SEA LIFE Charlotte-Concord Aquarium

8111 Concord Mills Boulevard, Concord, NC 28027, USA

Address:	8111 Concord Mills Boulevard, Concord, NC 28027, USA
Phone:	+1 866-229-1573
Site:	visitsealife.com
Rating:	3.8
Working:	10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–8PM 10AM–8PM 12–6PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

Gregg Garner

My wife and I took our 5 year old little girl on an aquarium tour this week. She is obsessed with sea creatures, so we took her to the Greensboro Science Center, then down to Sea LIFE in Concord. We combined the trip with some school shopping for Kindergarten. Overall, I was very impressed with SEA LIFE. After reading the reviews, and knowing that the center was in Concord Mills, I was expecting to be disappointed. We bought our tickets online for a grand total of $49. Purchasing online is the only way to go. Youll save $5 per ticket. I suggest getting there at opening time to beat the crowd. We walked straight in at 10:15, no waiting at all. Also be aware that your admission is for all day if you want to shop and come back. There is a brief video that you watch before starting the tour. Nothing preachy, but the topic is conservation. No surprise here, this is the theme at most aquariums (even Sea World). Then on with the show! This location starts with a station about the Catawba River, which I found to be very well thought out. It was nice to see a local touch to the exhibits. All of the other tanks were salt water, and included most of what you would see at other aquariums. There is a hands-on section that has a few different things. My little girl was able to touch a decorator crab, and a starfish. Most places would only have stingrays and horseshoe crabs. Ive never even seen a decorator crab in person, nice touch! Erin at the hands-on display was very knowledgeable about all of the creatures in her tank and made that part very enjoyable for our daughter. Other sea life available for viewing were: Lionfish, garden eels, ribbon eels, Caribbean Lobsters, several types of Moray Eels, stingrays, bonnethead shark, damselfish, clown fish, blacktipped sharks, etc. Also of note was the included behind the scenes tour. I wasnt sure if this was an add-on or not, so I asked Ian. He told me that it was included, then just said come on, lets go. So it ended up being a tour for just the 3 of us. The behind the scenes area is very small, but still very interesting. We were able to see a zebra shark that is in quarantine while it waits to be put on display. John went out of his way to show us some video of that shark in its tank and answer our questions. Word to the wise, they stop the backstage tour at 3pm, so if you do the twilight (after 4pm) tickets you wont be able to see it. There is a door to go back to the first exhibit if you want to see it all again, otherwise its on to the playground/coloring area and the gift shop. The playground is very small, but I wasnt expecting them to have anything at all, so it was a nice bonus. It is true that you cant leave without going through the gift-shop, but we found nobody pushing anything on us. When was the last time you were able to leave an attraction without going through the gift-shop? Overall we were very pleased with SEA LIFE and plan on coming back in September when the Octonauts are coming to town!

o7 o7

I dont think some of these ratings/responses are fair as this place is not calling itself a "world-class aquarium" like Baltimore or Atlanta- rather it is an experience for the "family". If you take it for what it is, it is a great place. If you are a fish-lover who knows the difference between a Kole Tang and a Clown Trigger then youre not going to have much fun and Id say this is not the place for you. This place is designed 100% for the experience of young children. So that said, if you are a family with young children, youll have a lot of fun because all of the exhibits are designed for kids to get right in there with crawling areas, dome viewing areas, etc. There is also a fun stamp-game to get a small award at the end that the kids can do. My only gripe is that it is indeed too expensive if you pay "full retail"... but that is designed to get extra money from people just shopping in Concord Mall that pass by. We bought our tickets on Groupon and for about $15 the whole family had a great time. So find an online deal so that you dont complain about the price because I agree, if you pay retail you are likely not going to feel as good about your experience. The whole thing takes around 30-45 minutes depending on how long you frolic around and take at each exhibit. There are 3 "larger" exhibits that are worth stopping at for maybe 10 minutes and letting the kids run around and check out. Again, if youre adults-only or on a date or something, this isnt your place. If you have kids, then youll have a good time.

Matt Myers

Im really excited to have an aquarium like this in the Charlotte area. Ive read reviews comparing this to aquariums over 4 hours away and further. But, those arent 20 minutes away. Those arent somewhere we can just decide, "hey, lets go to the aquarium!" The only thing keeping me from giving 5 stars is the size. But, theyve done a heck of a lot with the limited space in the mall. (Come on, how often do you see an aquarium in a shopping mall?) The most impressive part of Sea Life is their strong conservation message. They do a great job educating children and adults about the different species and the impact we (the humans) have on these natural habitats. The staff are helpful and knowledgeable, always offering tidbits or quizzing children at the various displays. Ive yet to meet an employee there that didnt seem excited about their job or anxious to answer questions about the creatures on display. It also seems they do have featured exhibits that rotate in and out, so there should be something new each month or season. To those complaining about price, Id suggest you buy an annual pass. Itll pay for itself in about 2-1/2 visits. Your mileage may vary, but my family loves Sea Life. My daughter keeps asking to go back every weekend.

Chad Watson

A great family experience. The aquarium isnt the biggest Ive been to, but isnt the smallest either, but it is definitely the best it can be for its size. There is something for all ages, and plenty of viewing room of all the creatures. I could sit and watch the tunnel creatures all day. I was most impressed with the live "shows". So often, these can have a "cheese" factor and staged where you cant necessarily see the animal, but these were as simple as the speaker coming right to the exhibit, and discussing the animal while you can continue to view them. They were highly informative, and the speaker sort of just stays close by to answer any questions that come up. It is all very informal and natural. We attended one without any plans to do so, just in the right place at the right time. Only 2 of us there, and the speaker just stepped over introduced herself and started presenting, then the rest of the small crowd were drawn in. Simple and memorable. The aquarium also does a great job expressing the importance of conservation and the simple things you can do in every day living to help the cause, and ensure we can enjoy the beauty of these creatures for many years to come.