Just back - disappointed with Aquatica

[deedeetoo]

We went to Aquatica last week on July 3. We got there at about 8:30. My family doesn't move that quickly in the morning on vacation so this was the best I could do. They didn't get why we had to hurry to go to a waterpark. Well, we got there, found chairs, went in the wave pool for one round of waves and then went to look for tube rides which is what we like to ride. The big family one already had a completely packed line all the way down the stairs to the ground and back along the path. I don't know how long the wait was because we said "no way" after seeing it. We went over to the other tubes that two people could ride. This line was much more reasonable, but neither of my kids (a very small 10 year old and a 7 yo) felt comfortable in the tubes. We went down once but they didn't want to do it again. They ride similar rides at other waterparks over and over again so I'm not sure if the tubes were sized differently or what but neither wanted a second ride. We tried the lazy river, but it was so packed that you couldn't even move. You literally had to pull your tube out of the water and walk sometimes to get pass traffic jams. There is another faster river that we liked and went around on several times. This was our favorite part of the park. The kids played for awhile in the kids area and had fun. We tried to do the wave pool again but it was wall to wall bodies. We just didn't feel safe there. We ended up leaving at about 1:00 and said "never again". We went to Disney's waterparks last year during July 4th week and they weren't nearly as bad.

 

[iHEARTflorida]

what a shame you didn't enjoy it. i cant wait to try it in august!

i would give it another try at a less high peak time of year.

 

[bellesredrose]

I went with my kids a few days ago. We were in the park by 8:30, found a place for our bags and went straight to the family raft ride. We only had a 20 minute wait. That was the only ride my kids really wanted to wait for. After that, we spent the day at the wave pool, kids large play area and kids small play area, both with water slides. They had a great time. They went to look at the family raft ride again just before leaving at 2pm, but the line was over an hour (just guessing, no wait times were posted).

 

[CrimzonFan]

We were at Sea World on Thursday, Which was a VERY hot day.
Son & I rode the Sky Tower, we could see that Aquatica was packed.
We left around 4:00, there was a sign posted that Aquatica was filled to capacity & closed for new guest.

 

[kellymonaghan]

Gosh, deedeetoo, it sounds like you're saying that Aquatica is more popular than the Disney water parks.

Them's fightin' words to a lot of people 'round here.

 

[deedeetoo]

Gosh, deedeetoo, it sounds like you're saying that Aquatica is more popular than the Disney water parks.

Them's fightin' words to a lot of people 'round here.

I'm not saying its more popular, though that may be true. What I'm saying is that the amount of people in the park overwhelmed the attractions very early in the day making it very difficult to enjoy anything. Frankly we liked the Disney waterparks much better. We will probably return to them next trip. I can't imagine ever going to Aquatica again.

 

[KirstenB]

A little OT, but we're season pass holders for BG-Williamsburg and Water Country USA. Sundays are usually not too crowded, but yesterday was nuts!!! All the big rides had what I'd estimate to be 45 min to 1 hr wait. Our 10 yr old would have been okay with some lines, but we have a 2 yr old who has no concept of "waiting your turn" We did the stuff like Hubba Hubba Highway, Lazy River etc, where there wasn't a line situation. We live 75 minutes away, so once we get there, we try to stay as long as possible.

 

[vellamint]

So can anyone guess how it will be the 3rd week of August midweek? What if we do not arrive until afternoon? Sheesh.....we cant stand long lines ALL day...

Guess I will just find a spot for me and our stuff and let the kids go off on their own.

 

[DixieDolphin]

I think the pattern for Aquatica has been fairly solidly set since March. At least until a year or so of 'newness' washes off. So, if you're visiting in August, I'd expect the same:

Show up EARLY. Take advantage of the 'early entry' by buying your tix online or having an annual pass. The park tends to fill up very early, sometimes as early as 10am on a busy weekend... but sometimes you can make it to 11am or even noon (rarely). The park will linger at full capacity for most of the morning and early afternoon and admission will be stopped while at capacity.

Personally, I have a strong aversion to being crowded and jostled by strangers, so if I go in the morning I tend to spend a good portion of the heavy-capacity times soaking up sun on a lounge chair with a book to avoid crowd anxiety on the lazy rivers and long lines on the slides. Then I'll head back to the attractions once things calm down some.

They tend to open up again for new admissions at around 4pm (or sometimes 3pm on slow days). My advice is to take advantage of that while they have the summer late-night hours. The park starts to empty out pretty quick after 5pm and by sunset the place is a cakewalk. Showing up after dinner may not get you a tan, but you'll save money on food and you'll have less people to contend with.

I think this is the pattern we're going to continue to see for the rest of the year. Although, I'm sure once we hit winter the attendance will drop with the temperatures. But this is summer and capacities are reached all over Florida at this time of year (The dog & I got turned away from Wekiwa Springs State Park on Saturday because they were at their capacity at a little after noon!)

I'll admit, the Aquatica crowds aren't fun. And I get very uncomfortable when the lazy river turns into a solid mass of bumper-floats. But I don't think it's cause to avoid Aquatica, rather.. just make sure you plan your visit around the sunscreen-slathered hoards.

=)

 

[iHEARTflorida]

Show up EARLY. Take advantage of the 'early entry' by buying your tix online or having an annual pass.

What's this 'early entry', i have read about it before, and i have brought the flexticket plus online, but it wasnt off the aquatica site, do i still get early entry???

also is early entry everyday or only some?

 

[jerseygal]

Now with the Wet and Wild 7 Day Offer Univ/IOA for $89.99 before tax and fees, $97 after tax and fees, maybe Aquatica/TL/BB will have less people this summer...I think many will take advantage of this great offer!

HOPE SO!:

 

[tandemteam]

What's this 'early entry', i have read about it before, and i have brought the flexticket plus online, but it wasnt off the aquatica site, do i still get early entry???

also is early entry everyday or only some?

I am also interested in this "early entry" I am just hearing about. We were planning on a Friday day trip in a couple of weeks and were hearing that the park was at capacity even prior to the opening at regular hours and they turned folks away. Needless to say, I'd be just a little miffed if driving down 3 hours, getting there at normal opening and being turned away because they had already reached capacity. Anyone have any additional info? Thanks.

 

[Babypandaroo]

I know we went to aquatica just this saturday and we got there about 9 or 10 and it was already closed so what we did was head to sea world for a bit and saw odyssea and ate a snack and walked around in our suits and left about 2 to 2:30 and went around to see if they were still open and it said they were still packed so we went looking at the shops across from it and got back in line just as they were opening back up at 4:30. the lines were pretty long for some of the rides and tubes but the wave pools were almost empty. we didn't leave till 10. managed to find a purple cup and got free popcorn and smoothies when we left. . might go again soon.

 

[Capt_BJ]

I am also interested in this "early entry" I am just hearing about. We were planning on a Friday day trip in a couple of weeks and were hearing that the park was at capacity even prior to the opening at regular hours and they turned folks away. Needless to say, I'd be just a little miffed if driving down 3 hours, getting there at normal opening and being turned away because they had already reached capacity. Anyone have any additional info? Thanks.

AQ's site ain't the best layout....this is there but kind of buried....

"Insider Tips

• With multi-park tickets you can visit as much as you want, when you want during your vacation (tickets expire 14 days after first use) - DAY or NIGHT
• Purchase tickets in advance to receive early access to Aquatica starting at 8:00 am or come late and play late. Visit after 4:00 pm to enjoy cooler weather and faster ride access. "

 

[Jason71]

Word is starting to get out about the "late reopening," too, at least on the weekends. Two Saturdays ago I went around 4:00, the park had re-opened at 3:30, and still had to wait in traffic 20 minutes to get past the toll booths. Inside, lines were still bad until the rain started, around 6:00-ish.

I will say AQ's standards are starting to slip. Went by after work last night (first non-rainy afternoon in a while) and the beach was just strewn with trash. Litter everywhere, and no sign of maintenance even trying to get a handle on the problem. In addition, while they used to have people more or less constantly sweeping sand back in, no one was doing this yesterday, and it showed--sand just sprayed everywhere along the sidewalk. Sure the park had been at capacty all day, but that's no excuse not to try to keep things nicer.

 

[Janet Hill]

Forget about the early entry. We went around 6:00 and we could basically walk on everything. People tend to leave water parks earlier than a regular park. At some point before closing one of the wave pools was closed as there were so few people using them.

Of course Aquatica is wall to wall people right now - it's the new park on the block.

My kids will be attending Seaworld day camp in a couple of weeks and are looking forward to spending an hour or so each evening at Aqautica.

 

[Keggy]

If you are going - you have to get there early. We have tried going several times on the weekend and the park is closed to capacity by 9/9:30. One time we were able to get in at 9:30 and there was not a single open chair. People were laying their towels on the ground. We had friends in their car not get in the same day, of course this is after waiting over an hour in the traffic to get into the park.

It is very disappointing. I wouldn't have gotten an AP if I knew I would have to get to the park before 9am to use it. Our friends tried telling Sea World that they wanted to drop the Aquatica portion of their pass and they said no. I think that the way they are handling the tickets is very disapponting - they have onviously oversold themselves and are making no apologies for it.

I will not renew the Aquatica portion of our pass, unfortunately we have a 2 year pass. We will get an AP to the Disney water parks when it is up.