What To Pack For A Day At The Waterpark

Suntan Lotion

If you forget anything, don’t let it be the suntan lotion. There are a lot of popular rides at Aquatica, like the brand new Kare Kare Curl. But that means they have lines. Long lines. And standing in them means the sun is beating down on your shoulders.

If you don’t have sunscreen on, you could go home with really red shoulders (plus a burned rest of your body too).

All you want to go home with is good memories. So make sure to pack — and use — your suntan lotion.

Beach Towel

One of the best rides in Aquatica is the lazy river: Loggerhead Lane. You can just sit, float around, and enjoy the ride. And the fish. If you take the short route, you actually pass through the Fish Grotto and you can see a huge fish tank.

If you’re sitting in the tube with your booty in the water, you end up with a soggy bottom. Par for the course. But you don’t want to spend the rest of the afternoon dripping. Bring a beach towel so you can dry off.

It’s actually also a great way to save a chair at the wave pool: Cutback Cove. If your whole group is going in, you can reserve your chairs with the towel sit with your chairs. Everyone saves chairs this way, so don’t worry if you choose to do it.

Wet Bathing Suit Bag

One of the best things to bring is a wet bathing suit bag. It’s such a good thing to have. When you take your bathing suit off, you put it in a wet bathing suit bag. Then, you can just throw it in your bag without worrying about it getting the rest of your items wet.

What you can do is pack your dry undergarments in the wet bathing suit bag when you go to the park, then when you change into those, put the wet bathing suit in the bag.

It makes the bag a little more useful that way, which I’m a fan of.

Dry Clothes

After the last paragraph, packing dry clothes is a given. But I wanted to add it to the list, just so you don’t forget. You don’t want to spend the drive home in your wet clothes, so be sure to pack something dry to change into before you leave.

What’s great is at Aquatica Orlando is there are actually full showers with a shampoo/body wash combo on the wall. So you can actually take a full shower before you leave the park. We did this and it was great.

Be sure to pack a washcloth with you though. Those aren’t provided. And pack a dry towel too. If you’re wondering, “Do you need to bring towels to Aquatica?” The answer is yes. You need to bring three: a beach towel, a washcloth, and a towel for after your shower.

Sunglasses

Every so often, I run out without sunglasses. It’s terrible. I spent the whole time squinting. And it’s those times that I always want to bump into someone who wants to chit chat.

If you’re at a waterpark, you’re probably not going alone. And whoever you’re with will probably want to talk the whole time. Make it easier on your eyes and bring your sunglasses.

Just be careful to secure them to your face using a sunglass strap, especially when you’re going down rides like the Taumata Racer waterslide. You go down on that one head first, at the same time at seven other riders, so the ride’s rules mention not wearing glasses that aren’t secured.

Waterproof Phone Pouch

Your cell phone is a necessary evil. You want to leave it at home or in the car when you go to the waterpark, but as soon as you want to take a photo, you’ll be looking for your phone. Plus, if you are going with a lot of people, it’s so easy to call each other if you get separated.

The best thing you can do to keep it dry is to get a waterproof phone pouch. The one I have has three separate closures, then a Velcro band, so there’s a good chance that it will keep water off of your phone. You can fit more than just your phone in there too. There’s room for your cash, water park passes, keys, and more. It’s easy to use the string to wear it around your neck. It seems like almost everyone at the park has one of these.

I used mine all day at the park, making sure to seal it completely if I did take my phone out, and my phone was completely protected all day long.

Hair Tie

If you have long hair, you want to remember a hair tie. It can be hot being outside all day, and it’s a lot hotter if you have your hair down. Pulling your hair back into a ponytail or a bun can cool you down a little.

Plus, it’s just nice to have it back when you’re at Roa’s Rapids. That ride is so much fun. I kept calling it the rapid river. You go around like the lazy river, but the water pushes you along. There are vests that you can grab when you enter. Take one. That helps you float along. I liked that way better, but my mom liked going without the vest. When you’re floating around, the last thing you want to deal with is your hair.

Side note: Yes, that’s a turkey leg from Kiwi Traders sitting on the arm of the chair. Waterparks make you hungry!

Water Bottle

You definitely want to stay hydrated during a day at a waterpark. Aquatica has a large fill station, so you can bring a water bottle and refill it there.

And you are allowed to bring bottled water into the park. You can’t bring other beverages (like tea, alcohol, etc.) into the park.

Flip Flops

Soggy sneakers are no fun, so you definitely don’t want to wear them all day at a water park. Plus, sneakers and Walkabout Waters don’t go together. That section for kids with a full a full 15,000 square feet of slides, bridges, and more. The towers reach up to 60-feet tall, and the splash pools go down to 42 inches deep. Children under six have be accompanied by a supervising companion. And if you’re that companion, you don’t want to wear sneakers in there. So definitely wear (or pack) your flip flops.

There are stations near the water slides where you can leave your flip flops while you’re on the ride. You can leave your shoes there, or you can just leave them at your seats with your towel instead.

Be careful, though. Your flip flops might not have any tread at the bottom and may cause you to slip on all the wet surfaces around Aquatica.

Life Jackets

If you don’t have kids, you don’t need this one. But if you do have kids, you’ll want to pack your child’s life jacket. It’s just so much safer for when they’re playing in Kata’s Kookaburra Cove. That’s a great waterpark section, complete with water slides, for kids under 48-inches tall. You do want to keep your kids safe with a life jacket. In fact, life jackets are encouraged for the Zippity Zappity since the water at the bottom of the slide is 24-inches deep.

If you forget one, I did see people taking them from Roa’s Rapids to use in the rest of the park. I’m not sure if that’s allowed, though, so you should bring your own. Also, note, life jackets can’t be used on every attraction. They can’t be worn on the enclosed slides at Walkabout Waters.