founded orlando florida march 1 2008 ; 8 years ago 2008 03 01 number of locations orlando florida ; san antonio texas ; chula vista california area served united states owner seaworld parks & entertainment website aquatica orlando aquatica san antonio aquatica san diego aquatica is a chain of water parks owned and operated by seaworld parks & entertainment . aquatica parks are operating in orlando florida san antonio texas and chula vista california . contents 1 history 2 locations 3 aquatica orlando 4 aquatica san antonio 5 aquatica san diego 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit aquatica orlando s dolphin plunge water slides seaworld orlando originally announced plans to build a water park on july 15 2005 . the announcement stated that it would be a natural park and revealed the park s iconic dolphin plunge water slides . 1 on march 5 2007 seaworld held a press conference officially announcing aquatica . 2 it was expected the 59 acre 24 ha park would cost us 50 million to build . 2 construction continued in earnest throughout 2007 and into early 2008 . previews for employees and holders of park annual passes were held in february . on march 1 2008 the park opened to guests for the first time with the official grand opening held on april 4 2008 . 3 in its debut year the park hosted approximately 950 000 guests making it the fourth most visited water park in the united states and eighth most visited in the world . 4 the park was an immediate success reaching its opening year attendance goal in just six months . 4 in early 2011 rumors speculated about aquatica coming to seaworld san antonio in the future . according to the park president seaworld san antonio would become a multi day experience . 5 seaworld officially announced plans to build a water park on may 24 2011 . the announcement called it a whimsical waterpark with up close animal experiences high speed thrills and relaxing sandy beaches . 6 the water park replaced lost lagoon that opened in the early 1990s . lost lagoon closed on labor day weekend 2011 . during october 2011 the construction of the new water park started with excavation for the new entrance the new sandy beaches and the structure for the new wahalla wave water slide . in early november 2011 the new water slides arrived in pieces at sea world san antonio s parking lot waiting to get assembled . 7 aquatica san antonio officially opened on may 19 2012 . 8 on november 20 2012 cedar fair announced it had sold its san diego soak city park to seaworld parks & entertainment . 9 the water park originally opened on may 31 1997 under the name white water canyon . at the time it featured 16 water slides and a wave pool . 10 in december 1999 cedar fair purchased the park for 11.5 million and renamed it knott s soak city u.s.a. . 11 the water park had opened with a new beach theme in may 2000 . 12 the acquisition by seaworld parks & entertainment will see the park transformed into a 32 acre 13 ha water park named aquatica san diego . the refurbished park reopened on june 1 2013 . 9 13 locations edit park name location coordinates opening date ref . aquatica orlando orlando florida 28 24 56 n 81 27 22 w 28.4156 n 81.4560 w 28.4156 ; 81.4560 000000002008 03 01 0000march 1 2008 aquatica san antonio san antonio texas 29 27 31 n 98 41 55 w 29.458742 n 98.698640 w 29.458742 ; 98.698640 000000002012 05 19 0000may 19 2012 8 aquatica san diego chula vista california 32 35 15 n 117 00 38 w 32.587583 n 117.010630 w 32.587583 ; 117.010630 000000002013 06 01 0000june 1 2013 9 aquatica orlando edit aquatica orlando s taumata racer left and roa s rapids right aquatica orlando is located on the outskirts of orlando florida . it is a sister park of seaworld orlando and discovery cove . the park is themed to the southern pacific and features australian and new zealand based mascots including roa a kiwi kata a kookaburra wai a commerson s dolphin ihu a gecko papa a royal spoonbill wae wae a takah and motu a turtle . the park features a wide array of attractions for all ages and swimming abilities some of which pass by or through animal habitats . the park has two wave pools which share an extensive 80 000 square foot 7 400 m2 man made white sand beach area equipped with deck chairs sun beds and umbrellas . 3 body mat slides dolphin plunge the park s signature attraction these two enclosed tube slides pass through a pool containing a pod of commerson s dolphins . the dolphins in this attraction that were originally featured at seaworld san diego . their names are pepe and ross ringer and juan . ihu s breakaway falls is a drop pod style body slide recently opened in 2014 taumata racer an eight lane racing slide with guests sliding down on mats through enclosed and open sections . raft slides whanau way a tower with four double raft slides . 1 or 2 riders tassie s twisters a pair of funnel like slides that can be ridden in single or double rafts . this ride can only be accessed through loggerhead lane . omaka rocka aquatica s newest ride rafts each carrying one rider descend into one of two slides with segments that look like a tornado funnel laying on its side . multi person family raft slides round rafts walhalla wave a twisty slide with enclosed pitch dark segments . nearly lasts a minute . 1 4 riders 4th rider must be under 60 hooroo run sharing a tower with walhalla wave this triple dip slide is short but fast . 2 or 3 riders 3rd rider must be under 60 2 riders required lazy rivers roa s rapids a faster aggressive version of the lazy river with geysers speed zones and center islands . loggerhead lane a traditional lazy river that passes through a grotto of cichlids and the commerson s dolphin exhibit . wave pools cutback cove featuring stronger taller waves . big surf shores featuring gentler rolling waves . children s areas kata s kookaburra cove designed for younger children with smaller slides and play features . walkabout waters a play fortress with slides ladders and dumping water buckets . aquatica san antonio edit aquatica san antonio s proslide tornado wave left and stingray falls right aquatica san antonio is located in san antonio texas . the water park opened on may 19 2012 and is a companion to seaworld san antonio . it features a wide array of attractions for all ages and swimming abilities some of which pass by or through animal habitats . stingray falls new first kind in the world a family raft ride that takes you through twist and turns and then goes through an underground grotto with stingrays and tropical fish . wahalla wave new first kind in america hooroo run tassie s twisters kiwi curl woohoo falls cutback cove slides walkabout waters ke re reef roa s aviary zippity zappity whanau way loggerhead lane big surf shores in 2014 aquatica san antonio opened roa s aviary which is in the middle of loggerhead lane similar to tassie s twister in orlando . the aviary has a waterfall entrance to prevent birds from getting out . the 34 000 square foot facility features multiple species of birds . aquatica san diego edit the former knott s soak city san diego in chula vista california reopened as aquatica san diego on june 1 2013 . 9 14 it features a wide array of attractions for all ages and swimming abilities one of which passes by a flamingo habitat . rides whanau way a 60 foot tall water slide complex with six slides four enclosed and two open air . hooroo run an 80 foot tall water slide complex featuring two enclosed and two open air slides with the steepest drop being an 80 foot drop . woohoo falls three 60 foot tall water slides one enclosed and two open air . kiwi curl three 60 foot tall water slides one enclosed and two open air . walhalla wave a 78 foot long four person raft water slide designed for families to enjoy . tassie s twister a proslide tornado water slide that drops 75 feet 23 m into a large six story funnel . taumata racer a six lane racing slide with guests sliding down on mats through enclosed and open sections . pools and children s areas big surf shores a 550 000 gallon wave pool . located near a freshwater turtle exhibit . loggerhead lane a 1250 foot long lazy river that passes by the caribbean flamingo exhibit . walkabout waters a four story interactive area that features with slides hoses jets geysers and a 500 gallon bucket that unloads every five minutes . kata s kookaburra cove a play area designed for children with a pool and other play features . slippity dippity a play area designed for children featuring smaller slides . see also edit adventure island discovery cove seaworld water country usa incidents at seaworld parks references edit seaworld unveils plans for new water park . wesh orlando . july 15 2005 . retrieved december 16 2012 . a b albright mark march 6 2007 . water & whimsy . st. petersburg times . retrieved december 16 2012 . a b powers scott ; garcia jason ; clarke sara k. february 25 2008 . aquatica is set for soft debut . orlando sentinel . retrieved december 16 2012 . a b 2008 attraction attendance report pdf . themed entertainment association . 2009 . retrieved december 16 2012 . bailey w. scott february 18 2011 . seaworld set to make major capital investments in san antonio park . san antonio business journal . retrieved december 16 2012 . seaworld san antonio announces aquatica texas coming 2012 . inside seaworld . seaworld parks & entertainment . may 24 2012 . retrieved december 16 2012 . aquatica san antonio october 2011 . wall photos . facebook . retrieved november 6 2011 . a b macdonald brady march 22 2012 . san antonio aquatica water park set to open at seaworld . los angeles times . retrieved march 23 2012 . a b c d weisberg lori november 20 2012 . soak city to become a seaworld water park . retrieved november 20 2012 . making a splash in chula vista . los angeles times . may 18 1997 . retrieved november 30 2012 . cedar fair completes water park acquisition . toledo blade . december 8 1999 . retrieved november 30 2012 . gale elaine march 19 2000 . knott s job fair attracts hundreds . los angeles times . retrieved november 30 2012 . macdonald brady december 26 2012 . 32 best new theme park additions for 2013 . los angeles times . retrieved december 27 2012 . macdonald brady november 21 2012 . seaworld bringing aquatica water park to san diego . los angeles times . retrieved december 16 2012 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to aquatica orlando florida and aquatica san antonio texas . aquatica orlando aquatica san antonio aquatica san diego v t e seaworld entertainment seaworld parks seaworld orlando seaworld san diego seaworld san antonio busch gardens parks busch gardens tampa bay busch gardens williamsburg water parks adventure island aquatica orlando aquatica san antonio aquatica san diego water country usa other parks discovery cove sesame place former parks seaworld ohio television series sea rescue the wildlife docs v t e amusement parks in california amusement parks belmont park san diego castle park riverside funderland sacramento