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Aquarium at Concord Mills

15895

By 15895
in Charlotte

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MilZ Hamlet

MilZ

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It's sooooo much smaller than I had anticipated.  I could have sworn that they had originally stated they were going to expand the space outward.  This is definitely not the case. The interior of the old speedpark was not very big to begin with.  I have a feeling we are going to be quite a bit underwhelmed by the finished product here.

Agreed. I think they are stretching quite a bit when they say most visitors will spend 60 to 90 minutes there.

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ah59396 Town

ah59396

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Agreed.  That said, I wonder if the existence of this suburban mall aquarium hinders Charlotte's chances at landing at least a semi-big league aquarium within city limits in the near future.

 

Ugh, I hope not.  In all honesty, I feel like getting this aquarium is a bad thing for the metro as a whole.

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nonillogical Burg

nonillogical

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I'm can't help but be unconcerned about the impact this aquarium might have on an larger aquarium that is not planed for, paid for or even though of in any realistic sense by anyone that can make it happen.

 

I can take my kids to this one.

 

TH

I agree. I don't think we're going to get a major aquarium in any timeframe that merits serious discussion right now. Or a zoo for that matter despite the vague plans that do exist for one. I'm ok with that though, there are other attractions we can pursue that we don't have such strong competitors for nearby. 

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ah59396 Town

ah59396

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I agree. I don't think we're going to get a major aquarium in any timeframe that merits serious discussion right now. Or a zoo for that matter despite the vague plans that do exist for one. I'm ok with that though, there are other attractions we can pursue that we don't have such strong competitors for nearby.

I was actually thinking about this the other day. What projects CAN we pursue? Atlanta has the aquarium and Ferris wheel. Raleigh has the NC natural history museum. Columbia and Asheboro have zoo's.

What are some cool things Charlotte can get?

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nonillogical Burg

nonillogical

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I was actually thinking about this the other day. What projects CAN we pursue? Atlanta has the aquarium and Ferris wheel. Raleigh has the NC natural history museum. Columbia and Asheboro have zoo's.

What are some cool things Charlotte can get?

This is all pretty unscientific guesswork, but I just think that the Georgia Aquarium has a VERY strong regional draw, rendering any attempt at one of our own that doesn't somehow one-up it (and having to be the biggest or best in the world to do so) instantly a runner-up that is going to get passed over by the regional traffic and have a fraction of the attendance. A zoo would probably have to be a relatively small urban format, which I would welcome, but again it would be a waste of effort to try to do much with the kind of scale they have in Asheboro if its not going to surpass it in some way. I think we'll get a zoo eventually but its not going to be anything revolutionary. 

 

I think we could continue to add unique sports amenities. There is a gap in this part of the east coast for decent bike and skate facilities that we could easily make a claim to. We could probably do a natural history museum despite Raleigh's, and it could even compliment Discovery Place to have something like that nearby. We almost have a good critical mass of museums uptown that I could see more weird little inexpensive niche museums succeeding. Plans to make Carowinds one of their top-tier theme parks sound great...maybe expand the water park too? 

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nowensone Burg

nowensone

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I think the zoo (and aquarium) idea is a bit saturated but there are some nice big open spots in the city limits in which one could fit, I think they'd have to put some kind of unique spin on it though to get good traffic.  In brainstorming regional + level attractions, and ruling each one out, I keep returning to a mini-Hollywood type area, which of course we're sort of flirting with at the Eastland site.  Or MLB.  Probably going to have to give any ideas a decade or so more of growth, and hopefully get transit projects completed in that timeframe.

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allthingsplanes Whistle-Stop

allthingsplanes

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It seems like to me that North Carolina has made it a priority to only have "state" zoos and aquariums.  I know there are smaller varieties, like this one going into Concord Mills, but it's clear the state wants control over the larger parks.

 

It also seems like more of us need to be proud of what we already have and support the efforts that are already taking place.  Think about it - we have 2 professional sports teams, a huge airport, a large (and growing) theme park, the NASCAR stuff, etc.  I don't see what's wrong with Concord becoming a bit of a tourist destination - most visitors from out of town will think of it as being Charlotte, and will likely come into Charlotte on their trip as well.  

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Urbanity Burg

Urbanity

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It seems like to me that North Carolina has made it a priority to only have "state" zoos and aquariums.  I know there are smaller varieties, like this one going into Concord Mills, but it's clear the state wants control over the larger parks.

 

Dumb question perhaps, but does the state have any ability to interfere, let alone block a non state zoo and/or aquarium?  

 

And not to derail the thread - but what examples are you suggesting of private owned and operated zoos or aquariums?

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allthingsplanes Whistle-Stop

allthingsplanes

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Dumb question perhaps, but does the state have any ability to interfere, let alone block a non state zoo and/or aquarium?  

 

And not to derail the thread - but what examples are you suggesting of private owned and operated zoos or aquariums?

I was simply referring to the fact that in North Carolina (and this is the only state I know of like this) there aren't individual zoos in the cities.  There is simply THE North Carolina Zoo.  There are also 3 North Carolina Aquariums out on the coast.

 

The private ones are things like the Lazy 5 Ranch, Tiger World, and now Sea Life Aquarium.

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navigator319 Burg

navigator319

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so there is 10k planned future expansion...

 

Sea Life, a one-story, 26,000-square-foot indoor aquarium at Concord Mills mall, is scheduled to open next spring. Another 10,000 square feet of space is planned for future expansion.

 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/12/13/4534860/charlotte-concord-aquarium-starts.html#.Uq4Xvo1RZgh

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Urbanity Burg

Urbanity

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I think it looks nice and is a great asset for the mall, but I'm in agreement with AirNostrumMAD on this.    Let's put it this way - If I was in the Mall to begin with and wanted to make a day of it (movie/shopping/etc) I might be tempted.  Also if I had kids and was looking for an activity that was part of a day - then I think the Aquarium would be a definite draw. 

 

Single adult who doesn't like to shop in general?  Let's put it this way - I've been to Concord Mills less than six times in as many years.   The mini-Aquarium is not going to  make me up my visits.

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Neo City

Neo

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FYI, I bought a family pass for my family. My wife stays at home and is always looking for things to do with the kids so we decided to get an annual pass so they would have somewhere to go hangout. Annual pass holders got to check everything out this past weekend so I tagged along. I'm not really a zoo or aquarium type person, but I have been to some awesome aquariums. Unfortunately it feels like this aquarium was plopped at the mall to make a quick buck off of tourists. It does have a couple of interesting displays (there is a moderately sized room where fish circle you 360 degrees) but for the most part it is nothing special IMO. Certainly better than Discovery Place, but nowhere near any other aquarium I've ever been to. Even the New Orleans aquarium (which I thought was pretty lackluster overall) is light years ahead of this one.

For my family it made sense, but even my wife proclaimed that it is a waste of money if you pay for a single visit. I expect that they will go a lot and get their money's worth, but my advice is to not even bother paying for this. I'm certain it will do well, but I think most everyone will leave disappointed. We took our time and were out of there in 30 minutes.

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15895 City

15895

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^ yeah. My lover said, when he saw it on the news "now we dont have to go to Atlanta"

Haha... Ohhhh yes. That aquarium is the only reason I visit Atlanta. And I love love love it. I love any aquarium but this one seems really lame for the money (2 adult tickets).

I am still pulling for Charlotte to get a proper aquarium. I think the region is large enough for another aquarium.

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Neo City

Neo

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I am still pulling for Charlotte to get a proper aquarium. I think the region is large enough for another aquarium.

 

I agree that the area could support a proper aquarium. The thing about this one (Concord Mills) is that even though I'm now an annual pass holder, I will probably forget it's there. Ouch.

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