Myatt's Travels: August 2012

The Atlantis, Bahamas August 2012

Back Story:

2012
I have been to The Atlantis 3 times before this trip, but it had been 10 years since I had been there and my wife and I still hadn't been on our honeymoon after getting married 7 months ago. So I had the perfect surprise in store - a trip to the Atlantis.

Our flight left Las Vegas at 6:00am so I set the alarm for 2:00am, factoring in our 2 hour drive. When the alarm went off and I reached over to wake up Liz, telling her that I had a date planned for us, she looked at me in a questioning way, as if to ask, "Are you talking in your sleep?" After we got out of bed she actually pointed at the alarm clock and said, "Do you know it's 2:00am?"

We hit the road at 3:15am and I would offer little tidbits of info to throw her off, such as, "What time is Alley's (her daughter) swim meet?" and "We need to get where we're going before the sun comes up" and "is this new (St George) exit the exit to the (St George) airport?" Then as I passed the exit to the St George Airport, she was even more confused.

When we got to the Las Vegas airport, I realized that I would finally have to tell her our final destination because I had foolishly made the ticket in her new married name and her passport was still in her previous name. When I told her where we were going, she didn't believe me!

2014
I talked with Liz about taking the girls to the Bahamas this summer since Lindsay, our oldest, might be doing other things the next summer. We decided to surprise the kids, similarly to how I had surprised Liz. Liz was more than happy to be a part of the surprise this time. We got all the kids passports the previous summer so they wouldn't suspect much a year later. Then we planned a "family campout" for the end of summer and told all the kids the dates of it. Our flight left Las Vegas at 9:10pm on July 31st and I had to work that morning. About 4:00pm we left for our camping trip, me wearing my flannel shirt and hiking hat. We had also stuffed sleeping bags in the car and other camping gear to throw them off. I took them to a surprise dinner at Outback Steakhouse and on the way to our car after eating, I pretended to get a call from our campground with the jest of the call being that we had missed our check in time to the camp ground and that they had given away our spot. When I got off the phone, you could hear a pin drop in the car. Then I said, "looks like it's time for plan B" and I handed them folders with information on the Atlantis in them. They were so excited that Jenna, my 11 year old, even got teary-eyed. It was a priceless surprise!

Aquaventure:

Major changes had taken place since I had been there 10 years ago. Four new slides were added as well as the addition of a not-so-lazy river and many pools. Before you can enter the Aquaventure, you must have a wristband given to you which is done at any of the many poolside booths. You just show the worker your room key and give them your room number and then they ask you how many wristbands you need (everyone that needs a wrist band must be present) and how many towels you need.

The original water slides consist of The Leap of Faith, The Serpent Slide, The Challenger Slide, and The Jungle Slide. These slides are found in the Mayan Temple.

Leap of Faith: This is a 60 foot basically free fall, followed by a fast tour through the shark tank and out into a shallow pool. I haven't gone on this because it's not my cup of tea, but Liz went on it twice. You go so fast through the shark tank that you can't see much of it, but if thrill seeking water slides are your thing, the Leap of Faith is rivaled only by The Abiss, which I'll describe later. The lines for this were always very long, usually about a 25 minute wait.

The Serpent Slide: This is an inner tube ride that winds through a tunnel for most of the ride before culminating by spitting you out into the shark tank where you are able to watch sharks swim all around you as you float slowly by. This is my favorite water slide because of the shark viewing. The lines for this are long, usually about a 20 minute wait.

The Challenger Slide: This is a fast side-by-side water slide where you "race" against someone and how quickly you make it to the bottom is timed (usually taking just over 5 seconds. I went on it, but it's a little fast for my taste. The line is really short to this, usually about 5 minutes or less.

The Jungle Slide: This is a more tame slide that gets it's name from winding through a jungle setting full of lush plants. The entire slide is outside. The line for this slide is really short but it still takes a while as you have to wait until the person who goes in front of you finishes the slide.

All four of the Mayan Temple lines start at the same spot and it can get a little congested if you want to try to get to the start of the challenger slide or the Jungle slide, as you have to squeeze by people standing in line for the Leap of Faith.

The new slides include the four found in the Power Tower - The Abiss, The Falls, The Drop, and the Surge.

The Abiss: This is an intense free fall in the dark. Needless to say, I didn't go on it but Liz decided to give it a try. When she was finished, she said she'd never do it again. The ride starts at the top of the Power Tower with spectacular views of the surrounding Paradise Island. You start by entering, for lack of a better description, a large coffin. As we were in line for the Surge, we watched people get in and then as they started off into the pitch blackness, would hear screams start very loud and then get fainter and fainter until they were inaudible. It comes out into a neat underground pool surrounded by fish tanks. The line is long for this ride, maybe 25 minutes.

The Surge: This is an inner tube ride that starts atop the Power Tower right next to where the Abiss starts. It starts outside with 2 large drops and then a jet powered stream of water shoots you uphill where you enter a tunnel and wind around for most of the rest of the slide. My favorite part of the ride is after you get out of the tunnel, you are funneled into a river full of rapids, surrounded by tropical plants that eventually meets up with the Current (an extreme lazy river ride). We waited for about 40 minutes in line for this ride.

The Drop: Access to The Drop is through the Current. It's a fun wait in line as you can just float on your inner tube until a large conveyor belt takes you up into the center of the Power Tower where the slide begins with a drop through darkness. It was a fun slide other than my feet hitting the sides of the tunnel in the darkness, giving me an uneasy feeling that maybe I was too tall for the ride. The wait was long - maybe 25 minutes - but enjoyable because you're not on your feet.

The Falls: Like the Drop, access to the Falls is through the Current also. At the top of the conveyor belt, you can choose either the Drop or the Falls. Both rides are very similar, as you are on an inner tube, traveling fast through tunnels, although the Falls is a bit more inside a tunnel. Wait time is the same as the Drop - about 25 minutes.

The Current: My favorite part of Aquaventure is the Current. It is a mile long not-so-lazy river ride that is filled with rapids, tunnels, and waves. It can get very crowded during the middle of the day - especially with empty inner tubes that have been abandoned by guests getting out, but too lazy to put their tubes away. An inner tube is mandatory for the river which is strictly enforced by the many life guards along the way. There are maybe a half dozen entry points to the Current.

The Lazy River: The Lazy river is located over by the Beach Tower and is a quarter mile long true lazy river where you can just sit back, relax, and enjoy some quiet.

Splashers: Splashers is a young kid themed water adventure playground with slides, water cannons, etc, and surrounded by a shallow (3 foot) kids pool. Perfect for young children 6 and under.

There are also 20 pools throughout the water park which makes finding a place to cool off very easy.

The Hotels of the Atlantis:

The Royal Towers: All four times I have been to the Atlantis, I have stayed in the Royal Towers. In this visit, we stayed in the West Tower, on floor 11. The West Tower is the closest tower to the Aquaventure. I payed a little extra for a water view and it was awesome! Our view was of Paradise Lagoon in the fore ground along with Predator Lagoon, the Coral Towers and Atlantis Beach in the background. The room was adequate. There was no refrigerator or microwave - probably because they want you spending money on the outrageously priced food. The bathtub wouldn't hold water and the shower head left much to be desired. There was also no complementary Internet access although we were allowed 15 minutes of access per day at the Atlantis Library, located in the Coral Towers. But the only time we spent in the room was to make lunch and to sleep. The Royal Towers close proximity to the Aquaventure cannot be beat either! It is also very close to The Dig, an extremely cool marine habitat; the Casino, if gambling's your thing; the Mandara Spa; and Dolphin Cay. It is a long walk to get to most eating places, and to the Atlantis Movie Theatre however.

The Coral Towers: The Coral Towers are probably the most central place to everything, although it would be a little walk to get to the Aquaventure. It is very close to many eating places, the Library, the Movie Theatre, the Casino, and the Lazy River.

The Beach Tower: The Beach Tower is probably the farthest away from the Aquaventure and it would be a considerable walk to get there, especially if you are planning on going back and forth to the hotel room a few times during the day. It is very close to the Movie Theatre.

The Cove Atlantis: This is one of the newer buildings and was not here when I was at the Atlantis 10 years ago. It is very close to Cove Beach which is an ideal place to snorkel and see all sorts of tropical fish and marine life along a reef. It is also close to the Baths Colonnade Pool (my favorite pool) and reasonably close to the Aquaventure. There are a few places to eat around the Cove Atlantis but I'm not sure about their prices.

The Reef Atlantis: The Reef Atlantis is also a newer building. It is close to Paradise Beach and Dolphin Cay but that's about it. It would be a pretty long walk to get to the Movie Theatre, Library, and Aquaventure.

If budget permits, I recommend staying at the Royal Towers because of their central location.

Travel

Getting to and from the Airport can be done by Taxi, Limo, or through a tour shuttle. We used Dan Knowles Tours and were pleased with them. It is about a 40 minute ride from the Airport to the Atlantis. In 2014, we used Jermaine's taxi and tours. We thought he was great.

Things to do

We had the most fun snorkeling in Cove Beach. We saw all sorts of tropical fish including French Grunt, Squirrelfish, Sergeant Major, Bluehead Wrasse, Angelfish, and even a Trigger fish. We also saw a couple of sea urchins and an eel.

In the past I've taken a water taxi over to Nassau (about $3 each way) to look at the shops and to eat. The Dig is an amazing collection of marine life that is found in the Royal Towers. The Atlantis Movie Theatre offers free movies to it's guests every night (usually 3 a night - 5:30, 7:45, and 10:30). We saw, Journey 2, Sherlock Holmes 2, and John Carter while we were there. There are more adult themed movies at 10:30, if that is your thing. If you enjoy the nightlife, there are also a couple of night clubs and lounges, although I have not been to any of them. There are also many things for little kids including the Atlantis Speedway where kids can build and race remote control cars and the Atlantis Kids Adventure. There is also a Spa, fitness center, rock wall for climbing, and many shops.While we were there in 2012, we did a Stingray Adventure where we got to feed stingrays and then snorkel with them and some sharks in the Water's Edge Lagoon. There are also Dolphin and Sea Lion interaction programs as well. For sports enthusiasts, there are tennis courts close to the Reef Atlantis and the spectacular Ocean Club golf course is just a short shuttle drive away. On my previous three visits, I played the Ocean Club Golf Course each time. If you're a golfer, you don't want to miss out on playing this picturesque course!

Dolphin Cay

On our return to the Atlantis in 2014 with 4 of our kids, we planned a deep water swim with the dolphins. We paid about $150 for this per person, although normal price is about $190. Liz and the girls LOVED it! I thought it was a great experience but enjoyed the Stingray snorkel and feeding we did in 2012 better. Because we had a newborn, 2 of us went in the morning and 3 went in the afternoon. This worked out perfect because those of us who were watching Judi (our baby) could take pictures of the other group that was swimming with the dolphins. Because we have a nice camera with a zoom lens, we got some really good pictures, but yet we still paid the $119 for the photos taken by Atlantis staff. We figured it was a once in a lifetime thing so we better have memories. One note here - in the morning when they told me about the picture package, I was told that I could get both the morning and afternoon swims on the same thumb drive for $119. After the afternoon swim when we went to get the pictures, I was told that I needed to pay an extra $50 to add the afternoon pictures to the morning pictures. After explaining that I had been told otherwise, they reluctantly gave in and didn't charge me extra. The experience starts with everyone being issued snorkel gear - which you get to keep - a wetsuit, and a locker. After getting changed, we went into an orientation room where a trainer showed us a video and explained in a heavy bohemian accent the do's and don'ts of our adventure for about 15 minutes. There are 3 orientation rooms and 3 different pools where you swim with the dolphins. We were in orientation room and pool 2. After orientation, it's time to go swim with the dolphins. There was another group of people in pool 2 with us. A group of people is limited to 6 people for the deep water swim. Our group first took pictures with the dolphins in the shallow water. This included hugging and kissing the dolphin. We then did the dolphin push where you get on a boogie board, paddle a few feet into the deep water, and then wait for the dolphin to come behind you and start pushing you with his nose on your foot. It was a cool experience. After that we were given fan-like machines to help propel us through the water to swim with the dolphin. I used mine for a short while, but actually found free swimming to be easier than swimming with the machine so I put it on the side of the pool. This was the most disappointing part of the experience as our group basically just waited in a half circle as the trainer sent the dolphin around and around to us. I would have preferred to be able to just swim with the dolphin. The experience lasted about an hour and 15 minutes. Overall, I'm glad we did it but I probably won't do it again.

Eating

Having been there before, I knew how outrageous food prices are there. Most restaurants are at least $30 per plate. So I packed oatmeal and doughnuts for breakfast, peanut butter and jelly and bread for lunch, and then we went out to dinner each night. We ate at Murray's Deli every night which has a few options (chicken fingers, hamburgers, or open sandwiches) for about $18 a plate. The portions there are large and we left full every night. We did stop by Marketplace to look at the food and compare prices. It is a buffet style eatery with very appetizing food. It was $30 per person or $56 for 2 people. In 2014, we ate at Murray's Deli every night again and bought some hot dogs at Shark Bites one day as well. The hot dogs were large, but $10. Most of the restaurants don't have strict dress requirements but a few of the fancier one's do.

Pictures