The first thing you notice when you walk into the lobby is a floor to ceiling image of a school of stingrays against a deep blue sea. That's the background for the lobby touch tank where you can pet real stingrays and little sharks!\r
Upstairs we found the Penguin Promenade where two cute warm weather penguins come out twice a day and walk around in front of the guests -- with nothing between them and the guests! They called it a ""no borders, no boundaries"" encounter and that is exactly what it was. We even say one of the penguins play with a little boy's shoelaces!\r
We saw that guests could dive with their sharks in the Shark Bay exhibit, but they were already booked for the day, so we went ahead and reserved a time to go diving with the sharks in a few weeks. Can't wait for that! You have to be a certified SCUBA diver, but for those who aren't, they can Swim with the Fishes in their massive Coral Reef exhibit.\r
After we made our reservations we went out to the Cantina for a beverage while our nephews splashed around in their outdoor water play area.\r
It was a fantastic day at The Florida Aquarium and we can't wait to go back!
Pros: Great interactive exhibits and a huge variety of animals.
Cons: If you don't book your Dive with the Sharks in advance you may not be able to do it as a walk up.
more