Stupid Question about Aquatica

[Janet Hill]

I know that it's been super crowded and many days the park has had to close, but does anyone know which day of the week seems to be the least crowded?

 

[kellymonaghan]

It's probably too early to tell. The park is brand new and "normal" pagtterns won't emerge for a while.

 

[happylittlebirdie]

Sunny days are surely going to get more visitors - so if you can brave the park on a cloudier day, you'll probably have more luck with less crowds.

Also, the park may seem like its getting to capacity really quickly lately, but Aquatica is actually closing the park before it reaches capacity - to ensure that it isn't too crowded and that guests can enjoy all the rides without too long of lines. There should be a sign in front of the parking lot so that you don't park and then get to the gate and find out it's closed for a few hours.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Capt_BJ]

A poster says:
"but Aquatica is actually closing the park before it reaches capacity"

What is your basis for this statement? As a stockholder I would want them to pursue maximum revenue.

On the other hand, water parks closing the gates is not unusual. What was the first Disney water park some 30 years ago? River Country (now gone)? I recall being turned away at the gate but told come back around 1 pm....some people will leave and we'll re-open the gates.

Now why is this? Maybe someone will confirm or refute but I believe that a swimming pool is granted a permit for a number of bodies. And that number is much less than it would be for the same number of square feet that covers an open air amusement park. Therefore a water park like Aquatica is bound by the maximum occupancy of the swimming pools rather than the overall square footage of the park. In other words the swimming pool limit is much less then the land limit and perchance more strictly enforced.

Just wondering........

 

[DixieDolphin]

Now why is this? Maybe someone will confirm or refute but I believe that a swimming pool is granted a permit for a number of bodies. And that number is much less than it would be for the same number of square feet that covers an open air amusement park. Therefore a water park like Aquatica is bound by the maximum occupancy of the swimming pools rather than the overall square footage of the park. In other words the swimming pool limit is much less then the land limit and perchance more strictly enforced.

You could be right... I am not familiar with the laws governing this sort of thing, but you raise a valid point. Hmm.

But then again, if there are too many bodies in the wave pool or the river, the lifeguards could always stop more people from entering until it clears out some, I suppose. Sort of like what they might do at a public swimming pool.

Good food for thought, makes me curious how this sort of thing is run at waterparks.

Also, more things to consider... this is very early in Aquatica's existence. Closing /before/ hitting maximum possible occupancy might be a sort of buffer until they get all their routines settled and their staff accustomed to the guest load.

*shrug*

Only their hairdresser knows for sure.

=)

 

[Jason71]

A poster says:
"but Aquatica is actually closing the park before it reaches capacity"

What I've heard is that the parking lot is limited in size, so it closes well before the theoretical maximum capacity of the park (good question if based on pool or land size) is reached.

Three theories as to why (personal to me, no real inside info here):

(1) SW wanted to preseve the "Discovery Cove LITE" feel and did this deliberately to keep crowds down. Idea being give up a little in gate receipts to ensure a reputation of no lines, in contrast to the other water parks around town.

(2) In a year or two, there will be two affiliated hotels next door to AQ. At some point, they want to start running buses between AQ and SW, as well, to encourage "park hoping"--the Sentinel reported that they bought the buses earlier this year, just aren't using them yet. At that point, a decent percentage of AQ guests won't need on-site parking, so why waste the land space now.

(3) Incompitence on the part of the planners.

I lean toward a combination of 1 and 2, mostly 2.

Closing /before/ hitting maximum possible occupancy might be a sort of buffer until they get all their routines settled and their staff accustomed to the guest load.

May be some truth to this--the first week or two, at least, the wave pool could only run at half-capacity, reportedly due to a lack of lifeguards.

But also keep in mind, despite some early negative reviews from the hard-core Pixie Dust crowd, the place is just popular, especially among locals. Lot of advertising, some clever ideas for rides, and very easy to find. Many, many people want to go there.

 

[Capt_BJ]

back at ya...

"May be some truth to this--the first week or two, at least, the wave pool could only run at half-capacity, reportedly due to a lack of lifeguards."

I was there in that period and have no idea how they could control access to the wave pool unless they set guards out on the beach....who could have been watching the wave pool Since there's really two (small) wavepools...did one not run some days?

I will concur that the day I was there it appeared that the parking lot was full, yet the park wasn't what I would call crowded. My opinion of the parking lot came from looking out while at the top of a "ride tower" ... I was up pretty high and could see the whole lot.

 

[happylittlebirdie]

Jason71 - you're definitely correct - the idea isn't so much to fill the park to capacity so that no one can enjoy it, no one can get to a food stand or even try a ride - Aquatica wants everyone to be comfortable there and then hopefully they will come back!

 

[livndisney]

I don't know if this helps or not. I spoke with a "supervisor" yesterday who told me they closed the park yesterday at noon so no one else could come in. True or not I don't know. He made it clear they were not hurting for business. (Which was his reason for not answering my questions about special needs).

 

[jerseygal]

Some negative feedback already on Aquatica crowds during the peak times of the last couple of weeks..

I will monitor this as the kinks get worked out and as summer approaches before I decide to go or do the Disney waterparks instead...I was so excited about trying Aquatica, but if the crowds are such that it is not enjoyable, I'll skip...

Thx for any ongoing feedback!!!!!!!!

 

[Jason71]

back at ya...

"May be some truth to this--the first week or two, at least, the wave pool could only run at half-capacity, reportedly due to a lack of lifeguards."

I was there in that period and have no idea how they could control access to the wave pool unless they set guards out on the beach....who could have been watching the wave pool Since there's really two (small) wavepools...did one not run some days?

Basically, yes, one or two employees in front of the pool, telling people they couldn't go in. Just a guess, but these probably weren't trained lifeguards, which is why they couldn't just watch it themselves.

Crowds seem to have settled down a bit this week, tho I expect tomorrow to be capacity again, like last Saturday (thinking about heading over first thing in the morning, assuming I can make myself get up). At least one sign is still sitting there on I-Drive, so I assume they expect to use it again soon.

For what it's worth, finally jotted down the phone number from the signs for crowd updates the other day: 866-787-4307.