how does Aquatica compare to Disney water parks?

[LoriSan]

DH, DS4 and I have 2 upcoming trips, July and Sept. We have APs. My options are
1- upgrade AP to PAP, giving us access to both water parks and DQ during both trips- cost about $300
2- buying annual passes to Sesame Place in PA (which we are about 60 min from), which would give us access to Sea World and Aquatica. We will only have a car in July, so leaving the World would probably only occur in that trip, not Sept. cost about $480

[grumpydude]

I don't know about Aqutica, but the DWP's are awesome. They are definitly worth the trip!!

[dlpmikki]

If you are going to use the sesame place then it may be worth considering. Sea world is worth a visit. Aquatica has good bits and bad bits. Some of the rides look good and the rapids is usually fun. The lazy river is way too short. The wave pools are OK. I got an AP for last year as I wanted to do seaworld as well and we had two long trips planned. Overall I prefer the Disney water parks, especially TL where you can get shade. At Aquatica there is no shade unless you pay extra for a special area and that isn't cheap.

[hockeymom]

You pay extra for access to the shaded area?

[bouncyprouncy]

We were at Aquatica in September, and loved it. I don't think we liked it better than the Disney Water Parks, but it wasn't any worse either. We went on a Sunday and it was fairly crowded, but we still got a lot accomplished. We went back later in the week and the crowd was very light, and it only took a couple of hours to pretty much do everything. The rapids ride is unique and my wife's favorite (you float with a life jacket on a lazy river type construction that isn't very lazy).

We had shade both visits, and didn't pay any extra for it. There were cabanas and such for rental if you wanted an extra expense, but isn't necessary. If you get to the park early, you shouldn't have any issues finding shade for free.