In May 2012 SeaWorld San Antonio will introduce Texans to Aquatica, a whimsical aquatic park with up-close animal experiences, high-speed thrills and relaxing, sandy beaches.

The new park will be an extension of the Aquatica water park in Orlando, Florida. Like its sister park, Aquatica San Antonio is designed as a South Seas oasis with all the luxury and amenities of a beachside resort, including terraced pools, expansive sandy beaches, and private cabanas – all in a tropical setting.

Aquatica's signature experience is a family raft ride that twists and turns through an underwater grotto that puts guests face-to-fin with several species of stingrays. Guests also have the opportunity to wade with rays in an in-water connection program, and there's a separate pool for park goers to feed stingrays.

The new park features a raft ride that is the first of its kind in North America. The ride accommodates five-seat rafts and sends guests soaring through watery waves to the top of a zero-gravity wall – giving riders the sense of weightlessness. In addition to this ride, there are eight thrilling slides and water play areas for all ages.

Macaws, roseate spoonbills and a multitude of colorful fish add to the park's playful, high-energy atmosphere. Guests zoom and float through these amazing animal habitats, creating the most thrilling waterpark rides in the world. Visitors also will encounter unusual birds and animals in walk-around interaction opportunities.

Aquatica San Antonio replaces SeaWorld's Lost Lagoon, which opened in 1993. Since the new park is constructed inside SeaWorld, guests wishing to visit Aquatica will need to upgrade their SeaWorld ticket in order to enter the new park. At this time, the cost of an upgraded ticket that includes Aquatica has not been finalized.

Construction on Aquatica San Antonio will begin later this month. Lost Lagoon will end its final season on Labor Day this year, and Aquatica is scheduled to be completed before Memorial Day weekend 2012.