Marineland, Florida: Marineland - Nothing Like the Original

Do not enter unless you want to swim with dolphins. Outside by the road is a nice sign detailing the history. Inside has a dolphin tank, and two murky pools with lazy sharks. There is also a tank with one turtle. Not worth the admission price. Walking toward the dolphin tank, there are about 10 small signs showing pictures of the past.

If you were here in the past and enjoyed it, this is not the same place. Why it's here now is a mystery. Nothing is here. I took my family and it was miserable. You can either pay a lot of money to watch one (!) tank of people swimming with a dolphin, or pay WAY too much to be one of those people. That's all, everything else is gone. My wife argued with the manager for 30 minutes trying to get our money back (to no avail) because we couldn't unsee the dolphins that we just watched for 10 minutes. The manager also stated that the admission fee was to see the 15 gallon fish tank that was in the gift shop (forgot to mention, that's still there, of course). If you sneak in for free, you're still getting ripped off. Avoid it!

In June 2005, I made my 100th visit to Marineland. Fox News televised it. Going to Marineland was like reliving my childhood memories of when my parents would take me up there once a year to get it out of my system. What a thrill it was to see the iconic, tell-tale arches on the horizon as we approached Marineland on A1A.

Not too long after my 100th visit, Marineland's faithful secretary called to say, "Greg, if you ever wanted a souvenir, now is the time to come up. The bulldozers arrived today." I was heartbroken. When the new owners demolished Marineland, they also destroyed a part of Florida'past.

If you visit Marineland today and expect to relive past visits, forget it! The motel, Dolphin Restaurant, ticket office, circular oceanarium, rectangular oceanarium, porpoise stadium and Whitney Park, have been demolished by the owner who assured northeast Florida residents that he would preserve the "world's original marine attraction."

Today all you get is a high-priced opportunity to experience a swim with a porpoise and outrageously priced pics of your visit.

My recommendation: enjoy what little of the ocean you'll see along AlA at Matanzas Inlet skipping Marineland altogether.

Marineland held a grand re-opening on the weekend of March 4-5, 2006 with free admission. The Dolphin Conservation Center Marineland opened with several programs for individual interaction with dolphins. The only general admission attraction is one large tank with several dolphins swimming, playing with balls. There are currently no dolphin shows. According a staff member, they are planning several more attractions, but many of the decades-old tanks and structures need repair due the harsh salt water environment.