My kids and I recently visited Sea Life Orlando Aquarium at the new ICON Orlando 360. Sea Life is home to over 5000 species of fish and sea animals from the 3 oceans of the world. At first entry you are met with a huge brightly colored sea mural that is captivating and engaging for the kids. My little ones were in awe of the presentation even before entering the aquarium.
Once we arrived inside there were lots of underwater facts along the walls to guide you from one exhibit to the next. The first attraction was a large tank with several species of colorful fishing swimming very fast in every direction. Of course we had to stand there to find Disney characters Dory and Nemo before my kids could go on lol.
The jellyfish tank was somehting like I had never seen before. We stood there for almost 15 minutes watching jellyfish. The light show in the aquarium made it that much more appealing. The lights would change from blue to green, then red and yellow. It was so amazing to watch and my kids were captivated.
It was like being at a little under water party. My daughters were twirling around trying to catch the colors and following the jellyfish with their hands on the tank. it was like nothing we had ever seen before.
Toddler Time
At Sea Life Orlando they offer a interactive toddler time that’s perfect for the little ones. They have monthly themes and each session is filled with fun games songs and exploration to help the kids get more emerged in the atmosphere and encourage a new way of learning.
The Toddler time starts promptly at 9am every Tuesday morning and runs for an hour.
During the Toddler time you are also given a scavenger hunt sheet in which you find the clues and facts throughout the aquarium with you little one. My toddlers were so excited to find all the coordinating numbers and animals they say on the sheet. Here they are reading the context clues to see what we need to find next.
Sharks, Sharks and More Sharks
When we went the theme for the month was sharks, and we learned a lot about this mysterious creature. My son was fascinated. He loves sharks and was happy to recite some of the facts he had learned about them during the Toddler time as we went through the shark exhibit. He especially loved the up close and personal view he got of them in the 360 tunnel.
360 Tunnel
The 360 was my favorite part of the aquarium. You are inside of a glass tunnel where you are completely surrounded by water as if you were inside with the animals. It was amazing! At first I was a little hesitant to walk through but once I did, it was exhilarating.
My twin girls really had an amazing time in here. They loved hearing the echoing of their own voice inside. I shared a video of them singing the Moana theme song to one of the turtles inside on my Instagram, it was hilarious.
