ORLANDO, Fla. — SeaWorld’s Aquatica water park has breathed new life into one of its most popular attractions.
What You Need To Know
- Aquatica to open Reef Plunge on March 14
- The attraction is a revamp of the park's Dolphin Plunge
- The slide features fiberglass sections with silhouettes of different animals
The park’s Dolphin Plunge body slide has been revamped and renamed Reef Plunge.
Spectrum News was invited to a preview ahead of the attraction’s official March 14 opening.
Many elements from the original attraction are still there but there are some noticeable changes—changes park officials said were made to enhance the overall ride experience.
The upper portion of the slide now features fiberglass sections with translucent silhouettes of different kinds of animals.
“There’s also some ring elements, which gives you the illusion that you are sliding faster than maybe you are,” Aquatica vice president Brad Gilmour said. “And the highlight of the experience is that you slide through clear acrylic tubes through our dynamic habitat.
The dolphin habitat has also been refreshed with new marine life.
“So they [guests] get to see the Commerson’s dolphins but in addition to that, they’ll get a chance to see our leopard sharks, our sardines, our cold water fish and learn about the dynamic habitat itself,” said Amanda Frankenberg, supervisor of mammals at Aquatica.
In addition to the slide, visitors will able to check out the habitat from the park’s underwater view area.
Riders will now finish the ride splashing down in a runout instead of the plunge pool that was at the end of the previous attraction.
With the changes, Aquatica was also able to lower the minimum height requirement for Reef Plunge from 48 inches to 42 inches, allowing younger visitors a chance to experience it.
Elsewhere around the park, Aquatica says it added 1,000 new loungers and beach chairs and also made upgrades to Banana Beach Cookout.