Developers have revealed more of their plans for the Branson Aquarium on the site of the Grand Palace in Branson, Missouri.
The “Aquarium at the Boardwalk” will open on the site of the former theatre.
Kuvera Partners, who also operate Branson’s Hollywood Wax Museum, will complete the project in phases. The company purchased the palace four years ago.
The $51 million project is hoping for $7 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) assistance to be approved.
The website of the project reveals further details planned for the aquarium, if it is approved. It will offer up-close views of fish, seahorses, jellyfish, octopi, eels, and sharks. There will be chances to touch rays and sharks, as well as a photo opportunity wearing a high-tech diving suit, or inside a fish bowl. Guests wil also be able to slide through a real tank.
The exterior of the aquarium will be modelled as a larger-than-life octopus. Plans also look as though there will be games and other attractions on the way to the Submarine Voyage.
Inside the aquarium, attractions include the Jelly Fish Infinity Room, where guests can control a colour-changing environment. In the Journey through the Waters tunnel, guests can travel through a tunnel right in the heart of the Aquarium and into a sunken ancient city.
Mermaid Palace will be a themed area featuring schooling fish, seahorses, and butterfly fish. Guests can see rays in the “Amazing Rays” viewing area, complete with photo op. There will also be a touch pool and a coral reef.
A themed kids play area is also planned. Kids will be able to scale a replica of the ocean’s giant jellyfish – a sea nettle – inside a 14-foot, net-enclosed climber. There will also be a slide “through a swarm of spiny Lionfish.”
The project is scheduled for completion by March of 2020.
