About Ripleys Aquarium: “There are more fish in this aquarium than there are people living in the entire town of Gatlinburg.”  Although Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies is hundreds of miles from the ocean, the scenic beauty and the abundance of water all around makes the town of Gatlinburg a “natural” location for a world-class aquarium, voted America’s #1 aquarium by TripAdvisor!

Our Trip:

The Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies was the beginning of day two of our Pigeon Forge Adventure.  This was so much fun!  We have been to several aquariums and Sea World twice, but this aquarium definitely stands out!  The setting of the aquarium is absolutely stunning!  The Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies is set on the side of a mountain and has a very high glass enclosure rising from the entrance.  We enjoyed the feeding of the penguins and the outdoor penguin play area.  The shark cove is beautiful and has a lifelike oceanic backdrop.  All of the exhibits were very interactive and the moving sidewalk through the aquarium underwater tunnel is a perfect addition for the kids.

 

The dinosaur exhibit was really cool!  The kids were able to excavate bones and listen to the dinosaurs roaring as they moved in a very lifelike way!  This was definitely one of the highlights of our visit.

 

All of the kids enjoyed having their picture taken as an under sea monster (that’s what Hannah called him).

 

I’m pretty sure Isaiah chased Hannah around the tank with a horseshoe crab once someone showed him how to old it LOL

 

These were beautiful sea horses, sea dragons, and stingrays.  The colors were absolutely stunning and watching them float through the water was magical!