My cousin and I visiting from the East woke up daily without and a plan of what to do. I ran across Dallas World Aquarium as a great place to visit in Dallas and there we went. We visited on Wednesday after Labor Day. Not at all crowded, perfect! We saw a lot of interesting things. What was most exciting was the aquarium wasn't filled with only water animals. It's geared for all ages to enjoy!
Coming from New England we have one of the best aquariums. The Dallas World Aquarium is an amazing and completely different experience. I loved the layout and how you walk through. It's a little bit zoo like with above ground animals like sloths and monkeys. You really feel like you are in a jungle surrounded by birds and other animals. They have a great array of underwater sea life and tell you where they all come from. I loved the giant otters! There was a huge group of them just wrestling around. You can also walk around and drink a beer, but keep it covered with your hand and beware of the birds. You don't want to get a shot of that in your cup!
It was a quiet Wednesday morning when we visited and we almost had the place to ourselves. It's a great set up of a single winding path through a jungle maze. Some great sights. Eventually you get to the aquarium part and one of those glass tubes you walk through and the fish swim around you. Excellent way to spend an hour or two.
Had fun. Saw a lot of interesting things. Not just fish. Very crowded. Really nice the way it is designed. Waterfalls, Caverns, Under Sea Tunnels. A nice experience.
I think I'm spoiled by the National Aquarium in Baltimore which is truly spectacular...but the Dallas Aquarium offered an intimate experience. We went late in the day so we had about 2-hours to spend. It's always cool when the birds are free-flying. I wish more of them could spend their time like that. We enjoyed the giant otters and the penguins. The flamingos squabbled and honked at each other while we watched. The turtle and the manatee kept bouncing off each other in an underwater ballet. The sharks floated by in a menacing manner.
The only real complaints I have is that if the woman in the "last" gift shop hadn't pointed out the shark tunnel, we probably would have missed it completely. And I would've liked it if the exhibits had the names and pictures of the fish and animals on the wall or something other than those digital "interactive" displays that really only two or three people can use at a time. Granted, you get a map with your admission, but we probably lost ours in the bathroom about 1/2 way thru the building.
