Miami Seaquarium — Attraction in Miami

I went here years ago on a miami trip for my birthday. It was pretty sketchy then but lots to do .....but now it's just terrible. I felt like an animal abuser just buying a ticket and contributing to their absolute obvious mistreatment of animals.

Everything was filthy. Rules seem to be random. Some staff tries to put on a good face and be kind, but they do not seem knowledgable at all on marine life. Very shocking.

Place seems half shut down. It was odd. So i Looked online and was HORRIFIED at the media releases on animal abuse and violations. I take anything I read with a grain of salt, but actually seeing the place and reading all the information available.....it's undeniable.

Apparently seaquarium is trying to push the narrative that their eviction is a "land grab" and has nothing to do with HUNDREDS of deaths and violations. Many VERY recently. But their narrative doesn't make ANY sense as the land is protected and is zoned for parks. There wouldn't be any potential for financial gain for decades because of the state the facility is in. It would cost more money to demolish, repair or rebuild than is feasible. Seaquarium is grasping at straws.

I've been all over the world, resorts in mexico take better care of their animals!!! And they have less protection than we have is the US.

This company was ordered to evict, date is long past. And they refuse. The sad part is some care is better than no care. The local government isn't exactly equipped to safely relocate all the animals in a timely manner. They would have to arrange non profit and activist work, as well as secure funding far in advance to be able to just shut them down without causing nearly instant marine wildlife deaths. Allowing there doors open is a slow death to those poor creatures, I suppose the county is weighing there limited options.

What an absolute disgusting business. To have legit standing eviction orders and refuse eviction, because they KNOW the local programs are not equipped to save the animals.

And because the general population won't understand, if they shut the doors overnight those animals will die, and everyone will blame local officials for not evacuating them. ...the government won't act.

Seaquarium knows this. It is manipulative disgraceful business tactics.

Shame on you.

Please do not support this park. In this day and age we should all know better.

It's obvious by the disrepair, lack of business, lack of exhibits and animals that they are falling fast. Do not contribute to their abuse.

I'm so haunted by what I saw, I'm literally trying to find ways to bring more awareness to this situation. Tourists have no idea of the nasty things they have done. I'm nit even an activist or protestor. But it was THAT horrifying to witness...... Im legitimately considering to ask everyone I know to research this place and leave a review reflecting the truth to STOP the tourism, as a birthday gift instead of money.

This place needs to be shut down, owner face charges for neglect and abuse, and animals relocated safely to facilities that have LICENSED staff(forgot to mention I don't think they have an actual.veterinariun staff qualified for the job, let alone tools to really care for them). Allow the county to do something good for the community with this lan instead of a mold infested death sentence on marine life! Many of the animals in captivity (most have literally died) were captured by INHUMANE measures.....but before laws and regulations were enforced. Therefor their abusive conditions were literally GRANDFATHERED in as acceptable.

A true owner responsible for the lives and wellbeing of so many special needs animals would surely abide by CURRENT standards for health and safety. Not use the excuse because they were captured prior to regulations, he doesn't hAVE to meet current standards of conditions. That is really freaking gross. Shame on you guys. This can't continue. Stop lining their pockets. You are contributing to the continued abuse if you do. Ignorance isn't an excuse when the information is...

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,...