It's still 15 or 16 months away (and not much more at this point than mountains of dirt being rearranged beyond a silt fence) but the new "state of the art" water ride park that SeaWorld Orlando is building may be coming into focus.
SeaWorld officials won't confirm anything, but the name Aquatica is in widespread use. And a new set of photos of a model for the park are appearing on the Internet, notably on Screamscape.com, which has been posting Aquatica details all yaer. One clear picture of kids sliding through tubes, past leaping dolphins, was released by SeaWorld a year ago.
The other photos are a bit fuzzy because they look as if they were covertly and hurriedly shot through Plexiglas at a architect's model. They show a few flume rides, a wave pool, a huge beach area, a lagoon and some buildings under roof, but nothing that looks out of the ordinary for a water park.
SeaWorld spokeswoman Becca Bides wouldn't comment on the photos except to note the dolphin one is old. She said some details, however, are changing as the park plans evolve. The park is slated to open in the spring of 2008.
As for the name Aquatica, as Screamscape noted earlier this year, SeaWorld's parent company Busch Entertainment has trademarked the name, along with Aquatica SeaWorld's Waterpark.
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/business_tourism_aviation/2006/12/seaworlds_new_w.html
