Looking for island fun? Work or play, this tropical destination is ideal for families and groups alike. Delve into the oceans depths at the Aquarium Pyramid. Explore the Discovery Museum or experience the action of the IMAX 3D, 4D or Ridefilm theaters. Cruise aboard the Colonel Paddlewheel Boat. You can even tee off at the beautiful new Moody Gardens Golf Course and the spectacular Moody Gardens Hotel, Spa and Convention Center has the accommodations and service for an ideal getaway.
Moody Gardens is a destination that is great whether you are celebrating a family reunion, a kid’s birthday party, or just getting away for the weekend. Over the past few years, there have been several major upgrades and makes this place worth all of the money you will spend during your visit. Recently, a friend and I went for the first time and we bought a day-pass and took in every experience — the boat ride, the IMAX movie, the Aquarium — everything. Not sure what took me so long to visit, but I had a blast and plan to go back during the winter holiday celebrations.
I visited Moody Gardens 9/20/2014. I live in the DFW area and decided to buy my tickets online for all day pass and penguin encounter online for my daughter and I as a surprise for her. I got two online confirmation codes/ recites which i printed out. The Saturday I arrived to Moody Gardens their were long lines and staff is not equip to handle high volume of customers in a timely manner. The process to buy or pick up tickets is a lengthy one. The gentleman at the front counter claimed only one of my confirmation codes was valid that the other one wasn’t showing in their system. I received my all day pass however the 100 I spent on the personal penguin encounter was told they didn’t receive that it was a glitch in the system when my credit card payment went through. The nice gentleman at front was working over the phone with the moody garden account lady Tabitha. Tabitha stated if I could show proof that Moody Gardens deducted my money for the event from my bank account they would honor the transaction. However when I showed on my Chase mobile app that the money was indeed deducted from my account Tabitha stated because she doesn’t see in on her end she still wouldn’t honor it. I called Chase bank asking if the payment had not gone through or was pending and my Chase rep stated they received the money the day before 9/19/2014. Tabitha asked me to pay again for the event that was starting in 30 mins after i been working with them for hour and half to resolve the issue. I told Tabitha I wanted a document stating Moody Gardens refuses to honor a online recite given from their company after showing proof and that if I’m charged twice they wouldn’t reimburse me. Tabitha stated she wouldn’t be able to provide me that document in time for the penguin encounter event but that I should receive it after the event. I explained that paying twice for something wasn’t good customer service and that I wouldn’t pay again with out some proof of accountability and acknowledgment. Tabitha refused to meet with me and dealt with me or the staff solely over the phone. My daughter was crushed that she couldn’t see her surprise and the fact we wasted 2 hours of our day pass fussing with litigation. I filed a claim through Chase bank to retrieved my money back from Moody Gardens and did get a full refund. The biggest disappointment was the fact even with proof no manager was available to talk to and customer service was awful, other than the front counter man who was just caught in the middle. Moody Gardens wasn’t missing out on merchandise, it was experience that was purchased and had no qualms about wasting our time or righting a wrong on their part. The place was nice to see but the high stress event really ruined the day for my daughter and I. I wouldn’t recommend purchasing tickets online only way you know you’ll truly get what you pay for.
Ok, so the hotel itself should receive 4 stars and the staff was amazing and the accommodations were the best we have had. Lots to do for kids and the free pool towels were great. I had to give it a 3 though because the chigger infestation in the pool area made the outside miserable. Despite all the fun activities outdoors for the kids it wasn’t usable because of the bugs. We used lots of bug spray but it didn’t seem to help and the kids were getting ate up even in the pool while swimming.
If u travel alot this place is boring, as a starter vacation its ok. Small, but pretty and enjoyable. By d pass its cheaper, u can do everything in 1day. We started at 1230, it looks like they are into recycling and conservation. That made me very happy seeing places to put my recyclables. liked it alot, althought did not get to go to palm beach. Our water park is bigger and my kid did not mind d pool. Hotel looked clean and modern, but to expensive. Looks like in d past before all the modern stuff this most have been a wonderful happy full place to stay. They might be trying to stay above the rest. I hope the animals are well taken care off, with all d save d world posters. Cool place for me and my fam, try it and be open minded. Simple 🙂
Great place but won’t be back. Very rude accounting personnel. Pre authorization takes money out of your account plus the debts transaction. Called to get the pre auth taken off days after our visit and the account rick was very rude to my wife. So unprofessional. Moody Garden take care of this guy before you loose more business.