AquaGlow after-hours party lights up Aquatica Orlando at night this Summer

Aquatica Orlando’s lazy river and water slides are still open for business when the hot sun disappears in the sky.

The Orlando water park is capitalizing on the Summer nighttime for its after-hours special ticketed event Aqua Glow.

For tourists and locals, it’s a chance to play in the water without dealing with the scorching sun and a break from the constant reapplying of sunscreen since the event ends at 11 p.m..

What’s new this year is AquaGlow entry begins at 4 p.m., so guests can come early ahead of the official 6 p.m. start time. 

This year, the park focused on details from themed bars with colorful-named specialty cocktails and installing neon decorations as well as adding more background music.

“There’s a lot of overlays,” said Brittany Antle, Entertainment Production Supervisor for the company’s three Orlando parks, during a recent interview. “So we’re adding lights, we’re adding photo ops. We are amping everything up to this level of glow where everywhere you turn, you’re going to be able to see in the dark.”

Behind the scenes, planning for AquaGlow has been in the works for months, Antle said.

Working in entertainment for a theme park means an unorthodox schedule.

“Sometimes we’re working quite early in the morning because we need to install things into the park before we open for the guests or sometimes we’re working late at night to make sure everything’s up and running,” Antle said.

Even though the event is well under way, Antle’s team still makes tweaks to add more details and color.

“We had our layout as we had planned and then we said, ‘Oh, but I think it would be great if we just added a few more extra touches here and there,’” Antle said.

The event, which includes laser shows, low wait times for water rides and a lazy river decorated with glowing accents, runs on select nights through Sept. 26.