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If you do nothing else on your Myrtle Beach trip, be sure to check out Ripley’s Aquarium! It is really fun for the whole family. My husband, 4-year-old daughter, and I decided to take a 4-day weekend trip to Myrtle Beach and Ripley’s Aquarium was a must-do!
Navigate to What You Want
- Some Inspiration
- Discount Tickets
- Travel Distance from the Myrtle Beach Oceanfront
- What to Expect at Ripley’s Aquarium, Myrtle Beach
- Souvenir Pictures
- Photograph Your Experience of Ripley’s Aquarium
- Live Mermaid Show
- Aquatic Life
- Glass Bottom Boat Adventure
- Cafeteria and Children’s Play Area
- Pearl Harbor Attraction
- Amazon at Myrtle Beach
- Shark Aquarium Tunnel
- Central Forum
- Ripley’s Aquarium Gift Shop
- Ripley’s Aquarium (Myrtle Beach) Main Entrance and Exit
Some Inspiration
Discount Tickets For Visiting Other Ripley’s Attractions
While in Myrtle Beach we received discount tickets to check out Ripley’s Aquarium.
We purchased Ripley’s Marvelous Mirror Maze tickets and so they offered us discounted tickets to the Aquarium.
When we got back to our hotel that night we decided to look up the Aquarium and see what it had to offer.
The number one thing that stuck out to us was the live Mermaid show.
Our 4-year-old daughter was obsessed with Mermaids and this was going to be a dream come true for her.
How Far Away is Ripley’s Aquarium From the Beach?
The Aquarium is only about a 10-15 minute drive away from the main part of Myrtle Beach.
What to Expect at Ripley’s Aquarium
Souvenir Pictures
As soon as you arrive you are greeted by a person with a camera in hand ready to take a picture of your family/party as a keepsake souvenir of your visit if you choose.
You can have your picture taken and get a ticket to retrieve the picture at the end of your visit.
Photograph Your Experience of Ripley’s Aquarium
There were so many amazing photo opportunity areas.
My daughter and I got a nice photo taken in the jaws of a giant shark with Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach sign beside it.
Live Mermaid Show
Live Mermaid Show Details | Ripley’s Aquarium Myrtle Beach
The live mermaid show is at 12:00 pm, 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm on Saturday’s and Sunday’s only.
We got there around 1:30 PM so we were asking around as we didn’t want to miss this opportunity for our daughter.
Meet a Mermaid
We were directed to an area where you can get your picture taken with a mermaid.
Our daughter was so excited.
There were only 2 other kids in front of her, so the best time to get your mermaid picture would be shortly before the mermaid show begins.
Once the mermaid show ends, we saw a huge line for the mermaid pictures.
Mermaid Show Review & Tips
Seating
Once we got our ticket for our mermaid picture, we were directed to go downstairs to the Aquarium where the mermaid show would be starting in half an hour.
We were also told by staff that the earlier you get to this exhibit, the better as the room fills up very fast.
We arrived just as a few people were leaving their spot right upfront. My family snagged these perfect seats and waited patiently for the show to begin.
Now, the difficult task of keeping a four-year-old entertained for 25 minutes was on!
Luckily the large aquarium in front of us had plenty to look at. Lots of Stingrays, fish of all kinds, and sharks swimming around.
Let the Mermaid Show Begin
Finally, the live show began.
It started with two mermaid tails we could see swaying in the water above us.
Our daughter was mesmerized.
Then the mermaids swam down towards the bottom of the tank where we were sitting.
At first, both mermaids were swimming together, then they would take turns going to the top of the aquarium for a breath of air (shhhhh – don’t tell the little ones).
It was quite an experience watching them swim in this great big tank with all the other sea life swimming around them.
The other aquatic dwellers did not seem to even notice the mermaids swimming around them – as if they belonged there with them.
The mermaids would wave to the kids, swirl around the tank and make hearts out of bubbles from their hands.
It was amazing to experience, especially for our daughter who still talks about the mermaids to this day!
I would definitely recommend this show to anyone with small children or anyone with a childlike spirit. Definitely a unique experience.
Aquatic Life
Once we got the Mermaid show, we were worried about missing, we could relax and check out everything else this place had to offer.
There are large tanks all over the place with plenty of amazing sea life to look at.
We saw really cool Sea Dragons that I’m assuming are part of the Seahorse family as they look very similar.
We saw, of course, Nemo and Dory fish, blowfish, and piranhas.
The piranhas were very creepy to watch as you could see all of their teeth and they really do look mean.
We also saw tigerfish, turtles, and sharks.
They had a really cool tank that had a giant clam inside.
Your little one could walk underneath it and peak their head out as if they were inside the clam.
Our daughter was not quite tall enough so it was Daddy to the rescue. He got in there with her and she stepped on his back to take the perfect picture!
Horseshoe Crab Touch Tank | Ripley’s Aquarium Myrtle Beach
Our next stop was the Horseshoe crab touch tank. Our daughter loved this exhibit. It was hard to pull her away.
I think she could have stayed here all day.
Planet Jellies | Ripley’s Aquarium Myrtle Beach
The next exhibit we visited was Planet Jellies.
This was a really cool exhibit.
You enter this exhibit by walking into a colorful tunnel.
They had just about every jellyfish out there I would guess. So many colorful tanks with Jellyfish swimming around and mesmerizing you.
The best part of this exhibit was the Jellyfish touch tank.
You could actually touch Jellyfish.
I could not pass up on this opportunity to say I touched a Jellyfish and did not get stung.
They had very small Jellyfish in this tank.
Make sure you only touched the tops of the Jellyfish to avoid getting stung.
My daughter and I touched some Jellyfish and it was awesome. They feel exactly how you would imagine they would.
My husband passed on this opportunity explaining that he has already touched a Jellyfish in the ocean with his foot.
***Husband chiming in here…True story and my memories aren’t quite as pleasing as theirs. ***
Glass Bottom Boat Adventure
The Glass Bottom Boat Adventure looks awesome.
We did not experience this exhibit this time.
It is located behind the cafe in a small area. It is situated on top of one of the large aquariums.
We will definitely have to check this exhibit out next time.
Cafeteria and Children’s Play Area
In front of the cafe is a nice little play area for small kids.
It is basically the same kind of playground you see at McDonald’s or Burger King. It is a cute jungle gym type area with a slide.
Bella had a blast.
Pearl Harbor Attraction
There is a really cool room called Pearl Harbor.
It really placed you in that time period in our history.
As you enter the room, you see above the walkway the famous quote from Roosevelt “A day which will live in infamy”.
There are two beautiful American flags on either side of the entryway of the room before you walk in.
The walls are covered with pictures and facts from that fateful day.
There is also a really cool play area for kids inside this room that resembles a hull of a submarine or ship. There were steering wheels and buttons that made loud noises inside for the kids.
Amazon at Myrtle Beach
Right outside of the Pearl Harbor exhibit, they give you a taste of the Amazons.
There is a really cool map of the Amazons and a tank full of Piranhas.
The fish are small, but you can see their rows of teeth which made them very creepy to look at.
Shark Aquarium Tunnel
One of the coolest exhibits was the shark aquarium.
This was one of those moving walkways that glided you through a tunnel aquarium of different sharks and fish swimming all around and above you.
There were giant sea turtles swimming around as well.
Really a sight to behold.
They had shark cages that were opened on display in the tank that made it look really scary…..like at one time there may have been people trying to swim with sharks…..and the sharks got them!
From this tank, you were able to view the bottom of the glass bottom boat tour as well.
Central Forum
The main area was in the middle of the aquarium in a big circular open space. From here you could see most of the areas you were going to explore. There were some great photo opportunities in this area as well.
Ripley’s Aquarium Gift Shop
Once you have seen all this place has to offer, they, of course, have you exit through their gift shop. It was a very nice gift shop. My daughter and I got small stingrays as souvenirs to remember our first time here.
Ripley’s Aquarium (Myrtle Beach) Main Entrance and Exit
Outside of the Aquarium are a few more really cool photo opportunities that we took advantage of. I would highly recommend you check this place out while vacationing in Myrtle Beach or if you are close to the area. One of the coolest aquariums I’ve seen so far.
Give Us Your Story!
Have you ever visited Ripley’s Aquarium? Please share with us your experiences, photos or amazing tips to assist others in getting the most value out of this trip. Use the Comment’s section below.
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