but not one water drinking fountain for there patrons.
We ended our mini-vacation to Riverhead at Atlantis.
A family of 5, 2 adults, 3 children enter Atlantis when they open, on a HOT Saturday afternoon. We are greeted at the entrance by some people taking pictures. We enter the facility and pay at the cashier's. We stroll around the 1st leg of the facility, and there is plenty to see, we are all having a good time checking out the animals.
The next leg we venture outside by the sea lions and are walking around for a bit in the hot sun. The kids say they are getting thirsty, so we head back inside to look for a water drinking fountain. We cannot locate one anywhere, even look near the restrooms. After looking a little longer I asked a few employees where I can locate a water drinking fountain. None of them can direct me to one. As we are talking to one a manager type person happens to stroll by. I ask her about the drinking fountain and she directs me to the cafe.
We venture over to the cafe and find plenty of water on both the buffet line and also in the vending machines. Water is $2.75 a bottle. I ask one of the employees in the cafe about water, and they tell me they only have bottled water, or directs me to a hose outside by the sea lions. I end up buying water, but I feel like I have just been extorted for additional money. After paying eighty something dollars to enter this facility, I cannot believe they do not have such a common amenity as a water fountain. You have people, young and old, walking around in the hot sun. People can get heat stroke for crying out loud. They have water fountains in public parks, where people enter for free, but not at Atlantis.
Huge corporations have donated TONS of money to this place, why not have one of them donate some $$$$ for a water fountain or 3 and give them a nice placard - "Water fountain donated by North Fork Bank".
In my opinion this place is not worth it. Go to the Bronx Zoo, The Aquarium in Brooklyn or any other place where they at least have the decency to provide common amenities for patrons. I am surprised they did not have a lock on the bathroom door where you need to put money in to unlock it and use the facilities. I probably just gave them another extortion scheme!
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