2013 - Aquatica California - (11/21/12) In a surprising announcement from SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Aquatica California will open in Spring 2013 in San Diego. To accomplish this feat, SeaWorld Parks struck a deal with Cedar Fair to purchase the former Knott’s Soak City waterpark on the southern end of San Diego (in Chula Vista) and will transform it over the winter to fit their standards, as well as incorporate new animal encounters as they rebrand it as Aquatica California. For those keeping score, this means that each of the three SeaWorld parks will now have a nearby Aquatica waterpark. At this point in time, SeaWorld wasn’t able to go into details about just what kinds of new attractions or animal encounters would be added to the park experience.
SeaWorld will make significant changes over the off-season transforming the park into an Aquatica: “These parks reflect the highest standard of quality in attractions, entertainment and theming, but the presence of animals makes the experience something truly special. Aquatica San Diego, like its sister parks, will feature guest experiences with a variety of exotic animals,” said Jim Atchison, president and chief executive officer of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. “Having animals in our Aquatica parks adds an educational component to a waterpark visit that is both unexpected and enriching.”
As for the park itself… I visited the park many years ago, back before the days of the more modern “gimmick” style slides we are seeing, and was happy with the nice collection of body and tube slides that the park had at the time. Transformed into Aquatica branded park, and with the addition of a few more modern slides to the mix, this has the makings of a really great waterpark.
