A Day Out at The Daytona Aquarium Rainforest Adventure
There’s a new attraction in Daytona Beach, and one we’re particularly excited to visit. It’s the Daytona Aquarium and Rainforest Adventure! Kids (and adults), will have a good time looking at the animal exhibits and even interacting with some of the animals!
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Daytona Beach Hotels (Booking.com)
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Hyatt Place Daytona Beach (Beachfront) – Expedia.com
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$29 for adults
$25 for children ages 2-12
The entry fees cover a self-guided tour and any educational talks they may have. Head on over to their site to get an updated list of hours of animal talks and encounters.
If you want to learn more about the animals at the aquarium and interact with them without the hordes of people watching, why not do a behind-the-scenes tour?
Parents, did you know you can host parties at the Daytona Aquarium? The party pass allows you to bring a total of 13 guests, and you will have your own private room. The room will be prepared by the Aquarium staff and will include soda/water/juice options, as well as decorations, tables, chairs, plates, and napkins. You’ll get 2 pizzas to share, and the room will be reserved for one hour. You’ll also have a chance to see certain animals up close and in private!
Parking is free at Daytona Aquarium, with plenty of spots available in front of the facility. It’s located in a strip mall, so there are plenty of overflow parking spots nearby.
Yes! Once the Rainforest Adventure part is completed, there’s going to be more animals to see, and themed exhibits to explore. The aquarium itself is interactive, and there are plenty of sea creatures to see and activities for little children to do while in the aquarium.
The aquarium is located a 5-minute drive from the Daytona Speedway and within another 5-minute drive from the world-famous Daytona Beach. The address is 1008 W International Speedway Blvd, Daytona Beach, FL.
The street is busy with plenty of shops, restaurants, and other attractions nearby. This is also the main thoroughfare that takes you from the interstate to Daytona Beach.
There are plenty of animals to see at the Daytona Aquarium, but below are our personal favorites and must-sees in case you only have limited time and can’t see everything. If you were to see everything and spend time at the gift shop, the whole experience would take a minimum of two hours if you’re traveling with younger children.
This is our kid’s favorite animal exhibit at the aquarium. There is one big touch tank with plenty of sting rays that swim around. For an extra $5, you can buy a fish and feed the sting rays in the tank.
The ray’s skin feels like jelly. When feeding the fish, angle the fish underneath the ray, where their mouth is. You’ll feel a gentle tickle as they suck the fish out of your hands and swim away.
Feeding the sting rays isn’t for everyone. My husband generally feels skittish about being close to animals, the same as the kid, so I am the one who generally does the animal encounters.
The Daytona Aquarium is home to an octopus! Ever since I read the book, Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, I’ve been fascinated with octopi and being up close with an octopus? Priceless. This Pacific octopus likes poking his head out and swimming in his enclosure so you can see his color, tubers, and all 8 tentacles. It’s so fun seeing the octopus as it glides around.
Eels are also amazing creatures, and the Daytona Aquarium has a few different species living in one tank. They don’t like swimming around but you’ll see their heads poke out of their hiding places as they stare intently back at you.
Some of the eel species they have in the tank are:
What’s an aquarium without a shark tank? The biggest tank in the Daytona Aquarium (aside from the sting rays) houses dozens of black-tipped sharks.
These sharks are active – you can see them dart from one side of the aquarium to the other.
Seahorses are some of my favorite animals on earth. For one, the men carry the babies up to term and it’s the male seahorses who give birth to the babies, not the females.
These animals cling to sea grass and swim so dreamily. Because of their shape, they look like little dragons in the water.
One of the most recognizable fish types in an aquarium is the Blue Tang and the clownfish, otherwise known as Dory and Nemo. Thanks to the Pixar movie, our kid can identify these two types just by looking at them and yelling their names.
Two huge tanks house Nemo and Dory fish, which are connected by a bridge in the middle. It’s a really great design, because you can follow the fish as they travel between the tanks through the bridge.
There are plenty of activities available to keep your child occupied while at the Daytona Aquarium. Here are a few things our child tried when we visited this facility.
This is a cool activity that blends coloring pages and technology. You grab a plastic sheet with an animal on it and let the child color it. Once the child is done, you place the coloring page on a reader and you’ll get to see the animal on a big screen! It will have the name of the child on the animal (our kid chose a turtle). The animal will be in the color that your child colored (ours was a blue turtle).
It’s super fun to try and a very creative activity that encourages children to interact with technology in a simple way. I believe more aquariums and zoos are now using this technology for this reason.
The sandbox projections are fun. Imagine a huge sandbox where there are dinosaurs and landscape projections on it. It looks as if the dinosaurs are walking through the sand. The kids love them, and the sand doesn’t stick to your hands and your clothes. We just had to watch the kid so that he wouldn’t make too much of a mess and throw the sand on the floor.
Unfortunately, the Daytona Aquarium doesn’t have a full-service restaurant on the premises. You’ll have to go to the plaza nearby to get fast food or other meals. There is a cafe in the Daytona Aquarium that sells quick bites to eat – pre-packaged snacks and drinks are available.
Ask the employees if they allow you to come back in to the facility if you exit to eat. You don’t want to leave to eat and find out that you can’t re-enter.
What’s an attraction without a gift shop? The gift shop at the Daytona Aquarium is awesome! It’s made to attract the kids and the kids at heart. There are so many different types of toys and sea creatures to choose from. The prices aren’t too exorbitant, and it’s several aisles full of things to touch, look at, and peruse. There’s even a claw machine!
When we visited, the Rainforest area was still under construction. However, your family can easily spend half a day to a full day hanging out at the Daytona Aquarium. While it’s not as big compared to other aquariums, there’s still a lot to see and do!
A special thank you to Visit Daytona Beach for hosting our family on this trip.
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