acuario miami — Attraction in Miami

Miami Seaquarium is legendary. However, I must share that I wasn't too impressed with our visit today. The young lady at the front (African-American girl with braids/glasses) barely spoke to us above a whisper and seemed visibly annoyed when I asked her for assistance in accessing my Groupon tickets. Listen, I know my people well, and I could clearly tell this girl was disinterested, irritable and made no effort to even look into my direction. There was NOTHING friendly about her, and I assure you she is the not the type of employee who should work the front. The young man who worked at the entryway was kind enough, but every time I looked up, he had vanished. This was super inconvenient as we were trying to figure out how to rent the Rideables. I had to actually call him back a few times to request instructions. The rest of the park was somewhat vacant when we arrived (albeit early), but considering the cost of the tickets (including the whopping $20 parking fee we discovered later), I'm surprised this place has become so run-down. Five minutes in, we were consumed by mosquitoes. We could actually see them devouring our arms and legs. I literally had to run back to my vehicle where, thank GOD, I had an emergency can of bug spray stored. I'm simply not understanding why more effort hasn't been invested into a widespread mosquito spray service - especially for what this place is charging. The dolphin show was really fun, but there seemed to be a smaller quantity of these animals compared to our last visit in 2016. The seal show was comparatively banal, and I was hoping the promise of a few splashes toward the audience would compensate for the older seal who refused to slap the water along with his trainer. I'd say a good 80% of the show was relegated to seal facts, fish-bit tosses and repetitive tricks. Don't get me wrong...I truly enjoyed learning about these amazing animals, but audiences are paying for variegated tricks with less educational filler. The older seals (not "Salsa") also looked tired - and after a while, everything became kind of boring. We then visited the two reef and tropical aquariums which also seemed more vacant and unkempt. Dirty glass, algae buildup on the walls and a few tropical fish were the sole highlights. Even our final attempt to visit the gift shop seemed a waste. The previous inventory from 2016 that included thousands of plush toys, ocean life collectibles, water bottles, bags, etc. was now reduced to a few minor trinkets. I initially wondered if the store was, in fact, a hybrid administrative office.

Overall, a wonderful place...but I sure wish it could emulate the Miami Seaquarium we grew up with...

It sorta saddens me to give this a bad review, as I wanted it to be the fun place from my youth. But out of everything,we enjoyed the two touch tank areas the most. They are grossly understaffed and the staff that is there isn't super polite or helpful or anything. I went there with my Summer Savings Pass, so we didn't pay full price. It was $10 additionally, just to park. And if I was one of the people who did pay full-price, I'd be pretty angry. The dolphins apparently weren't wanting to perform at the show we went to. But instead of telling us that at the beginning, they just let us sit through waiting for it to start & then a 20 minute lecture about dolphins - in the blazing sun - only to find out there wouldn't be a show. I'm not sure why they didn't just tell us not to come in and sit down. But the stands were packed and they never mentioned it, just talked for 20 mins then told us to come back to another show time. There's a super unkempt splashpad area with sitting water, which made me nervous for what the kids were gonna get from that putrid water. The cafeteria style food venue has ridiculously long lines (again, understaffed) and we chose what we wanted off the menu while standing in line for a half hour, only to find out they we "out of" those things. So then we had to repick what we wanted while standing up there. And it wasn't exactly cheap. Then once we paid ($45 for one adult & 2 kids meals), there was nowhere to sit. We wandered around inside and outside looking for a table. Same issue at the end of the day when we wanted ice cream. 20+ minute line, because there was one person working it all - cashier and food service (which just seems unsanitary to me). Then after the 2 families in front of us got their food (or left out of frustration) we got up there & found out they were out of almost everything again. We gave up on ice cream at that point. The orca show was nice. The kids enjoyed getting soaked (bring a towel if you plan to go in that section). But honestly - as much as I hate to admit it - I'd rather go 4 hours north to Sea World and spend a day doing all sorts of things, than to go there again. Which I feel bad saying, cause I'd rather support my local seaquarium. But I don't think it's worth the cost of admission for my kids to see one show & go to touch tanks. The kids are young enough that they still had a decent day. But I wouldn't go again, unless the management does a total rehaul of the staff, cleaning,...

Miami Seaquarium is a very special place for our family. My husband and I went there the day we got engaged almost 25 years ago, and since then we have made several repeat trips and also taken our children there. When we were last there in December 2023, they were protesters outside, which we thought was very strange.

I know that some people are very upset that the killer whale Lolita passed away. However, what people are not looking into is that female orcas typically live to be about 50 years old in the wild. At Miami Seaquarium, she was able to live to be 53. She would not be able to do this without good care. She would have died much earlier. We should not be surprised that she died because that was her life expectancy!

Also, we always see that the Seaquarium staff is very caring toward their animals. Without the Seaquarium, almost all children would never get the opportunity to see dolphins, sea lions, and other animals up close and in person. Our adult children and younger ones loved the dolphin encounter. It was the experience of a lifetime. They provided such wonderful photos there also.

The iconic Flipper exhibit is very nice and brings back memories of when it was on reruns on Nick at Nite TV when I was a child.

The other day I checked the website and I was very happy to see that they are still open. The city has tried to end their lease in April. I am glad the Seaquarium is still fighting. The city has NOT treated them properly or given them money for years, for upgrades or to make habitats how they evidently would like to see them. The Seaquarium has rescued many animals and should be commended. It is time for the city and Mayor of Miami to start treating the Seaquarium with the respect and dignity it deserves. We also want to see them start giving it the funding that it needs—and making the problem better, rather than just wanting to shut it down.

I urge people to go and visit this Seaquarium and support it. Sign up for their summer camps if you live locally! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. And...