www.ripleyaquariums.com/myrtlebeach/
Ripleys exterior
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina offers a variety of fun family activities along with an abundance of places to stay making it the perfect overnight get-a-way. My family and I decided to go for a little overnight trip to Myrtle Beach to experience a few of the area’s attractions.
Day 1: The drive to Myrtle Beach took us about an hour and a half which is great for my 3 year old…short enough so that she stays entertained with a book and a toy. When we arrived, we headed to Ripley’s Aquarium which is located at Broadway at the Beach off of Highway 17.
The Aquarium houses thousands of different sea creatures from all over the world. My family and I enjoyed the Dangerous Reef with underwater glide path most. There is a moving sidewalk that takes you through a cave-like aquarium allowing you to gaze at sea creatures above you and on both sides. There are many large species of sharks in this exhibit along with a giant sea turtle, sawfish and many more amazing creatures.
For the kids, there are a several interactive exhibits. My daughter liked the ones in which she got to touch (or try to touch) the creatures. There is an open tank where you can learn about and touch horseshoe crabs with the assistance of aquarium staff. There is also an open, shallow lagoon that houses stingrays. Visitors are allowed to reach out and stroke the stingray’s soft velvety skin as they glide by.
The Ripley’s Aquarium is impressive and worth a visit. It is open 365 days a year so you can visit anytime!
After the aquarium, we headed over to the shops at Broadway at the Beach. I decided to surprise my daughter and take her to Build-A-Bear Workshop. The experience was very pleasant. My daughter chose to make a dog and the employee led her through the entire process of choosing a heart, stuffing the animal and making it “come to life”. Then, my daughter went to the grooming station and cleaned her new friend. Finally, we named the stuffed dog and printed out her birth certificate. The friendly employees helped my daughter choose bows to accessorize her dog (these were free). This experience was enhanced by the wonderful staff working at Build-A-Bear.
After having a bite to eat, we headed to Dunes Village Resort where we would be staying for the night. I chose this resort because it has 2 indoor waterparks (one in each of the 2 towers of the resort). Check-in was quick and we headed to our room. The room was clean and adequate and we had a great ocean view. After we settled in, we decided to check out the water parks. The first one we visited was part of the building we were staying in. My daughter really enjoyed the lazy river, a kid’s water play area and a giant chess set! There were also two small waterslides available.
After playing a while in the first water park, we headed out of one tower a few short steps over to the other tower to visit the second water park. This one had two larger waterslides although only one was open. There were pools and hot tubs along with water dumping buckets. It also had a play area for kids featuring a submarine which my daughter loved. The hot tubs and pool were another story. We tried to go into 2 different hot tubs and noticed a disgusting green substance floating in both and also noticed that the pool had some black chunks floating in it.
Back in our room after playing in the waterparks, we all wanted to freshen up with a hot shower. Unfortunately, we had to settle for a barely warm and eventually cold shower…not a pleasant way to end the day.
Please check back next week to read about day two...a visit to Alligator Adventure!
Resources:
Ripley’s Aquarium: http://www.ripleyaquariums.com/myrtlebeach/
Build-A-Bear Workshop: http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/storefinder/storeDetail.jsp?storeNumber=006
Dunes Village Resort: http://www.dunesvillage.com/
