Since there hasn't been any new info lately, I thought I'd answer some of the most common questions I've been asked / seen (keeping it to public known info so I don't leak anything accidentally)
Will there be a separate fee for the OP? As of right now, No, there will not be a separate fee. 1 ticket will get you access to both the OP and Original building.
Will there be touch pools in the OP? There won't be any shark or ray touch pools in the OP. So nothing like 'Stingray Bay' etc. All of the Elasmobranchs will be either in 'The Reef' or 'Mangrove Archipelago'.
How many species of Shark and Ray will be in the OP? As of right now, there will be 6 species of Elasmobranchs in the OP. This consists of: Zebra Sharks, Blacktip Reef Sharks, Bowmouth Guitarfish, Spotted Eagle Rays, Leopard Whiptail Ray, and Blue Masked Rays. (The Cownose Rays that were seen in 1 concept picture seem like they were just placeholders, though they could join the OP in later years / down the road since they're pretty commonly bred by Aquariums)
Where will the Sharks and Rays be located in the OP? Without revealing too much, the majority of the Elasmobranchs will be in 'The Reef'. If I had to guess, the split will most likely be:
'The Reef' will house the Zebras, Blacktips, Guitarfish, Eagle Rays, and Whiptail Ray.
The 'Mangrove Archipelago' has been said to house the Masked Rays.
What other notable animals will be in the OP? A couple of the other eye-catching species that will be in the OP will include the Flamboyant Cuttlefish, Garden Eels, Tessellate / Honeycomb Moray Eel, Humphead Wrasse, around 250 Scissortail Fusilers, and (what I believe) will be a new species of Seahorse based off of the Seagrass display that was shown in some of the concept work.
We currently have Hippocampus erectus Seahorses at the Aquarium, but the species isn't found in the Coral Triangle. This opens up the possibility of a new species being on display, but this is just my speculation.
A lot of the other inhabitants are various reef fish and coral found in the region.
(I should also note that during the "Lighting Talk: Jellies' that took place not too long ago, Aquarist Ren mentioned that the Jelly selection for the OP isn't set in stone yet. Even though the signs say the Spotted Lagoon Jellies are moving over, we could see some new Jelly species on display in the OP which would be really exciting)
Are all of these Animals born in captivity or taken from the wild? Almost all of the animals that will be in the OP are either Captive Bred or received from other Aquariums. Specifically the Elasmobranchs, 4 species were born in captivity (The Zebra Sharks, Blacktips, Eagle Rays, and Masked Rays), 1 species was from another aquarium (the leopard whiptail ray), and 1 species was apart of an unexpected rescue mission that was in collaboration with 3 / 4 other AZA accredited Aquariums (the Bowmouth Guitarfish.) The Fusilers, Flamboyant Cuttlefish, and Spotted Lagoon Jellies are also captive bred. Some of the smaller reef fish were collected sustainably with the proper permits.
What will be the main exhibits / galleries of the OP? As of right now, there are 5 different galleries that have been labeled. This includes 'One Ocean Hall' / 'The Reef' / '(mangrove) Archipelago' / 'Ocean Jewels' / 'Behind the Scenes'. Here is a little bit about each:
'One Ocean Hall' | The main hub / lobby of the OP. There will be various projections of Reef Footage from the Coral Triangle and also different education areas teaching about how all the Oceans face the same problems despite being scattered across the globe.
'The Reef' | (dubbed the Shark Tank by visitors) The biggest tank in the OP (around 325,000 gallons if I remember correctly, will have to double check). This will house most of the Elasmobranchs as mentioned earlier, along with the Fusilers, (I imagine) the Tessellate Moray Eel, Humphead Wrasses, and various other Reef Fish. If I remember correctly, This tank will also be housing LIVE Coral which I think is one of the coolest factors.
'The Archipelago' | An interesting tank design, this will be housing the Mangroves, Masked Rays, various Reef Fish and Coral. Educating on how Mangroves Forests are one of the most important ecosystems and how they're disappearing at a fast rate.
'Ocean Jewels' | A Gallery of Small - Medium sized displays focusing on some of the most interesting animals that live in the Coral Triangle. Showing unique adaptations, relationships, and habitats. This will most likely have the Garden Eels, Flamboyant Cuttlefish, Clownfish & Anemone, Seagrass display (with possible Seahorses), Jellies, and others.
'Behind the Scenes' | This area will show a little look at what it takes to run the OP. Most notably a look at the Jelly area where care, husbandry, and culturing happens. This area looks like where a lot of hands on experience will be.
That's all I pretty much have as far as public information goes. I'm hoping we release the next few episodes of the "Animal Care Stories" series since the next one is supposed to be on the Mangroves and Masked Rays. Whenever new information comes out, I'll try and provide a bit more of an indepth explanation as long as it doesn't leak anything.
