One of our favorite places to visit outside Theme Parks is Sea Life Orlando located in Icon Park Orlando! This aquarium is an indoor attraction so it is perfect on those rainy, cold, hot days or just any day! You never know what the Florida weather will be like. Sea Life is also dear to my heart as they focus on the same goals to educate others and to protect/rescue sea life. Best part? They offer seasonal events to add even more fun to the aquarium. During July - they did a Summer of Sharks, October - Mermaids, and now it is their Deck The Seas event! This is currently running from now until January 1st. Let's dive in!
During this event, there are many fun-filled activities and meet and greets. Friday - Sunday, you can meet Sharky in his holiday attire! His times are currently 11;30 am, 12:30 pm, 1:30 pm, 3:30 pm, 4:30 pm, and 5:30 pm (subject to change). We love seeing Sharky so this was a must-visit for us! Then on Wednesdays at 1 pm, you can listen to the story of FIshmas with Scuba Claus diving in the waters! Be sure to plan accordingly if one of these is your priority. If you are unable to come during those times no worries! You will still be able to see all the Christmas decorations in the tanks and outside of the tanks. There is even a scavenger hunt to partake in to learn more about the sea creatures that love living in the cold. Then at the very end, there is a spot to write a letter to your favorite sea animal there! Talia picked Chely, their sea turtle and Jace did Joy, their zebra shark. It was a super cute way to end the visit and appreciate the animals we just saw during our visit there. They even had their stockings in which you put your letter.
When diving into the Sea Life aquarium itself, there are many reasons to visit there year-round. Sea Life has the only 360-degree tunnel in Florida. You feel like you are right in the water with all the fish around you! Another fun thing to do while there is their Behind the Scenes tour. We have done it three times in the past and it's always great. During this tour, you get to learn all about the behind-the-scenes and what it takes to maintain and help the sea animals in the tanks. You even get to go to the top of the tank to get a bird-eyes view of the tanks below. The best part is all the knowledge you receive from this tour about sea animals and protecting them. This add-on is only $10 extra and you can book in advance or the day of. Another year-round activity is the Undersea Explorer VR experience. With this, you get to be a part of a diving group among tiger sharks who are always misunderstood. This lets you see the real tiger sharks and is a beautiful experience. This is currently $8 extra and can be booked in advance as well. Below I did add some older photos to showcase these experiences. Besides all of this of course the main attraction is all the sea life within Sea Life! They have countless sea animals and ways to learn about each one, and also ocean conservation in general. My favorite resident sharks are their zebra shark - Joy and their newest bonnethead sharks - Mario and Luigi. They also have a gift shop filled with all your Sea life favorites! They also have 4Ocean merchandise which is great. I did buy a new awesome shark shirt there and I cannot wait to wear it. I appreciate that their main goal is education and conservation. They make it their goal to make you understand these creatures and why they are so important to us. Sea Life even has the Sea Life Trust - this is a charity to help protect the oceans and marine life within.
Tickets range debating on what you are looking for. You can buy stand-alone tickets or combination tickets with Madame Tussauds, The Wheel, digital photos, and virtual reality. I highly recommend buying in advance to avoid the possibility of them selling out for the day. Also, be sure to plan and look at the times and when the last admission is (typically one hour prior to close). You can find out all the ticket information here. Whether you are a local or just visiting, Sea Life can be a fun add-on for your trip or just a day for fun. I cannot recommend Sea Life enough and I am beyond grateful for them. Thank you again for hosting us for this amazing time.
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