The Mermaids of Weeki Wachee

When I was little, I wanted to be a mermaid when I grew up….and maybe still do. So whenever there’s a mermaid attraction you can bet I’ll find it! Since 1947, the mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs State Park have been delighting audiences of all ages in the park’s underwater theatre. The theatre, created by Newton Perry, is located right in the Weeki Wachee Springs on US Highway 19 in Florida.

As the show takes place in the springs, it’s not uncommon for fish, turtles or even manatees to join the show! The beautiful mermaids perform a graceful water ballet to music, along with a narrated story.

Watching the mermaids swim around the spring is magical and transports the audience to a beautiful blue underwater world where mermaids exist. The mermaids make it look easy but they are actually swimming 16-20 feet below the surface against a five-mile-an-hour current!

A few times a month, mermaids from the past come back to perform their show Memories.  These ladies represent the mermaids from the 1940s through to the 1970s and range in age from 58-74, with the oldest having performed for Elvis Presley when he came to see the show!

These women perform routines from the past and show the audience neat mermaid tricks, like how the breathing tubes work, how to eat a banana and drink a Coke underwater and how to do a variety of underwater ballet moves.

After the show, you can pose for photos with one of the mermaids before heading out to enjoy the rest of this small state park.

Along the way, you’ll come across a number of mermaid statues and photo ops as well as a reptile show and a riverboat cruise down the Weeki Wachee River.

If you’ve ever dreamed of being a mermaid, Weeki Wachee can help make that dream come true with their mermaid camps for both the young and the young at heart. Children between the ages of seven and 14 can participate in ‘Mermaid Camp’ and for those over the age of 30, Weeki Wachee has ‘Sirens of the Deep Mermaid Camp,’ perfect for those of us longing to fulfill childhood dreams of being a mermaid! I guess I know where I’ll be heading on my next trip to Florida!

Admission to the park is $13 for adults, $8 for children and free if you’re under 5. For more information about the park and the mermaid camps check out the website.