Tuesday, May 8th: Aquatica, continued
We like to keep our waterpark days as free and easy as possible…..it’s one of the reasons we love renting a cabana. Having ample seating, a locker, a fridge, bottled water, and our own private space away from the busy general areas makes the day feel carefree and relaxed. Purchasing the all-day dining is another way we create that “easy” flow: we pay once, and then enjoy being able to eat when and how much we want or need. It’s great not having to be able to lock up our wallets and not have to schlep cash or credit cards around each time we’d like a drink or snack.
The all-day dining plan had changed a bit since our last visit: this time, we had two choices. For $24.99, we could enjoy all-day access to Banana Beach Buffet. For $34.99, we could have all-day benefits at all three dining locations within the park: Banana Beach, Mango Market, and the Waterstone Grill. As passmembers, we would enjoy 10% off either option, so we honestly just had to choose how much variety we wanted in our meals. While the trio of options sounded intriguing (and in fact, we have purchased that extended plan for our October trip thanks to a deep discount for passmembers that we were able to pre-purchase in advance), this time we opted for the all-day dine at Banana Beach only. We rationalized that it would save us $20 (not a big deal, really, but hey…..$20 saved is $20 to splurge with elsewhere!) and would more than satisfy our water-induced hunger throughout the day.
We had a bit of an issue with the staff at the Banana Beach purchase desk, located outside of the restaurant…..they must have been new or poorly trained, or an unfortunate combination of those two factors……but eventually we had our wrist bands and headed in to check out what was on today’s menu.
There really was a nice variety being offered on the buffet: probably the best selection that we have seen yet. We've eaten at Banana Beach on many of our visits to Aquatica over the years, and each time the offerings have been a little different. Lots of items with universal appeal: even a fussy eater like myself found numerous items to enjoy. There was potato salad and a house salad:
A create-your-own pasta station featured elbow noodles and 3 choices of sauces: marinara, alfredo and cheddar cheese. Hot meatballs and chunks of italian sausage were in a separate tray if you wanted a meat element. There were tortilla chips as well (not shown) and taco meat, so you could make your own tray of nachos.
Warm garlic rolls:
Fruit salad, a quinoa-type salad, and a pasta salad.
There were three types of pizzas: cheese, Hawaiian and pepperoni (not sure why there were 2 Hawaiian and no cheese in this pic....they must have been switching out the duplicate right around the time that I was snapping pics).
Another set of warmers featured barbecued chicken legs, pulled pork, hot dog wieners (fresh buns were in a bowl at the end of the buffet line), and two types of veggies (corn and green beans).
And of course, there was dessert: chocolate chip cookies, chunks of white cake, chunks of chocolate brownies, and chocolate pudding.
A separate station featured warm apple cobbler.
And outside, a large freezer with a clear glass sliding top was filled with cups of Blue Bunny ice cream.
The SeaWorld parks all offer Coke products, so there are several self-serve drink stations outside featuring Coke, Sprite, Minute Maid Lemonade, and other beverages. Drinks are the only thing that can be taken out of the buffet gates: all food must be consumed before leaving.
Seating is all outdoors, but much of it is under cover. Some tables have individual umbrellas, and a number of other tables are arranged under a large hard shelter-style covering. Everything from the chairs and tables to the umbrellas and flowers are crafted in the bright and cheery colors that Aquatica is so well know for.
While we always manage our expectations when it comes to Banana Beach....or any theme park buffet, really.....I have to say, we were more than satisfied with the food quality, the value for the price paid, and especially the cleanliness of the food areas. The staff were doing an excellent job at keeping the serving areas spotless and the various food choices replenished with fresh batches. While I did manage to make the workers noticeably uncomfortable, for some reason, with my photo taking
, they were otherwise very friendly and helpful. All things considered, this was definitely a win
.
We finished off our lunch, and headed back to our cabana for another slathering of sunscreen. We had much more day left to enjoy
.
More to come!