Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada is located in the heart of downtown Toronto. It is a fairly new attraction in Toronto and it offers a facility that you can experience the undersea world in a safe environment. Their mission is “to provide a world class experience that will foster education, conservation, and research, while providing fun and entertainment for locals and tourists of all ages.”
There are 16,000 aquatic animals with North America’s longest underwater viewing tunnel with more than 5.7 million liters of water and over 100 interactive opportunities. You can also get up close and personal with three touch exhibits featuring horseshoe crabs, sharks, and rays. There is also daily dive shows every 2 hours. So you can say that there is a whole lot that you can do!
Since my family and I have not yet experienced Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, we decided this would be a great time to visit on one of our staycation days.
We purchased our tickets in advance as it is highly recommended to do so, especially during the summer months as it will help avoid the big line ups to go in. There are different types of tickets that you can purchase online, depending on when you would like to go. There is the Express Anytime Tickets ($29.98 CDN for Adults; $19.98 CDN for Youth; $9.98 CDN for Children), which means you can go anytime. There is also the Timed Ticket ($26.98 CDN for Adults; $16.98 CDN for Youth; $6.98 CDN for Children) which means you select the date and time of your arrival and these tickets will save you a little. Lastly, there is the Sharks after Dark ($24.98 CDN for Adults; $14.98 CDN for Youth; $4.98 CDN for Children) which means you can visit from 7pm to close. Of course, there is the option of the annual pass and you can learn more about the pass by clicking here.
As soon as you enter the facility the beauty begins. There is a course that you follow to view all the displays throughout the Aquarium. It was well designed and each exhibit flowed beautifully. There is just so much to see and to take in, I would recommend to schedule yourself a couple of hours to truly enjoy each exhibit. The tunnel exhibit is one of the neatest part of the Aquarium where the only thing separating you from the sharks is the glass – a lifetime experience!
With a young toddler, it was a little difficult to enjoy each exhibit for its true beauty as I was really busy following my daughter around everywhere she went. Of course she was a little scared of the exhibits as she hasn’t seen these type of animals before. Therefore, I had a lot of talking and explaining to do with her to ensure that she was not afraid of our undersea friends. It took her a really long time to get her comfortable but by the end of it she was a bit more comfortable.
We wish we would try the full experience of the aquarium with the touch exhibits but we felt that our daughter was too young to participate in it. By the end of the tour, our daughter was too tired to watch the dive show and we ended our stay through their shop where our daughter got a mermaid doll and an adorable t-shirt to remember her time at the Aquarium.
Overall, Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada is a beautiful place to visit, especially if you are an under the sea enthusiast. It is a great place to take amazing photos and learn about all the amazing creatures that live in our oceans. We may visit again, once our daughter is a little bit older to truly enjoy the beauty, to learn and to be inspired.
To learn more about all that Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada has to offer, check out their website. You can also follow them on social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).
Until next time……..Happy Parenting!
– Momma Braga
Twitter: @melmbraga
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