Before Walt Disney World and Seaworld there was Marineland. Learn the history of the park and why even after 75 years Marineland is a must-see attraction.
30,000 Visitors on Opening Day
In 1938, Marineland opened as Marine Studios. It was the first oceanarium in the world.
The vision was to recreate the world beneath the ocean so it could be filmed for newsreels and movies. Visitors to the park could essentially view the bottom of the sea with the comfort of looking through glass windows.
Writers, Movie Stars, Elvis, and Even a Dog
From the beginning, Marine Studios had celebrity written all over it.
One of the creators behind Marine Studios was a grandson of Leo Tolstoy. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Ernest Hemingway were regulars at Moby Dick's Bar located inside the park.
In the 1950's, Hollywood came calling. Movies such as The Creature From the Black Lagoon, Port Sinister, Sea Hunt, and many more were filmed here.
Even Elvis and Benji made movies here, Live a Little, Love a Little, and Benji Takes a Dive at Marineland, respectively.
During this time, Marine Studios changed its name to Marineland. Wildly popular with tourists and Hollywood alike, it averaged 500,000 visitors a year.
Science and Education Meet
In 1938, dolphins had never been kept in captivity before. The first dolphins in Marineland came from right next door, the ocean.
Originally, Marineland's focus was on all sea life. However, the introduction of dolphins quickly changed everything.
Not even knowing if they were capable of being trained, a German elephant trainer who couldn't even swim came to train the dolphins at Marineland.
Within a year, they were doing tricks and drawing even more people to the park. Dolphins quickly became the main attraction. And while they still showed other sea life, they were not as popular and eventually were phased out.
Marineland also became a place to learn. The University of Florida even opened a marine laboratory there.
Scientists from all over the world came to study dolphins. Most of what we now know about dolphins, such as their behaviors and even sonar, were learned there in those early years.
Decline and Rebirth
After Walt Disney World opened in 1971, the writing was on the wall for most of Florida's roadside attractions.
One by one they closed, until only a handful remained in the 80's and 90's.
Eclipsed in popularity by the likes of Seaworld, Marineland managed to hold on until the late 1990's. Two hurricanes and lack of visitors finally closed the park.
Luckily, the owners of the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta took an interest and bought Marineland to save it and give it new life.
In 2006, it reopened as Marineland Dolphin Adventure. Instead of shows, Marineland is now focused on dolphin education. Visitors can now swim with dolphins, feed them, and even be a dolphin trainer for a day.
There are daily tours of the park, which include Marineland's history, aquariums of oceanic creatures, and, of course, dolphins.
Marineland has survived Mickey Mouse, financial hardships, and a lack of visitors, but it is now a thriving attraction that should be on everyone's list to see when visiting Florida.
I had visited Marineland on a field trip when I was a child, but back then it was only a show park. I remember watching dolphins jump through hoops, do tricks, and even a surfing dog.
Marineland is completely different now. I did not even recognize it when I pulled into the parking lot.
Instead of shows, they now offer various tours, such as:
I hadn't came prepared to get wet, so I chose the general tour. I was not disappointed though, I learned a lot about dolphins and the history of Marineland.
I've been to Seaworld. It's very crowded and very commercial. Marineland lets you get up close and personal with the dolphins.
At Seaworld, I would not be able to get within 10 feet of the dolphins, let alone touch them.
At the beginning of the tour, we were introduced to the various dolphins. Marineland is home to the world's oldest dolphin in captivity, Nellie, who was born in 1953.
After a visit with Nellie, we went downstairs to view the dolphins from underwater, and also to visit the Marineland museum and sea life exhibit.
The Marineland museum houses items from the park's past, such as old filming and park equipment.
Because little was known about dolphins and their feeding habits at the time Marineland opened, dolphins were fed underwater by trainers who donned heavy underwater diving helmets and carried fish in baskets.
Antique movie equipment, such as cameras, boxes, and lighting that were left by the filming crews are also on display.
Also downstairs is the sea life exhibit. Here I saw fish and sea creatures that are commonly found off the coast of North Florida, as well as the Atlantic Ocean.
Non-native species that are invasive to Florida are also on display, warning against the release of pets into the waterways.
Many sea animals that are either found injured or caught mistakenly are donated to Marineland. There were several different quarantine tanks that held horseshoe crabs, snails, spiny lobsters, and a whole host of creatures I can't identify that fishermen had brought to the park.
The tour guides are very helpful and answered all of our questions, but naughty me was too busy taking pictures of all the sea life rather than paying attention to their answers.
What I loved most about this exhibit is that everything was so easy to access and see. The fish, eel, octopus, etc., are in large glass tanks which makes them easy to view.
The crawly sea creatures such as the lobster, crabs, snails, and sea urchins are in open tanks that I could walk right up to and view from above.
Marineland is far better than Seaworld if you want a up close, personal tour of dolphins and marine life.
Relax, it's on the way to Disney
Marineland is located on A1A about 15 minutes south of St. Augustine and 48 minutes north of Daytona Beach.
For those who want to visit while on their way to or from Walt Disney World, Marineland is located 110 miles north of Orlando.
Marineland is open 365 days a year, but with varying hours. Advanced tickets and online reservations for dolphin encounters can be purchased on their website.
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