THE VANCOUVER AQUARIUM IS OPENING ITS DOORS AGAIN
It has been over a year since the Vancouver Aquarium had its doors open for guests. This coming Monday, the aquarium will be officially open once more to the general public. We were able to visit for a sneak peek. It was so nice to be back.
Since being acquired by Herschend Enterprises in April 2021 they were able to start some needed maintenance and get ready for visitors once more. Paint, repairs, lighting, and a couple of new things have taken place at the aquarium. The Vancouver Aquarium needed work done in all sorts of areas and Herschend saw to it. I suspect that as time goes on we will see more changes and improvements to the aquarium. A place that many locals see as a landmark in the city.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
If you are planning on visiting and have a membership, you can actually book a timed ticket to go this weekend! Otherwise, timed tickets are available for visitors starting this Monday. Tickets are not available at the entry of the aquarium so be sure to get yours online. The timed tickets are also helping to manage the capacity at the aquarium so visitors can still space out. There are no one-way arrows on the ground currently. You are free to roam, but do be mindful of the other guests. Continue to give space.
We had a lot of questions on Instagram in regards to masks. Guests above the age of 12 who are not vaccinated are encouraged to wear a mask. Masks are not mandatory at this time. There are also still sanitizer stations located throughout the Vancouver Aquarium and they are continuing regular cleaning. Things like the stuffed animals are not in the children’s play area to make cleaning easier.
WHAT’S NEW
There is now the Marine Mammal Rescue Exhibit where the dolphins had been. You will notice the dock has moved to the middle, providing a great space for the rescued seals and sea lions to hang out on. As the aquarium opens up, we are looking forward to learning more about the animals who are in this section and to know their stories about how they came to be at the aquarium. It is nice to see more of a focus on the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre that is located offsite.
If you loved the 4D theatre, you will be thrilled to learn that there is a new show for visitors to view. It’s called Octopus and is by Planet Earth II a BBC Series. We all really enjoyed watching this and learning a bit more about the octopus. We had no idea that they would use shells to help protect themselves, plus the scents that were part of the 4D effect were incredible. The film is recommended for ages 6 and up as the effects can frighten younger audience members, as well as some of the scenes, maybe a bit intense if they do not understand the circle of life.
As you wander through the exhibits you will notice some smaller changes, like a snake being where fish used to be in the Amazon exhibit.
If you’re wondering if you can still get food on-site, yes you can! There’s the Courtyard Café & Coffee Bar, Upstream Bar & Grill, and the Marine Market which can only be accessed from outside the Aquarium on the Stanley Park side. The Marine Market offers fresh-made items and a selection of vegetarian options. PS, if you have a Vancouver Aquarium Membership you get 20% off your food and beverages purchased at the different options. The french fries are still some of our favourites! Just watch for seagulls if you are eating them outside. Your fries may suddenly disappear.
MEMBERSHIPS
This was probably the second most asked question we had on Instagram, besides masks, everyone wants to know about memberships and if you have little ones. I was honestly even a bit confused and had the same question. “If we’re a family with an infant under the age of needing to pay admission, do they still need a membership of some sort?” The answer is no!
So, if we as a family of two adults and three children (one is an infant) wanted to get a family membership, we could go with the Family Rate for 2 regular + 2 children. The cost for that membership is currently $231. I went and did the math, if we were to go and pay the general admission rates it would be $136.5 for our family to go. Getting a membership would be paid for within two visits to the aquarium.
LOOKING FORWARD TO VISITING AGAIN SOON
We are looking forward to visiting the Vancouver Aquarium again soon. The amount of joy our kids were showing while we were there, made us so happy. They have truly missed visiting the aquarium and learning about all the different creatures there. It was so nice to be back. We paid for 3 hours of parking and I wish we would have been able to stay longer, next time we definitely will. It is encouraging to hear that Herschend Enterprises does want to hear from guests and what they would like to see in the future from the aquarium. For now, we hope that this is the start of the Vancouver Aquarium not having to close its doors again, except for at the end of the day only to be opened again to visitors in the morning.
Our kiddos can’t wait to visit the Aquarium again soon! So glad yours had a wonderful visit 🙂
It has been SOOO long since I’ve been to an aquarium!
It’s exciting to see things able to open up again.
I’m so happy about this! Visiting the Vancouver Aquarium is always something my family does when we go to Vancouver. Now we can plan to visit again. This is great news.
I’m so glad they were able to re-open safely. Looking forward to visiting with our family again very soon.
I cannot tell you how relieved I am to hear that they’re opening back up. I would hate to see this incredible learning opportunity for Vancouver families get shut down.