Whenever we have a long weekend visit to Blackpool it’s almost impossible for us to not visit Blackpool Sealife. It is of course included in the Merlin Annual Pass as well which is always a win.
Blackpool Sealife is usually very busy as you’d expect during the school holidays. There’s been many visits over the years where we didn’t get chance to see much due to how busy it was. However thankfully this time round it was very quiet. Within these sort of attractions there’s always improvements been made and changes happening. From our last visit in February to now there’s been a few changes. Including the new for 2018 Turtle Rescue. All about rescuing turtles with plenty of educational interactions. Including the chance to participate in Turtle Beach, meaning you safe them by putting back into the sea, by using the handle to roll them back to where they belong. Also within this area you can name and weigh your turtle! You have to pick out a turtle from Turtle Beach and you weigh them on the scales. The area is very interactive with feeding section and rehydration area for the turtles. It’s excellent for everyone to learn about Turtles.
Another interactive section is the rock pool as you enter. You have the opportunity to touch and hold Star fishes, crabs etc. There’s always a staff member on hand to answer questions and give some interesting facts about the sea creatures your handling. Of course every Sealife has a section with the Sting Rays & Sharks with the open top. A little interesting tip if you rub your hands quickly so they become warm, place them over the top of the water all the fish will come to the top!
One of our favourite areas within this Sealife is the Sea horse section. The theming is brilliant. Each tank has the signs with facts beside them as always. Honestly we’d recommend having a little read it’s surprising how interesting it can be! Within the Seahorse section there’s loads of theming on the wall, in the tank and projection mapping on the floor.
The best themed area is the Rainforest section it’s only what we can imagine a Rainforest would be like. Sealife’s are of course about the fish and other aquatics. The extra theming just adds to the experience and makes it more immersive.
Like every other Sealife you have the beautiful walkthrough tunnel where the fish surround you. However this Sealife you have massive viewing windows where you can take a seat the opposite side. Within that area is where the Shark talk takes place. As you do at any other Sealife you see very similar species of fishes. However not all Sealife Centres are the same. In comparison to Great Yarmouth & Birmingham Sealife there are various noticeable differences including they both have penguins whereas Blackpool doesn’t. It’s worth trying all the Sealife Centres for differences between theming and what you actually get to see.
