Aquarium Village

This place looks amazing! — lots of fun pirates statues, those wooden boards with cut-​outs for faces, brightly painted buildings, flags, whale sculptures…
But that’s where the fun ends. Most of the shops are closed/​for rent. The few that are left are «collectable» shops that sell smelly second-​hand items, or inconsistently awkward nick-​nacks. And, sadly, the shop keeps are not always friendly.
One would hope that the employees/​owners/​artists might value the few visitors that come to spend money, but yet, we were scolded for parking in front of the wrong business (Fishtails Café might want to mark their spots if they are going to send a waitress out to harass patrons and make them move their car!); turned away from not having cash (what year is this? Most smartphones take visa, right?); and stared at by other visitors for poking around (there wasn’t a lot of shopping to do, so we loitered and played with our toddler).
I don’t like to give criticism without offering possible solutions. So, please, I beg someone, anyone:
Embrace the colorful, family-​friendly décor and open a toy store! The entire place is themed around pirates and whales. What about a shop that offers *new* toys like foam swords, eye patches, whale water toys? Something children would beg their parents to buy, and cute enough for the tourist parents (like me!) to happily say «Yes!» to.
In place of the forlorn «for rent» signs, open an espresso/​ice cream shop. Something kids would beg for, and that their paying parents would agree to if something was in it for them. There is no coffee in that area! There was a promising «Cookie WIndow» that was closed the entire weekend we were there (a beautiful sunny day, during the tourist season). That’s just mean.
And, of course, where is the tourist-​fun shop that offers proof that «I visited Aquarium Village»? Pirate themed T-​shirts, whale-​themed shot glasses. It would be fun!
I was hugely disappointed in Aquarium Village — I came to have a good time, spend some money on my family, and enjoy the tourist trap I had seen on-​line. Unfortunately, this place seems badly affected by the economy, and poorly treated by it’s businesses.
What a bummer.

Giant gypsy market. This place is disgusting. HUGE letdown

Interesting place, interesting people. Really enjoyed the Fishtails Café.

What a fantastic little set of ‘collectibles’ shops! It was like garage saleing at the Pirates of the Caribbean. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you go check it out. They are quite the tourist trap!