Tips for Visiting Aquatica

Two years ago I was able to visit Sea World San Antonio for the first time ever. As an avid animal lover I had always wanted to go but just never got that chance. At that time Sea World was working on their new water park and I was so excited to see what they could do with it since Sea World itself is so amazing.  A few weeks ago we were finally able to check out the water park inside Sea World San Antonio and I thought today I would share a few tips for visiting Aquatica.  First of all, check out this post for Visiting Sea World San Antoni0. Many of those tips and tricks still remain true! Your bags are checked as your enter Sea World and then you have to wait in another line that does not check bags to enter Aquatica. However if you want to get in the park and start having fun as fast as possible, you will want to make sure your bag is easy to search. You might also find a few other pieces of valuable advice to help you plan your visit to Sea Word and Aquatica. Because it does deal with water, planning a trip to Aquatica does require a few different things than if you are only going to Sea World and never entering Aquatica.  1. Ditch the Strollers and Use a Locker – If you read the first post, Visiting Sea World San Antonio, you’ll see that I recommend taking a stroller to store things in while you go on rides or shows. That’s because almost every single attraction has stroller parking in Sea World and you can easily do this. Aquatica has one main stroller parking area and that is it.  I highly recommend that you ditch the stroller for the day and just rent a locker.  The general Sea World park is very spread out and you will walk a ton. Aquatica is more compact and the space is used very well. Smaller children can easily walk throughout the entire water park and the lockers are centrally located.   The lockers are on the pricey side but you do get part of it back when you return the key to your locker. We used the money we got back for an ice cream treat at the end of the day.  2.  Plan Your Visit Beforehand –  Before you go look at the available water rides and child height requirement for each ride and plan it out! Go on the rides that you really want to go on the most first thing in the morning before the lines get too long and save the attractions that don’t have lines such as the wave pool for later in the day. My older daughters wanted to ride a few rides that our youngest couldn’t go on so we planned a time to split up so everyone could have a great day.  3.  Determine a Meeting Place –  Water and electronics don’t mix.  Most likely at some point your cell phone or other people in your group’s cell phone will be locked up in a locker and you will have no way to communicate with them where you are going or what time you’ll be there. Find a central area and make that your meeting place in advance.  We used Walkabout Waters as our meeting place for two reasons. 1) There’s a giant bucket on the top so we could easily tell our kids that if they got separated from us to go to the bucket. 2.) It’s a great place for all ages to play.  There were a few times when we had to wait for awhile for our other family members to show up.  Having an attraction that everyone could enjoy without a line or age / height limit made waiting go much faster.  If you do want to carry your phone and some money than I recommend getting a  water proof pouch  to use in the calmer attractions while storing it in the locker during high energy rides.  4. Pet the Stingrays – Honestly I didn’t get to do this but my husband has told me 100 times since then that I should have done it. He took our girls to pet them and still raves about it to this day.  In his words “I think they were trying to jump out of the water and come home with me.” It’s the one thing he’s recommended to every single person we’ve talked to about Aquatica so far.  5.  Check out Roa’s Aviary –  A great downtime activity is to go check out Roa’s Aviary. It’s a great break from the crazy rides because it’s calm and fun. When you enter the area (leave food and drink outside or the birds will help themselves) you can get a plastic card that has all the pictures and names of all the birds in the aviary.  I was amazed at how much time our 4 year old spent looking for birds she saw on the card.  This is one of the things that my Mother-in-Law and I did with her while the older kids were off riding rides that she was not tall enough to go on.  The birds are so close and so colorful. It’s one of the experiences that you might not get to have again unless you plan on spending time in the rainforest.  If you go on the lazy river, known as Loggerhead Lane, you’ll also enter Roa’s Aviary for a brief stretch. 6. Purchase the Refillable Cup – At Sea World and Aquatica you can purchase a refillable cup and get refills for only $1.  On a hot day you’ll feel your best if you make sure you’re hydrated. The cups are $8 but with refills for $1 each it will be the best bargain that you’ll ever get at any theme park.  7. Cool Down at Waterside Grill –  Waterside Grill has a great menu and a place to get slushes and other drinks to the side.  Truth be told it’s just a great place to sit and cool off. Grab a slush and listen to the band play or take pictures with characters that appear throughout the day.  8. Have Fun – Relax. Have fun.  Don’t be afraid to venture out of Aquatica at the end of the day to catch some shows at Sea World.  Bring a dry change of clothes and use the changing rooms so that your ride home will be dry and happy.  Sea World is a great place to visit, make sure you get there soon.   *Post contains affiliate link* I am honored to be a Sea World Wildside Amabassador this year. I believe in Sea World and the education (and fun) that it provides to my family.