Myrtle Beach and Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg have a lot in common with each other. They both have a Ripley’s Aquarium, and they’re very similar to one another. I would say about 90% similar, if not more.
It’s one of the better aquariums you can visit anywhere on the East Coast.
We visited on a Saturday, which unfortunately means more people than my introverted self likes.
It was definitely the worst when we started the tour. We ended up taking a detour route around the aquarium because people would not move out of the way.
I would say their jellyfish collection is definitely its most impressive achievement.
Many different types of jellyfish here.
I thought these were the most beautiful.
And these upside down jellyfish to be the most interesting. Imagine being upside down as part of your DNA.
I could never see stingrays without thinking of Steve Irwin.
They are definitely very beautiful creatures, as Steve Irwin would put it. I always admired how he would describe all the creatures of the world in the most elegant fashion despite how hideous the creature actually might be.
I always enjoy seeing seahorses.
And their cousins, the sea dragons.
These giant lobsters are definitely lucky they didn’t end up at Red Lobster.
Like the Gatlinburg Ripleys Aquarium, they pride themselves with an impressive collection of penguins.
You definitely can get a close look at all the penguins.
I noticed one of them really liked women that would pass by the glass. I guess he’s the penguin player.
And of course, you have the tunnel you can walk under.
The conveyor belt floor was off, which made walking through it a bit of a struggle when people would stay in one place.
Sea turtles are always dear to my heart.
It is interesting to see a cluster of fish so concentrated in one part of a fish tank.
I will say, the tunnel in Gatlinburg and the tunnel at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta are far better than the one here at Myrtle Beach.
They also have a glass bottom boat, just like the one in Gatlinburg.
We actually got almost a free ticket due to a coupon not working and the worker just put in some random discount and it gave us a huge savings advantage. So even doing the glass bottom boat for two people was cheaper than two standard price tickets.
I actually didn’t realize until we got on the boat that the boat was steered by one of the aquarium workers just guiding it along with a rope installed around the aquarium tank.
It’s definitely not a bumpy adventure. But you definitely do feel that you are on a boat. You would have to be really seasick prone to throw up here.
The ship’s captain will tell you various fun facts about the fish that pass by.
It is definitely very neat to see the large aquarium at this angle. I definitely enjoyed myself there.
