On Saturday, June 1st, Aquatica San Diego opened its doors to guests. The park was previously a Knott’s Soak City and required six months of extensive renovation to make the conversion. MiceChat was on hand for the grand opening of this impressive new water park with a SeaWorld twist.

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The Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony

SeaWorld invited the media and some VIPs to a special opening ceremony on June 1st. The event featured musicians and native dancers.

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SeaWorld San Diego (and now Aquatica San Diego) park president, John Reily, was there to greet eveyone and give the opening remarks.
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Miss Chula Vista and other paegent winners were also on hand.
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John Reily then handed over the mic to Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox and, her husband, County Supervisor Greg Cox.

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Then the moment finally arrived! The lei rope was cut and Aquatica was finally opened. However, before the ceremony was complete, we were escorted to the wave pool for the waking of the waves.

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The waves have awakened!
The waves have awakened!

Aquatica Park Overview

Today, we’ll give you a general overview of the park, but join us next week for our full review of San Diego’s Aquatica.

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There are many differences between Aquatica and the former version of the park, Knott’s Soak City. One of the biggest changes is the addition of animals. This park currently has two types of animal residents: turtles and flamingos.

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What surprised me the most was how true the park turned out from the renderings.
What surprised me the most was how true the park turned out from the renderings.
They have gone and refurbished all of the rides from Knotts, taking out the rust and thoroughly repainting them.
They have refurbished all of the rides from Knotts, taking out the rust and thoroughly repainting them.
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There aren’t any new attractions this year, but there is a lot of open land, so expect some new things in the future.

One of the new and exciting things is the new dining options. The menu is filled with different takes on popular choices like chicken and waffles, carne asada fries, and other delicious options. Additionally, I’ve been told that they’ve invented new options will they’re excited for everyone to enjoy. We’ll be taking a closer look at the food in the park in part two.

There aren’t any new attractions this year, but there is a lot of open land, so expect some new things in the future.
There aren’t any new attractions this year, but there is a lot of open land, so expect some new things in the future.

If you’ve visited Knott’s Soak City in Chula Vista before, Aquatica is a very different park. While the attractions are the same, they have been “aquatica-fied” and now have a breath of fresh air. SeaWorld has really gone all out with this park and it shows. You can even see the change from passing the park on your way to it!

I’ll be back soon with part two and a closer look at Aquatica next week.

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Joseph Thomas
Joseph Thomas
Joseph Thomas writes many of the In the Parks articles relating to Sea World and the surrounding San Diego attractions for MiceChat. He is an avid theme park and roller coaster enthusiast centered in Southern California.
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