Aquatica is a chain of

water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other bare ...

s owned and operated by

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is an American theme park and entertainment company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. and owns and operates thirteen recreational destinations in the Unite ...

. Aquatica parks are operating in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rel ...

and

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

History

SeaWorld Orlando SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park and marine zoological park, in Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. When combined with its neighbor Discovery Cove and Aquatica, it forms SeaWorld Parks and Resorts O ...

originally announced plans to build a water park on July 15, 2005. The announcement stated that it would be a "natural" park and revealed the park's iconic Dolphin Plunge water slides. On March 5, 2007, SeaWorld held a press conference officially announcing Aquatica. It was expected the park would cost

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

50 million to build. Construction continued in earnest throughout 2007 and into early 2008. Previews for employees and holders of park annual passes were held in February. On March 1, 2008, the park opened to guests for the first time, with the official grand opening held on April 4, 2008. In its debut year, the park hosted approximately 950,000 guests, making it the fourth-most visited water park in the United States and eighth-most visited in the world. The park was an immediate success, reaching its opening-year attendance goal in just six months. In early 2011, rumors speculated about Aquatica coming to SeaWorld San Antonio in the future. According to the park president, SeaWorld San Antonio would become a multi-day experience. SeaWorld officially announced plans to build a water park on May 24, 2011. The announcement called it, "a whimsical waterpark with up-close animal experiences, high-speed thrills and relaxing, sandy beaches". The water park replaced Lost Lagoon that opened in the early 1990s. Lost Lagoon closed on

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United S ...

weekend 2011. During October 2011 the construction of the new water park started with excavation for the new entrance, the new sandy beaches and the structure for the new ''Wahalla Wave'' water slide. In early November 2011 the new water slides arrived in pieces at ''Sea World San Antonio's'' parking lot, waiting to get assembled. Aquatica San Antonio officially opened on May 19, 2012. On November 20, 2012,

Cedar Fair Cedar Fair, L.P., formally Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, is a publicly traded master limited partnership headquartered at its Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The company owns and operates eleven amusement parks, nine included- ...

announced it had sold its San Diego Soak City park to SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The water park originally opened on May 31, 1997, under the name ''White Water Canyon''. At the time it featured 16 water slides and a wave pool. In December 1999, Cedar Fair purchased the park for $11.5 million and renamed it Knott's Soak City U.S.A. The water park had opened with a new beach theme in May 2000. The acquisition by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment saw the park transformed into a water park named ''Aquatica San Diego''. The refurbished park reopened on June 1, 2013. In mid-March 2020, all Aquatica parks were shut down caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. By June 2021 all of the parks had fully reopened to visitors. On September 12, 2021, Aquatica San Diego closed for its final season. The park was rethemed and transformed into Sesame Place San Diego during Fall and Winter 2021. The park opened with the new theme in March 2022.

Aquatica Orlando

''Aquatica Orlando'' is located in

. It is a sister park of

and

Discovery Cove Discovery Cove is a theme park owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, and located in Orlando, Florida. It is the sister park of SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica Orlando. Visitors to the park can interact with a range of marine animal ...

. The park is themed to the southern Pacific, and features Australian and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country ...

based mascots including Roa (a

kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...

), Kata (a

kookaburra Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri ''guuguubarra'', onomatopoeic of its call. The ...

), Wai (a

Commerson's dolphin Commerson's dolphin (''Cephalorhynchus commersonii''), also referred to by the common names jacobita, skunk dolphin, piebald dolphin, panda dolphin, or tonina overa (in South America), is a small oceanic dolphin of the genus ''Cephalorhynchus'' ...

), Ihu (a

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos are ...

), Papa (a

royal spoonbill The royal spoonbill (''Platalea regia'') also known as the black-billed spoonbill, occurs in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. (In New ...

), Wae Wae (a takahe), and Motu (a

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...

). The park features a wide array of attractions for all ages and swimming abilities, some of which pass by or through animal habitats. The park has two

wave pool A wave pool is a swimming pool in which there are artificially generated, large waves, similar to those of the ocean. Wave pools are often a major feature of water parks, both indoors and outdoors, as well as some leisure centres. History T ...

s which share an extensive, man made white-sand beach area equipped with deck chairs, sun beds and umbrellas. ;Body/matt slides * Reef Plunge – formerly known as Dolphin's Plunge, these two enclosed body slides pass through a pool containing a pod of

s. The dolphins in this attraction were originally from

SeaWorld San Diego SeaWorld San Diego is an animal theme park, oceanarium, outside aquarium and marine mammal park, in San Diego, California, United States, inside Mission Bay Park. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. SeaWorld San Dieg ...

. Their names are Pepe, Ross, Ringer and Juan. Ringer was announced pregnant in early May and gave birth on May 20, 2017 but the calf died a few minutes after birth. In 2022, the attraction was transformed into Reef Plunge, retrofitting the slide with translucent shape effects and runout lanes as well as adding more types of sea animals into the existing tank. * Ihu's Breakaway Falls - consists of three drop slides and one speed slide. Each one goes through many helixes. The slides are approximately 80 feet tall and drop riders at an 80 degree angle. All four slides were manufactured by

ProSlide ProSlide Technology, Inc. is a Canadian designer and manufacturer of water rides and water park resorts. They design and manufacture both traditional slides and innovative rides such as water coasters, funnel-shaped Tornado slides, and Bowl sli ...

and opened in 2014. * Taumata Racer – an eight-lane racing slide with guests sliding down on mats through enclosed and open sections. ;Tube slides * Whanau Way – A tower with four double-raft slides. (1 or 2 riders) * Tassie Twisters – A pair of funnel-like slides that can be ridden in single or double rafts. This ride can only be accessed through Loggerhead Lane. * Riptide Race – A tall dueling tube slide where riders race against each other in one of two slides. * Omaka Rocka – Tubes each carrying one rider descend into one of two slides with segments that look like a tornado funnel laying on its side. ;Multi-person family raft slides (round rafts) * Walhalla Wave – A raft slide with enclosed, pitch-dark segments. (2 - 4 riders) (2 riders required) * Ray Rush – (2018) – A colorful

WhiteWater West WhiteWater West is a manufacturing company based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1980 and manufactures a variety of products for water parks including water slides and water play areas. The company also owns FlowRid ...

raft slide featuring a flat master blaster section, a spherical ''Aquasphere''oscillation chamber, and a signature ''Manta'' halfpipe element. * KareKare Curl - (2019) - A

Proslide Technology ProSlide Technology, Inc. is a Canadian designer and manufacturer of water rides and water park resorts. They design and manufacture both traditional slides and innovative rides such as water coasters, funnel-shaped Tornado slides, and Bowl sli ...

''TornadoWAVE 60'' wall slide, which propels riders up a curved wall. (2 riders required) * Riptide Race - (2021) - A dueling slide that will be known as a Florida first, to be will be located near Banana Beach Cookout. It is a part of the Proslide Technology ''Dueling Pipeline'' variant, and was originally slated to open for the 2020 season, becoming delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ;Lazy rivers * Roa's Rapids – a faster, aggressive version of the

lazy river A lazy river is a water ride found in water parks, hotels, resorts, and recreation centers, which usually consists of a shallow () pool that flows similarly to a river. There is generally a slow current, usually just enough to allow guests to ...

with geysers, speed zones and center islands. * Loggerhead Lane – a traditional lazy river that passes through a grotto of

cichlid Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted this ...

s and the Commerson's dolphin exhibit. ;Wave pools * Cutback Cove – the deeper of the two wave pools (6 1/2 feet deep), Cutback Cove is a narrower pool than Big Surf Shores and can sometimes carry slightly larger waves as a result. * Big Surf Shores – a somewhat wider pool than Cutback, Big Surf is oftentimes closed in the slower seasons, or halfway open depending on the number of guests in the park. ;Children's areas ;* Kata's Kookaburra Cove – designed for younger children, with smaller slides and play features. ;* Walkabout Waters – a play fortress with slides, ladders and dumping water buckets. ;Former attractions ;* HooRoo Run - A family multi-person raft slide consisting of a triple-humped drop. This slide closed in 2017 and was replaced by Ray Rush which opened in 2018.

Aquatica San Antonio

''Aquatica San Antonio'' is located in

. The water park opened on May 19, 2012, and is a companion to

SeaWorld San Antonio SeaWorld San Antonio is a marine mammal park, oceanarium and animal theme park in the Westover Hills District of San Antonio, Texas, on the city's west side. It is the largest of the three parks in the SeaWorld chain owned and operated by SeaW ...

. It features a wide array of attractions for all ages and swimming abilities, one of which of passes under an animal habitat. ''Current Attractions'' *Stingray Falls – First kind in the world – A family raft ride that takes riders through twist and turns, and then goes through an underwater grotto with

stingray Stingrays are a group of sea rays, which are cartilaginous fish related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae ( ...

s and tropical

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

. *Walhalla Wave – A

''Tornadowave'' *HooRoo Run – Named for the Australian "goodbye" greeting *Taumata Racer *Kiwi Curl *Tonga Twister – New for 2020

body slides *Cutback Cove Slides *Walkabout Waters *Ke-Re Reef *Zippity Zappity *Whanau Way *Loggerhead Lane *Big Surf Shores *Ihu's Breakaway Falls – New for 2019, using

drop pod slides, advertised as the tallest in the state of Texas. *Riptide Race - New for 2022, advertised as the world’s tallest “dueling racer” slide. ; ''Former Attractions'' *Roa’s Aviary - An aviary opened in 2014 which was located in the middle of Loggerhead Lane (similar to Tassie's Twister in Orlando). The aviary had a waterfall entrance to prevent birds from getting out. The 34,000 square foot facility featured multiple species of birds. The birds were removed from the facility after the 2018 season and it was converted into a private cabana area. *Woohoo Falls – Originally opened in 1993 when the park was part of SeaWorld and known as Lost Lagoon, scrapped following the 2019 season for Tonga Twister

Aquatica San Diego

In November 2012,

Cedar Fair Entertainment Company Cedar Fair, L.P., formally Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, is a publicly traded master limited partnership headquartered at its Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The company owns and operates eleven amusement parks, nine included-w ...

sold Knott's Soak City San Diego in

Chula Vista Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 78th-largest city in the United States. The popul ...

, California to SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment. Under the new ownership, the park was rebranded and reopened as ''Aquatica San Diego'' on June 1, 2013. Originally scheduled for 2021, Aquatica San Diego will be rebranded as ''Sesame Place San Diego'' in 2022. The ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) an ...

''-themed park will feature tame roller coasters, carousels and other family-friendly rides, the street made famous on TV, a parade, live shows and character interactions, among other things. The new park will incorporate many of the existing water attractions into the new park, particularly those that are appropriate for younger children. The park closed for its final season on September 12, 2021.

References

External links