Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay — Attraction in Paradise

This is a lovely, entertaining, albeit small aquarium with a Komodo dragon, sharks, and tropical fish of all sorts. One of the greatest things about Mandalay Bay's hotel, is that it is so kid friendly and this exhibit is a brilliant addition! We spent a little over 2 hours meandering back and forth through all of the different aquariums. The twins loved the, one finger, gentle touch, manta rays exhibit and were able to spend several minutes there under supervision. There was also a boa constrictor who had lost his tail through an unfortunate accident that had been rescued and rehomed here. The jellyfish tank was fabulous, and there were several different species represented. The Komodo dragon was fascinating, and seemed to gaze directly into our eyes as we admired him. I recommend arriving at their 10:00 a.m. opening time, as for the first hour or so we basically had the place to ourselves. As time went on, it got more crowded but was still manageable. The piranha tank was quite interesting as the handler monitoring this area was knowledgeable about the piranhas nutritional habits, and shared that sometimes they simply jumped right out of the tank for no apparent reason. Of course the twins were hoping that would happen but it didn't. Lol. The gift shop had some lovely items, t-shirts, stuffed animals and other little trinkets that were decently priced. Of course, no food was allowed, and the bathrooms were immaculate. Every single staff member we encountered was kind, friendly, and knowledgeable! If you have young children this is the place to take them as there was plenty of room to wander...

This was a fantastic experience, my 7 year old absolutely loved it! The Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay is a cool little detour from the usual Las Vegas chaos. It’s not huge, but it’s very well done. The main tunnel where you walk through a shipwreck surrounded by sharks, stingrays, and massive fish is definitely the highlight. It’s dark, atmospheric, and pretty immersive for a casino attraction. The kids loved the touch pool where you can feel stingrays and horseshoe crabs, and there were some interesting animals beyond just sea creatures, like a Komodo dragon and a golden crocodile.

It only takes about 45 minutes to an hour to go through, maybe longer if you stop at every exhibit or read all the info cards. It’s not SeaWorld, but it’s also not pretending to be. It’s compact, clean, and has some good variety. The jellyfish and octopus displays were surprisingly mesmerizing, and the big sawfish and sand tiger sharks make for some good photo ops. There’s also a VR experience for an extra cost, but I skipped that.

It is a bit pricey for what it is, around $30 per adult plus more for any extras, but you’re in Vegas, so everything’s inflated anyway. Compared to some other family attractions in town, this one actually feels fairly well-maintained and curated. It’s also a great way to escape the heat or kill an hour if you’re staying nearby or waiting for a dinner reservation.

All in all, I’d say it’s worth checking out if you’ve got kids, love marine life, or just need a break from the casino floors. It’s not mind blowing, but it’s well-executed and memorable enough...

We decided to come here spur of the moment and it was a great choice. This aquarium is really neat and absolutely beautiful, it was like walking through the set of Legends of the Hidden Temple, but with animals. The first area you walk into is very tropical and humid, but the rest of the aquarium isn't. The room themed like the inside of a ship was incredible, and the arched tanks going over your head make for a good view of the underside of the sharks and fish. It gives amazing perspective to how large these creatures can be. Getting to touch stingrays was also an amazing experience, they feel like water soaked leather or rubber, a weird but cool feeling. My only complaints about the experience were parents that think because they have children, that they are entitled to do as they please with no regard for anyone else. EVERYONE wants to see, we paid for the experience too. Then there were adults holding up the whole flow of foot traffic and clogging small areas because they needed to get the perfect selfie. Some were kind and apologetic and others were flat out rude. Have consideration for the other people who paid to be there just like you. The woman working in the gift shop when we were there wasn't very nice either, which was shocking considering how nice employees in places all across Vegas had been up until that point. All in all it was a great experience, my favorite creatures were the octopus & the tank of jellyfish. Absolutely...