OT ... Marineland

[KerriMc]

Hello

My dh and I were considering taking out two dd's age 3 and 10 mos to Marineland in a couple of weeks. Has anyone been there recently? What is it like for small children? Do they have an area of rides specifically for them? I have gone to the website, but only see details of big coasters and rides that our 3 yr old would not be able to do. I want to know if it is worth it just to see the whales.

As well, any hotel recommendations would be appreciated too. I considering staying across the border just to do a bit of shopping !!

Thanks so much .... Kerri

 

[mousy_in_canada]

I have been there a few times with my kids, they have a fair sized chilldren's area with rides that your kids would like. The kids area would be fun for your 3 y/o. I think that the 10 y/o would find them not thrilling. but she would be tall enough to go on the bigger rides.
It is a lot of fun! just $$ to get in!

oh, and if you bring your own lunch it really helps cut the cost. one year we bought lunch and it cost us $50 for 4 of us! They have a great picnic area so we just use that now.
Have FUN!

 

[SandraC]

We love Marineland. We went with our 4 year old and 10 year old last year on our annual pilgrimage. There are plenty of fun things for kids of all ages. Rides, shows, arcade, playground, deer petting area, bears and more. Here are a few suggestions.

(1) If you can buy your tickets in advance, do so. It will save you staying in line. There are always coupons around. Look thru the guide books.

(2) Go early. Call Marineland for their show schedule. I think the first Dolphin show is 10am and the Whale show is at 11:30am. We see the 10am show [it's about 30 minutes long] then we do a couple of kiddie rides and them see the 11:30am show. That's about 30 minutes too. We then have lunch and do the rest of the rides.

(3) PACK YOUR OWN LUNCH!!!!!!! The lines and prices are outrageous!

(4) Do the biggy rides while the dolphin and whale shows are on. The lines are shorter.

Have a great time!

S

 

[Lynda Silk]

We went to Marineland last year and loved it! The kids (DS11, DD 9) really liked being able to feed the whales. You can feed a beluga whale and/or a killer whale (at least I think they're killer whales; the black and white ones) and it costs $5 per child per whale. You can also feed fish (they're huge!) , bears (you throw the food down to where they're kept; one bear kept waving at us as if to ask for more food!) and deer and goats. The deer and the goats can be a little aggressive so just watch out for this.

The kids loved the rides and the show; they especially liked it when the whale slapped her tail and a huge wave of water soaked most of the people in the first 2 rows!

Take a picnic lunch like the other posters have advised. Have a great time!

 

[FayeW]

We went once, when our kids were 5 & 3. We enjoyed parts of our day, but overall thought that the price was high for the amount of things the kids could do. We liked the shows and exhibits, but were disappointed in the height restrictions, we spent a lot of time with the 3 yr old crying because he couldn't go on some of the rides his sister could. We said we wouldn't go back until they were both big enough to ride the major attractions.

 

[abbyndrewmom]

Another thumbs up for Marine Land. Our children 4&6 always find lots to do. last year they could both go on some of the bigger rides. I agree with the picnic idea we bring a soft sided cooler and leave it in a locker until lunch time. There is lots of places to sit and enjoy the your picnic.

Does anyone know whether the new aquarium they have been working on will be open this year?


Allison