Planning a trip to San Diego for your next family vacation? Here are the main reasons we think Aquatica San Diego, SeaWorld’s Waterpark should be on the list.
There is so much to love about San Diego. While we always score high when it comes to weather and beaches, we have some of the world’s best theme parks in the country, like SeaWorld San Diego and its waterpark, Aquatica San Diego. The family and I recently took a trip down there and had so much fun. SERIOUSLY, so much fun! Throughout the day we packed in as much as our waterpark bodies could handle and the kids have not stopped talking about it since. We’ve come up with our top 5 reasons why we think Aquatica San Diego is worth the trip down south.
5 Reasons to visit Aquatica San Diego
- Tons of Awesome Rides – We have been to our fair share of waterparks all over this country and even some in other countries, and Aquatica has just the right number of rides. There are plenty of different rides that you could fill your day going on each ride once or twice. Although, if you’re like us, you will want to hit up your favorites a few more times than that! The consensus in our family was that our favorite was Taumata Racer®.
This awesomeness of a ride is a racing ride. You lay on your tummy on a mat and speed through some twirling tubes before heading down a steep incline towards the bottom. We probably rode this 5-6 times while laughing and giggling the entire time.
Second was the Kiwi Curl® inner-tube ride. There are three different slides on this one ride. They have single or double inner-tubes and lots of fun twist and turns and one is even in the dark the entire time. SO MUCH FUN!
- Rides for kids of all ages – This is a big deal for us. Typical theme parks and water parks that we have been to, require the littles to be 48″ which is heart breaking for our peanut 5-year-old. At Aquatica, almost every single ride allowed 42″ kids to ride the slides if they had a life jacket on. Which, we think is AWESOME! We were able to run around from the smaller Slippity Dippity® slide area that is great for the toddlers and smaller babes, to the thrill-worthy 60-foot Whanau Way ride, that has 6 different slides all with some fabulous twists and turns.
- Relaxing – I know, water park and relaxing in the same sentence, but it is true. There are plenty of opportunities for parents (or kids if they are so inclined) to sit down and relax while watching the kids play. They have an under 48″ kid’s area, Slippity Dippity®, that is right across the way from Walkabout Waters, which is an awesome water structure that is surrounded with chairs and loungers to take a load off and watch kids in both spaces. The park is filled with super lush trees and landscaping along with tons of umbrellas so it’s not hard to find a cool place in the shade. PLUS…THEY HAVE FLAMINGOS!
This is one of the most incredible sights to see as you walk into the park. A lagoon filled with these pink/coral beauties is right in the middle of the park where you can watch as these Caribbean cuties go about their day. What we enjoyed was that there was an educator there throughout the day to answer any all our questions about the flamingos. Did you know it takes almost three years for flamingos to turn pink? Who knew! I found it incredibly relaxing watching them. They of course also have a lazy river, Loggerhead Lane, which is always fun to float around and relax.
- The food and drinks are AWESOME – Aquatica has many of your traditional theme park foods of hamburgers, pizza and chicken tenders, but some surprisingly awesome treats like carne asada fries, stir fry noodles, pork carnitas, jumbo shrimp, tater-tots, fruits, salads and so much more! The sweet treat list is just as rad and including funnel cakes, ice cream, sundaes, slushies and popsicles. My favorite part… the adult beverages!
They have wine, margaritas, a super selection of craft beers! Always a plus when you can enjoy a frothy beverage on a hot day.
- Great Prices – These days to go to any theme park, a family must bear a pretty hefty price tag. I’m HAPPY to report that the prices for Aquaticatickets are actually pretty reasonable. Although Aquatica is seasonal, SeaWorld has some packages for single days to both Aquatica and SeaWorld San Diego, as well as Aquatica San Diego. If you are in Southern California, this is something to consider. I know we are after having so much fun!
- There were two questions I was asked as I was live streaming from the park. The first was about the water temperature. Was it cold? Many of the rides have heated pools including Big Surf Shores, Loggerhead Lane, Kata’s Kookaburra Cove, Walkabout Waters and Slippity Dippity. They were all very refreshing and felt perfect for a warm California summer day. The second question I was asked about was about how long it took to drive down to the waterpark. It is in the southernmost part of San Diego, but it did not take us long at all. We are in North San Diego (Carlsbad), and it took us about 30 minutes to get there. The ride is smooth and it’s not too far off the freeway. Not a problem at all.If you have a chance to visit Aquatica San Diego we sure hope you consider it. We had a BLAST!
