Mississippi Aquarium — Attraction in Gulfport

It was nice, very clean, but also very sparse. Dolphin tank was virtually impossible to see except at a VERY oblique and distanced angle. There was no "Guide" or signs telling you HOW to get to the dolphin tank - we only realized AFTER walking up the stairs - which, upon reaching the top of those stairs which was right THERE at said oblique angle best able to see them - while blocking or being blocked at top of stairs. As a 62 year old handicapped man using a cane, it was VERY difficult to climb those stairs - an elevator would have been great!! ( incidentally, the lower view of the dolphin tank was, nice, but, murky and, well, nothing to see!! ) - THEN we saw the Bird Enclosure - with an "exit" sign, which we had to walk AROUND to the other side ( which, had we of KNOWN, if there was a "Guide" to ask, it would have saved me that long painful stair climb!! ) to get to. As to the Bird Enclosure, it, to, was, nice, but very small, and very sparse, with only a small handful of birds, and, except for the last few large ones, most not able to be seen.

The first indoor touch-tank with the small fish and manta's and such was cute, if a bit small. The first indoor walk-down ramp was, nice. Kinda small, the tube of fish schooling was pretty neat, a bit different since I'd never seen one quite like it, with strictly schooling one species, and so many - just, kinda narrow -I did like it ( I did also like the pirate skeleton - the PARROT skeleton was a cute touch!! ). And, the walk down-and-around was, well, nice, but, kinda plain - nothing at all on the walls or floors but the occasional light & shadow of shark or manta - I SUPPOSE the blue light and wall/floor color was supposed to make it feel as if one were going down into the Ocean/Gulf depths, and, it was KINDA implied and somewhat inferred. If that's the case, it needs work!

The "Mermaid Show" was, nice. The tank was pretty tall/wide, nice interior design/layout, great fish display - but, it was kind of "suddenly there" at the bottom, with a wide open area and, over further out was a sectioned off walkway - which was not being utilized appropriately. Two "Guides" ( and only occasionally speaking out to encourage or point out the purpose of the line set-up! ), one at each end, with no one in between to usher folks along as it seems to be set up - people would either "try" to walk thru and get congested in bulk in the middle, while some would stay at the far corner and hold the optimal view of the "Mermaid", while others either waited too long, piled up in a clump in the middle, back-peddle back out of line or under the roped lines, or, like me and my wife, in the far-back wall, out of the way and away from the crowd, and, sadly, IN a poor area that had light reflections and hard to see areas because of that congestion of people blocking views.

Didn't bother to check out the food, too used to expensive, cheap foods over the years to bother - but the seating area was small but nice, and not too busy while I was there.

And, the gift shop was not too small, not too large, but, nice, and normal as far as gift shops go. I suppose prices were about the norm as well.

Liked the "Pirates", but thought there should either be more, or roam around more. Or perhaps some other types, with animals, or

All in all, this place was a bit pricey for what you get. And it seems like it COULD be MORE - a few more "Guides" to help, to inform ( especially the Mermaid and Dolphin tanks, which need work!!! ), pictures, or, lighting, something to give that circular walk-around more omph!!

The underground cave-like walls was really great, reminds me of one in the downtown Dallas, Tx., Aquarium - you might want to get some ideas from the layout they have - the 3 story waterfall they have MIGHT inspire - seems like you have space for something like THAT if you wanted, . . .

I'd say, to sum it up, its, nice, but, either it needs MORE for the money CHARGED - more zing!!, or, less cost for what...

I visited the Mississippi Aquarium because I had anticipated it opening since discovering a new aquarium was being built on the Mississippi coast. It is recommended that you pre-purchase your tickets or membership online as they are appointing entry times, at the time of purchase, to encourage social distancing. You are also required to wear a mask throughout the facility. There is covered parking available for $4.50. You are greeted by friendly staff at the entrance and you are given a map to guide you through the facility. Some of the exhibits are located in a large three story building, but the rest is outdoors so do be mindful of the weather when visiting. I would recommend starting outdoors and making your way indoors. Outside You weave through a series of ramps and walkways viewing the few animals located outdoors. There is also an aviary that you can walk through with many exotic and beautiful birds. On your trek outdoors be sure to spend a minute admiring the beauty of the bottle nosed dolphins. There is an outdoor cafe, however it is not the best place to eat if it's too cold/hot, or raining. The indoors portion consists of three stories where you begin your tour on the third floor where there is a touch pool and the open part of the large gulf tank. You can purchase tickets to dive in the gulf tank where you walk across an acrylic walkway while feeding the fish food provided by the scuba diver. The touch pool is divided into a smaller and larger touch pool. There are many small crustaceans, non stinging anemones, rays, fish, and sea urchins found in the touch pool. After visiting the touch pools you slowly work your way down to the first floor where you can view the gulf tank from many different angles and walk through the acrylic tunnel. Heads up, the walkway creaks and can seem a bit scary while messing with your equilibrium a bit. There are many tunnels that run under the tanks that are designed for children to get a better experience, but are large enough to fit adults. The indoor portion ends at the gulf exhibit where you get a full view of all of the fish in the tank and even the divers. One fun fact you should know is that the famous sand tiger shark, Stella, can be found in this exhibit. Stella was found with an abnormal spine. Veterinarians discovered Stella had a fractured spine which was repaired with a team effort. The team consisted of orthopedic specialists in veterinary medicine and human medicine. Stella now swims in the gulf exhibit after healing and only has a curve in her spine which is barely visible. This curve can be seen behind her dorsal fin. Before you exit the aquarium there is a gift shop with many neat trinkets and gifts. The tour itself did not take very long (approximately an hour) and there are ramps and elevators for those who are disabled or mom's with children in strollers. The cost of the aquarium seemed overpriced, but after considering the cost of construction, maintenance, care, feed, and staff the cost seemed sensible. There is a keeper stationed at each exhibit and are happy to answer any questions you may have. The facility was well maintained and very clean. Hand sanitizer is stationed at every corner thought the buildings. I would definitely recommend visiting the Mississippi aquarium however I would not recommend driving from a...

After seeing this new aquarium on and off in the local media cycle for a couple years, we finally made the venture. What did we like? The overall campus is laid out very thoughtfully. The Aquatic Wonders pavilion is just one large tank, yet the multi-story building makes it feel much bigger. The slight elevation change to the campus was neat and the exhibits were all clean and well maintained. The Changing Tides pavilion was closed when we attended, although they are supposedly adding new exhibits in there scheduled to open later this year.

This aquarium is not an all-day experience, so plan accordingly. I would say the typical family can anticipate spending about two hours here on average. We were done with everything in about 90 minutes, which included attending three different animal shows, but managed to stretch it out to two hours by walking through the Aquatic Wonders pavilion for a second time. There is an on-site restaurant, although we did not eat there as it had pretty modest long lines. If there was more to see and do we may have considered eating at the restaurant and extended our stay. The pricing feels right for a two hour experience (compared to other attractions at similar pricing). If you preorder online you can save some money. I did not know until after I already booked my tickets, but parking is in a paid garage (only knew this after my ticket confirmation email said the parking situation). Unfortunately the "all day" parking pricing bracket (doubling in price) is inconveniently right at the two hour mark, which is about what the average group will spend at this attraction.

The animal shows were all relatively short, less than 10 minutes each, and there was no dedicated seating for any of the shows. Animal wise, they are limited in what they have. What felt missing to me was a coral reef type exhibit with tropical fish and live coral. There were no manatees (surprising to me) and no penguins (although you can pay for an upcharge experience with penguins). That said, the potential at this campus is massive, and I cannot wait to see what they add in the future. There is great possibilities here, and it's a clean, well-maintained campus that is worth visiting for a...