Clearwater Marine Aquarium — Attraction in Clearwater

We truly love the mission of Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Their focus on conservation and rehabilitation over entertainment is inspiring, and we’re grateful for the work they do. That said, there are definitely areas where the guest experience could grow.

Accessibility for sensory sensitivities The “social story” resource leaves out important details. For example, right after tickets are scanned, multiple photo sessions take place with flashing lights and expected poses—something that could overwhelm a guest with sensory sensitivities. Construction also makes it unclear which areas are designated headphone zones or quiet retreats. A sensory map with clear symbols (like the one at the St. Pete Museum of Fine Arts) would be a huge help. For instance, the otter area is extremely loud, crowded, and smelly, but there was no advance warning. It would also be helpful if guests could pick up a sticker or pin from Guest Services to discreetly let staff know when someone has sensory sensitivities. We brought our own supplies and didn’t need a sensory bag, but because of that we weren’t “flagged,” and staff sometimes misread neurodiverse nonverbal cues. One group member—who had no behavioral issues, just significant discomfort—was unintentionally cornered socially by a staff member who didn’t pick up on their nonverbal cues.

Wheelchair accessibility With one of the elevators currently closed, a large portion of the aquarium isn’t accessible to wheelchair users. Unfortunately, this isn’t disclosed until after tickets are purchased, which makes it feel more “buyer beware” than the transparent, guest-centered approach I know this nonprofit strives for. Advance notice—either on the website or at the entrance—would help visitors plan more realistically. Additionally, one staff member made an inappropriate joke about another guest’s wheelchair, which was disappointing and felt out of step with the Aquarium’s otherwise inclusive mission.

Club Wyndham presence The Club Wyndham team stationed on the first floor by the Window of Wonder is very persistent. Their purple polos say Clearwater Marine Aquarium on the front, but the sleeve says Wyndham, which was confusing. We actually missed part of the dolphin program because even after politely declining twice, the representative just kept talking to us. It took away from the experience.

Program content The Turtle Odyssey show is a wonderful choice for children—engaging, educational, and age-appropriate. However, the Ocean Wonder show is much better suited for adults due to graphic imagery and heavier thematic content. Clearer labeling or advance notice would help families choose programming that fits their group.

Improvements worth noting On the positive side, we really appreciate the new stanchions in front of the Window of Wonder. The view is unobstructed, no fingerprints, and it’s so much easier to enjoy. It’s also reassuring to know the Aquarium reads reviews and adapts based on guest feedback—thank you for listening. :)

Overall, we deeply support Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s mission and hope these suggestions help make the experience even more accessible, inclusive, and enjoyable for...

We bought a membership last weekend & visited on Saturday. Parking was easy on 3rd floor deck & you walk right into the lobby. Even with a membership the short line took a while. On a Saturday morning there were only 2 people & They’re helping people decide how many tickets what they wanna go see plan which extra stuff they want. And needs to be a person dedicated to memberships And more than two people on a Saturday morning overall. Then, as soon as you have your tickets, you walk around the desk to go in, and there are people with cameras that you don’t know where they are there Who start barking instructions at you. Apparently they want to take a nice family photo, which was a very nice touch, But my hands are still full of receipts and tickets and trying to put things away. I didn’t want to do that at the desk because the line was so long. I didn’t want to hold up the next people.. They seemed a little put out that I would not drop what I was doing and take a picture right away. It did sour the whole experience because we start the visit with somebody barking at us and then unhappy with us. Then we Decided to go outside because you can see the big tank right there. The exhibits were nice. They were very well taken care of. The people manning the animals were pleasant & Knowledgeable . And they happily interacted with people. I do like how they put the animals on Touch breaks so they weren’t overwhelmed. And they were very nice when they explained what was going on . The only issue we had with the Experience inside was that it very difficult to navigate your way around. There are signs, but they point in general directions. I’m sure after we go three or four times we will learn our way around, but if you are a one time visitor to the area, this was not easy to navigate. Also, I have no idea if we actually saw everything. I’m sure there are maps, but we didn’t see any. I think there is one online. When it was time for us to leave, there is no clearly marked way out. It’s a very meandering and nothing says like this way to exit to the parking garage. It was a little frustrating. Two staff members were very nice and helped us find our way out and said yes they have to do this every day 15 times because no one can find their way out. We bought a membership so obviously we will be going back. Again, the aquarium itself was very, very clean And the people with the animals...

We were in the area on vacation and decided to visit the aquarium because it was raining and we couldn’t go to the beach. It was easy to find and we waited about 10 mins in line to buy tickets. We paid $189.50 for two adult tickets, two kid tickets, and one senior ticket. They do not do FL resident discounts year round, so that was disappointing. For this price, we expected to spend several hours looking at the exhibits; however, we left after 1.5 hours. The exhibits were EXTREMELY disappointing. Several were shut down due to renovations/updates, and we were not told this when purchasing tickets. There was no announcement on their website or any other social media site to let us know about the lack of exhibits. Other exhibits were sparsely stocked and ended up being large fish tanks intermittently spaced out in large open spaces with nothing between them. Anything of substance that you may want to do costs extra and reminded us of arcade games- there is a jelly fish virtual reality section, a booth you can stand in to feel wind, a small fenced area to pet capybaras, etc. Maybe the dolphin experiences are worth the extra costs? There’s few signs and no method to the madness when trying to determine which area you should see first. There are 4 floors with the exhibits, but you don’t actually know what’s on each floor, and there are random stair cases in and outside that lead to various entry points for each level. Due to so many exhibits being closed and limited directions and signage, we often found ourselves wondering aimlessly, hoping we would randomly find exhibits. The senior member of our party required an elevator to move between floors, with only one working area in the entire place. All other elevators were blocked off, making maneuvering increasingly difficult. There were also areas of the aquarium without air conditioning. Not sure if this was due to the renovations or if this is the norm. Either way, it was miserable. Finally, we ended our trip in the food court, but only got a fountain drink, as we could not justify spending more money for such a disappointing trip. We considered asking for our money back, as we felt like we threw away funds that could have been better spent elsewhere. We also felt foolish for spending so much money on a sub par experience. PSA: If you’ve ever been to the TN or GA aquarium, DO NOT COME HERE. It will make you just as...