Why We Keep Going Back for the Crispy Fish Sandwich at Aquatica Orlando
We review the Crispy Fish Sandwich Aquatica Orlando fans order again and again, from Waterstone Grill, including price, portion, and taste notes.
Aquatica Orlando doesn’t get nearly as much dining coverage as the nearby theme park, SeaWorld Orlando. However, that doesn’t mean the food isn’t worth talking about. We’ve covered plenty of it, and if you ask us what to order on a hot Florida afternoon, the answer hasn’t changed in years: the Crispy Fish Sandwich at Waterstone Grill.
We were back at the waterpark this September to use our free, one-time entrée that comes with an Aquatica Orlando pass. That perk only applies to one meal, so we don’t take the choice lightly. The Crispy Fish Sandwich remains our go-to. It’s part of the All-Day Dining Plan at Aquatica Orlando, which is a nice bit of irony considering the same sandwich isn’t included on the plan at Lakeside Grill over at SeaWorld Orlando.
Ordered on its own, the sandwich runs $17.79, which is less than Waterstone Grill’s cheeseburger entrée and, frankly, a better use of your appetite than another theme park burger. It comes standard with fries, though we’ve had luck asking for a mac and cheese swap on previous visits.
The Crispy Fish Sandwich Aquatica Orlando Review
Let’s get the fries out of the way first, since they’re the least interesting part of the plate. These are the standard United Parks seasoned fries you’ll find across SeaWorld’s parks. They’re fine. Not bad, not memorable. At a waterpark, that’s about the ceiling of what you should expect from a basket of fries that’s been sitting under a heat lamp between waterslide laps.
The sandwich is why we keep coming back. The fish itself is better than the average quick-service fried fish, and the batter does its job without burying the fish underneath it. Like most quick-service fried fish, the batter gets a little crispy at the edges, which is a minor and fairly common trade-off for the format.
Is it a Good Sign That the Crispy Fish Sandwich Aquatica Orlando Was Served Upside Down?
On this visit, the sandwich arrived upside down, bun on the bottom instead of the top, which made for a slightly awkward first bite. We were also asked whether we wanted cheese, tartar sauce, or both. We said yes to everything. The cheese was standard United Parks cheese, which is to say it’s there more for the idea of cheese than the flavor of it. The tartar sauce, on the other hand, was applied with a heavy hand, and eating the sandwich upside down meant it wound up smeared across both hands by the time we finished. Somehow, messy hands and all, it tasted better this way.
Photo by Jon Self
We will say the fish quality and preparation have been a notch better on past visits, this one included a bit more of that crispy batter edge than we’d like. It’s a small dip, not a dealbreaker, and this is still one of the more satisfying quick-service entrées at Aquatica Orlando.
It also says something about the state of quick-service dining at Aquatica Orlando that the fish sandwich is the standout, at a park built around SeaWorld’s animal care and conservation mission. We won’t read too much into it. The fish on the menu is decidedly not the fish in the tanks, and we’ll leave the deeper irony there for you to sit with.
The Good
- Filling, generous portion size for the price
- A genuine alternative to the usual burger, chicken tenders, or pizza lineup at a theme park
- Fish quality above the quick-service average
The Not-So-Good
- Batter gets a bit crispy at the edges, as is common with quick-service fried fish
- Standard, unremarkable United Parks cheese and fries
- Generously applied tartar sauce makes for a messy, two-handed situation, especially if your sandwich shows up upside down
Worth noting: this visit was on a weekday during Florida’s off-season, which tends to mean shorter kitchen wait times and, in our experience, fresher batches coming out of the fryer. Whether that affected this particular sandwich, we can’t say for certain, but it’s a variable worth factoring in if you’re planning your own visit.
More Aquatica Orlando Dining Coverage
- Sunrise Sips and Scoops at Aquatica Orlando Review
- Doritos Nachos Supreme at Kiwi Market Review
- Buffalo Chicken Fries: A Saucy Snack Review
- Aquatica Orlando Chicken Wrap Review at Mango Market
- Aquatica Orlando Restaurant Change: Paninis Out, Papa’s Pizza In
For more theme park dining reviews, visit MSM News every weekday at noon Eastern Time. Additionally, we sometimes post bonus theme park dining reviews. As always, eat like you mean it!
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