AQUATICA (3)

If you are visiting Florida after March the 1st 2008, you are in for a rare treat; because the long awaited Aquatica should be open. There is a soft opening planned for march and a grand opening will happen in april.

What is it? well it is an awesome new water park (owned by Seaworld) situated on International Drive, opposite Seaworld itself. This s a truly unique park that cannot be matched anywhere else in the world,

This park is to have lush tropical vegetation and birds and is inspired by New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. The total area is some 58 acres.

Here you will float through a river of exotic fish or race through rolling rapids There are 2 amazing 300 foot tube slides that will tip you into a lagoon full of friendly dolphins! This is the ride Seaworld are most excited about, so do not miss this one!

The double wave pool is state of the art and contain 860, 000 gallons of water. One lagoon is for the faint hearted (like me) and has gentle rolling surf; the other has 5 foot swells and huge waves for those that like a challenge.

Lazy River takes you into a 10000 gallon grotto that features many tropical fish. Here you can get an underwater view of the Commerson Dolphins.

Commerson Dolphins look rather like a miniature killer whale and are much smaller than the more commonly seen bottle nose dolphin. This is a rare opportunity to see this variety of dolphin, since there are very few in captivity.

The Bowl Ride spins you round and round into a tunnel before tipping you into a pool. Take the Family Raft Ride and you can plunge down 600 feet as a group through turning tunnels.

For those with young children there is a pool with small tubes and you can even travel down with very small children. This area also features a 60 foot rain fortress and a water cannon.

The Triple Drop Ride dumps you down 250 feet and The Eight Lane Race takes 8 of you down a 300 foot slide and concludes with a 360 degree turn.

Finally head for Adventure River where you will fly past waterfalls and geysers, but be warned, this water ride is 3 times faster than most similar water park rides.

By now, you will be exhausted, so why not move over to the 80 000 square foot beach and relax for awhile. And then? well, you are going to do it all again, aren't you?