During our second day we were again blessed with glorious weather. So, we decided to head to Aquatica. Being February, the weather can be hit and miss in Orlando. We didn’t want to miss the opportunity to enjoy the water park, so getting it ticked off early on (weather permitting!) was a priority.

During our first visit to Orlando in 2018 we booked lots of taxis. But this year we bought an I Ride Trolley pass.  It works out much cheaper and the trolleys run very regularly. We just hopped off at stop number 29 for Aquatica.  It was a convenient way to travel.

On arrival it’s advisable to buy a locker to keep your personal belongings safe. My husband went to find out more about this (he ended up with a small locker that cost $15), whilst I lined up at the beach rope drop to reserve a few chairs/sun loungers.

Getting Seats

At this point I must warn you it can get a little crazy. It was a bit of a mad scramble by a few of the guests! An impressive leap over the rope then hurling themselves down the beach at full speed to get at those chairs. Even though you could clearly see there were far more seats that guests at that point in the day! Anyway, once sets were acquired (in a calm and orderly manner!), we decided to opt in for all day dining.

All Day Dining

Basically, we thought it would be easier than having to go back and forth into the locker if the kids got hungry or thirsty (which they do a lot!). With bands on we could flash our wrists once a rolling hour and get fed and watered if we so desired! We were very aware of getting our money’s worth. Considering one meal each with dessert cost $92 in Busch Gardens we thought it wouldn’t be hard to do. We spent $34.99 per person (unfortunately my boys are too old for kids’ meals there). By the end of the day we had tried each of the three eateries once. Banana Beach Cookout was my favourite, the pulled pork burger and side of mac and cheese was me living the dream!  Waterstone Grill had the longest opening hours so maybe go there last if you want to get round them all.

Given the fact my phone spent most of the time in the locker I don’t really have any photos of our visit. It’s not quite the same visiting Aquatica without our photographer buddy Richmond (the feature picture in this post is one of his from August last year). I didn’t want to keep getting the phone out as my eldest and I had a fair few water rides to enjoy! Plus, we spent ages as a family bobbing around in inflatables on the lazy river (loggerhead lane).

Chilled Out Day

After such a jam-packed day at Busch Gardens for our first day, Aquatica was a much-needed change of pace. We seemed to spend most of our time in the lazy river, alternating with the wave pool and the rapids. Stopping occasionally to refuel and then tick off a couple more rides.  Queue times were very reasonable.  I think as there is quite a lot to do here it spaces people out in different directions.

I have already ridden most of the rides in Aquatica during my press trip in 2019. But we did a fair few again during our second day of our Orlando holiday. This time we focused on Omaka Rocka, Tassie’s Twisters, Dolphin Plunge (a first for us both), Walhalla Wave and Whanau Way. Riptide Race opens later this year and that looks exciting. My eldest son is quite competitive so I would have enjoyed seeing if I could have got to the finish line first! We didn’t ride Ray Rush a ride I really like, as we needed three in the raft. We couldn’t persuade my husband or youngest to join in as they were making the most of the relaxing side of Aquatica.  I do think its great that there is something for everyone here.