Laguna Water Park
As you open the doors to Laguna Water Park you see an eskimo style restaurant, gift shop, and scenery such as totem poles and dog sleds. As you take the path to Alaskan Waters exhibit you immediately come upon a water worn cove. Your skin gets very chilled as you get closer to the arctic waters. Here you can see a tall glass wall connected to the sides of the cove. This is where you can get a glimpse of the large Walrus family swimming in a deep pool. To the left of the cove is a rotating globe where red flashing lights show endangered animals around the world. There is also an information panel about the Stellars Sea Cow and a skeleton right above you. Once you get out of the cove you step onto a wooden bridge that gives you a perfect look at the whole walrus exhibit. You will see many deep trenches for better swimming. Giant water worn rocks coming out of the water with icy ledges for the walrus to lay on. Icebergs and ice drifts surrounding the water. As you get off the bridge you walk to the main viewing area. This is a small nursery for newborn babies and a basking area. As you follow the trail it leads you into a iceberg arch way. As you walk into the hollow iceberg you immediately see to the left a very snowy and icy exhibit with a couple of small patches of grass. This is the Ringed Seal and Spotted Seal land viewing area. Then the path takes you to a glass tunnel surrounded by water. This is where you can see the ringed and spotted seal swim over, under, and on the sides of you. The exhibit surface has many icebergs and ice drifts. The ice drifts are replaced often so they don't completely melt. The deep exhibit also has a school of lingcod that serves as enrichment for the seals. Once you get out of the tunnel you find yourself under a glass dome surrounded by water. The dome is very dark to make it feel like your under ice. This is where the breeding area is for the lingcod. In the middle of the Water Dome is a smaller aquarium with a glass tunnel running through the bottom of the tank. This tunnel is mainly for children but is large enough for an adult on his/her knees. The exhibit is home to a large amount of Lamprey. The Lamprey also feed on Lingcod for meals and smaller live ones are used for enrichment. When you exit the Water Dome you see two large water falls. The first is for Stock Eye Salmon and the second is for Grizzly Bears. The salmon exhibit is a large pool representing the ocean and has steep water fall falling from a nursery pool where babies spend there life until they return to their low part of the exhibit. That represents the water fall the salmon go up to lay eggs and die. When the fish die they are put into various exhibits for animal enrichment. The Grizzly Bear exhibit is very wooded with a lower and upper part. The lower part is where a public animal demonstration is held and the upper has a large cave, Boreal Forest, and a river where many dead or alive salmon are hunted by these giant predators. After you've seen the Grizzly catch its meal the path takes you to two smaller exhibits The first is built into a mossy rock wall. As you peer into the glass of the small exhibit you see a breeding pair of Glacier Bay Water Shrews. The second exhibit has a small trickling river disappearing behind a small rocky hill. This is where a large family of Stoats live. As you fallow the path you come upon a very large exhibit. This is the Bald Eagle exhibit. The exhibit has a large tree trunk in the middle where the roost. The exhibit also has a fast river that flows into a pond. The pond and river hold live salmon for the birds to hunt one by one. Once you walk through the large raptor aviary you go through a door that leads you to a deep exhibit where a breeding group of Narwhales live. The exhibit has an underwater and an above viewing area. There is also a separate exhibit for them if they need to get away from the public. As you go through doors to the Colorado River exhibit you will see many free flight birds flying around the exhibits such as Ruby Throated Humming Bird, Belted Kingfisher, Steller's Jay, Mountain Chickadee, White Breasted Nuthatch, Cross Beak, and Cedar Waxwing. When you first come into the exhibit there is a pamphlet where a list of birds in the exhibit are listed. There is also Binoculars that you can pick up to look for animals. After your done with them you just put them into a box at the end of the exhibit so that they can be used by someone else. As you walk along the Forest exhibit you see a large, fast river with a low glass fence. This represents the Colorado River and the wildlife in it. The fish that live in the river are Brook Trout, Channel Catfish, Crappie, Golden Trout, Rainbow Trout, Spotted Trout, and Cutthroat Trout. The next river is for vulnerable and endangered fish. The Vulnerable Colorado Pike minnow, Vulnerable Humpback Chub, Endangered Razorback Sucker, and the Endangered bony tail Chub. The next exhibit is a duck pond for Ruddy Duck, Cinnamon Teal, Green Winged Teal, and American Widgeon. This exhibit is viewed by visitors from an underwater view point so you can see them dive for food and interact with you. This is also a nest area for moms so you are sure to see ducklings. Once you have walked through the forest exhibit the path takes you down the Colorado River into the Arizona Grand Canyon. Before you go into the Grand Canyon you make your way through a Desert Cave where animals from all around come to a small water source. The caves walls are lined with exhibits for New Mexico Spade foot, Chuckwalla, Gila Monster, Desert Tortoise, and Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. At the floor of the cave is a pool that is covered up with glass so you can walk over it. The pool is home to Devil Hole Pupfish and at the end of the cave is another pool for Desert Pupfish. When you exit the cave you are welcomed by a Tour Guide that will help you paddle through the Grand Canyon to Baja. When you paddle through the Grand Canyon you see many netted exhibit for Kit Fox, Ring Tail, Chihuahuan Raven, Northern Flicker, Turkey Vulture, Gambel's Quail, and Greater Sage Grouse. As you leave the Grand Canyon you see a building for The Critically Endangered Vaquita. This building has five exhibits but one is only visible. There exhibits are designed to look exactly like their wild home so they act more naturally. As you exit the building you come into a large complex. This will make up the rest of the zoo. The exhibits are Low Tide, Borneo's Mangrove, Freshwater Giants, Secrets of the Congo, Unknown,and Jellyfish.
Low Tide- The exhibit is covered with Tide Pools Where visitors can take off there shoes and explore the tide pools with a hands on experience. The animals the guests will see are:Sculpins,Purple Sea Urchin, Brittle Sea Star, Bat Sea Star, Warty Sea Cucumber, Shore Crabs, Hermit Crabs, Barnacles, Mussels, Giant Pacific Octopus, Sea Anemones, American Avocet, Black Necked Stilt, and Snowy Plover.
Borneo's Mangrove- You enter the exhibit on a canoe. Most of the exhibits are free ranging but some are netted or barred. The animals are: Proboscis Monkey, White Fronted Langur, Bornean Gibbon, Maroon Langur, Sunda Loris, Bornean Peacock Pheasant, Storm's Stork, Bornean Ground Cuckoo, Fiddler Crab, Muddskipper, and the Elusive Borneo Bay Cat.
Freshwater Giants- The exhibits are large, deep, and murky so there is a keeper showing you where the fish are. The fish are: Arapaima, Nile Perch, Wells Catfish, White Sturgeon, Mekong Giant Catfish, and the largest of them all Giant Freshwater Stingray.
Secrets of the Congo- The exhibit has a fast current and a very tropical climate. The fish are: Freshwater Elephant Fish, African Electric Catfish, Spiny Eel, Cornish Jack, and the deadly African Tiger Fish. The exhibit will also feature a documentary of the African Tiger fish.
Unknown- The exhibit is very large and deep. You view them by a glass tunnel. This will give these never before contained mysteries some privacy. There is also a behind the scenes lab for further study on all the animals at the park. The animals are:Oarfish, Frill Shark, Megamouth Shark, Basking Shark, Coelacanth, Pacific Barrel Eye Fish, and a preserved dead Giant Squid.
Jellyfish- This is the last animal exhibit at the park. Each exhibit has its own alcove so guest can sit and look at the jellyfish. The Jellyfish are: Mangrove, Lagoon, Sea Nettle, Upside Down, Comb, Sand, Blue Blubber, Sea Wasp, White Spotted, Immortal, Moon, Man of war, King, Moon Light, box, and the Lion's Mane Jellyfish.
After you get out of the zoo you make your way to the indoor water park. The Water Park includes a surf Wave Ride where people can learn to surf and a jungle pool where you can swim with fish. The Water Park also has Snorkeling with fish and scuba diving in a sunken ship.
