Ever since she was little, my daughter has always been infatuated with marine life. Dolphins, sharks, stingrays, turtles... she loves them all. Ask her what she wants to be when she grows up and she’d say a marine biologist. So we take every opportunity to visit an aquarium and have even planned trips around her passion, like the year we traveled to St Pete/Clearwater for her birthday so she could see Winter from A Dolphin Tale.
We recently spent a long fall weekend at Myrtle Beach. In between lots of time spent at the shore, we incorporated a visit to Ripley’s Aquarium located at Broadway on the Beach. There were six main exhibits with lots of marine life and we enjoyed them all. The Shark Tunnel was our favorite by far and we went through it multiple times. Standing on the moving walkway, we were surrounded by thousands of sea creatures in the Dangerous Reef all around us; it almost felt like we were "under the sea" swimming right alongside them, but without getting wet! For a different vantage point, the aquarium offers a Glass Bottom Boat Adventure, a guided boat ride into the heart of the shark tank, the first and only experience of its kind in North America.
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Another unique experience at Ripley's Aquarium is the weekend mermaid show, with mermaids swimming among rays and sharks with music and facts weaved in. After the lively and educational performance, kids line the edge of Ray Bay to meet the mermaids and have their photos taken and also to touch and feed the animals. Other interactive experiences at the aquarium include touching horseshoe crabs and jellyfish, as well as displays, puzzles and multimedia in the Discovery Center.
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Ripley's Aquarium is filled with colorful, exotic and interesting creatures. We marveled at the coral reef of Rainbow Rock, the sea dragons, octopi, pufferfish and jellies in the Living Gallery, and of course the sharks, fish and turtles in the Dangerous Reef. Throughout the aquarium, we learned about marine life and conservation through informative signs and presentations. There was even an exhibit about Pearl Harbor with lots of information about World War II along with hands-on opportunities like peering through a periscope and climbing aboard a replica of the USS Arizona.
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Ripley's Aquarium at Myrtle Beach is a great attraction for a few hours of indoor fun. Round out the afternoon by visiting the other Ripley's attractions in the area, which include Ripley’s Believe It or Not Odditorium, Ripley's Haunted Adventure Laser Strike, Ripley's 5D Moving Theatre, Ripley's Marvelous Mirror Maze and Ripley's Super Fun Zone Arcade. Experience them all and save with a combo ticket when purchasing your aquarium admission. To learn more, visit ripleys.com/myrtlebeach.
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Disclosure: We received complimentary passes for the purpose of this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
