Ripley's Aquarium Of The Smokies

[ofalegend]

Hey all, I just visited "America's Most Visited Aquarium" today, and I wanted to share my amazing experience. The entrance fee is a little steep at $17.41, but I think it's worth every penny. They have 1.4 million gallons of water, with the huge majority being a single ocean tank. It was simply breathtaking. I can't find words! It has the world's longest underwater tunnel. You step on a conveyor belt and it takes you all the way through the tunnel. All you have to do is stand and admire! I also got a peek at the filtration system, which also was unimagineable, to say the least. They filter more water daily than the entire city of Gatlinburg uses. Their protein skimmers were about 15' tall and at least 8' wide. That's some serious protein skimming. I tried to take pictures, but they didn't come out. Anyway, thought I would share an amazing experience. If any of you are close enough to take a weekend getaway to Gatlinburg, I strongly suggest going to Ripley's Aquarium Of The Smokies...it was unbelieveable
~M

 

[wamp]

Ever been to the one at Myrtle Beach SC.?
I heard it was a little nicer than the one in TN.. Never visited the one in TN though..The one at myrtle is nice though..

 

[slick]

sounds great wish I live closer

 

[lettheirberock]

i,ve been a couple of times, and it's totally awesome.they have all the fish we all know and love.they also have the sharks and rays for all of the aggressive freaks, and a great horseshoe crab petting "zone" for the kids! the japenese spider crab exhibit was also very interesting. if anyone gets the chance to check it out,go for it,its well worth the admission price.

 

[obx fish]

My husband and I just went there. We just got married on April 13 and went to Gatlinburg for our honeymoon. The aquarium is absolutely amazing! We loved it! Of course he was drooling over the filtration equipment...He's the "Tim the Tool Man Taylor" type. We want to go back and take our 6 year old daughter

 

[maury]

Do any of those aquariums have a nice reef setup? I mean something on the level of some of the 500 gallon 'tank of the month' stuff you can find here. I live near New Orleans, and they have the Aquarium of the Americas, which is spectacular, but very little in the way of reef tanks. And the two setups the do have look weak.

 

[nacl-h2o]

I don't know about the one in TN but the one in SC has a reef tank, a jelly fish tank, a huge tank full of larger reef fish, a tank of lion fish, one of moras, a octopus tank, a sea horse tank, one of larger anemones, a unbeleiveable shark tank, and a sting ray petting tank amoung others. It also has the conveyor belt tunnel through the main tank. I was very impressed and because I live so close my kids have drug me there many times, not that they had to try very hard.

 

[tellico tornado]

Ive been to the one in TN. I live about 35 minutes away from it here in Gatlinburg and i have to say.... its AMAZING. I cant even imagine how much $$$ went into that place. Absolutely breath taking. Never been to the one in Myrtle Beach but from what the other guy says, the one in TN has everything they have to offer too. The entire place is nothing BUT a reef. Its like taking a walk through the Great Barrier Reef of Austrailia. And the fish and all are just amazing. I can honestly say, they have got it all. If you are ever in Gatlinburg its a MUST DO to go to that Aquarium. It makes even the best home owned reef tank look pathetic.

 

[wamp]

The reef setup in SC is not that good. Last time I was there most of the corals looked awful and were not fully open.
Hope they improved it since the last time I was there.

 

[richard rendos]

Ripley's in Gatlinburg is awesome...if you like fish. They had nothing for corals. The few tanks that had corals in them looked worse than a lot of people's tanks I've seen on this board. Overall it is worth going to but don't expect to see a lot of reef stuff. Touch a Ray Bay was cool though.

 

[crablegs]

My mom and sister are there today actually...I'm sooo jealous!!!

 

[broomer5]

I agree with wamp.
We went to the one in Myrtle Beach 2 years ago and the coral/reef display was weak, and quite disappointing.
The rest of it was beautiful and well worth it.
They had a Leafy Sea Dragon display that was so cool. I'd never seen one of these creatures up close like that - and it was really interesting to watch.
We're heading down to Myrtle Beach again in a few weeks - and plan to go visit it again.
I'd like to see the one in Gatlinburg too someday.

 

[reeflooker]

As far as non-reef aquariums go, the Seatle aquarium is quite impressive. However, the stanley park aquarium in Vancouver is dullsville(the orka whale looked like he would rather be somewhere else.. like "free"). The next time your in Vegas, check out the aquariums at Mandalay Bay, Mirage, Ceasar's palace, and the MGM grand. However, the most impressive non-reef aquarium that I have seen is the Living Seas
at Disneys EPCOT center in Orlando. This is a must see.