Accessibility Review: Clearwater Aquarium

Accessibility Grade: C

Made famous by the popular film "Dolphin Tale," featuring the late Winter the dolphin, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium is home to a variety of sea life. Focused on rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing injured animals, this aquarium is a wonderful place to learn, and even teach your kids, about the importance of wildlife conservation. But you're not here to simply read about the animals! You want to know about the facility's accessibility, right? There's a lot to go through, not all of which is sunshine and rainbows. So, let's dive right in! And yes, that pun was totally intended.

To starts things off, even though we couldn't get any pictures, the parking garage was a pretty tight fit. If you have a larger vehicle, I'd proceed with caution. Next to the building's entrance was a pay station, potentially making it easier for wheelchair users to pay; however, upon exiting the garage, you must be able to reach out of your vehicle's window, and feed your ticket into a machine. Since I'm a quad-amputee, I couldn't do this on my own. So, I'm certainly glad that I brought a friend along!

After navigating the garage, we took an elevator to the main entrance of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. The wide, automatic doors made the entrance pretty accessible. After getting into the building, we paid the entry fee of $41.95 for an adult ticket. I thought this was pretty pricey, but was slightly OK with that price, only because the aquarium does such great work with animal rehabilitation and conservation. If you'd like some additional information about admission rates, click here to view their website.

After taking the elevator, I immediately checked out the Ruth & J.O. Stone Dolphin Complex. From above, you can look over the entire expanse of the dolphin exhibit. From above the water, it wasn't necessarily easy to see the dolphins; however, you can totally see them as they surface to breath. Here, there was plenty of room for people who use mobility equipment. For those who are a bit shorter than I am in my chair, glass makes it possible to see the water within.

When I attempted to go out to the dolphin complex, the automatic door opener didn't work. To the right, you'll see the only button that we could find; however, when we pressed it, nothing happened. There was no other option. So, yet again, I was lucky that I brought a friend who could help me open doors.

After taking the elevator down, we found the entrance for the Dolphin Complex's viewing area. The ramp was wide enough to accommodate the width of my wheelchair, though not much more than that. I imagine that this pathway could get congested during busier hours, so please keep that in mind.

On the way to the Dolphin Complex, you'll find yourself rolling or walking along a corridor. There, you'll see some displays that'll tell you about the different dolphins who have called the Clearwater Marine Aquarium home.

Once you get to the big tank, you'll get a chance to watch the dolphins as they swim through their enclosure. Since I was a child, I've always loved marine animals. Getting the opportunity to tend to my inner-child, and have the chance to come face-to-face with a bottlenose dolphin, was a wonderfully nostalgic experience. As we go through the rest of the aquarium, you'll recognize that this part of it is really accessible: the paths are typically pretty wide and are at a good height for wheelchair users to see. I have to point out that this section of the aquarium is much newer than most of the other exhibits. You'll see that this exhibit isn't necessarily reflective of the rest of the aquarium's accessibility, which was lacking in a lot of ways. But we'll get to that in just a second.

Continuing into the rest of the aquarium, where most of the animals are held, was a little confusing. In the area shown above, you'll see a caution sign, which sits over a large bump. I was actually surprised at how jarring the uneven floor actually was. For wheelchair users, I'd definitely recommend being very careful, and treading over this bump very slowly. This bump is a lot steeper than it looks in the picture.

At the stingray enclosure, we met a number of their staff, all of whom were extremely friendly. This area had lower areas, made of glass, so that children can easily see into the tank. For wheelchair users who are a bit short, this exhibit will be a bit easier to see the creatures in the exhibit.

As we meandered through the surrounding exhibits, we actually got a bit lost. Here, we saw some more of the animals that they had on exhibit. Here, there were a number of different sharks, fish, and crustaceans. These enclosures sat pretty low to the ground, making them a bit easier for children and wheelchair users to see into the enclosure. There was also an area that showed their operating rooms, where they treat their sick animals. 

In what appeared to be the old part of the aquarium, it was much more difficult to get around. Firstly, it was really difficult for us to find the elevator. I aimlessly searched for what felt like hours and ended up getting lost. After finally finding the elevator, we took it to see the other, remaining exhibits. To the left, you'll see a picture of me, going through this tiny space, to try and get to the other exhibits. Though my power wheelchair fit, the opening was really narrow. In fact, I didn't think I would even be able to make it through the opening. Additionally, to the right, you can see a staircase. For a child, or somebody who may not have the best driving skills, I feel like this space is honestly dangerous.

Once I made it through that treacherous corridor, I was able to get to some of the other enclosures with relative ease. There are "wheelchair access" signs placed around these exhibits, which I assume is a way to tell visitors that they should leave space for wheelchair users, who may need to get close to the railing to see the exhibit below. I didn't have much trouble seeing over the railing, but I also stand pretty tall (for a wheelchair user, that is!). For people who are a bit shorter, you may experience some difficulty seeing into these exhibits. If you are a power wheelchair user and have a seat elevator, now may be the time to use it.

Similarly, you'll find other, accessible viewing spaces for other exhibits. Located on the opposite end of the room, which we've shown above, is an area that allows visitors to take a peak into their otter exhibit, which is called "Otter Oasis." The wheelchair accessible spot was located at the end of the exhibit, which kind of made it difficult to see the otters below.

From here, we took a stroll to a patio area, located right outside of the exhibits that I mentioned above.  The view was pretty nice, giving visitors a view of the channel, located behind the aquarium. In the background, you'll see some docks, which have some boats that are on lifts. We learned that the aquarium does offer dolphin tours on their boats; however, we were also told that the tour boats are not wheelchair accessible.

You'll notice that, in the seating area, there is actually a sign, indicating that this space is intended to serve as a quiet area. Because the sign shows a heart with headphones on it, I'll make an assumption that this environment is intended for visitors who are on the autism spectrum. It is pretty secluded from the rest of the aquarium; so, if you or your loved one is on the spectrum, this may be a great place to relax and recharge.

To finish up this review, I want to point out that I have some personal history with the Clearwater aquarium. When I was a little boy, I used to go there for Occupational Therapy. I helped them to prepare the animals' food, feed them, and got the chance to even do some animal enrichment. It has and will always be special to me. That said, the accessibility of the Clearwater Aquarium, which is actually the purpose of this review, was lack luster at best. As I mentioned previously, it wasn't the easiest to navigate. Between two of us, we still got lost on the bottom floor, in the older part of the aquarium. The parking garage wasn't very easy to get around, either. Like I also pointed out: I couldn't have gotten in or out of the garage without assistance. Even though there was supposed to be an automatic door going to the Dolphin Complex, that wasn't working. Finding the elevator, to access the lower part of that exhibit, was also pretty difficult. Actually, I'll just come out and say it: none of the elevators were easy to find. In addition to these shortcomings, there were two areas, which I mentioned above, that I'd consider to be a safety concern for wheelchair users and those who use mobility equipment:. Firstly, I need to address the raised floor, with the caution sign, in the area leading to the stingray exhibit. Another concerning area was the tiny space, which was barely wide enough for my wheelchair to fit through, that was also located right next to an open staircase. If somebody was having difficulty fitting through this small opening, and were to accidentally over-correct their steering, they could potentially fall down the stairs. That would be catastrophic. So, even though I love the animals, and even though I love that the Clearwater Aquarium rehabs sick and injured animals, their accessibility left a lot to be desired. The only reason why I can kind of justify paying $41.95 for an adult ticket, is because that money goes to the care of the animals. I didn't point it out before, so I'll mention that a ticket costs $32.95 for kids (ages 3-11) and $39.95 for seniors (ages 65+). Otherwise, the price point may not be financially accessible for some families. Click here for more information about ticket prices. In the future, I truly hope that some of these accessibility issues will be resolved.

Author: Kyle Romano

Photographer: Luis Rodriguez