![]() ![]() Now since they make exceptions for people with disabilities why can’t they grant this for infants? The only thing they were able to do was refund us and provide a discount for parking. We traveled 4-5 hours to spend 2-3 hours there. So now to make a long story short the management was not able to grant an exception nor did they provide some compensation. Upon arrival I was shocked to find that strollers were not allowed in the building due to policy. All in all we were 5 adults, 2 children, 1 toddler and a 4 month infant. Nevertheless I decided that I would give it another chance and bring along other family members. I say costly based on what you get to see in comparison to other aquariums I have been to before. I have been to this aquarium before and I found that it is a bit costly considering both the visit and convenience of parking at the closest parking garage. Cheaper than the $18 discount the aquarium says they have.Īll in all a good time but it is expensive and probably don’t need to go back for a while. We used spot hero and found parking for 4 hours for $12. But the much smaller kids looked like they were getting a little tired of looking at glass windows. ![]() They do have some computers and things for kids to play with. I saw lots of toddlers having meltdowns because of all the walking and it’s not really very interactive for kids to touch things except in the very beginning. We spent about 2.5 hours so it was a great time but it definitely is expensive. The prices of their food was pretty typical of a museum. There is a nice area near the jellyfish to eat. ![]() The aquarium was not that busy around 10, but it got very crowded with school groups around 10:30 luckily we were already through etc. We did bring small snacks and water bottles, no problem. Then you go around and into main entrance and they did not check my small backpack. You can get Maryland morning discount- arrive before noon and get $10 off adult admission and $5 off of kids you buy your ticket at the ticket window, not online there was no wait in line to buy tickets, we just walked right up. We went on a Monday morning, arrived around 10 (not a holiday or no school) I’d also definitely recommend trying to visit on a weekday when maybe it’s a little less crowded. And, again, while there were tons of fish, there were not a lot of big highlights that were particularly exciting. I think it is very overpriced and would be really challenging for a lot of people to afford with a family (although judging from the crowds, maybe not). Overall, I don’t think it’s the best aquarium I’ve ever visited, but it was fine. I’m not sure the experience was worth $45 extra dollars, but it was a unique experience. We got to go on the catwalk above the shark walk and watch them swim below us, which was cool. She was very knowledgeable and answered a lot of questions! We got to see the kitchen where they prepare their meals and the medical lab where they receive care. The shark experience was a very cool behind the scenes tour and Celine, our guide, was terrific. A lot of small fish, and again, the shark walk was cool. I was kind of surprised, being that it is so large and it is the national aquarium, that there weren’t more big species to see-there were no otters, sea turtles, octopus, etc. I think the dolphins are probably what most people want to see there, and while I knew that they no longer perform dolphin shows, it was still disappointing that we couldn’t even really see them at all. I was amazed at how big those rays were! The dolphins were held in their back pens, so you couldn’t really see them at all-I got one photo when one happened to jump out of the water-pure luck that I got that. The shark walk was very cool, as was the reef that you can view from four different stories. It is a large aquarium and you could easily spend a couple of hours there. Not sure what the point of the timed tickets was. The tickets you buy online are timed tickets-I had to enter at a certain time, so I was a little surprised by the crowds. It was incredibly crowded on a Sunday afternoon-wall to wall people with kids running around everywhere. ![]() I was in town for work and was looking for something to do on a Sunday afternoon, so I visited solo and also did the shark experience. I was really surprised when I went online to order tickets how expensive the National Aquarium is, particularly since one of the exhibits is closed ($39.95/person for adults). ![]()
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