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| - Another aquarium. As I continue to say after a visit to an aquarium, they just aren't that interesting. I'm not sure how to rate aquariums, since I don't really enjoy any of them. And NO, I'm not going to NOT rate something! I've been to dinky ones, world-famous ones (Shedd), and so I guess this one sits somewhere between those. But enough about me.
The thing about Ripley's Aquarium is, because of the name, I was expecting to see some unbelievable things (believe it or not!). My first red flag should have been the fact that it's right next to the tourist trap that is the CN Tower. The other problem is that freshwater life isn't as interesting as saltwater. For example, Ripley's of Canada offers, for your viewing pleasure, bass! Oh boy! That's definitely not something I can catch in any dinky lake literally anywhere in the United States! But I guess Ripley's does you the service of not having to go catch it yourself. There's also lobster, but seeing that just made me hungry (kidding).
Other highlights include a long tunnel full of sharks and various schools of fish above a moving walkway, large stingrays, and a few kids' zones. It's nothing I've never seen before, but if nothing else, the place is clean, and there exists a large volume of sea life
I think the other reason I don't like aquariums (this again, I know) is because aquariums equal strollers. Lots of strollers. Parents: Do you bring strollers to aquariums so the kids can see the fishies, or is it because you couldn't find a babysitter? And if you can't afford a babysitter, I sympathize, but then what are you doing paying admission to an aquarium? Ripley's Canada is well-designed, but I don't think any public space is impervious to the wrath of stroller swarms.
If you do go, I recommend the CityPass. It lets you skip the very long line. Will probably take you around 90 minutes if you don't stop and read every single placard. Unless you have a stroller, then I imagine it'll take approximately six hours.
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