Miami Seaquarium® • Happy Family Blog

The Miami Seaquarium is a 38-acre oceanarium located near downtown Miami. Get all the details including miami seaquarium hours, Miami seaquarium prices, Miami seaquarium tickets, and Miami seaquarium coupons

Kurt and I both love the water and we love introducing B to everything water related. If you have extra time the Biscayne Bay is worth going to see. There is parking on the side of the road. From eight different marine animal shows, astonishing daily presentations, and a variety of educational tidbits along the way, Miami Seaquarium® is a place of inspiration, education - and fun! We have gone to Miami Seaqurium a number of times this summer including yesterday with the Scott family and my parents.

My Tips for Miami Seaqurium

Miami Seaqurium is open 365 days of the year. It take about 4 hours to see all the shows. The days we went they were open from 9:30 or 10am-6pm, but I would check their website to confirm. We like to get there as close to when they open as possible to make sure we get to see all the shows we want before nap time. Most of the park is open to the elements so be prepared to be hot.

Miami Seaqurium Tickets and Miami Seaquarium Prices

There is a $10 parking fee and you need to have cash. The tickets are almost $50 for adults and over $30 for kids over 3 so we generally save trips for a time when they have a savings pass. For example this summer there is a great deal where you get access to 4 attractions at a discounted rate, which is why we have gone so many times this summer. You can tell that the facility was built in the 60's and could use updating, I try to focus on the animals and not the infrastructure.

Miami Seaquarium Hours

Park opens at 10:00am. Please allow at least 4 hours to see all of our shows and exhibits.
Ticket box closes at 4:30pm. Show times do vary from day to day.

For show times you can call (305) 361- 5705 ext 0 on that day, which I recommend because park hours and show times are subject to change.

As of April 2019 Salty's Pirate Playground is closed due to renovations.

Miami Seaquarium Coupons

They offer less expensive tickets for visits Monday-Thursday with their Smart day Ticket. If you are coming for more than a day the annual pass may be your best value.

Shows at Miami Seaqurium

There are four main shows: Top Deck Dolphin, Golden Dome Sea Lion, Flipper Dolphin and Killer Whale & Dolphin Show.

If you only have time for one show the Killer Whale & Dolphin Show is our personal favorite and should not be missed. Lolita the Killer Whale and her exotic Pacific white-sided dolphin friends put on an incredible experience as they show off their natural grace, beauty and intelligence through the special relationship between animal and trainer. Dolphins walk on water and killer whales fly through the air. We are music lovers and they do a great job of incorporating fun music into the show as well as educational commentary that is interesting, but unnecessary for a toddler. If you want to get soaking wet you should sit in the front rows. They have the area painted a different color so be sure to pay attention if you want to avoid getting wet.
Our second choice is a tie between the Flipper Dolphin Show and the Golden Dome Sea Lion Show. The Flipper Dolphin Show is a tribute to the “Flipper” Television show that were were shot at Miami Seaquarium’s Flipper lagoon in the 1960's. Even if you are not a fan of the show it is a great high energy show that makes me think I missed my calling and should have been an animal trainer.
Golden Dome Sea Lion Show - The best way to go into this show is knowing that the "humor" is super cheesy. It is all about the adventures of Salty the Sea Lion and his Reef Rangers. Our daughter loves it and the animals are adorable enough to focus on instead of the dialogue.
Top Deck Dolphin Show - This show is a fun opportunity to see bottlenose dolphins jumping and leaping out of the water. If you have kids I would recommend sitting in the seats, we stood on the side up against the tank and it was almost too close to see all the action. If there is not a show time that works for you, don't worry you can sit walk up top and watch them swimming around.

Animals at Miami Seaqurium

They have everything from sharks, endangered sea turtles dolphin encounter to Manatees to birds. We could spend hours and hours watching the dolphins swim around. Bailey likes to go to Stingray exhibit where you can pet and feed them. She is really more into me petting them. One day maybe she will try as well.

Experiences at Miami Seaqurium

Miami Seaqurium is a world class marine life entertainment park. That offers guests inspiration, education and fun. There are a number of animal experience from dolphins to seeing sea lions delight children. Since we have a toddler and have done the trainer for a day at Atlantis in the past we have never tried these. There is also a ropes course adventure for an additional $5 that we have not tried.

What to Bring to Miami Seaqurium

I recommend bringing the following items: camera, comfortable shoes, sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, stroller (even if it is just to carry your bags), swimsuit, towel and change of clothes and water shoes (for the splash playground or the inflatable water slides during the summer). Lunch and snacks - there are lots of tables and chairs to have a picnic (there is also a restaurant if you want to purchase food) The website says that you cannot bring in food or drinks, but I have had no issues.

Controversy

Miami Seaquarium is a controversial place in town and I only include this warning because when we went for the first time in years there were a number of people picketing. They demonstrate against marine mammal captivity. Lolita, the Killer Whale has been lived at Miami Seaquarium for over 40 years.

More about the Miami Seaquarium - http://www.miamiseaquarium.com/

Zoo at Night - Rour and Pour
Summer concert series at Mizner
Picnic in the Park
Beach
Collect shells
Organize Bailey's artwork
Staycation
Trip to the Keys
Date night
Bubble event at CityPlace
Elmo at Science Explorum
Special time with cousins
Sleepover at MiMi and Papa
Picnic at Daddy's Office
Sarasota to see Uncle Chad, Tat and Byron
Summer reading program at library
Drop in storytime at Library
Miami Seaqurium
Swim in the pool
Playground at Bailey's school
Friday series at the library
Miami Zoo
Hang out with new friends
As many dance parties as possible
Boating
Diving equipment
Lion Coubtry Safari

Looking for other things to do in South Florida, check out:

The Girls Strawberry U-Pick

Zoo Miami