Unique Gifts from Georgia Aquarium
Bring the memories home with you! Stop by our gift shop for all your dolphin gifts or shop online.
Aqua Pass holders require reservations to visit. Sea Lion or Dolphin Presentations require reservations on the day of your visit.
Georgia Aquarium is open 365 days a year, with daily entry ending half an hour before closing. Hours are subject to change.
9:00 am-9:00 pm
Experience
30 minutes
Guest 15 years of age and under requires a participating adult
Parents or legal guardians must sign program liability waiver and animal interactive program guidelines for guests under 18.
For guests with special needs, every effort will be made in order to allow participation in our Dolphin Encounter. Please call 404-581-4000 to make a reservation and let the reservists know you have special needs and someone from the program will call you prior to your visit to review your options.
Please ensure that your party adheres to the age requirements before booking this Animal Interactive Program.
If requirements are not met, your program will be cancelled.
The program fee is non-refundable; however, the program will be rescheduled whenever possible based upon program availability. The Aquarium will reschedule your encounter free of charge if the change is made at least 14 days in advance of the original date of visit. If the change is made less than 14 days prior to the original date of your visit, a $20 change fee per ticket will be charged. No changes can be made less than 48 hours prior to the date of your original visit, and the guest will be charged the full program cost. Cancellations and no-shows will not be refunded or rescheduled. To change your reservation, please contact the Georgia Aquarium Call Center at 404.581.4000
Go behind the scenes of the Dolphin Theater for an unforgettable face-to-face experience with some of the ocean’s most intelligent and playful animals. This exclusive encounter brings you up close to our dolphins in a way few guests ever get to experience.
Join our animal care specialists poolside as you participate in a hands-on training session, where you’ll have the chance to touch, feed, and interact with these amazing marine mammals. Learn how we build strong bonds through positive reinforcement, enrichment, and daily care that ensures their health, happiness, and wellbeing.
Whether you’re a lifelong dolphin lover or simply looking to make a splash with a truly memorable moment, this encounter is sure to leave a lasting impression.
When we left, Drew just looked at me and said, "Mom, that was the most AWESOME thing EVER!!"
Michelle Marietta, GA
Bring the memories home with you! Stop by our gift shop for all your dolphin gifts or shop online.
It has been determined that dolphins develop a specific “signature whistle” within the first few months of life and that this signature whistle remains the same throughout their life. Individuals use their unique whistle to communicate identity, location and, potentially, emotional state.
Go behind the scenes of our Cold Water Quest gallery for an up-close-and-personal penguin encounter.
In our unique Sea Otter Encounter, you’ll go behind the scenes of the Cold Water Quest gallery and interact with these charismatic...
With our unique Harbor Seal Encounter, you’ll go behind the scenes of our Cold Water Quest gallery and enjoy some time with our...
With our unique Seal Lion Encounter, you’ll go behind the scenes and enjoy 30 minutes with our seal lions in their Aquarium home.
Adventure behind-the-scenes of the Cold Water Quest gallery, where you’ll to get to meet our beluga whales face to face.
Click here to purchase your Dolphin Encounter tickets.
You can complete the waiver using this link prior to your arrival for your encounter: Animal Interactive Waiver
Please Note:
Showtime Pictures snaps photos as you enter the aquarium and during animal encounters. As you leave the aquarium, you will see our custom photo kiosks in the gift shop where you can view and print your pictures immediately. To order, or view them online please follow this link: https://mygeorgiaaquarium.com/mygallery/
Cancellation and Date Change Policy: The program fee is non-refundable; however, the program will be rescheduled whenever possible based upon program availability. The Aquarium will reschedule your encounter free of charge if the change is made at least 14 days in advance of the original date of visit. If the change is made less than 14 days prior to the original date of your visit, a $20 change fee per reservation will be charged. No changes can be made less than 48 hours prior to the date of your original visit, and the guest will be charged the full program cost.
Cancellations and no-shows will not be refunded or rescheduled. To change your reservation, please contact the Georgia Aquarium Call Center at 404.581.4000.
Guests must check in at the Animal Interaction desk, located next to the Ocean Voyager Built by The Home Depot gallery, 15 minutes prior to the start of their program. Guests arriving late will not be permitted to participate in the program and will not be refunded or rescheduled. We encourage guests to arrive at the Aquarium with plenty of time to park, enter, and check into the program. Please plan accordingly.
Due to the nature of caring for animals, Georgia Aquarium reserves the right to modify, cancel and/or reschedule programs without notice. Reasonable accommodations will be made to reschedule guests as effectively as possible.
Guests will not be able to watch you interact with the dolphins. Any guests that you would like to be a part of this poolside experience will also have to purchase a ticket.
Please go to the Animal Interactions desk, on the second floor near the Ray Touch Pool, to check in at least 15 minutes prior to your Dolphin Encounter.
Minimum age is 7 years. All guests ages 16 and under must be accompanied during the program by a participating adult. All participants must be ticketed for the encounter. There is a maximum of 3 children per participating adult. Guests under the age of 18 must have the program liability waiver and animal interactive program guidelines signed and dated by their parent or court appointed legal guardian.
Reservations are not required. However, we strongly encourage reservations to guarantee your experience as spaces are limited. Space is currently limited to only 4 participants per dolphin per program. While up to 8 participants may be able to participate per program time:
Parties larger than 4 participants will be divided between different animals due to the space limitation. Parties of 2 or 3 participants may be divided between different animals due to the space limitation.
For the safety of our animals, guests and team members, all program participants must wear a facial covering over their mouth and nose at all times for the duration of the program. Additionally, all guests must consent to a contactless temperature check upon entry.
A photo I.D., appropriate footwear, attire that can be splashed and your sense of adventure! Guests may not bring personal cameras into dolphin program areas.
The Dolphin Encounter program lasts 15-minutes and includes approximately 8 minutes of interaction with a dolphin. During this fast-paced program you will go backstage at our dolphin theater to meet, touch and feed one of the dolphin stars of our spectacular Dolphin Celebration presentation. See up-close many of the ways we care for our dolphins and participate in a training session during this hands-on poolside encounter.