|
It's not everyday that a new park opens up in your backyard, so it's a major
event to celebrate (or at least scrutinize) in a major way. Aquatica held its
first public preview on Sunday, February 24 (the Friday and Saturday were the
first operating days, but were previews only for the workers themselves).
Previews continue on Monday, and then the park turns dark for four days until
the real grand opening on March 1st, next Saturday. The previews Sunday and
Monday were for Aquatica annual passholders only.
Actually, let me dwell on the pass specifics for a moment. They've been on
sale for some time, though technically I guess that means you would have gotten
less than a full year. We've been without Busch passes for a couple of years, so
we figured now would be a good time to get all the bases covered: Aquatica, Sea
World, and Busch Tampa (which I guess they are calling Busch-Africa now). I was
astounded at the deal dangled before our eyes: $279 for those three parks, good
for two years. That's $140 per year, or less than $50 per park. We snapped those
up with no hesitation, late last week. Which then qualified us to attend the
Aquatica preview.
We were told to go online, but that automated system didn't work for me, and
when I called, I learned it was apparently broken for everyone. They gave me a
code to use on the day of the event, but it turned out I was not asked for my
code or my picture ID (the annual pass is just this paper thing).
$50 a year for unlimited rides? Where do I
sign?
Let's jump right to the overview. Aquatica is a water park in the vein of
most water parks: the slides are unthemed (though painted in bright and varied
colors) and by and large, the overall park lacks a major backstory like you
might find at Disney water parks. Typhoon Lagoon is a tropical area devastated
by a hurricane, which provides an impetus for all sorts of themed elements.
Blizzard Beach is a snow skiing facility subjected to sudden melting, creating
lots of runoff in the form of water, and thus an excuse for slides.
By contrast, Aquatica is just a water park. True, it has a bit more
vegetation than some such parks, but by no means is it as lush as Disney's
parks, or even its own concept art. And it's also true that Aquatica takes a
halfhearted stab at a theme: the park icon is a kiwi, and the buildings and
their names are taken from an Australian / New Zealand context. Even the looping
park voiceovers and announcements are done with a Down Under accent. But simple
suggestions and modest art direction do not make a theme.
Lots of action, lots of color, but when it
comes to theming...
To do full justice to that region of the world, which is a fine idea for a
water park, they should have explored more thematic and atmospheric elements.
Can't we float by Sydney harbor and the opera house? Shouldn't the lazy river
plunge us into the famous New Zealand cave full of flowing worms in the ceiling?
Wouldn't it be neat to have (fake) crocodiles in the outback threatening us as
we zip past? Disney has taken lately to calling its fixes for DCA part of a "placemaking"
effort, but even though the term is new, the concept is decades old at Disney.
Immersiveness usually serves only one purpose: to help the visitor pretend he is
somewhere completely different. That works, by and large, at Disney parks pretty
well. It doesn't work at all at Aquatica.
There's a semi-integration of Kraken and
Atlantis, which loom from the
SeaWorld park, but that might be my imagination. Mostly the tubes are unthemed.
Aquatica doesn't even live up to its exciting concept art.
Not as lush as you'd expect.
|
