGA]

This post is really making me want to try out Aquatica, I'll have to look into what the price would be with a Sea World AP. After going to both of Disney's waterparks several times over the last few years we've been throwing around the idea of going back to Wet N Wild again since we loved it the last time we went.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

This post is really making me want to try out Aquatica, I'll have to look into what the price would be with a Sea World AP. After going to both of Disney's waterparks several times over the last few years we've been throwing around the idea of going back to Wet N Wild again since we loved it the last time we went.

If Mother Nature is kind to us on our August vacation, we are hoping to squeeze in a day at Wet N Wild near the end of our trip (we just bought Disney waterpark AP's, so we want to utilize those to the fullest first). I think it would be nice to have experienced all 4 Orlando waterparks, to see which we prefer overall.

 

[Jamie25UGA]

If Mother Nature is kind to us on our August vacation, we are hoping to squeeze in a day at Wet N Wild near the end of our trip (we just bought Disney waterpark AP's, so we want to utilize those to the fullest first). I think it would be nice to have experienced all 4 Orlando waterparks, to see which we prefer overall.

Hopefully you'll be able to squeeze in Wet N Wild...I haven't been in YEARS but it is the only water park in FL that I went to as a kid. I definitely preferred it to the waterpark we have at home even as a kid, we literally went on one slide ride 15 times in a row, the guy who was working the top kept saying "you again!" and after 6 or so times he asked how many and started keeping track with us so I would love to go back just to see how it is now versus Disney's which we're so used to now. After looking on the passholder portion of Sea World's site i'm not seeing anything about a discount on Aquatica tickets so I'll have to ask next time we're there because it does sound fun.

 

[living20057]

I agree all four would be nice. Then you can compare for yourself what fits best. My kids really enjoy the kids section and wave pool. They aren't quite ready for slides, just the family tube.