gulf world marine park Reviews

Tons of employees walking around, not alot of animals. Idk what it takes to run a place like this but common sense says not that many people walking around doing nothing. Dolphins and sea lions we're amazing absolutely beautiful to see. The whole tropical garden and stingray bay were closed for renovations. Me and my family are literally sitting here doing nothing waiting for the dolphin show to start. Wasted money, should be given a discount considering. Fairly disappointed.

Had a great time swimming with penguins, very cool experience. Family had a great time. Food is actually pretty cheep compared to most places similar to here. For 4 kids and 2 adults food cost was around $36 for a lot of food. Don t expect to spend a whole day here though, not a lot to do other than a few shows. Only complaint is how much photos cost for the penguins exhibit we did, they wanted $200 for our photos, could not justify spending that, a little ridiculous.

Not worth the cost but was a fun experience for my 4 year old.

Great place to view an assortment of animals, including fish, seals, sea lions, dolphins, exotic birds and other rescues that call Gulf World home. Be sure to check out some shows when you go! I highly recommend seeing the sea lion show!

OMG what can I say about Gulf World other than Visit It!! We've been several times & each visit is just as exciting as the visit prior. We love the dolphin show & our daughter loves to shake hands with & kiss the dolphins. The live animal exhibits are spectacular! Touching Stingrays!! The collection of tropical & subtropical birds are beautiful but noisy. The aquariums with the wide variety of local fish are gorgeous & getting to see the seals & sea lions play is such a treat! And don't forget the penguins!! The gift shop has a little something for everyone. There is limited parking & most adjacent shops arent keen on allowing people who aren't shopping at their stores to park in their lots. Gulf World is located near hotels & restaurants & Gulf World DID survive 2018s Hurricane Michael. We live semi locally. Gulf World is a great day trip for us. It can be pricey but it's worth it! Please keep folks in Panama City Beach, Mexico Beach, Panama City & the rest of the FL Panhandle, SW GA & our Sweet Home SE Alabama who have been affected by Hurricane Michael in your prayers. #panhandlestrong

Not a huge selection of marine animals, but was still fun to spend an afternoon and go to the main events.

Total waste of money. Very small, staff was rude and not knowledgeable. Unable to see dolfins, our entire reason for going.

The dolphins are very entertaining. They are so good at making the dolphins jump up and down on them! But don't be surprised if you have a good idea what this means for your dolphin. So what you've got is a great dolphin and that makes the whole thing a great experience. The first thing you get when it comes to the dolphin is that you've already done the training, but if you think about it, then you know how amazing it is to watch the dolphins jump up and down . The next thing you should do is get your dolphin on the ground with the water and then go to bed and do that. Now, let's say you're sitting next to a dog and it's going to be the next thing you know.

We very much enjoyed ourselves. Extremely expensive but if you know that you're going to go here, you can save up so it's not quite a financial hit. We have 3 young children so we did the dolphin encounter which is the only one our youngest was able to participate in. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get more pet & "love on" time if you know what i mean lol, but my husband & children loved it! Lots of things to see, all of the employees were very friendly & welcoming! Overall a very nice experience.

Great place to bring the kids. The shows are great and you can come early in the day and return again in the afternoon.

Great shows but the exhibits are small. There are not a lot of animals

Many exhibits and shows plus playing in water with dolphins

The aquarium tanks for the fish, turtles, sharks, and seals were disgusting and didn't have nearly enough room for the animals.

The turtles and seals exhibited pacing behaviors and head banging behaviors into the sides of the enclosures.

I've been to other marine parks and this was by far the worst kept in terms of appropriate housing for the animals.

The rough-toothed dolphins were kept in holding pens which were barely larger than their bodies for extended periods of time. It isn't clear whether or not the bottle nosed dolphins were also kept in cramped spaces as the holding tanks weren't in view of the public.

I do not recommend this facility for anyone who cares about animal welfare. If people think Sea World is bad, this place is leagues worse.

a Must go to place every time my children and grands visit!
beautifully revamped
love the shows..
photographers were wonderful with my littlest Grands!
the photos were exceptional!

Part of the mistake was due to going during the off-season, but many things could have been done differently. Multiple large, advertised exhibits were closed for repair (due to the hurricane). Some of these were the reason for the trip, but there was no indication of them being closed on the website.

The employees were all very nice and considerate to us. Perhaps once everything is opened the park would be worth a trip; as it is now, save your money.

Over priced. Better off at sea world or Walt Disney for the money that you spend

For my 7 year old having a dolphin encounter was the only thing she's been looking forward to for months. It was her first time to Florida. We probably won't be back for many years.
We spent extra money for this encounter and had the trainer and photographer hollering at her to "LOOK AT THE CAMERA!!" The entire time she was trying to enjoy her dream of seeing a dolphin up close. They were more concerned with getting a photo that we would buy, instead of letting her enjoy herself. We will never come back, she and I are so saddened and disappointed by our experience. The photographer even stated they get in trouble if they dont get great shots.
For kids its not about the photo, it's about the experience.
A picture of them enjoying the encounter would be just fine, no need to force them to look away from the magic.

With the exception for the long lines and crowds this place is very educational. Next time we will come in the off season.

Kinda dirty, leaky tanks. Employees seemed really good; ownership needs to invest in maintaining the place better

This is for sure a very exciting experience for people of all ages! The dolphin encounter was amazing as well as the shows. Pretty pricey, but well worth it. Amazing animals to see and tons of knowledge to learn

had a great time.
grandchildren enjoyed swimming with the dolphins

Wish they'd tell you certain exhibits be closed in winter. My son really wanted to see the sea lions however no showing. Rest of it was great.

Dolphin & photos experience a little pricey but what an experience, food reasonable & ample portions, lots to see & do for all

The dolphin show is GREAT! Seal show was entertaining for the kids... but the dolphin show and meet & greet are worth the price of admission.

Most amazing people and exhibits! We made the best memories! We learned alot about marine life and also land animals in a fun, hands on environment. Would recommend to everyone of all ages. Simply spectacular!!

I remember this place as a kid and loved it. As an adult,I don't have the same feelings. The staff and employees seem passionate about the animals, but the enclosures seems so small and inside the gift shop, there were garbage cans to catch all the water leaking through the ceiling.

Everything was fun, interactive and clean, there were some ceiling tiles missing and some water damage in the gift shop, I'm assuming from the hurricane so we can't hold that against them as it looked like they are working on getting it repaired. I recommend going, great family experience

So fun. It's amazing what they can teach the mammals! Kids n adults will love it.

Awesome experience!! Very good military discounts. Only negative is the price you have to pay for your dolphin experience photos in addition to your tickets.

Pretty expensive for what ya get but nice place to go with family

A great place to take the family or significant other.

The swim adventure with the dolphins is AWESOME!! Ayana the trainer and Roux the dolphin are absolutely amazing! We had a wonderful experience!! Best day EVER!

Great family park. They do an excellent job with the animals. The sea lion kiss was something my son will remember forever. Nice staff, educational, and very interactive. Well worth every penny we spent there!

My daughter had a lot of fun here.We wished they had an aquarium here though.

The shows were so much fun! The admission may seem pricy but the online discount helps. Especially if you have children, the admission is well worth it!

Learned a lot from this place! Very hands-on experience. It is somewhat small, but it wasn't crowded and my son absolutely loved it. The dolphins were incredible. Loved the manta rays. You can tell the trainers really care about the animals. Very clean too.

A beautiful experience and especially the people from there was very nice and you could focus that relaxation that one expected from or on our vacations I loved it,

My daughter wanted to swim with the dolphins, so we ended up here. What a great experience. The whole thing, though overpriced, was a great time. By the time you pay for the admission, the dolphin swim and pictures, you are out a lot of money.
It was a lot of fun and my daughter had a memory that will last forever.

GREAT EXPERIENCE! Highly recommend. My friend and I purchased the Dolphin Swim Adventure and were highly satisfied! Amazing photos and wonderful interaction.

Great experience but keep in mind that the photos for experiences are very expensive. They charge by person and it averages approximately $40 for each person.

This was an excellent family experience. The shows were great, staff was awesome. The kids got to swim with the dolphins and had the time of their lives. The dolphins were so smart.

A good experience for younger kids. Dolphin Encounter was not as good as we have previously experienced. They group you with many people and your time with the dolphins is very minimal due to the dolphins cooperation. So that was not the facilities fault. However, they do not lengthen your experience time. So be aware you might get very little hands on time.

$65 for two for 30 minutes of entertainment. Parking was awful 20 minutes after opening. In inside of park is very small doesn't take but just a few minutes to see everything roughly 10-15. Rough toothed dolphin exhibit is unbelievably small even In comparison to sea world. Don't waste your money unless your gonna pay to swim with the dolphins

Before you go, watch to see when the shows are happening. My son loves this place and we have been going over the years. Worth the look, price is high but there is a lot that goes into a place like this. Enjoy your trip.

Absolutely loved it! A great place for people of all ages.

Very disappointed this time. Much less of an experience then a few years ago (less animals...). Sting rays closed for a program as well as other areas. I understand about the encounters when you pay more for them but it should not hinder other customers from being able to even see the animals. The dolphins were beautiful as always but that show was much less then previous experiences.
We waited for 45 minutes in the heat with our 2 kids waiting for the sea lion show only to be told it was full when we got to the gate. Very disappointed & won't be going back.

Not a good experience at all. They dont have half the exhibits open and there is a ton of construction going on so you cant even talk to each other. Then the manager was very rude to us so we will not make the 2hr drive to come here again.

A bit pricey but worth it for the kids. Staff was great and helpful we done the dolphin experience and it was adorable. Great for all ages.

Fun and informative.goes to fast.many exhibits were closed when we were there.a little disappointing

This is great place to spend the day learning about nature and rehabilitation efforts. While it's obvious that education is a top priority, they also strive to make the experience fun for the whole family. There's plenty of shade so despite being outside for several exhibits, you can stay cool even on really hot days. Sea lions, dolphins, birds, and turtles are just some of the neat things you'll see.

Not worth the price anymore. Very small, actually feel sorry for the cramped quarters these animals have to live in

Fun activity, for the whole family. Only takes about three hours to do everything.

Gulf World was an enjoyable experience but I think for the amount of time we spent here, it felt a little over-priced. We loved lunch at the diner next store, great burgers!

You cant go wrong going here i absolutely enjoyed and loved swimming with the dolphins and everyone was so nice.there are lots to see there adults and kids can enjoy and have fun i did i definitely will go back there!

We really enjoyed our day at Gulf World. The Sea Lion and Dolphin shows were amazing and very informative. We enjoyed the Bird show, but the girls who hosted it were incredibly hard to hear and understand. They spoke so fast and so softly that even with the microphones they were hard to hear.

Awesome experience with dolphin encounter. The pictures are a bit pricey especially after pay a large amount for the experience. Other than that it is wonderful.

Price is fair and dolphin show is great! Small area but it's a nice little walk

Exhibits are closed or under construction. The overall venue is rundown in desperate need of renovation. Not worth the price.

So I came here on a whim, and didn't know what to expect.

It said aquarium on the website, and I was very excited for an aquarium. What I got wasn't an aquarium, but it was alright. I'd say the best phrase to describe this park would be a dollar general sea world.

The shows for sea lions and dolphins were great and entertaining, but the exhibits were very subpar. The only place you could see penguins were in this small cage in the first photo. They had birds, turtles, and a couple sharks but the exhibits were very dirty and hard to see what was in it. The stingray exhibit where you fed them was very cool, but that was the only exhibit that was enjoyable.

During the shows it seemed like a never ending recycling ad, they never shut up about it. Now don't get me wrong, I like the idea of recycling and saving the planet... If they give you the option within the park. The last photo shows most of the trash cans in the park, stand alone with no spot to recycle next to it.

3/5 good shows, good cheap food, and average wimpy exhibits

The dolphin experience was great for my 9 year old. We also enjoyed the sea lion and dolphin show. I've been here and at the Gulfarium and much prefer Gulf World.

This place is so cute! Has a very intimate feel to it because it is a smaller aquarium place. You can take photos with dolphins at an affordable price. Animals are well taken care of, which is important to me. Also has affordable food to purchase to eat if you spend a few hours there.

Everything bad about marine mammals being exploited in captivity is here for your viewing pleasure! Ask about the deals they made with Sea World to strip baby dolphins from their mothers in order to supply Sea World with their slave performers! Then listen as they tell you how bad it would be to release these dolphins into the wild because they couldn't survive, so they're actually doing the animals a favor...

Animals are in good conditions and the staff is very helpful.

The Dolphin Show is great and the other wild life is terrific!

They was very disorganized and not to friendly at all. The show was great and seeing the sharks and stingrays was cool. But it wasn't worth the cost by no means.

Absolutely loved it.. The dolphin experience is a must!

On the left is a picture of Gulf Worlds Reef aquarium. One that you will pay your hard earned money to go and see. One that has maybe 7 rocks and a few fish you could easily see by stepping into knee high water in the Gulf. On the right is a picture of my aquarium at home. With all live corals, and a variety of fish. Enough said. Ive grown up in Panama City Beach and have been to Gulf World numerous times. Its a shame that after all these years, it still hasn't changed a bit. Not worth the money. Take your time and money and go on a dolphin cruise or go to the state park with a snorkel mask and see 10x the amount of wild life.

We really liked the show with the dolphins and sea lion. Plus your daughter loved swimming with the dolphins. I enjoyed the beautiful birds they had on display. Most of all is the staff making it a great experience.