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NEWS: Knott's Soak City to become Aquatica San Diego


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I'm really happy to see the San Diego branch of SeaWorld growing so much in these few years. This Soak City has almost seemed abandoned in terms of getting anything new at all, I can't wait to see what SeaWorld will bring to this park!

 

 

Almost every Cedar Fair separate admission waterpark has seemed abandoned. What was the Last Oceans Of Fun thing before this year? Wildwater Kingdom, Oh? Soak City across from Knott's? Soak City OH?

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^While it is a distinct possibility that Cedar Fair may be considering selling some more of its "one-off" properties, I can't imagine SeaWorld buying any more of the California parks at this time. With Aquatica San Diego now on the way they've got California doubly covered, as they do with San Antonio and (to a much larger extent) Central Florida. I see Aquatica San Diego supporting the nearby SeaWorld and also grabbing a better foothold in the surrounding market. Having a third SeaWorld park outside of San Diego would likely cannibalize the business there..

Edited by jedimaster1227
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^I think he more meant CF just selling in general. I could see them getting rid of Palm Springs but I would never think SeaWorld would buy it.

 

It would be amazing if there was a BG park in the San Diego area. Talk about a strong hold on the local market and an advancement for San Diego as a theme park destination. Now do I think it will happen? No, at least not any time soon, but one can dream.

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^While it is a distinct possibility that Cedar Fair may be considering selling some more of its "one-off" properties, I can't imagine SeaWorld buying any more of the California parks at this time. With Aquatica San Diego now on the way they've got California doubly covered, as they do with San Antonio and (to a much larger extent) Central Florida. I see Aquatica San Diego supporting the nearby SeaWorld and also grabbing a better foothold in the surrounding market. Having a third SeaWorld park outside of San Diego would likely cannibalize the business there..

 

I was thinking that CF was just going to sell it, I don't believe that SeaWorld will purchase CF's Soak City property in Palm Springs.

 

It would be amazing if there was a BG park in the San Diego area. Talk about a strong hold on the local market and an advancement for San Diego as a theme park destination. Now do I think it will happen? No, at least not any time soon, but one can dream.

 

I would be VERY happy if Busch Gardens came to San Diego. Big coasters in my beautiful county is something that I would extremely enjoy. Though, the possibility of that happening is basically 0.

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^While it is a distinct possibility that Cedar Fair may be considering selling some more of its "one-off" properties, I can't imagine SeaWorld buying any more of the California parks at this time. With Aquatica San Diego now on the way they've got California doubly covered, as they do with San Antonio and (to a much larger extent) Central Florida. I see Aquatica San Diego supporting the nearby SeaWorld and also grabbing a better foothold in the surrounding market. Having a third SeaWorld park outside of San Diego would likely cannibalize the business there..

 

I was thinking that CF was just going to sell it, I don't believe that SeaWorld will purchase CF's Soak City property in Palm Springs.

 

It would be amazing if there was a BG park in the San Diego area. Talk about a strong hold on the local market and an advancement for San Diego as a theme park destination. Now do I think it will happen? No, at least not any time soon, but one can dream.

 

I would be VERY happy if Busch Gardens came to San Diego. Big coasters in my beautiful county is something that I would extremely enjoy. Though, the possibility of that happening is basically 0.

I agree a Busch Gardens in California again would be awesome. Whenever I'm driving with my mom and we pass by the Miller brewery she'll say "Hey that used to be Busch Gardens!" I was really confused the first time I heard it because I wasn't alive when it was still around haha .

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I'm so excited for another great attraction in San Diego. With Legoland, the San Diego Zoo, The Wild Animal Park (aka Safari Park), Sea World, and now this, I think our collection of parks is world class. Despite the lack of many great coasters. But what we do have strength in is our animal attractions.

 

However I must say this, I can't imagine that Sea World hasn't looked at the Wild Animal Park as a possible future addition to their family of parks. The way the WAP is being run right now is pretty awful. With the monorail being replaced by an upcharge tram ride that isn't nearly as good, and how it seems like the park has narrowed it's focus to up charge attractions, I'd be excited as hell to have the park become a Busch Gardens.

 

Do I think it's a possibility? Sure.

 

Do I think it's likely? I honestly cannot say because I never expected Soak City to become Aquatica.

 

I think a couple of issues would need to be resolved first.

 

First, I would have to think that the Zoological Society of San Diego would want control of the field enclosures that the park is famous for. Not for the benefits of the visitors, but for the animals due to the fact that the Society has been able to contribute to the saving of several different endangered species thanks to the enormous field enclosures. Maybe Sea World could run actual the park while the Zoological Society could take care of the animals?

 

Also I think many a resident would complain about the increased traffic on San Pasqaul Road and that San Diegans would be up in arms if the park changed too much. However I think that a huge amount of the park that we've grown to love is gone. One of the huge savannahs is almost completely unaccessible to visitors now, many of the exhibits have shrunk over the years, and certain portions of the park are completely abandoned (Tembo Stadium, certain food and drink stands, that beautiful bridge by the incline up from the lower part of the park to name a few.)

 

So I have to say that I would have SeaWorld take over in a heart beat over what the park has become now. Sure, some of the upcharge attractions are cool. But it's very sad that a large portion of the attractions are now an upcharge. Whereas before the vast majority of the park was accessible with the purchase of admission AND it included an amazing monorail tour that is over twice as long as the current tour that is now an upcharge. Now I love many aspects of the park, I just think that some changes over the years have been unfortunate.

 

 

In the end however I think either SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment partnering with the Zoological Society at the WAP, or a complete buyout of the park wouldn't be a bad thing. I would prefer the former as opposed to the latter however due to the fact that year after year, the contributions of the Zoological Society of San Diego to our world can never be overstated when it comes to their work with animals.

 

But this is just complete speculation and my opinions so do take everything I've said with a grain of salt.

 

I'll end this post by saying again how excited I am about Aquatica!

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Cedar Fair should not have sold they just should have put it in the water park in the park by taking out a ride

But has Cedar Fair ever been so far decided, to want even go to do more like?

 

In all seriousness, here's my English translation of mean streaks post:

 

"Cedar Fair should not have sold Soak City. Busch should have put in Aquatica on their own land at Sea World by removing an existing attraction at Sea World and using the space.

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The reason why Soak City was bought out is probably clear: Busch water a water park on territory, but that would not have made sense with the competition. Therefore, they simply bought out what would had been the competition, so they could, in the easiest way, have a park of their own.

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  • 3 weeks later...

This makes me wonder if this is the reason that the commersons dolphins have been backstage since manta started construction. We can only hope that aquatica San Diego will have commersons. Or at least something more than just flamingos like the concept art shows.

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^The Dolphins went backstage because the Rays needed a large temporary exhibit. They have three times as many Rays as they do Commerson Dolphins, so they could be placed in a smaller backstage tank. Now that Manta is open, I believe they have been put back in their tank by Atlantis. I'll check next time I go.

 

I hope we hear more soon one exactly what changes they will be making to the park. I can't imagine any slides will be taken out, but will we be seeing any kind of "signature" slide that they can market as a headliner? This acquisition has obviously been in the works for a while, so I wouldn't be surprised if we did see a new slide of some kind come spring.

 

I may try to do a little digging into the project to see if I can find out more on what exactly they plan to do.

 

Now, to address all this talk about "Busch Gardens Wild Animal Safari Park"....

 

The San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park (formerly The Wild Animal Park) is actually looking the best it ever has right now. They've drastically improved and remodeled several guady areas of the park, adding a Bat enclosure and a play gardens for families, and removing the eyesore upcharge portable motion simulator . Sure, the focus of the park has shifted to a variety of Upcharge experiences in addition to their normal lineup, but there's no reason to complain when their normal lineup is still 100x better than your average zoo.

 

I can't see SeaWorld Parks Entertainment looking to acquire this, mainly because the park operates on a Not For Profit basis. The park does tremendous amounts of animal research and development, and their African Plain area hold the very last Southern White Rhino in the entire world. The Soological Society is not looking to sell one of their most valuable assets to a company. SWPI operates for profit, and would change the way the park and it's research functions.

 

And before people start whining about how the park sucks, give it another chance. It's done a complete 720° turnaround from just a few short years ago. Yes, the original Tram is gone. Yes, the new one isn't as long (however you do get pretty close to all the exhibits). If they ever build the second Tram loop for Asia, then the park will finally be complete again. As it stands, the Asian area of the park still feels like it's stuck in the 1980's, and is deteriorating.

 

 

So to summarize for all the people who skimmed the post and decided not to read the wall of text, SWPI will most likely NEVER be acquiring The San Diego Zoo's Wild Safari Park.

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Now, to address all this talk about "Busch Gardens Wild Animal Safari Park"....

 

The San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park (formerly The Wild Animal Park) is actually looking the best it ever has right now. They've drastically improved and remodeled several guady areas of the park, adding a Bat enclosure and a play gardens for families, and removing the eyesore upcharge portable motion simulator . Sure, the focus of the park has shifted to a variety of Upcharge experiences in addition to their normal lineup, but there's no reason to complain when their normal lineup is still 100x better than your average zoo.

 

I can't see SeaWorld Parks Entertainment looking to acquire this, mainly because the park operates on a Not For Profit basis. The park does tremendous amounts of animal research and development, and their African Plain area hold the very last Southern White Rhino in the entire world. The Soological Society is not looking to sell one of their most valuable assets to a company. SWPI operates for profit, and would change the way the park and it's research functions.

 

And before people start whining about how the park sucks, give it another chance. It's done a complete 720° turnaround from just a few short years ago. Yes, the original Tram is gone. Yes, the new one isn't as long (however you do get pretty close to all the exhibits). If they ever build the second Tram loop for Asia, then the park will finally be complete again. As it stands, the Asian area of the park still feels like it's stuck in the 1980's, and is deteriorating.

 

 

So to summarize for all the people who skimmed the post and decided not to read the wall of text, SWPI will most likely NEVER be acquiring The San Diego Zoo's Wild Safari Park.

 

 

This really needed to be said. Both the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal park do a lot for animal conservation and research and I get the feeling that it would be a big loss for the world if either one were bought out by a for profit company.

 

I agree it would be nice if there was a Busch Gardens on the west coast once again and San Diego would be a great location, but there really isn't a need for it to be converted from an existing park or zoo. Legoland didn't need to buy and convert an existing tourist spot to be successful.

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  • 3 months later...

The dolphins still aren't back in the atlantis aquarium. In fact, after the refurb of atlantis they removed all mention of the dolphins from the ride. Hope that means they're coming to Aquatica.

Also, I drove by aquatica two days ago and it looks like they have a lot of work to do to have it open by June. They had 2 slide towers re painted and a couple buildings torn down, but I couldn't see much other work done.

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The dolphins still aren't back in the atlantis aquarium. In fact, after the refurb of atlantis they removed all mention of the dolphins from the ride. Hope that means they're coming to Aquatica.

Also, I drove by aquatica two days ago and it looks like they have a lot of work to do to have it open by June. They had 2 slide towers re painted and a couple buildings torn down, but I couldn't see much other work done.

 

 

What changes were made to Joruney to Atlantis? I assume you're referring to the dolphins in the elevator scene have been removed along with their real life counterparts?

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  • 2 months later...

So this is set to open on the 1st of June, in other words next saturday.

 

I am really tempted to go on Wednesday the 5th, middle of the week, for a few hours and bring my GoPro. It is the only waterproof camera I have and I want to take some photos to post a trip Report here.

 

Anyone up for a TPR meetup?

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Despite there not being any "new" slides I'm really happy with this transformation. Last time I was there the park was not in good shape and I'd rather them take the time to bring the park up to par, even if it means no new slides this year.

 

The landscaping is beautiful!!

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