No one is swimming at Aquatica Orlando on this warm November night.

The lazy river and the kiddie pool are both strangely quiet.

Instead, the park’s paths are cast in a holiday glow with Christmas lights and lanterns shaped like animals in the water park’s new lantern festival called Illuminate .

“For the first time ever, we are transforming Aquatica into a nighttime dry experience where we’re not going to focus on water slides and pools. Instead, we’re going to focus on light, storytelling, and connection,” Park President Brad Gilmore said during a media event Tuesday night.

Kids can write letters to Santa, cook s’mores over a fire pit or ride a miniature train while mom and dad sip spiked hot cocoa for a little merriment of their own.

Aquatica Orlando’s Illuminate — the sp

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