ORLANDO, Fla. – If you've ever wanted to learn how an aquarium team cares for thousands of sea creatures, Sea Life Orlando Aquarium has an exclusive experience that allows visitors to do just that and more.


What You Need To Know

  • Behind-the-scenes tour available again at Sea Life Orlando Aquarium

  • Visitors can learn more about how animals are cared for at the aquarium

  • The tour includes glimpses at areas typically off limits to the public

  • The 30-minute tour costs an additional $9.99 per person 

The ICON Park attraction's recently-revived behind-the-scenes tour takes visitors into areas that are typically off limits to the public.

For an additional $9.99 per person (that's on top of the admission fee), visitors can catch a glimpse at the aquarium's food prep area, laboratory, quarantine room, and divers' room.

A guide is there to not only lead the tour and answer questions but also explain the inner-workings of each area, from how the dive team prepares to go into the tanks to the animals are trained for feedings.

Greg Brenneman, one the guides that conducts the tour, shared the different ways the animals at the aquarium are feed.

"Now the other way they (animals) are going to be feed is going to be with a target," Brenneman said. "So our target animals are going to be something like turtles, we can train the turtles to come over to a specific target. Our rays are going to come up to a specific target. Even our sharks. You can train a shark."

During the 30-minute tour, visitors are also taken to the upper level to view Sea Life's three habitats from above. Each habitat has a variety of animals that can been seen swimming around, including turtles, fish and sharks. And depending on the timing of the tour, visitors might catch an animal feeding in progress.

At the end of the tour, visitors get a chance to feed the fish using special poles. The experience is an enrichment for the fish, a treat on top of their normal food.

Visitors who take the tour later this summer will get to see real-life corals. As part of a rescue project, a space has been set up in the backstage area of the aquarium where corals will be restored before they are returned to the ocean. The project is being done in partnership with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

The behind-the-scenes tour is available daily, with the first tour starting at noon and the remaining tours happening every hour until one hour before the attraction closes.

For ticket information, head to visitsealife.com/orlando.

-

Facebook Twitter