Under sea, a site to see
The Weeki Wachee mermaids have started their extended gig at Sea Life Orlando
The fish and stingrays at Sea Life Orlando Aquarium are going with the flow as mermaids from Weeki Wachee Springs State Park move into their tank for an extended stay that begins this weekend.
“The creatures we have, they’re extremely interested,” said Todd Andrus, regional head of marketing for Sea Life. “When they see the mermaids in the water, they come over and check it out.”
Five mermaids will rotate into the water and also do dry-land meet-and-greets inside the International Drive attraction on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays
through Oct. 21. It’s the first time in Weeki Wachee history — which dates to 1947 — that the mermaids have performed in Orlando.
“It’s a little bit different wildlife than we have at home,” mermaid manager Amanda Luter said Friday. At Weeki Wachee, which is in Hernando County on Florida’s Gulf coast, they interact with freshwater fish, manatees and turtles. At Sea Life, they will be in the water in the attraction’s Pacific Habitat.
In addition to being excellent breath-holders, the costumed swimmers are equipped with an airsupply hose developed by Weeki Wachi founder Newton Perry back in the ’40s.
“We still use the same breathing method today, and we have a set of travel hoses,” said Luter, a University of Central Florida graduate from New Port Richey.
The mermaid migration to I-Drive will expose folks to Weeki Wachee and be a draw to Sea Life, which opened in 2015.
“The goal is, honestly, giving our guests something different,” Andrus said. “We want families to come in and have fun; we want families to come in and make memories. And mermaids add to that. There’s an allure behind the mermaids being here.”
Mermaids are for all ages, Luter said.
“Adults come for more of keeping the history alive because they came when they were little kids,” she said.
Today’s kids have fin-related questions for the mermaids.
“We just say that it’s our special tail and we can change colors with our moods,” Luter said. “Some mermaids are pink and some mermaids are blue or green, just depending on their mood that day.”