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| - Ripley's Aquarium loses two stars for lack of crowd control and slow service at the ticket booths, but I am adding back one star for the beautiful displays and amazing creatures inside.
First of all, there is no way this place can expect the crowd to keep lining up outside. Come on, this is Canada. Earlier today, we lined up outside, exposed to the chilly wind and rain for half an hour before we finally wizened up and bought tickets using my smartphone. That might have saved us another 30-45 minutes in the line up. This was a mistake I will never repeat again....buy tickets online! I felt so bad for those who can't do the same. Behind us there was a woman with her granddaughter. She was blowing on her granddaughters hands to try and keep them warm. What makes this unacceptable is that there is a lot of space inside. But for some reason, we were kept single file so the line went out and around the building. If the place was a bit more organized and a tad more considerate, everyone could be lined up in an orderly fashion inside, protected from the elements.
Once inside though, we quickly forgot about the outdoors. The place was crowded, but I guess that's to be expected with a new attraction. The kelp 'forest' display that stands floor to ceiling was mesmerizing. You stand close enough and it feels like you are inside. The lagoon tunnel was great fun and we were treated to close up views, and often over-head views, of sharks, rays, etc. It was also neat to see the leafy sea dragons which look out of this world! Jellyfish are always a favourite, and there must have been 4 or 5 different types. We were probably there for about 2.5 hours busily taking snapshots of everything, but I think it would be worth going back on a quiet weeknight to just take more time to appreciate these unique creatures.
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