Ripley’s Aquarium Toronto – Great fun for the family!

Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada

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

Immerse yourself in a world of 16,000 aquatic animals and discover your own underwater adventure. The Aquarium features North America’s longest underwater viewing tunnel with more than 5.7 million litres of water and over 100 interactive opportunities. Get up close and personal with three touch exhibits featuring horseshoe crabs, sharks, and rays as well as daily dive shows every 2 hours.

This awe-inspiring attraction consists of nine carefully curated galleries showcasing a cross section of saltwater and freshwater environments from around the world – starting with species from Toronto’s backyard, the Great Lakes basin.

A fun attraction for the family

The newest attraction in the city of Toronto is Ripley’s Aquarium, located in downtown just steps from the CN Tower. Yes, it has been open for over a year, however it is still attracting crowds like nobody ever could have imagined. Mnay people have had it on their to visit list since it started construction, me included. My children and myself went at the tail end of the March break early in the morning for a visit and I am glad. All week long this was the number one destination for families visiting Toronto. My one son had been before with his school, so we were excited to check it out after hearing all about it from him.

If you plan on visiting during a busy time (weekend or summer) I suggest looking into buying your tickets ahead of time. Expect it to be busy so go early in the day or later in the evening and during the week if possible. You will want to take your time and enjoy everything. We leisurely took 1 1/2 hours to go through, pose for pictures, play on the slides and touch the rays and other water creatures. I think we could have easily spent longer but our schedule did not work out.

This was the first time I had visited Toronto with my children as a tourist, I often go by myself for work. I am so glad we were able to include Ripley’s aquarium in our itinerary. This family fun destination was a must see and it was more than i could ever have imagined. Everyone from the 6 year old to the teens loved walking through the aquarium and interacting with stations, reading the facts and learning in a fun way. since it is part of the Ripley’s family you can expect lots of information and fun facts every where you go.

The aquarium is set up to walk through with ease, walking from one gallery to the next. Each area has a theme and there are plenty of benches if you need to rest.

Galleries include; Canadian waters, Rainbow Reef, Dangerous Lagoon, Discovery Centre, Planet jellies, Ray Bay and more. If you like to know how things work and want to see all the facts around the aquarium itself make sure to check out Life support. “This unique gallery showcases the life support and filtration equipment used to maintain our Aquarium along with real-time stats and information about the water quality and conditions.”

The jelly fish were amazing to watch as you never want to be so close to them in person on the beach. I once had been stung form one and the pain was unbearable. Seeing them safely was quite a rush and the large fish in the aquariums were fun to see. But nothing was as breathtaking as the walkways surrounded by sharks, sting rays, sea turtles and other sea life in the dangerous lagoon gallery. I could have stayed there all day watching life under water from beneath. Not only can you walk straight under the aquarium surrounded by glass, but there were tunnels and bubbles to go in to get even closer. These made for once in a life time photo opps.

My kids really enjoyed the touch tanks. There were three opportunities to get up and personal. One with the Horseshoe crabs, another with sharks and then the sting rays.

Some of our pics from the day

Being able to see the different fish up close and personal was very exciting! There was glass spots on the floor so you could look over them while they swam and even sit or stand on the glass.

My teens fave was touching the rays. They are very tall so they were able to reach over the wall to touch them where my youngest was not so lucky. So tried in the shallow area but the smaller ones were teasing her. She did have a few small sharks swim by though. Located in Ray Bay there are Cownose and Southern Stingrays almost at the exit. It was surprising how gentle and friendly these rays were. They thrived on attention and enjoyed being touched.

Horseshoe crabs #Toronto

A photo posted by Gingermommy (@rantingginger) on Mar 21, 2015 at 5:37am PDT

Stingrays in Ray Bay #familytravel #Toronto

A photo posted by Gingermommy (@rantingginger) on Mar 21, 2015 at 5:56am PDT

No matter what your age I highly recommend you check out this wonderful attraction next time you are in Toronto. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to see everything and take your time and enjoy it. It has been two weeks since we were there and my children still talk about how much fun they had. I can not wait to go back!

Ticket information

Check here for current promotions and savings 

Express anytime tickets- Adult $29.98 Children $9,98 (3-5) Youth (6-13) and senior $19.98

Save $5 when you purchase a ticket for after 7pm

Check out www.ripleyaquariums.com/canada/ to start planning your visit today!

Have you been to Ripley’s Aquarium before? What was your favourite thing?