A Fun Day at Aquatica in San Antonio

As part of a fun vacation babysitting the grandkids, on a hot summer day in San Antonio we visited Aquatica, SeaWorld's Waterpark - wow, did we have fun. The kids loved it, the babysitters had a great time, and we all left tired and wanting to go back and visit Aquatica again.

With sleep in all of our eyes, we got up early and drove five minutes from our campsite at Blazing Star Luxury RV Resort - we wanted to be first in line when Aquatica opened. We got there 20 minutes before the gate opened and we weren't first, but we were close to the front of the line. The short wait gave us time to study the Aquatica Map and develop a plan for our day - our strategy was to get to the big and thrilling and what we thought would be the most popular rides first and beat the lines. It worked great and with little to no wait in line, by noon we had ridden most of the rides once and a couple twice.

The rest of the time was spent in the new Aviary, wave pool, petting the stingrays, floating the lazy river, and enjoying some of the activities and pools designed for the young kids. The good news is after we tested all of the rides, we let the 6 and 8 year old boys head out on their own while I tried to take a nap on one of the lounge chairs by the pool! And they had a fantastic time and I caught a couple zzzzs.

Some of the rides and other fun things we really enjoyed at Aquatica included:

• Rides at Aquatica

  • Stingray Falls - this was our (well the grandkids anyway) favorite and we must have rode it 4 times: it's a 4 person tube with a fun and fast ride that twists and turns down to the bottom with a big splash in the pool and then under a waterfall and through a tunnel with the stingrays swimming beside and above you

• Walhalla Wave - loved this one (me too, but grandma wasn't that thrilled about it - the grandkids made her go) which is a clover shaped tube for 4 thrill seekers that goes through the tunnels and shoots you out and up near the top of a gravity wall that gives you a sense of weightlessness followed by more twists and turns down the tube

• Kiwi Curl - two body tubes that takes you twisting and turning down a 450 foot slide were a blast for the youngest grand kid
• Woohoo Falls - the oldest grand kid, who has no fear, enjoyed the tube ride down both slides, one of which is pitch dark
• Tassie's Twisters - a twisting and turning descent down one of two slides in a single or double tube
• HooRoo Run - you can pick a single or double tube and take a thrilling ride down this 48-foot tall ride, which features open and closed slides, water curtains, and lots of twists, turns, and drops

• Pools and Waves at Aquatica

  • Loggerhead Lane - you can swim or tube this fun 1200 foot long lazy river with tunnel jets, foam shooters and misters - the kids did six laps and we finally had to call it quits so we would have time for other rides
  • Big Surf Shores - this is your opportunity to try body surfing in 400,000 gallons of water with swells of up to 5 feet, even the 3 year old enjoyed jumping over the waves
  • Walkabout Waters - finally, I could sit down and watch the kids having a blast this 3-story 15,000 square foot funhouse with geysers, sprays, giant dumping buckets, water guns, teter-toters, spouts, and more

• Whanau Waters - after all the climbing up stars, running to keep up with the kids, and thrilling rides, this may have been my favorite because it gave me an opportunity to relax in a lounge chair and cool off in some shallow water with soothing waterfalls.
• Kata's Kookaburra Cove - this may have been the 3 year old's favorite thanks to the small body slide, whimsical sea creatures, water spouts, and more
• Slippity Dippity - we had to skip Slippity Dippity thanks to no time but it is family place with shallow water, slides, and lots of other water things to enjoy
• Cutback Cove - I liked this one because it was another opportunity to relax in the lounge chairs by the 3,360-square-foot big kids pool with a water slide, waterfalls, and lounge chairs

• Encounters with Animals

  • Roa's Aviary - here you can walk under a waterfall and join hundreds of birds in a 13,500 square foot aviary
  • KeRe Reef - we had three trips to the pet the stingrays and had to drag the kids away each time to try something new - the stingrays would swim up to the wall, let you pet them, and swim over you hand - amazing

In addition to all of that Aquatica has:

• several options to give you some energy and carbs including Waterstone Grill that has live entertainment and sandwiches, hamburgers, specialty wraps, salads, and kids meals - after a morning of climbing stairs to the top of the rides, swimming, trying to keep up with the grandkids, jumping waves, and walking from ride to ride, I was famished and wolfed down a delicious sausage sandwich in 5 minutes and the kids had to drag me back to the rides and away from the shade, cold drinks, and live entertainment
• if you forgot something or want to take home a souvenir you can find it at Aquatica - they have everything from swim wear to sandals to sun tan lotion
• in addition to lockers, you can rent a Cabana on the edge of one of the pools (yours for the day and it includes an all-day locker, ceiling fan, mini fridge, bottled water, souvenir towels, and sun block) or a Loggerhead Lounger (2 lounger chairs of your very own and an umbrella) on a secluded part of Aquatica with a sandy beach next to the lazy river - next time I'm getting one of these that I'll plop down in for 20 minutes or so after every ride
• an encounter with the stingrays which for an extra fee lets you enter their reef and feed the gentle stingrays that will quickly surround you begging for your attention and some food

We can highly recommend that you add Aquatica to your list of things to do this summer and it's a must visit if you are anywhere near San Antonio. It's a little pricey but you should be able to find some discounts if you search for them. Some of the reasons we loved Aquatica include:

• it's clean and well maintained and staffed with plenty of lifeguards, helpful attendants, and maintenance workers
• the rides are thrilling, well marked with height requirements, and there is something to do for all ages including thrill seekers and those who just want to spend some time on the beach and relax in a cabana
• the landscaping is excellent and provides shade as well as scenic beauty
• Aquatica is compact and well laid out and doesn't take five minutes to walk from ride to ride

Have fun! Return to the Fun Vacation With The Grandkids article.