Review of Pyramids at Moody Gardens Attraction in Galveston, Texas

If you're visiting the Houston / Galveston area of Texas, one of the featured attractions you should visit, close to the Galveston Schlitterbahn Water park, is the Moody Gardens Pyramids. Dotting the Galveston skyline, the blue, white and pink pyramids that make up the grounds of the Moody Gardens park and attractions are hard to miss, and you really shouldn't miss them.

Having read some slightly negative reviews online of the aquarium at the Moody Gardens Aquarium Pyramid, I was hesitant to pay the fees to go see these attractions. After researching online, we discovered you can order tickets online for a reduced rate, and get special 2-day passes at a discounted rate. We figured up the cost of the IMAX 3D movies alone, and determined it would be worth the cost to check out the Pyramids at Moody Gardens.

Pyramids at Moody Gardens Tickets / Prices

We purchased our discounted tickets online, but you can purchase the tickets at the attractions. In fact, tickets can be purchased for each individual pyramid, ride or movie; discounted prices for one or more pyramid, ride or movie together; or an even more reduced price for a set fee for all attractions at Moody Gardens. We chose to buy the discounted 2-day tickets for all attractions, and for the three of us, it came to about $160.

While this seems steep, this price included admission to the Aquarium Pyramid at Moody Gardens, the Rainforest Pyramid at Moody Gardens, the Discovery Pyramid at Moody Gardens, all of the 3D IMAX featured movies, the 4D special feature movie, the thrill ride, the paddleboat, and the special family entertainment shows during the season.

Pyramids at Moody Gardens Accessibility

One of the things that was amazing to me, being wheelchair bound during the trip to Moody Gardens, was how the entire facility is designed specifically for disabled accessibility. Ramps are in every section of the Moody Gardens, both inside and outside. Elevators are conveniently located in every pyramid and attraction. Restaurants on the Moody Gardens property all are accessible for wheelchair or mobility limited visitors.

Even the theatres, including the 3D IMAX and the 4D entertainment theatres are wheelchair accessible, and they also have chair seating along the back or seats with arms that raise for customers of size and/or height who are not comfortable in regular theatre seats.

If you are a parent with a young child, at least age 5 or younger, you might want to consider bringing a stroller, to make the trip more fun and easier on everyone. With the disability-center facility, strollers are very easy to maneuver around the facility and buildings.

IMAX 3D Theatre at Moody Gardens

The IMAX 3D theatre at Moody Gardens is a small (three story approx.) theatre, with limited seating, but with several show times per day. The shows are educational in nature, but are entertaining as well. Each show runs approximately 40-45 minutes, give or take. When we visited, we watched, "Walking with Dinosaurs", "Fly Me to the Moon", "Wild Ocean", and we will be going back soon to watch "Sharks" and "Dolphins and Whales", all in digital 3D and surround sound.

4D Theatre at Moody Gardens

The 4D interactive theatre is digital 3D with the added vibrations, water, auditory and sensory effects, added to an education video that is also entertaining. This was a fun show to watch!

Aquarium Pyramid at Moody Gardens

The aquarium at Moody Gardens is not a world-class aquarium, and in fact, is quite small as far as aquariums of this nature are concerned. However, this doesn't stop the aquarium from being well worth the visit. With four variety of penguin in the penguin exhibit to the small section of every type of seahorse imaginable to the octopus and sharks and my personal favorite, the seals Presley and Porter, the Moody Gardens aquarium is a peaceful, educational and fun place to visit.

I could have spent the entire afternoon wheeling around the aquarium and watching all the fish, sea anemones, starfish over all sorts of colors (even a really perfect purple one), and enjoying being connected to aquatic nature. Some of the corral and exhibits were simply breathtaking, and the seals were like puppies of the ocean. So fun to watch!

While the aquarium can be toured in about an hour, if you plan to spend any time at any exhibit or want to watch for feeding times for the seals and penguins, it's best to plan at least two to three hours for touring the aquarium.

Rainforest Pyramid at Moody Gardens

When Hurricane Ike ravaged Galveston, Moody Gardens, right off the water, was completely overcome with storm surge. While the pyramid design of the three main attractions at Moody Gardens held up to the storm quite well, the water washed over everything, destroying the landscaping (that is only now starting to look like the gorgeous gardens it once was). Unfortunately, water from the storm seeped in through a service entrance and flooded part of the pyramid, causing sinkholes that resulted in the basement with all the HVAC equipment to flood under seven feet of water.

As a result, the animals had to be temporarily removed from the Rainforest for their safety and the Rainforest Pyramid was closed for repairs. The pyramid is now reopened, but unfortunately, the animals have not been returned. Still, the plant life in the Rainforest Pyramid is exquisite. We saw plants that had so much color and life and vibrancy I would have though they were fake! They weren't! I look forward to returning when the animals return, to see tree frogs, parrots, macaws, fish, turtles, and the butterfly sanctuary.

The downside to the Rainforest Pyramid: mosquitoes and heat.

By nature, the humidity and temperature in the Rainforest Pyramid were both high. Because heat and I do not mix, due to Lupus and another condition, we were not able to stay inside the Rainforest Pyramid for long. If you do go to the Rainforest Pyramid, try to plan it early in your day, before the temperatures beat down on the clear glass of the white pyramid. This pyramid should take between 1-2 hours maximum to view, as it's not very large and is currently only one story.

Discovery Pyramid at Moody Gardens

The Discovery Pyramid at Moody Gardens is nothing more than a rotating small museum with different exhibits. The size of the display area is just one large room, so it won't take much more than 20-30 minutes to go through, if that.

On the first floor of the Discovery Pyramid is a gift shop, a café, and the entrance to the Moody Gardens Thrill Ride. The Thrill Ride does require you to exit wheelchairs and sit in their seats, but it is wheelchair accessible to that point. If you have back or neck problems, you should not ride.

Other Attractions at Moody Gardens

Other than the pyramids, you will find some animals lurking around the grounds, such as the porcupines (hold your nose, these guys stink!), cockatoo, and others. There is also the paddleboat you can visit, an outdoor café in a sunken garden area, and the gorgeous landscape to trail through.

If you're into swimming and going to a private beach, there's always the Palm Beach, where you're sure to get a tan while traipsing through white sands, lagoons, water toys, the ocean waters, and more.

Visit Moody Gardens Today!

I highly recommend visiting the Moody Gardens grounds if you vacation or even live in the Houston / Galveston area. The admission price seems a bit high, but for all you get, with the discount for two day passes, you can spend a day on the beach and an evening watching movies on the 3D theatre while nursing a sunburn one day, and visit the cool interior of the aquarium and the misty rainforest the next. It's well worth the price, and open every single day of the year.