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| - I finally got a chance to visit Ripley's Aquarium of Canada this past Saturday. I made the mistake of trying to get in the previous Saturday without buying an advance online ticket. The wait to get in without an advance online ticket was ridiculous, somewhere around 2 - 2.5 hours. So for people reading this review, make sure you buy an advance online ticket, the line is a lot shorter and your paying the same price $30 + HST.
Armed with an advance online ticket, it took less than 10 minutes to get in on a Saturday around noon. The Aquarium inside is beautiful, it's dark inside to accommodate the natural living environment of the underwater sea creatures.
The exhibits were great and recreated to exactly replicate how it would look in the ocean The best part of the Aquarium was the moving walkway, which made it easier to take pictures unimpeded and it was a big water tank where sharks, swordfishes, sea turtles and an assortment of other seas creatures swam right in front of and above you. The Aquarium had the majority of all the underwater sea creatures with the exception of whales or dolphins from what I remember.
The Aquarium also had small supervised interactive areas that allowed you to touch certain sea creatures like horseshoe crabs and stingrays.
The Aquarium also has a small cafe that sells basic cafeteria food (i.e. pizza, hot dogs, french fries, wraps, soda pop, juice and etc.) that's somewhat reasonably priced but seating is very limited.
The Aquarium can get quite crowded especially during the weekends and with families with baby strollers and everybody trying to take pictures, it can be quite hectic. Speaking with a customer representative beforehand, the best times to go are on a Monday or Tuesday which are the least busiest days and before 11 am and after 5 pm.
Overall, Ripley's Aquarium of Canada is a great addition to Toronto's tourist attractions and it's a great location, situated right next to The CN tower and very transit friendly.
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