Jellyfish have got to be my new favourite thing. They are so cute and small, or big and alien looking! After a trip through Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto, Canada, you’ll probably love jellyfish too. Jellyfish, and sharks, and eels, and clown fish, and turtles, and rays and, and, and… this place is massive! There are so many different types of sea creatures living within this aquarium that I couldn’t possibly ever figure out what they all are called let alone name them! If you’re heading to Toronto any time soon, or ever really, then this is a place you have to go. Have to. I think it’s my new favourite place.
Here’s what the door looks like, so you know where to go, you know, when you go. (Go, now!)
Ok, so once you are through the door, head to the payment counter and get the painful part of any attraction over with. This baby is situated right beside the CN Tower, so it’s not going to be the cheapest part of your day. Wait now! Before you close the article at that and run for the hills, let me say this, considering the awesome packed into this building, it’s not an outrageous price. As of writing this article, the prices are $29.98 for an adult or kid over 14, $19.98 for those between 6 and 13 years old, $9.98 if you happen to be between the ages of 3 and 5, and finally $19.98 if you are 65 or older and, and this is key, are willing to admit it! If you are the type of person who has a schedule and can stick to it, rather unlike me, then you can even save $3 (that’s THREE WHOLE DOLLARS) off your ticket by buying a time specific ticket in advance. Which adds up if you are bringing your hoard of children with you. Which you should, they will love this place!
After you rip off that bandage and pay, you get to explore! Wander through the halls filled with tank after tank of amazing sea creatures. It wouldn’t be fitting if they didn’t start you off checking out the creatures found in Canada’s very own waters. That’s right, that means it’s time for a gigantic blue lobster!
What? You thought I was kidding? I wasn’t kidding! Look at this thing!! Not going to lie though, I did use some photo editing here… to tone down the blue. Yes, that’s right, to make it less ridiculously blue looking. So you could actually look at it without thinking that the Blue Man Group has taken to doing under water shows.
Moving right along past Mr. Blue, there are many more things to see. Granted, picture taking can be a little tough. Thanks to the extra thick glass designed to keep all that water where it is supposed to be, all the finger and face prints on said glass, the wonderfully reflective properties of, once again, the glass which kindly allows all the emergency exit signs to be clearly visible in your photos and finally the fact that those darned fish just won’t STAY STILL… it’s not the best picture taking adventure. However, even with all that, pictures are still worth taking. Just many times they don’t turn out well for use on say… a blog?
Here’s one of my favourites, in all its unedited glory! You can still see how pretty it is there right? It may not do much for you, but it brings back the memories for me.
Seriously though, one of the best parts of the whole thing is the tunnel. You can choose to walk through it while paying attention to things like where you are walking (don’t) or stand on the little moving side walk and stare with mouth gaping open at the beauty all around you without having to think of trivial things like which foot to move next (do that instead.)
I can see you over there, other tunnel people! Ok, not really, but I can see the tunnel.
The giant glass tunnel is basically a giant u-turn. You start on one side of the massive aquarium, go through to the far side and back around to a different spot on the first side again. This brings me to an important point. While you travel through the whole place in a very linear, point A to point B fashion, you can cheat the system a bit here and go back. After you exit the tunnel you can slide back through a small hallway and enter the tunnel at the beginning again. We weren’t the only people doing this, so I’m pretty sure it’s totally allowed. Either way the ride through the aquarium underwater is worth a revisit.
You’ll want to go through at least twice to have as much shark time as you’ll suddenly feel you need to have!
As much as I loved going through that tunnel. It wasn’t my absolute favourite moment. For me, that came later, as I wandered through the jellyfish exhibits. I spent an awful lot of time watching and trying to take pictures of the little jellyfish. They were just so adorable.
If they weren’t highly delicate sea creatures that can’t survive outside of water I’d have wanted to just snuggle one.
As amazing as the little ones were, the cherry on top, the crème de la crème, the icing on the cake, was when I turned a corner and found myself facing a giant wall of larger jellyfish. Standing in the darkness, surrounded by mirrors and looking into a tank of jellyfish moving up and down with the current was mesmerizing. They had it set up with lights, shining from within the tank that made the jellyfish themselves appear to be constantly changing colour. I quite literally could have stood there gaping all day. In fact I would have, had my family not come looking for me wondering what was taking me so darned long to get to the next exhibit.
Had it not been for the people walking around me also trying to see the jellyfish, I would have sat right down on the floor to forever watch these creatures move around and change colours.
If you are in Toronto, regardless of whether you are travelling with kids or not, get your butt to the Ripley’s Aquarium. See the deep sea creatures you otherwise never likely would see, and stand mesmerized in my jellyfish heaven so that you too can experience the feelings being so surrounded by such a strange beauty can invoke.
Afterwards, be a good little tourist and exit through the gift shop! Buy your kid, or yourself, a stuffed fish or get the typical souvenir spoon or shot glass (that last one should probably not be for your kid…) I hope you have fun at the Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto! I sure believe that you will!
Morgan On The Map 