Aquatica’s Doors Open to the Public

I previously wrote a blog on Friday, February 8, 2008, when Aquatica opened its doors to the members of the Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau (OCCVB).  On Saturday, March 1, 2008 I was there as Aquatica counted down and officially opened its doors to the public.

Overall, I would rate Aquatica as OUTSTANDING!  In the center of the park is Roa’s Rapids.  I have been on many “lazy” rivers but the great thing about this river is that it is not “lazy”.  The currents keep you zipping along at a very swift rate taking you through some exciting rapids.  There are no inner tubes for this attraction so you can either put on a life jacket or swim along. 

Taumata Racer was enjoyable as you compete with up to 8 people.  Lying on a foam mat, this ride zooms you through some tubes leading to a nice vertical drop that accelerates you to the finish line.  I don’t want to brag, but I did come in first place.  Okay, I was racing against my son and daughter but being a kid is what a water park is all about, no matter what your age!

The larger “family” raft rides are Walhalla Wave and HooRoo Run.  I enjoyed HooRoo better as it is a straight-down, fast-paced ride that leads many to scream out in a combination of fear and enjoyment.  Walhalla Wave is a longer ride with many twists and turns, which leads to some fun side-to-side, “crashing into each other” motion.

There are two, one and two person inner tube rides, Tassie’s Twisters and Whanau Way.  Both are entertaining with Tassie’s Twister shooting you into a large bowl where you spin around until you drop through a shaft to the finish.

Walkabout Waters is an extraordinary water playground for tikes and young ones.  I’m not sure how best to explain it besides saying there are many, many water spouts and play areas that are certain to keep your kids entertained …literally for hours.

The two wave pools are Cutback Cove and Big Sure Shores.  Cutback Cove had bigger waves but does not offer the extreme wave that Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon does.  Big Surf Shores has smaller waves for the little ones.

We ate at the Banana Beach Cookout where you can have an all-you-can-eat meal for $12.95 (ages 3-9 is $9.95), which includes hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken, salads, drinks and more.  If you want to come back throughout the day, the price is $19.95. 

The only disappointment was Dolphin Plunge.  This is a water slide where you lie on your back.  Most of the ride is pitch-black (not good for those having claustrophobia) and towards the end you shoot through a clear tube where you get a glimpse of the Commerson’s Dolphins for a fraction of a second.  Fortunately, there is an exhibit where you can stop and view them for as long as you want.

Ticket prices for Aquatica are $38.95 for adults and $32.95 for children ages 3-9.  Don’t miss this park, it is awesome.

As you are planning your vacation to be sure to check out our Orlando vacation rentals, particularly Windsor Hills Resort which is located only miles from all the major attractions, including Aquatica!

A Day at SeaWorld

After an enjoyable and relaxing Day at Discovery Cove, I headed back to Windsor Hills Resort and began planning for the following day.  I had been to SeaWorld as a child and was really looking forward to going back as an adult, so I decided I would spend day two exploring SeaWorld.

As I walked into SeaWorld I was surprised by the ambiance of the park.  Similar to Discovery Cove, the entrance is lined with beautiful plants and palm trees and you can’t help but feeling as if you stepped into a tropical paradise.  I grabbed a map of the park and headed straight to the sky tower.  The 400 foot tall Sky Tower is a six minute capsule ride that gives you a bird’s eye view of the entire park and slowly rotates the whole time.  On a clear day, you can actually see as far away as downtown Orlando!  After exiting the ride, I began roaming the park stopping to check out the vast amount of exhibits SeaWorld has to offer.

The highlight of the day for me was visiting the dolphin cove and the sea lion exhibit.  SeaWorld’s dolphin cove is one of the largest interactive dolphin pools in the world and home to a pod of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. The underwater viewing area was, in my opinion, the best part of this particular exhibit and allowed me to capture several amazing pictures of the intelligent mammals.  The sea lion exhibit, although nothing particularly special about it, was another highlight for me as they are one of my favorite animals.  I took several pictures of the lazy sea lions lounging around and spent a good amount of time simply observing their behavior. 

SeaWorld’s rollercoaster, Kraken, is Orlando’s tallest and fastest coaster and consistently ranked as one of the worlds top 10 coaster by ride enthusiasts.  I was excited to take on Kraken as I am a big fan of rollercoaster’s, but was incredibly disappointed when I found out that it was shut down for the day for mechanical repairs. 

After a few hours of walking around the park, I was getting tired and hungry and stopped for lunch at Sharks Underwater Grill.  I was impressed by the variety of food the restaurant offered, especially the amount of healthy choices on the menu.  As I sat and ate lunch, I glanced over show times for the various performances held throughout the day.  I had heard that “Believe”, featuring Shamu, was SeaWorld’s best show and a must see while I was visiting.  Sadly, my timing did not match up with the show times so I settled on going to “Seamore and Clyde Take Pirate Island.”

I had a few hours to kill before the show began, so I continued on foot checking out all the exhibits SeaWorld has to offer.  From sharks to penguins to turtles, SeaWorld has it all and you can easily spend an entire day at the park and still not fit in all there is to do!

Jordan

Celebration

When staying in one of our Orlando vacation homes, don’t forget to visit the quaint downtown of Celebration. Celebration is located just east of I-4 off of Highway 192.

For those of you who have not heard of Celebration, the town was originally designed by Disney and is an incredibly charming and scenic town. The downtown boasts many good places to eat, drink and to satisfy your sweet tooth. If you are in the mood for a mellow movie night, Celebration’s cinema has two screens and is never very busy. One of my favorite features of Celebration is the fountain located near the lake across from the movie theatre. At anytime you can hear kids giggling and screaming as they run through the many spouts. As I mentioned previously, there are several outstanding restaurants in Celebration; I’ll list my favorite restaurants in the order that I like them.

Seito:
Great place for sushi and other Japanese favorites and is usually never crowded. It is the best kept secret around. You can eat either inside or outside. If you are lucky, Celebration may be hosting a festival of some sort and you will hear a local artist on the stage downtown.

Columbia:
Great Cuban food and their 1905 salad is the bomb. They have a nice, quiet bar that often times features Cuban music. They offer the best mojitos in town with mint leaves and real sugar cane sticks. The sangria is a popular drink and made tableside with wine, juice and fresh fruit.

Market Street Café:
Definitely the best breakfast in town. Their pancakes are awesome and it has the old time diner feel.

Celebration hotel:
I suggest trying the Filet Mignon eggrolls (they are outstanding!) and ordering a martini as they have a large selection of fun martinis to choose from. The hotel has a very charming lobby where a piano player plays the classics on the weekends. You can also take your favorite beverage outside by the lake and relax.

Town Tavern:
The burgers, seafood and clam chowder are excellent and the bar is a place “where everybody knows your name.” It is a wonderful spot where the locals hang and is very welcoming.

Desserts:
If you’re looking for some place to satisfy your sweet tooth, make sure to stop by Sherlock’s. They have some very tempting and delicious desserts, wines and teas. On Friday and Saturday nights they feature live music and if you like English beer, this is definitely the right spot.

If you’re looking for ice cream, Kilwins is the place to go. They host many different flavors along with decadent chocolate and fudge that are made on sight.

So, when you need a break from the craziness of days spent at the amusement parks on your Orlando family vacation, be sure to check out the quaint and charming town of Celebration. You will not be disappointed…..

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