Clearwater FL aquarium

[Jonell]

We are thinking of surprising our DS with a day trip to Clearwater aquarium during our next WDW trip. He is a huge fan of the movie Dolphin Tales and loves Winter the Dolphin. Has anyone visited there and do you actually see Winter the Dolphin at the aquarium? Also, do you know if they offer any Dolphin interaction that gets you up close to Winter? Thanks

 

[krayzmelmel]

We live in Clearwater and have gone to the Clearwater marine aquarium a couple times.... There are lots of movie props, even the houseboat! You see Winter swimming in her tank, and if you call or go on the website you can see the times when they put her tail on and you can see her therapy. There are also lots of tours and opportunities to feed the animals and interact with them... We liked the boat tour where they even let you visit an island made entirely of shells,

 

[loveysbydesign]

We visited there last Oct. and my kids loved it. We did see Winter, she comes out a few times a day. They have a daily schedule for all the shows and such. However we went in the afternoon after going to the beach in the morning and we did not have time to take the trolley to the offsite warehouse where they had even more props. So be sure to allow time to do that. Also we got a discount with our AAA card

 

[puffkin]

We are going tomorrow morning! I'll try to remember to post our thoughts after!

 

[4MCMICKEY]

We went last summer and enjoyed our visit. We also went downtown to visit the movie props. We have a center of science industry membership in Ohio and that membership got us into the aquarium for free. If you have any musuem membership check the benefits...you may also get in free.

 

[eMd]

Would Clearwater be a realistic doable day trip from Orlando?

 

[jpeppers]

I took my daughter last year and I actually found it depressing. The majority of the crowd was watching one of the dolphins and I happened to notice a couple of people at the next tank and they were watching Winter (without tail) and very inactive, I had to go get my daughter so she could see....there was nothing directing her towards Winter. That being said, I think it is great what the aquarium has done for Winter but to me it was a huge tourist trap. They tried very hard to get you to the gift shop. I did find the Clearwater beaches fantastic though.

 

[jpeppers]

Forgot to answer, it is a very doable day trip from Orlando! Maybe a half an hour beyond Tampa and beautiful.

 

[loveysbydesign]

Would Clearwater be a realistic doable day trip from Orlando?

Def!!!! It is gorgeous there, the beach feels like a caribbean one! Plus it so easy to get to, just hop on I4. My kids think it's really neat when you go through Tampa and drive on that bridge/highway over the bay...you are right at water level. Too cool

 

[eMd]

Def!!!! It is gorgeous there, the beach feels like a caribbean one! Plus it so easy to get to, just hop on I4. My kids think it's really neat when you go through Tampa and drive on that bridge/highway over the bay...you are right at water level. Too cool

Thanks for the reply!

I would love to shoot over and check out the aquarium and see Winter, as well as check out the beach for a little while if I can.

I have been to Coco Beach before and it was nice but not beautiful. If it's doable I am def interested in seeing the clearer waters. My cousins recommend Siesta Key, but I'm also interested in the Clearwater Aquarium so I think Clearwater interests me a bit more.

 

[puffkin]

Ok. Easy drive from Disney but traffic was pretty bad in Tampa. About 1:45 minutes due to traffic. We did the aquarium right at opening. It was nice and very educational but really really small. I completely disagree about it being a tourist trap. I felt they went out of their way to make sure people knew it was a rehabilitation center and NOT an aquarium. We then drive over to see the other section about the movie. We looked at a lot and it took us about 3 hours for the two.

The boat shuttle looked neat but it was FREEZING yesterday so we drove. There is also a bus trolley between the two. I would go first thing to the aquarium the boat over to the other museum. It's then about a 2 minute drive to the beaches for the afternoon. It's gorgeous there..but it was too cold unfortunately to see much of the beach. We actually went to a spring training Phillies game in the afternoon, but beach time would easily be doable in better weather.

 

[jpeppers]

Ok. Easy drive from Disney but traffic was pretty bad in Tampa. About 1:45 minutes due to traffic. We did the aquarium right at opening. It was nice and very educational but really really small. I completely disagree about it being a tourist trap. I felt they went out of their way to make sure people knew it was a rehabilitation center and NOT an aquarium. We then drive over to see the other section about the movie. We looked at a lot and it took us about 3 hours for the two.

The boat shuttle looked neat but it was FREEZING yesterday so we drove. There is also a bus trolley between the two. I would go first thing to the aquarium the boat over to the other museum. It's then about a 2 minute drive to the beaches for the afternoon. It's gorgeous there..but it was too cold unfortunately to see much of the beach. We actually went to a spring training Phillies game in the afternoon, but beach time would easily be doable in better weather.

Not a tourist trap? Then why do they go out of there way to get you to go to the section about the movie? I love what they have done for Winter but we were there for probably 20 minutes before we were in the very large gift shop as opposed to the size of the actual aquarium. I really wish there had been more attention given to "Winter" and less to trying to get my child to buy a T-shirt. I'm really not trying to be negative but I thought it was a very crappy aquarium. I did love the Clearwater Beach though!

 

[4kids4karen]

I don't see what has been explained as a tourist trap. I asked my kids yesterday if they wanted to go, but they said they would save it for another day (we are in Tampa). From what I understand it is not a "tourist-y" set-up. If there was not a focus on Winter perhaps because these people are working and you are there to just observe what it is like there. If I wanted a show, I would go to Seaworld. I am guessing it's a small aquarium that was not designed to be tourist-y and the staff was not hired as "entertainers". It should more like you are disappointed because there was not a show put on for you?

 

[loveysbydesign]

Not a tourist trap? Then why do they go out of there way to get you to go to the section about the movie? I love what they have done for Winter but we were there for probably 20 minutes before we were in the very large gift shop as opposed to the size of the actual aquarium. I really wish there had been more attention given to "Winter" and less to trying to get my child to buy a T-shirt. I'm really not trying to be negative but I thought it was a very crappy aquarium. I did love the Clearwater Beach though!

I explained to my kids that we were not buying anything while we were in the shop and one of the workers overheard me. So she gave them free stickers and some other free souveniers(info about ocean life and such). They were fine with that and didn;t ask for anything else

 

[puffkin]

I don't see what has been explained as a tourist trap. I asked my kids yesterday if they wanted to go, but they said they would save it for another day (we are in Tampa). From what I understand it is not a "tourist-y" set-up. If there was not a focus on Winter perhaps because these people are working and you are there to just observe what it is like there. If I wanted a show, I would go to Seaworld. I am guessing it's a small aquarium that was not designed to be tourist-y and the staff was not hired as "entertainers". It should more like you are disappointed because there was not a show put on for you?

You are completely contradicting yourself. If it was all about Winter it would be a tourist trap! It is a rehab facility which they explain over and over again. Their work is completely funded by us, not a billionaire like in the movie. The gift shop is part of that but there wasn't a huge focus on that. The second facility was designed to explain the movie, and focus on Winter. But the main facility was and still is a rehab hospital and Winter is not the only animal they are helping. Winter just brings in the money to help all the others.

 

[puffkin]

Whoops, I quoted the wrong post in my prior comment. Sorry!

 

[4kids4karen]

deleted.