Beat the summer heat with a water park trip

For once, we're glad it's not a perfect blue-sky vacation day. Otherwise, Aquatica— SeaWorld's new water park in Orlando, designed to feel like a South Sea island with lush landscaping (60,000 plants and flowers!) and white sand (3.1 million pounds of it!) would have been so packed that by 11 a.m., the park would have had to turn families away.

"This is our third try to get in," said Laura Goguen, a suburban Boston mom who stopped with her husband and two daughters to sample the water slides before they flew home. "There was a nice collection of things for the girls to do," she said.

That's an understatement. There are 36 water slides, six rivers and lagoons, white sandy beaches, and two terrific kids' water play areas. Let's not forget the animals—Commerson's Dolphins (take the "Dolphin Plunge" down 250 feet of clear tubes, through their habitat), macaws, and colorful African cichlids. For the uninitiated, these are colorful fish found in freshwater lakes and rivers in Africa, Central and South America, among other far-flung places.

Kids, of course, were most interested in the rides, while parents were delighted to catch a break. "My kids are little fishes and they're loving it here," said Philadelphian Nancy Ryan, who was actually relaxing while her two kids were off testing their mettle on the water slides. "Everything is rush, rush, rush at home," she said. "I want to enjoy vacation!"

Certainly my five-year-old cousin Ethan Sitzman and his dad, Mike, were enjoying themselves. Hannah Sitzman, three, had an earache (the doctor said no swimming that day) so we left her and her mom, Jayme, across the street at SeaWorld Orlando while we checked out Aquatica. (Visit the SeaWorld website for the skinny on different combo tickets, as well as VIP tours. Military families may get free admission.)

Aquatica is generating considerable buzz. It is the first new park in Orlando since SeaWorld opened Discovery Cove in 2000, the place where just 1,000 people a day get exclusive up-close encounters with sea creatures.

There are plenty of animals at Aquatica, too, including 80-pound giant anteaters, laughing kookaburras, or tortoises that weigh as much as 200 pounds. Good luck getting the kids out of the water to check them out.

My cousin Ethan, too little for the Dolphin Plunge, loved Loggerhead Lane, the lazy river that floats guests past a view of the dolphins, exotic birds, and a huge habitat of exotic fish. Other younger kids I met were spending their day at Walkabout Waters, one of the world's biggest interactive water playgrounds with 15,000 square feet of slides, water cannons, and more. Kata's Kookaburra Cove, meanwhile, features special rafts designed for parents and small children to ride together.

The key to water park happiness—and safety, of course—is to keep your eyes on your younger kids and know the older ones' whereabouts. I was impressed at Aquatica by the attentive parents and the lifeguards everywhere. And since your tweens and teens aren't riding water slides with cell phones in their pockets, make sure you've established meeting places and times so that no one gets lost. You've also got to be vigilant about re-applying sunscreen, no matter how much the kids complain. Tell them they'll complain a lot more about painful sunburn.

Make sure the youngest park-goers don't swallow the water and are wearing special water diapers that won't leak. The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions reports that water park managers have been especially vigilant to prevent water-borne illness and test the water several times a day. Visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website for more water park safety tips.