A new water park is in the works for Sea World. On Monday, park executives will unveil the plans for the new park which will combine sandy beaches and live animals.
The new water park, which is said to be named Aquatica, is set to open in 2008. Sea World is keeping specifics about the park under wraps, but they have said it will include waterfalls, beaches and live animals. Officials will announce more details Monday afternoon.
The Orlando/Orange County Convention Visitors Bureau said the new park can only mean good things for Central Florida.
"It is a very positive impact,” Danielle Coutenay of the bureau said. “Not only just for visitors coming into town, but for employment, economic impact.”
She added that tourism is a $29 billion industry that employs about one out of five Central Floridians.
“It keeps us highlighted and keeps people coming to Orlando.”
As for market saturation, Courtaney isn’t concerned. She said that while she isn't an analyst, she believed the theme-park market will not become saturated is because theme parks are always reinventing themselves and offering people something new every time they visit.
The new park will open in 2008.
One Orange County neighborhood though likely won't be cheering Sea World's big plans.
The new park is planned from across from the current park and Discovery Cove on land that backs up to the Williamsburg neighborhood.
When SeaWorld first proposed the idea two years, some homeowners came out saying they were worried the water park would create more noise and traffic in the already busy area.
The Orange County Design Review Committee rejected calls for a detailed study on the park's impact and approved the plans.