Wet'n'Wild, Sea World & Surfers Paradise - Gold Coast, Australia

This is almost like a sequel to the previous post about gold coast and its amazing amusement parks. In the previous post, we were looking at movie world gold coast which is also known as warner brothers. We talked about its attractions, rides and places to eat, and in general, why we all should really go there if we're in australia. I also touched on the trick with the pass that you could buy, and how if you pay $99. 99, you will get unlimited access to all three amusement parks until the end of june. Now it's time to talk about those two other parks, which are wet'n'wild gold coast and sea world. Without further ado, let's get into it!

I forgot to mention this in the last post, but if you are planning to attend all three, there's no way that you can plan to go to all three in a day. I would suggest that you spare one full day for each park, since it'll really take up your whole day. Plus, you want to be having fun and not worrying about the time you have left before you leave the amusement park, so it's best that you dedicate one day to one destination.

Now that i've mentioned that very important point, we can now head over to wet'n'wild gold coast. This place is special because it's a water park, which means you will need some swim suits! By all means, you are not forced to wear bikinis or speedos for guys. If it makes you feel more comfortable, you can always wear a top or shorts. I am unsure of what the exact dress code is, but unless you're completely naked or are showing your summer body off a bit too much, no one should be giving you a word.

Once again, make sure you have your unlimited pass with you to get in. After that, you can just leave it in your locker. There's nothing worse that arriving at the place, ready to hit the rides and attractions, and realising that you forgot the only thing you need to be able to get in. This did not happen to us, but just imagine the disappointment of not being able to get in, then paying for a taxi back to the hotel, then again back to the park.

Enough with the negative thoughts, let's bring in some good vibes. Wet'n'wild is actually one of the two water parks here in australia. It's the first one though, since the one in sydney has just opened its doors not too long ago. The gold coast wet'n'wild is obviously the number one water park in australia in terms of visitors, and was ranked in the top ten busiest ones in the whole world with close to 2 million visitors in 2009. although the park first opened in 1984, it's well kept and at the time i was there, all the rides were functional. I'll keep the structure of this post more or less the same as the one in the previous post, so i will now carry on with the different attractions and rides that i would recommend.

The list will be slightly longer since, unlike my previous day at movie world, I did try every single attraction here. Yes, I feared no rides and went all out. Just like that of movie world, the attractions are divided into three zones:

1. extreme h2o
2. rides
3. family fun

I will begin with the most hardcore rides, which are our thrill rides:

• black hole: this is a ride with two long, black tubes for riders to slide down. It's like one of those slides that you would get into as a little kid at a park near your house, but this time, you're in your swimsuits, slipping through like a little fish, and all of this in almost complete darkness. The tubes are black and they really minimise any light coming in. This made up for an even more intense and fun ride, since you can't visualise anything around you. Don't worry, it's not too bad to the point that you will throw up —or at least i hope not.
• kamikaze: you will need to grab a partner in crime for this one. The ride has two slopes that shape up to a big u. So imagine the u, and that you start off at one side of the u. You're then pushed off, in your little vessel with you on one side, and your partner on the other side. To be precise, you drop down at a top speed of 50 kilometres per hour (depending on the weight of you and your partner), 11 meters from top to bottom, and an angle of about 70 degrees. Mathematical equation aside, the best part about the ride is the way the vessel works. It's like a life boat if anything, and it'll fit two people, so you will face each other as you fall. The thing is though, as you face each other, one person will face the fall, and the other person will have their back towards the fall, so just imagine falling backwards or falling fall down! Awesome ride.
• march 5: this is basically a huge water slide and nothing to really talk about. There are five slides which are all operational at once. i guess this is like a warm up to the real deal like the black hole. A good thing about this is that you don't have to go in alone, since you can grab a few friends and get on together!
• tornado: now this is another good one. You start off about 15 meters above the ground and begin to slide through a tube that stretches about 40 meters. At this point, you and your friends on a little vessel will exit the tube, only to find it's not over. The speed and momentum created during your slide through the tube will lead you in the storm, or the tornado, where you guys will be spinning and flying once again. This is definitely a must do. I am afraid that these are all for the extreme ones.

Let's now move on to the middle category, boringly named as just rides:

• aqua loop: this is why we tried every single ride. There's no such thing as a boring ride here at wet'n'wild. Aqua loop is very similar to other rides where you slide down a massive tube, but this one will get your bloods pumping as you travel at almost 60 kilometres per hour.
• mammoth falls: again we have a ride that accommodates to more than two people. similar to tornado but a lot less hardcore, this is for those that are not quite ready to take on the big stage. Again, the concept is quite close, as the park tries to satisfy all its eager-adventurers. Take this as a warm up and see how you feel at the end, and then make your decision about tornado later!
• super 8: and here we have something quite different and at the next level for some of you. Instead of going feet first down a slide, how about change that around and go head first? yes, you will be going head first, belly (six-pack abs) flat on a yoga-mat like sponge, then slide down a 86 metre track down to the finish line. It's like a competition and a race between you and your mates you see. The problem is though, that by the time you're two seconds into the ride, you won't really have a clear picture of what's in front of you, so in the end, you would have absolutely no idea about the result of your crazy race.
• flow rider: not like the american rapper flo rida or the state with miami and the basketball team florida, but another option that is offered to us here at wet'n'wild. Horrible jokes aside, it's a massive pool with the effects of waves that you would get in the sea. It's quite cool to be honest, because most of the time when you're swimming and there are waves coming for you, you will close your eyes since the salt water will temporarily blind you. No worries for this one, just go with the flow —i'm sorry again for the bad joke.

Do not worry that you won't have a blast here, because i guarantee that you will. there are loads of things to do and rides to go on here that i didn't mention. One thing that i need to throw out there though, is the poor selection of food. I think we were there on a sunday and many places were not available to us, so in the end we had to settle for something unappealing in choice and taste. I think you can bring in food from outside, but you might want to double-check on that. I mean, they didn't really check our bags or anything when we entered, so i would certainly assume so.

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Before this post gets any longer on just wet'n'wild, let's move on to the third and final destination for our amusement park, which is sea world. Now i would save this place for last. In fact, I really like the order in which we planned our days in relation to the amusement parks. The first day is always the most exciting, so that's appropriate for movie world. By the end of the first day, you should've already taken a walk in the city and the surfers paradise area, which would then make you want to get in the water. This is where getting in the water at wet'n'wild comes into play. And after a long and tiring day under the sun at the water park, the last day is something more peaceful and more relaxing, at sea world.

My initial thought on sea world was that it was gonna be boring, just like any other aquarium. The thing is, it was nothing like your typical aquarium. There were tons of things to see, and they do a really good job by keeping their content interesting to every single age group. You will most likely feel engaged and fascinated by the different sea life they have here and how natural they act, although they're far away from their natural habitat. Without further, what are some things you could expect to do here? Well, let's get started. I will once again divide their main events into three sections, which are:

1. rides & attractions
2. shows
3. sea life

For rides and attractions, don't be expecting hardcore roller coasters or haunted house or anything like your day at warner bros.

• jet rescue: the most intense and hardcore of the whole lot, this is a new addition to the park. For what is a place that should be more aqua related, there's now a roller coaster that travels at high speed for those that just need that dose of adrenaline. Like i said, we kept our last day here quite calm, so this ride wasn't a big attraction for us.
• monorail system: this is literally a ride, since you may choose to hop on the monorail for a ride around the park. The total distance covered by the monorail trip is about 2 kilometres, so if your legs are aching from the day before or you simply want a change and try something new, head over and queue up for this mode of transport.
• sky high skyway: another way to check out the park, but this time a more high up at almost a bird eye view. You can hop on what looks like ski gondolas that will take you up in the sky like a cable car, looking down at the attractions from a height. If you don't know where to start your day off first, or maybe if you're too tired to be going places, then hop on the skyway!

I think those three do the trick from what i see, so let's move right on to the shows:

• spongebob squarepants 3d: we all love spongebob and patrick and the whole gang, but don't you wish that you could see these fictional characters in real life? I certainly do, and i did!

  

  This show is probably aimed towards a much younger audience than us university students, but that should never stop you from doing what you love! the show will last about 20-30 minutes with the characters performing a much of scenes and having a little parade towards the end. We were at the show just a little bit before lunch time, since it takes place right in front where the food stalls are, and the best thing was that the seats were covered by a roof, so we weren't exposed to the strong sun light gold coast is famous for.

• jet stunt extreme: now this one is more appropriate for our age group. Very similar to the one of the first day at movie world with the race car stunt drivers, you have here, professionals doing their thing on jetskis. They did some really impressive stunts and tricks that clearly took loads of planning, training and focus. These guys are not just regular people who practiced the stunts, but are actually very, very accomplished professionals in this very area. I think one of the guys that performed had done it at the biggest of all stages, the x games. I don't remember if he had won any prizes, but if he's participated in the toughest competition in the world, it's definitely worth sparing your time to watch the show.

After you grab your lunch, you should be heading towards the final stages of your afternoon here at sea world. I would definitely recommend penguin encounter and shark bay as must visits. For the very reason as the names, it's not everyday that you get to see penguins, in large amount! There was like a mini colony of penguins, just lying around, swimming, talking to each other, and walking in their own unique, yet super cute way. You won't be able to talk to them, or touch them, since they're separated by a thick wall of glass in another room. As for the sharks, i'm sure you wouldn't want to touch them. It's really like one of those movie scenes where you see sharks swim by right before your eyes, but just that you're protected by again, a thick (thicker) wall of glass. Don't try to tease them to come close to the glass or anything, because we never know what could just happen.

Then, spare about two minutes to check out their gift shops, with one that's dedicated to spongebob. There was a little section whereby fans, both kids and adults alike, can make their very own spongebob from zero! wow, I mean, i've only heard of building your own teddy bears and build your own barbie dolls, but neither one of those were really for us. But man, now that you have a chance to build your own spongebob, now that's an opportunity that doesn't come by everyday. There are also ones that have been pre-made for you if you struggle with the construction of your own. Otherwise, they have a good array of other gifts, posters, clothing and much more. Similar to the shops at movie world, be ready to spend big bucks for what may not exactly worth as much.

And for one of the highlights of my day at sea world, the shows. There are two shows that still stand out for me in my memory, even without thinking about them. One of them was the spectacular and super impressive seal harbour. Just when you may think that us as a human race are just so smart beyond everyone else, you'll see these seals literally stealing the show. Yes, it's a show, with proper acting and a proper story line. The seals are more or less the main characters of the show, and they do a fantastic job of this with their non-verbal communication. Well, after all, they can't speak the language that we do, so there are humans along the way to create conversations. This was an excellent show and i highly recommend it as an absolute must attend.

The second show that was equally as impressive but much more different was the dolphin beach. We all love dolphins since they're like human's best friends of the ocean. As i was growing up, I was told that sharks are bad since they would eat humans, and that dolphins and whales are good, since they would help humans. Well, moving away from my childhood, these dolphins are indeed very nice dolphins. Again, they are all very well-trained and did a flawless acting job. What was also very impressive here were the trainers that also acted throughout the show. the trainers and the dolphins worked together brilliantly and were always perfectly synchronised.

I mean, after all i've said about wet'n'wild and sea world, there's really no doubt about getting the pass. Just for $20 extra, you get unlimited access to all three parks up until the end of june. By all means, you're more than welcome to spend one week at wet'n'wild, a day at movie world and a day at sea world. the flexibility of the pass is an excellent asset for the price that you pay. at the end of the day, there's no better way to spend your time here in australia than being below the sun, soaking up the fun, and paying cheap for it!

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And now just for the overall experience here in gold coast, it would be a very big mistake if you don't spare any time to visit the most talked about area in the region: surfers paradise. This is the strip of beach running for kilometers hugging the shoreline of the country and it essentially is the very first view we could see from flying into the airport. This area is the heart and soul of the city, and this is where you should plan to come at least once during the day time and another period during the evening.

As you could see from the photo before, I was not lying to you when i said that the coastline of beach and water stretches for kilometers. This is one of the many views of the sandy beach, the sea, and the modern skyline that you could capture while taking a stroll on the beach. And this brings me to what you must do while you are here in gold coast. You must absolutely take off your footwear and start walking on the beach, for as far as you can. We were staying at sheraton mirage gold coast hotel, which is right on the water. With this, we took a walk all the way from surfers paradise back to the hotel, barefoot, kicking the sand and walking in the water. This was one of my fondest memories during our trip here, since there is a certain feeling of freedom and liberty when you walk back to the hotel, along the beach, with the sunset and the breeze just going right through you.

So that is one of the things you could do during day time, since it could potentially be a safety hazard if you do the same when it's all dark. But when the sun sets, wear something nice and head back to surfers paradise again.

After a long day at the amusement parks and soaking up the beautiful sun here in queensland, I would highly recommend that you get some dinner, and not just any type of dinner. What we got, and what was also one of the most authentic experience you could get here, is to stop by in a restaurant where steaks, seafood and french fries are the heart and soul. We stopped by one particular place, in which i can't remember the name, as usual, and ordered just that.

You can see exactly what i am referring to by looking at the photo. I'm talking about getting yourself some steak, because meat is always necessary if you're hungry, unless you don't consume meat. Then on top of that, we got some grilled prawns and seafood, with some battered, deep-fried calamari. With this, you will need some french fries and salad and you're on your way. Add as much ketchup and mayo as you require, and you're really on the right track for a perfect dinner here in surfers paradise. The value for money for this meal is also fantastic, as these places don't look to rip you off just because you're in a touristic area.

If you would like to be a bit more fancy and elegant —that is if your wallet still allows you to— then head over to the qt gold coast hotel. If you don't know where this is already, it's one of the tallest buildings around, and i am sure you will be able to find it without a problem (the full address is: 7 staghorn ave, gold coast qld 4217). I recommend this place because we were so, so close to going there for dinner and drinks afterwards. With its majestic height, it has got a spectacular view of the whole area, which is a definite added value. If you are already interested in this, I would suggest that you have a closer look into what else they offer —and the link is just down below!

There's no better way to end your day in gold coast than a walk along the esplanade, which is an easy link to other streets in the area. You will have no difficulty finding food, drinks and other things to do. If you're in luck, you might just be walking on the night of street salsa dancing, where the music is pumping, and so are the blood and heart. You are more than welcome to join in the fiesta, which is the best part! This should be free and open to anyone and everyone.

Otherwise, enjoy the traditional sounds of musical instruments of the native australians for a change.

All there is to do now is apply some sun screen, bring your sun glasses and a hat, and have a blast here in gold coast!

websites of interest:

• wet'n'wild, gold coast & sydney
• sea world, gold coast
• movie world warner brothers, gold coast
• vip magic pass (for all three amusement parks)
• qt gold coast hotel

If you like the content of this post, or just want to check out some pictures that i took on my adventure, feel free to like and/or follow me on instagram at oat93, cheers!