Seattle Aquarium

I had a great experience here! I took my 14 year old and my 2 year old and both had an amazing time. We really enjoyed the diver inside the tank and they talked- it was there as soon as you walk in.
It's not a huge Aquariam but had a good time!

They do offer military discount and ent/wic discounts.

Parking is tricky

Kid and strolller friendly!

There was a bit of a wait to go inside but the line moved quickly.

It had been close to 20 years since my last visit to the aquarium. The new aquarium is MUCH larger, but for all the space it takes up, the content just isn't really there for me, especially for the price. The new layout also has some issues with the flow of people with bottlenecks that make it impassable and too overwhelming.

For the price, I was expecting an experience similar to Monterey Bay Aquarium, but the Seattle Aquarium is a long way off. My kids loved it, and I enjoyed myself too, but it just was not worth the high price.

The Seattle Aquarium just opened up their new Ocean Pavillion building this past year as part of the new Seattle waterfront remodel and so my family came to check it out as we haven't been in 15+ years. We came early at 9:30am to beat the crowds.

Tickets are currently priced as...
Washington resident adults: $39.95
Washington resident youth: $29.95
Non-resident adults: $44.95
Non-resident youth: $34.95

There are $2 discounts available for seniors 65+, tribal members, military members, and those with disability/1:1 aides. These discounts can be stacked with the WA resident discount. You can also buy timed tickets online in advance for discount too.

NOTE that you must BUY TICKETS AT THE OLD BUILDING; they don't have the box office set up at the Ocean Pavilion (the new building) yet. We didn't know this going in as there was a line outside the new building and so we wasted time standing in the new building line when we could've been standing in the old building line. The aquarium should have put a big sign directing people of where to buy tickets, but no such sign (or any sign at all) exists. Minus one star for poor directions.

The Old Building is mostly the same, except for the new tank at the entrance. It houses the tidal touch pools and play area for kids, the Pacific fish exhibit (which was disappointedly small- it was literally one tank despite looking large on the map), VR Ocean experience, the mammals exhibits (fur seals, river otters, sea otters, and harbor seals) , the bird exhibit, and the main gift shop. They have marine specialist talks throughout the day which are about 10-minutes each and animal feedings too. I enjoyed watching the otters and seals as they were very lively. Note that the mammals and birds sections are both outdoors, so make sure to dress warmly in the colder months!

After you walk through the old building, you exit to the waterfront and walk over to the new building which is about 2-minutes away. You use the QR code from the old building to enter the Ocean Pavilion. The Ocean Pavilion architecture is spectacular. At the entrance, you look up and see fish swimming above you through a window. You also see glass fish above you as you walk towards the main cove (possible Chihuly?).

Once you scan in, you enter into the main cove area where they give talks. We attended the Ocean Pavilion talk, which was supposed to be about the history and architecture of the building. However, the talk (or mostly just a video they played) included nothing about this and was just about algae- we even double-checked to make sure we were at the right talk, and we were. Thus, taking off another star off for that.

The biggest tank is the same tank as the one where you can see fish swimming above you at the entrance. They give several talks there as well, including a scuba diver talk. It is definitely big, but small compared to the large tank at Monterey Aquarium or international aquarium tanks like the one in Singapore.

Downstairs, they have several themed tanks with several creatures I've never seen before including upside-down jellyfish that look like anemones and tube eels that look like paper straws. They also have kid coves for kids to tunnel through and interactive screens so that you can identify the different species in the tank.

Upstairs, they have tide pool tanks (no touch), a jellyfish breeding lab, and some other educational and interactive exhibits. You also can get an upper view of the large tank and likely a better view of the leopard shark and large manta rays in the tank.

After you explore the inside, make sure you also take a look at the exterior of the building as it is absolutely beautifully designed with nice wooden panel texture and stairs leading up to Pikes Place Market (note that there are a LOT of stairs to get there, and so they have an elevator as well).

The Seattle Aquarium still has some poor experiences to resolve, but hopefully their system will improve over time.

Overall: 3/5 for experience

The Seattle Aquarium is one of my favorite attractions in Downtown Seattle.

Although a bit on the smaller side, you can still meet a wide variety of aquatic animals here. They have countless fresh and saltwater fish, penguins, invertebrates, and so much more.

The displays are organized and spaced out very well, so it never feels too crowded as you move through the aquarium.

During busy times, it is recommended to buy tickets ahead of time as spots are limited in each entry time.

My partner and I met up with our friend and his cousin while we were intown and the aquarium was the place for us. I loved our time here.

The Seattle Aquarium is located on Pier 59 on the Elliott Bay waterfront. While there wasn't a ton of fish compared to other aquariums I have been too, the inside/outside areas of the aquarium made it a great experience and the animals were a great representation of the PNW.

The salmon run was really neat, and the inside domes provided an immersive experience watching the fish. I also enjoyed watching the penguins and sea lions. There were also birds which I thought was a great addition (not only fish).

Overall, it was a good visit! The aquarium and the beautiful waterfront location made it a memorable experience especially seeing the wildlife in and around the peer. Highly recommend checking it out if you're in Seattle and you can even grab a bit at Ivar's after your visit and feed the seagulls. That was what we did.

For tickets and info, check out https://www.seattleaquarium.org.

We had so much fun visiting this aquarium. Love the ease of purchasing tickets on your phone to cut the lines. The three buildings are amazing full of beautiful sea life and lots of learning for the kids. It is pricey but I feel it's a good experience when visiting or taking the kids.

Our favorite was the building with the huge aquarium. You can probably sit for hours watching the sea life circle around and think so cool to watch the sharks swim past while going close to the glass. There are individual exhibits scattered throughout featuring various sea life such as jellyfish.

The interactive pools were fun and we could touch the sea anemone and starfish. There were sinks to wash up after the exploration. Near these pools there was a huge cylinder like aquarium housing a super large octopus - that was so cool to watch.

Another area held animals that were semi aquatic such as the sea lions, seals and turtles. Also cool as you get so close to these animals.

The location of the aquarium is next to pike's place market. Parking is not cheap.

This place is definitely worth a visit!


Sept

I last reviewed the aquarium over a decade ago and there's a new expansion!

The Seattle Aquarium has aged well - it undergoes modifications but often such that it isn't super noticeable. They swap out exhibits quietly and then there was a whole new building. Seriously, this caught me off-guard. I swear I had visited last year, I did not notice and then wow - an expansion!

The aquarium ticket covers both the main center and the expansion building which is not connected. You have to leave the main aquarium perimeter to go to the other. I love the new space. I love the original aquarium but one thing I immediately noticed was how bright and open the new space was. It feels more like it could host events with its wide open spaces. The main aquarium has lower ceilings and it always feels dim to me. This is the opposite - very bright, expansive.

The architectural is also unique. I could see the exhibits from multiple sides and angles. The smaller ocean tanks were equally eye catching and just fun to walk through. This was absolutely a brilliant addition!

It's been so long since I've been to the Seattle Aquarium and I really wanted to visit since they've finished remodeling!
I really enjoyed our time there and loved what they have done to the place.
But it was very cool to see the octopus as she camouflaged herself.
A lot more to see and I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I did.

I've wanted to go here since they updated and finally got to!
The main building has giant fish tanks and touch pools, octopus and jelly fish. It was fun!
The new area on this sunny day was hooooot due to all the windows. But their unique big bowls of fish was super cool. A cute stingray waves at you as he swims by. Same building also has a large fish tank with some sharks (?) and an array of fish and sea life! It's a cool set up.
Honorable mention to the seals and sea otters we happened to miss unfortunately!

My friend and I bought the City Pass which allowed us to visit the Aquarium and we enjoyed it, but probably wouldn't go out of our way again.

The aquarium looks much larger than it actually is, you could probably complete the entire thing in less than an hour or an hour if you have children.

They recently extended the aquarium and added another building with a whole new exhibit but it's a bit of a walk from the other part of the aquarium. This was fine for us, but I can imagine with kids it could be a hassle. The new exhibit seemed to lack enthusiasm too.

It was a nice afternoon activity but given that it's the only "big" attraction at the pier and near by, I wouldn't recommend going out of the way to visit.