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| - We mostly enjoyed our experience at OdySea. Other negative reviewers mentioned the exhibits were hard for kids to see and the tanks were filthy. That wasn't our experience. There were wide, sturdy metal stools at each exhibit that allowed my 2 year old the ability to climb up and see the fish on his own. As a fishkeeper myself, I would say the tanks were in pristine condition and the fish appeared very healthy. My toddler was very happy with all the sights and sounds and really liked the touch-based exhibits.
From a negative standpoint, my major complaint is that I'm used to aquariums that are large, open and you have the ability to wander through them however you wish. OdySea feels like a maze with one small entrance and one small exit and reminded me, in a very claustrophobic way, of getting stuck walking through the Ikea maze and not knowing where the end was. Although there are specific entrance times in order to prevent massive overcrowding, there were points where it was standing room only in some of the areas - particularly when we got to the theater. There were no signs or other guidance to let us know we didn't have to sit through the 20 min show, so the relatively small room filled up quickly as people waited in line and other people kept funneling in behind us. It made for a really uncomfortable (read: hot, stinky and sweaty) bottleneck, and because all those people were now cloistered together, we remained stuck with a large bottleneck of (50+) people for the duration of the aquarium experience. With strollers, hyper kids, multiple sets of parents and babies, it was a really unpleasant experience. The rooms are really not designed to hold that many people when you figure in strollers/wheelchairs/etc (be forewarned, some strollers are prohibited.) I would really like to see OdySea address the bottleneck areas with extra signage or open doors to give people the option of not waiting for the 3D show if they don't want to.
My second complaint is about the tanks themselves. They are really very basic/low budget for a public aquarium and I had higher expectations. Most of the tanks are just fake rockwork with some plastic plants stuck here and there. The Archer Fish tank - why not add real bugs so the Archer Fish can entertain guests by doing what Archer Fish are known for? In my opinion, SeaLife Arizona has way better individual exhibit tanks and OdySea needs to step it up. My hope is that OdySea will strive to significantly improve the exhibits with a bit more flair once they recoup their opening expenses.
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