When planning a family event with my husband and two little guys, who are almost 3 and 18 months, I knew I wanted to go somewhere we could ALL enjoy! After thinking about the excitement my boys have at the sight of aquariums, I thought it would be a great idea to head to the Dallas World Aquarium.
Sadly and coincidentally, neither my husband nor myself have ever been to this aquarium, even though I’ve heard nothing but good things about it. We decided to rectify that little situation and headed to downtown Dallas.
Of course, before we left, I did my research to find out prices and hoped to find a coupon for discounted admissions somewhere online. I was sad to find out there really are no coupons to be found and the admission price is a little over $20 for those over 12. OUCH! Lucky for us, under three is free!
{Sidenote: A friend told me after our venture that there are occasionally LivingSocial deals to be found for discounted tickets. Keep your eyes peeled.}
As soon as we got there, I opened up our program to see the feeding times for the otters and sharks were coming up soon. How cool!
Those otters really were so cute and my little guys just ate it up!
It was great to be able to walk around the aquarium and feel like we were within their habitat, instead of being just on the outside of their habitats, like at the zoo.
Another great thing about the Dallas World Aquarium was the variety of animals. There were not ONLY underwater animals, but we were lucky enough to walk right next to a sloth sleeping in a tree, see a crocodile sleeping on the sand, and watch monkeys swing from the trees. Those are just a few of the animals they have who don’t live in the water!
Numerous aquariums are set up to show you fish from all of the different parts of the world. At each different aquarium, my boys would run up and scream, “FISH!!” It was super cute to see their excitement and thankfully, the other people around us just smiled at their excitement, instead of being annoyed at their volume. 😉
My favorite part of the aquarium, other than seeing the manatees, was the shark tunnel.
I was prepared to see lots of excitement in the shark tunnel during their feeding time. While it was still a neat sight to watch them eat, it was much more calm event than I expected.
Overall, it was such a great learning experience for all of us and I had no idea there were so many different types of fish in the world!
We had a great time and I think it’s safe to say it was a happy place for all of us! Mission accomplished!
I’ve lived in Dallas my entire life, aside from my college years in College Station, and it took me until I was 31 to make it to the Dallas World Aquarium. I don’t want you to make the same mistake.
Make plans to go NOW! You’ll be so glad you did! 🙂
And, if you want to take your family to an aquarium but don’t like the prices or the location for this option, check out Lisa’s review of the new Sea Life Aquarium in Grapevine!
We love the aquarium…thanks for reminding us we need to go back 🙂
I took my grandson so often that I bought a family pass.
We go once a month and he loves it, especially the shark tank and
the jaguar.
Lovely photos, the kids are so happy!
Though we don’t have any kids, my husband and I are wanting to go to the Dallas Aquarium. I was wondering how much time we can expect to spend there. Is it a full day activity?
Amber, it really depends on how focused your kids will be? You could probably spend 2-3 hours there if you take your time and maybe even have lunch in their cafe, but you could also probably spend 1.5 hours there if you’re quick. It’s definitely not a full day!