I, for one, tend to agree with them. I visited the aquarium early one Friday morning, and if I had a dollar for every "ooh" and "aah" I heard uttered that day, I might be as rich as Marcus. Because be they wide-eyed preschoolers, dubious teens and tweens, harried parents, or seen-it-all seniors, the Georgia Aquarium managed to somehow get under their skin at some point or another. It simply couldn't be helped.

For me, it was the leafy sea dragons. A huge Cousteau fan, I'd never even heard of a leafy sea dragon before, and here were a bunch of them swimming around just a few inches away from me. Visually, they're a combination of a sea horse and a leafy branch, and they actually don't so much swim as float about like dead limbs. They're so strange-looking, Peter Jackson should put them in his next movie.

Another crowd favorite is the Beluga whales. After watching the five of them dive, dance, twirl, and twist through the water as if in an exquisite undersea ballet, I actually saw two grown men high-five each other. I told you, you just can't help but be impressed. The place is one big, beautiful screen saver that you want to take home with you and stare at throughout the day.

It's all part of the reason why, after only 98 days, the Georgia Aquarium welcomed its one-millionth visitor. Which came as a shock - they hadn't expected to reach that number for several months. But the Georgia Aquarium isn't the only new aquarium drawing a crowd. Nor is it the only one boasting the latest wow-factor amenities and
attractions. Here's a short list of U.S. aquariums that are in the works, have just opened, or are being overhauled to oblige today's sophisticated visitors.

Adventure Aquarium
(856) 365-3300
www.adventureaquarium.com
$14 to $17