Scuba diving the world’s oceans and seas is the most otherworldly experience one can have without leaving the earth’s exosphere. Diving sites where sharks abound add suspense to that sense of otherworldliness, but Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay now provides a dive in the desert with no danger of becoming dinner for razor-toothed predators. The Undersea Explorer VR Experience takes viewers on a voyage to the bottom of the sea, where several shark species are encountered.
First there are jungle habitats, aquatic environments, touchable stingrays and a shipwreck to explore. Meet a submerged Johnston’s crocodile in the ancient sunken temple and learn how they hunt and hold prey with their 70 dagger-like teeth. Get winked at by a large Komodo dragon without being consumed in entirety by the voracious reptile. Encounter a Burmese python with a seize-and-squeeze mentality and witness piranha from a safe distance.
Exotic underwater life in the tanks such as zebra sharks swim in harmony with beak-bearing parrotfish and teeth-grinding French grunts. Queen triggerfish crowned with protective dorsal spines reside in reefs with fierce-fighting sergeant majors and French angelfish.
The shark tube leading to the touch pool offers a dynamic and dramatic visual experience. Hammerheads swim up and over the glass enclosures, enabling views of every angle of the graceful fish’s anatomy. The “kings of sting,” as mounted wall placards dub them, rule the pool where a very gentle one-finger touch is allowed. These rays have their stingers trimmed, so it is not necessary to learn the pain-alleviating “stingray shuffle” before an encounter.
It’s possible to lose track of time while zoning out on the cylindrical sea jellies tank. Nearby, lionfish get a brightly lit habitat fit for spectacular royal scale patterns. Starfish of all sizes room with a giant Pacific octopus skilled at hiding in plain sight.
The grand finale is the viewing area designed to resemble a shipwreck with windows providing views out to the “ocean” floor. Several species of sharks swim about, with bowmouth guitarfish and sawtooth sharks having the fanciest faces. Visitors can sign up to feed Shark Reef’s residents or to swim among more than 30 sand tiger, sandbar and white tip reef sharks if they are certified divers.
That would require getting wet, though. The Undersea Explorer VR Experience allows for a dry dive in a 36-seat motion-platform theater. VR headsets provide 360-degree virtual vistas that allows audience members to “dive” with the inhabitants of Tiger Beach in the Bahamas. It feels very real as tiger sharks get up close and personal, then interact with an diver. Hold on tight as a GoPro helps simulate the feeling of hanging onto a hammerhead’s fin for a minute-long ride.
People with a history of motion sickness might want to check out the aquarium first, but if the vertiginous author of this article did not experience any adverse effects it should be fine for most everyone.
Mandalay Bay, 702.632.4555
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