Mertailor’s Mermaid Aquarium Encounter — Local services in Florida

Mertailor’s Mermaid Aquarium is a magical place for Florida locals, tourists, kids, adults and even (maybe especially) Mermaids! It is only just beginning to bring to life Eric Ducharme’s mermaid and marine dreams. I can see it growing in marine magical as Eric adds to his vision as the years go on. My first visit I was in awe of how clean, organized and well kept it was. There is a lot packed into the (seemingly) little unassuming building on the side of the road. You walk into a bright & colorful gift shop that is full of mermaid tails, clothes, and other mermaid/aquarium themed things that I’d never known I needed until I started shopping there.

My 2nd visit I was able to spend more time with those who work there. They started to teach me about all the animals and the specifics of the aquarium. The staff are all super friendly & extremely knowledgeable. I was impressed with his much they wanted to share all they know with me. You can tell that the animals are #1 priority and are well loved.

The 3rd time I went was able to hang out more with the animals and just fell in love with them (I am a mermaid after all). I saw the care that was given to the Macaws. I believe a love of them are rescues. The handlers were giving them a lot of attention and treats and just making sure they were as happy as possible. Then I slowly went around to each tank and spent some time learning and reading all about its inhabitants. There are interactive tanks with seastars, fresh water tank with the cutest little Gar, other tanks with big crabs & lobsters, gorgeous fish I’d never seen before and even a Seahorse tank. I spent a lot of time in front of the rays & sharks. Even saw some shark feeding/training that was really neat. The stingrays and sharks have unique personality that I never knew about. Then as I finished making my way through all the tanks and got to the large 30’ tank I saw it was time for the Mermaid Show to start. There was music and interaction and a graceful mermaid with beautiful flowing hair who swam down to smile at me. It was so much fun.

I can’t wait until my next visit. I purchased a year pass so I can go whenever I have time (its only a little over an hour away from Tampa). I’m hoping to one day know enough to be able to volunteer there. The Mermaid Aquarium Encounter promotes rescue and conservation and all the wonderful things mermaids love. It’s one of my favorite places...

2 YEAR UPDATE! I GOT TO EXPERIENCE THE NEW AQUARIUM! I had the utmost pleasure experiencing the new mermaid encounter aquarium by Mertailor! When you walk in, the shop is absolutely gorgeous! So well put together and so well thought out for all of the different styles and ages of children and adults who will be visiting and purchasing merchandise or toys! The array of variety in the gift shop alone is absolutely wild and beautiful and impressive! The aquarium itself is the most beautiful aquarium I've ever seen in my life! Every single bit of signage is beautifully designed with gorgeous photos and well thought out text to introduce you or educate you about marine life! Not only ss the signage gorgeous... But there is a beautifully displayed and well-kept animal to admire and see in real life! I am beyond words, impressed with the way that this aquarium turned out because it literally is the best aquarium I've ever seen in my life due to there being so much to actually see and interact with! The decor is spectacular and left me speechless! The variety of animals and educational information around every single corner was mind-blowing! Not only was I impressed with their products before... But now I can say that This aquarium and store is a mer-person's dream!!! Now that this dream is a physical reality, and Mertailor has built such a beautiful space for people from all walks of life to come and enjoy, the world of possibilities for aquatically driven minds is open and limitless!

Original Review 2 Years Before The Update Above:

The Mertailor is absolutely, without a doubt the best place to get mermaid tails and stylish aquatic apparel! As an online client ordering a silicone product, the communication is clear, concise and open through the entire tail designing process. Walking into the store Front, you see a beautiful display of swimwear and silicone Tails hanging for you to touch, feel and explore. The office is beautiful and decorative with amazing nautical scenery scattered about and beautiful photos of clients and Tails made in the past. You're greeted with a smile and given the freedom to ask any question about any product with knowledgeable staff who has every answer at the tip of their tongue for you. As a client I can say that I'm extremely pleased with the customer service I receive and am always pleasantly surprised with the constant innovation provided by...

Firstly, the staff cares. They care very much about their facility and their show. The staff is helpful and engaging and I liked them a lot. We came with a very large group for the Christmas show, so my review contains the consensus of about 20 people. We were all impressed that they have been able to create this aquarium from scratch and maintain that many fish and other critters. However, all of our kids blew through the displays in about 15 minutes. Half of our crew went and sat in their cars to wait for the show to start because the kids got so bored waiting for the show. Perhaps it would be better to have the show at the beginning of the ticket time to accommodate the varying attention spans of differing ages- that way people could move through the aquarium at their own pace then go home when they are done.

We expected to see the cool silicon tails that we saw on the documentary, but none were on the performers or out for display. They must not be very practical for performing, I only mention it so future visitors don’t come expecting to see them and leave disappointed. The performers looked like they enjoyed their jobs, but the show itself was nothing to write home about. Weeki Wachee tells a great story that keeps you engaged, the Mertailor Christmas show was just two mermaids lipsyncing Christmas songs and doing back flips over and over again. Great music choices, for sure, but I think there are only so many tricks you can do underwater to dance to a song. I have not seen their regular shows so I cannot speak for that.

The consensus of our group was that we preferred Weeki Wachi. This facility costs too much per person for the amount of time it held the attention of our...