20,000 Leagues under the mall

After weaving through an unending stream of people, I was ready for something other than shopping; I headed for UnderWater World.

A skeptic upon entry, I emerged a believer. And "emerge" is the right word because UnderWater World's main attraction is a 300-foot walkway THROUGH the aquarium. Visitors ride a moving sidewalk within a Plexiglas tube in the fish tanks. Alligator gars, sandtiger sharks, southern diamond rays and countless other fish swim around you as you move from one habitat tank, such as the Mississippi River area, to another, such as the wild Caribbean tank.

It's no match for Baltimore's National Aquarium or New Orleans' Aquarium of the Americas, but it is more than just a carnival side show.