This review is based around our last visit which there seemed to undergoing work still happening. So this review may not include all areas.
Entrance / Location & Parking:
All of these factors are quite important for anybody visiting. There is no car parking joint onto the Sealife. You have to park in the Arena car park on level 8 or 7 for the Sealife exit. The signs are fairly clear around the area but we’d recommend using a sat nav for sure. Within the location now is a Legoland Discovery but we’d advise been aware nobody who’s 18+ can enter the attraction without somebody been under 17 years old. This does go for passholders alongside anybody else you need a child to enter. However once you’ve parked your car if you travel via car you’ll need to exit and walk over a bridge. It’s pretty easy to find if you use the signs and once you’re out of the car park you can see the Sealife anyway.
Ticket collection / Passholder entry / Tips:
There is a separate queue for Merlin Annual Passholders which was combined with pre booked tickets. It does go down fairly quick depending on how many is on the tills. Since our previous visit it has got much easier to enter as you no longer need to sign a book, it’s just your pass scanned and then you’re in. You don’t need to prebook for entry however if you’re not a passholder we’d recommend to pre book.
We’d highly recommend getting there just a little before it opens. As it does get very busy and that makes it hard to experience it all. If you can’t get there for opening we’d recommend heading there roughly an hour or two prior to the closing time. During this time they don’t rush you out and there’s a maximum of probably 10 people usually.
Theming / Experiences:
It’s one of our favourite themed Sealife as every area is beautifully themed. Soon as you enter it’s visually stunning. The amount of theming is beautifully and all the staff were extremely friendly and willing to discuss anything with you. As for experiences you can go along and collect stamps into a little book, and at the end of your visit collect a pop badge. That’s one of the free experiences alongside a 4D cinema mid way through which is a lovely added touch. Birmingham is the only Sealife we’ve seen a 4D cinema. There is a rock pool at which you can handle the creatures completely free of charge. This is a lovely experience and quite interesting as the person who’s in charge of that section will answer any questions etc. There’s of course the speaks across majority if not all tanks at certain times of the day.
Length / Is it worth it?
We visited late December time at which there was many areas still closed as they were undergoing maintenance. That made our experience extremely short and not really worth the visit. Our previous visits we’ve always spent an hour to two hours inside, this can vary depending on your walking paste. Yet we took our time and took images yet we were in there for all above 40 minutes max. If we were paying guest we wouldn’t pay to go back as it was extremely shortened and change a fair bit. However by time your reading this blog all areas may be opened and back to normal. We’d recommend enquiring prior to paying or visiting. It’s not our favourite Sealife attraction but isn’t the worse either.
We’d love to know your experiences and thoughts on Birmingham’s Sealife.
This was a great post! Very informative, I’d love to visit one day. Thank you for sharing. xoxo