On Friday June 7th, Aquatica Orlando, voted Best Outdoor Water Park by USA Today’s 10Best Reader’s Choice, launched the ALL-NEW AquaGlow, an electrifying nighttime swim party experience that transforms the whole park into a neon wonderland.
Under the night sky, guests were immersed in an ocean of vibrant colors and pulsating rhythms. The event even includes the NEW Electric Tides laser show dancing over the park’s wave pool, and the park’s lazy river where even some of the tubes light up. The attraction also features a new totally tubular canopy of tubes that riders float under while cruising down the river. You can catch it in full in the video below.
Our favorite experience of the night, and definitely one of the highlights of AquaGlow is the transformation of Roa’s Rapids into Roa’s Rapids Amp’ed Up. Aboard, Guests float through an electrifying kaleidoscope of colors and mist effects, which you can check out in the video below. Don’t be fooled, this is much faster than your average lazy river!
Many of the other attractions are open for the event as well, which makes it a great time to ride as capacity is limited for the special event. That said, it should be noted that on our visit, the line for one of the park’s newest attractions – Tassie’s Underwater Twist – stretched the length of its queue space for most of the evening, so if that is on your agenda be sure to check that out early during the event.
There was no queue for the abundance of photo ops, perfect for Instagram and other social media platforms, throughout the park. Displays featuring tubes, glowing jellyfish, and marquees for the event were all available on our visit.
AquaGlow also features a foam party and bubble area – which is fun and high energy and is largely contained – but the bubbles and foam did seem to go beyond their areas into the wet paths of the water park on our visit, so we would recommend water shoes and caution.
To further delight the senses, the park’s restaurants and bars underwent a fun and colorful transformation. Guests could find a variety of colorful treats and culinary items designed to light up their night, including neon cupcakes and glowing drinks. It should also be noted that as part of the AquaGlow experience, guests will also enjoy
complimentary soft drinks, included with their ticket purchase. We recommend the Fruity Krispie treats – which are very much like a Flintstones – themed cereal in lieu of traditional rice krispies in a marshmallow treat, and easily our favorite snack of the night.
Merchandise is also available, with brightly colored items found at retail locations throughout the park. One tumbler definitely grabbed our attention, though it had no AquaGlow insignia, and can likely be found at the other water parks of the United Parks and Resorts brand (formerly SeaWorld Parks & Resorts).
With the separate admission ticket for the event, each guest will receive a commemorative event wristband for AquaGlow, with the doors opening for the event at 6:00 PM – which might crossover with the park’s regular operating hours. The event runs for a total of three hours, from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM, and tickets start at $49.99 and can be purchased at the official site, here.
AquaGlow will take place on select nights throughout the summer:
- June – 7, 14, 21, 28
- July – 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27
- August – 2, 3, 9, 10
