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Marineland

Whether it is a blast from the past or new ground to create some great memories, Marineland will endure. Billed as "the world’s first oceanarium" Marineland has been around since the 1930’s. Then known as "Marine Studios" it captured the attention of many tourists, scientists, writers, artists and entrepreneurs. Marineland was the first theme park to create a window for everyone to see what lay inside the ocean depths "A window on the world of mystery and beauty." By the 1960’s it became Florida’s most popular theme park attracting over 300,000 people a year. Located right on A1A overlooking the beach, the park brings back the nostalgia of old Florida tourist attractions complete with the salty ocean air. How many other theme parks can do that? It is also in the National Register of Historic Places and is one of a kind.

Marineland houses two famous dolphins, Nellie and Lilly. Nellie was born at Marineland February 27th, 1953 and is getting ready to celebrate her 53rd birthday. She is the oldest Atlantic bottlenose dolphin living in the hands of humans. Lilly is the last known blond bottlenose dolphin and has made her home at Marineland since 1964.

Jim Jacoby, the park’s owner for the past nine years, had a vision of transforming the park into an eco-research destination resort and he is well on his way of making his dream come true. Marineland has an exciting new look and feel that is sure to make it at the top of the go-to list this year. Having built a 1.3 million gallon dolphin lagoon, the park added all sorts of extra fun activities that let you interact with the dolphins. Not only are there four new programs that allow you to get into the water with these amazing and gentile creatures, they have brought back to life a piece of Florida history.

In October of last year Marineland opened its doors for a "sneak peak" of the new Dolphin Conservation Center and allowed visitors to seek out interactions with dolphins. According to the park’s director of marketing and PR, Jennifer Lyche,, Marineland is tentatively planning to have their grand opening on March 4th, 2006.

Whether you want to step back into time and enjoy the nostalgia of one of Florida’s original tourist attractions, or whether you want to enjoy the beautiful animals that inhabit Marineland, the new-look Marineland is sure to please everyone.