What's New (and what is hot!)

SeaWorld Adventure Park

Just a few miles away from Universal is the wonderful, relaxed and highly Brit-friendly SeaWorld park (can you tell this is one of our favourites?). 2007 was a relatively active year as regards new attractions, with a focus on the park’s youngest guests.

Shamu’s Happy Harbor added three more children’s rides to the line-up in 2007, in the form of Sea Carousel (a classic carousel featuring a collection of 65 sea creatures that ‘float’ up and down as the ride goes around), Ocean Commotion (a 19 foot tug boat that swings back and forth, holding 24 riders at a time) and the cute Flying Fiddler (a giant crab that ascends 20 feet, then returns to the ground in a series of short ‘hops’).

PRO SPOT: One of the best ways to get full value at SeaWorld is to sign up for one of their behind-the-scenes tours when you first arrive. These vary from their Polar Expedition Tour to the new ecologically-minded Saving A Species Tour. They cost $18 a head ($12 for children 3-9) and provide some fascinating insights into the great conservation work that SeaWorld does worldwide.

But the big news can be found across the street from SeaWorld, on International Drive. Anheuser-Busch broke ground on Aquatica in 2007 with an opening date of March 2008, and it promises to be a spectacular water park, unlike any other.   

Aquatica boasts 36 water slides, six rivers and lagoons, a dedicated toddler area, children’s splash-and-climb play area, 80,000sq ft of beach area and, unlike any other water park, animal encounters are a key feature. The park’s signature attraction is a stunner-two see-through tube slides plunging into the lagoon, whisking riders through the playful Commerson’s dolphin’s habitat.  Nearby, a small grotto allows for a great underwater view of the tubes and the dolphins.

Gentler animal encounters can be found along the lazy river, where riders drift through an enclosed tunnel with a view of the colourful fish. Macaws, anteaters, iguanas, even porcupine are just a few of the land-dwelling residents waiting to meet visitors.

Children are drawn to the largest interactive water play area in the world, with a 60 foot tall climbing structure where every manner of squirting, splashing, dumping and sliding adventure can be found. The youngest guests have their own safe splash-and-play area, scaled down just for them, with specially built tubes and rafts that allow toddlers to slide with mum or dad.

More adventurous visitors won’t want to miss the double wave pool, with 9 distinct wave variations, from gentle bobbing waves to thundering 5-footers! If the peaceful Lazy River is just too tame, there is even a whitewater-rapids Adventure River, a dynamic 457m of rapids, geysers and waterfalls, a sure-fire hit with teens.

Sun-loungers abound for those who want to work on their Florida tan or just curl up in the shade with a good book. Don’t want to bother getting up? No problem! Aquatica offers a unique personal food and beverage service, right at your lounger.

Single Day tickets are available at the gate, but for full value, Aquatica is also included in combination tickets with SeaWorld or SeaWorld and Busch Gardens passes. (see more here)

Luxury sister-park, Discovery Cove, introduced Trainer for a Day for visitors seeking more time with the dolphins. Go behind the scenes on a tour of the feeding and training areas, enjoy the standard dolphin swim, then participate in an advanced deep-water interaction. The experience also includes a double-foot-push, riding on the front of two Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. A private photo session preserves your memories of the day. It is the opportunity of a lifetime for serious dolphin lovers!