Atlantis Hotel

[catzle]

Just wondering what exactly can we do at the Atlantis that isn't going to cost us a fortune? We would like to show the kids around than go back to the ship and hang out there.

 

[Anal Annie]

This might be a wonky way of looking at it but how old are your kids? Personally, we would not take our DS to a water park and tell him he can look but not play. He would not understand and it would be like a tease to some kids. I probably wouldn't go to Atlantis if I weren't planning on letting them play. But maybe that's just me...

 

[catzle]

kids are 8 and 11. Just not sure it's worth the $400 for them to do the water park? We are planning to Parasail at Castaway Cay and do the stingray adventure etc. with them. So was trying to not break the bank in one stop. $400 seems like a lot for them to do a water park for a few hours. But I would like to show them around.

 

[Anal Annie]

Try booking a room next door at the Comfort Suites for a fraction of the cost of the DCL excursion. You take a taxi from the port (about $4 pp). Check in / check out at the same time so you don't have to schelp back...they give you vouchers that you take over to Atlantis & exchange at a towel stand for the wrist bands. You get your towels to use for the day & full access to the Aquaventure & Aquarium. You have to watch the CS rates - they do fluctuate but even with all the fees & added charges & tax you should be able to find a room for under $200. That's what we did and it worked out great. I think I orig. booked a room for about $250 then the rates dropped to about $150 so I re-booked & cancelled the first ressie. It was a Friday too which was higher than a weekday so it also depends which day you'll be in port. Sometimes people post codes for it too that offer a better rate. Watch the DIS!! DCL charges a fortune for the Aquaventure Park. It's fun but it's not worth all that!!

 

[steelemdsd]

The water park was my kids DS 10, DD 8 favorite part of the trip. They loved Castaway Cay and thought the stingray adventure was alright but absolutely loved Aqua Adventure. My DD 8 even did the drop of fear.

We went the Comfort Suites route and only paid a total of around $210.00 for all four of us. We used the AAA discount and got a room at Comfort Suites for $176.00 but we made our reservation far in advance.

I am very glad we went that route and found out about it from this board. I personally would not pass it up and no way would I take my kids there to see it. It would have broke my heart to tell them no after they saw it. I have no issue telling them no but I do not wave things in front of them and then pull it away.

 

[mmouse37]

Most of the Atlantis property is off limits unless you are a guest or on an excursion. the beach is public but you can't access the beach through the hotel property unless you are a guest. There is a public access path past the Atlantis, between Atlantis and the Riu Hotel.

But, you can walk around the perimeter of the hotel (you would enter the hotel and just exit one of the back doors by the casino and it will put you on a path that winds around close to the hotel where there are several natural looking pools where the sea life is. They are actually the tops of the aquariums but you can see fish, sharks, sea turtles, etc. There is no charge for this. You can also go into the hotel and walk down the stairs to the lower level and there is a wall of the aquarium that you can view with tons of fish with no charge. It is the backdrop of one of the restaurants but you don't have to eat there to see it...you can walk around the edge of the restaurant to get to it.

The pic at this link shows what I mean about the aquarium.

http://travelwithkids.about.com/od/...yal-Towers/Great-Hall-of-Waters--aquarium.htm


MJ

 

[maberlyne]

Okay, this may be a dumb question, but I'm going to ask it anyway

So, my friend and I were considering doing the Discover Atlantis tour through DCL... I know it does give somewhat of a guided tour, but then it says you can "explore the grounds," I believe, and use the beach. We don't necessarily want to do the slides and all, but I want to know what exactly is included. Not all that, right?