Hello there! I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing weekend! We had a busy weekend full of lots of fun, which took us to the Dallas World Aquarium for a date morning! We try to avoid going out on Valentine’s Day because it is always so crowded so a couple days before Aaron took me to the Dallas World Aquarium for a pre-Valentine’s outing. In my opinion, this is one of the best aquariums in the country and today I’m sharing my top tips for the best visit to this indoor, tropical adventure.
Planning Your Visit
We believe that it is always important to arrive right when they open for the best experience! I highly suggest purchasing your tickets online and saving them to your mobile device. This will save time once you get there and and get you through the entrance quickly. The pricing is $26.95 for adults and $18.95 for children (ages 3-12). They also offer discounts for seniors and military personnel. When you order your tickets online there is no processing fee, which we always appreciate! You will also need to make a reservation for your arrival by selecting the day you are going to visit, as well as an arrival window. Book early so you can ensure you get that first time slot when they open! As you go through the ticket purchasing process they will also offer for you to pre-pay for parking right outside the aquarium for $10. This can be a great idea, especially if you are visiting with small children. If it’s just you or other adults in your party you can find cheaper by-the-hour parking a bit further from the aquarium that will save you a few dollars if you don’t mind also getting a short walk in!
Arrival
When you arrive there is a winding walking path up to the aquariums entrance. At this time, the aquarium is requiring all guests to wear a mask throughout the experience and they will provide you with one upon arrival. As you wait in line to have your tickets scanned there are several bird enclosures to keep your entertained. We love spending a little time out in this area before going into the main exhibit area.
The Aquarium
There are several different sections of the aquarium representing various parts of the world and the wildlife associated with them. All of these sections will occur along the same walking path that will wind you through the aquarium. The prefer you to follow the walking path in one direction to help with the flow of traffic, but feel free to take your time looking at the exhibits! You can start off by seeing the sloth that hangs out freely for the quests to see! There are also plenty of frogs and reptiles in this section to see, as well.
You will the wind through a path that takes you past snakes, bats and giant river otters! They also house some incredible crocodiles. I am always so impressed with the condition of the exhibits here and the how happy the animals seem to be. This is not the case at every aquarium or zoo, but the Dallas World Aquarium does everything so well.
One of my favorite areas of the aquarium takes you to an overlook of a beautiful waterfall where you will see more birds, another sloth in it’s on enclosure, turtles and stingrays. It’s a great place for a photo-op with the family and there is usually an employee there to snap a photo for you.
The most impressive thing about this aquarium is the manatee rehabilitation they are doing. This is one of the few places that you can see a manatee outside of Florida, and we just happened to arrive at the mantle enclosure at the perfect time. These are my favorite animals, so much so, that when I was 12 my parents “adopted” a manatee for me that I was ent pictures of monthly and got to follow along with, It’s safe to say that I spent a good amount of time hanging out here when we went.
You will see a few more incredible exhibits as you wrap up your time here. They have an outdoor penguin exhibit that it too cute to pass, and everyone loves the shark tunnel where you can see plenty of sharks swimming around and above you. It’s another great place for a family picture when it’s not too crowded.
From here you will wind around through a few more exhibits, see the brightly colored flamingoes and end at the standard gift shop where you can pick up a souvenir to take home. This is such a great place to have a family day, go on a date, or spend some alone time! Let us know when you think if you visit!
Question of the Day
What is your favorite aquarium that you have visited?
Traveling by Nature 