SeaWorld San Antonio to open new water playground with slides, giant tipping buckets

Tikitapu Splash is expected to open in 2024

Aquatica at SeaWorld San Antonio is expected to open Tikitapu Splash in 2024. (SeaWorld San Antonio)

SAN ANTONIO – SeaWorld San Antonio has released details about its newest water attraction, Tikitapu Splash, which is expected to open in 2024.

Tikitapu Splash will be a 15,000-square-foot playground filled with water slides, giant tipping buckets and splash areas. It will be adjacent to Whanau Waters in Aquatica, the waterpark at SeaWorld.

A news release states Tikitapu Splash will be multi-level and available for kids and adults.

Aquatica at SeaWorld San Antonio is expected to open Tikitapu Splash in 2024. (SeaWorld San Antonio)

Three buckets will drop more than 1,325 gallons of water on guests, and there will also be four new waterslides and 104 spray-and-play elements. Those elements include geysers, colorful water cannons, and gushing waterspouts.

“Keeping in line with Aquatica’s tropical oasis theme inspired by the Māori culture of New Zealand, Tikitapu Splash takes its name from Lake Tikitapu - also known as Blue Lake - one of four small lakes found in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand’s North Island,” a news release states. “The name Tikitapu finds its origins in Māori history, being a sacred necklace believed to have been lost in the lake by the daughter of a high-ranking chief.”

Also in 2024, SeaWorld San Antonio is expected to open Catapult Falls, the world’s first launched flume coaster.

Catapult Falls involves 11 eight-person carts that send riders through a water-filled course before taking them 55 feet in the air via an elevator. Carts are then launched down a 53-degree slope at more than 37 miles per hour.

The drop is the world’s steepest for a flume attraction, the release states.


About the Author

Rebecca Salinas is an award-winning digital journalist who joined KSAT in 2019. She reports on a variety of topics for KSAT 12 News.

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