Aquarium of the Pacific Reviews

We went to the Aquarium on one of the colder days during our weekend trip to Seal beach. My kids loved touching the jelly fish, sharks and stingrays. It was big enough to spend about 2-2.5 hours there, but not more than that. The sea-lion show was great- the seal lions do tricks and show their personality. :) The "Animal Meet and greet", however was lame. They brought out a rat and talked about him. That was it. Couldn't touch him, just look at him. A rat was the last animal I was expecting to "meet" at an aquarium!! They also have a demonstration in the otter tank but we missed that one.

I would never pay full price for this Aquarium. We got discount tickets from our hotel, and it was less than $100 for our family of 5.

Nice,beautifully place enjoying with family and friends.

Good fun day our with the family with the beauty of sea creatures

A fun and engaging attraction for all ages. The exhibits here are phenomenal and well maintained. Animals seem to be happy and well taken care of. Staff members are very knowledgeable and courteous to visitors. Gets pretty crowded after opening, however - expect lines at several of the "Learning Labs" or petting pools. Definitely worth a visit for a first time if you're near Long Beach.

Fantastic interactive shows with animals and divers!

My family from Texas were visiting and loved the aquarium so very much. It was difficult to get them to leave. I promised to take them back when they return at Christmas.

The inside of the aquarium is very nice and I love the Lorikeets. My only reason for 3 stars is the remarkably awful lady at the ticket counter. She was beyond rude to me when I came up to pay. As I was paying she started waving her arms around like a crazy person. I asked what she was doing and she was trying to get my sister who was behind me to go to the next open window. I said (politely, albeit confused) we aren't in a hurry and she just threw my card and the slip to sign to me. She was also really rude to my sister when she processed her ticket and had the audacity to tell her not to pass off her ticket to someone else after we were done. We weren't rude, we certainly don't look like people to pick a fight with, especially with a 3 year old excited to go into the aquarium. I wish I got her name to complain later, I stupidly threw away my receipt during lunch so I don't know if it was on there. My sister is very non confrontational so I didn't want to request a manager while we were at the window. I hope someone else complains about her so that awful woman won't ruin other people's experiences. If it wasn't for the pure joy from my niece the whole day would have been tainted by her bad attitude.

Overall we had a great time and the kids loved it , they have a lot of activities for young kids , one of our favorite was the moon jelly fish touch lab , the thing that i didn't like was the price i thought it was too much but they have an annual membership if you live here but it's worth it

My family and I had a great time! The upgrades to the establishment are awesome! One thing I thought was weird, was the whole focus on population control and urbanization. Felt kind of cult-like. However, we still enjoy this place! The staff are so helpful, knowledgeable and kind every time we come here! Great family fun!

I had been looking forward to come back here now that i have a little one of my own. It is completely different then i remember. It was very crowded due to field trips which was fine. I understand those. The kids where horrible and trying to climb in the tanks and on the tanks and pushing and shoving people out of the way. My son could barely see anything without almost getting trampled. They hardly had any sharks. They only had one sea otter who looked very sad. There was a few dead jellyfish. We made it through the whole aquarium in about an hour. I feel it is definitely not worth the price to get in. Me and husband left utterly disappointed. I feel that the aquarium used to be an amazing place and as time has gone it has slowly gone downhill.

Love everything about the Aquarium of the Pacific. Been coming here for a very long with my family and they enjoy it just as much as I do every time. Very exotic animals, and extremely nice staff.

A lot of stuff here... Need more time...at the discount price worth it...

Looks like during the renovation they let a lot of their exhibits go I haven't been there in a few years but I remember it being much nicer it probably will go back to being awesome once they finish building the rest of the aquarium

Great time, thanks for all the great things you do for us!!

Great experiences for the kids. Wonderful staff and volunteers. Very knowledgeable.

Very enjoyable. Lots of species of animals etc to view. Kids area, gift shop etc.

Love this aquarium. You can touch some of the animals and there are always new exhibits

Excellent place for the kids. So much to learn and so much to explore. My daughters love this place.

All of my students really enjoyed their time there. So peaceful!

Small compaired to other aquariums, best part was feeding the birds and that cost extra!

Very good in information on all animals in aquarium.

They advertise sharks and they're there but they're so small and in such a small section it's not really satisfactory for someone who is a nature lover. Also they had a sign for sea turtles and I didn't see one. Lots of unique fish though. Kind of seemed like a large fish store. Price of the tickets a little inflated for what they offer. Would rather hit the san Diego or even the LA zoo way more to see. More for kids in my opinion

We had a great time! Didn't know they sold beer and wine. A little pricey but, should be well worth it once the seas lion exhibit is open.

Great place to bring kids and family.

We stopped here one day with the little one and she had a blast. Love the jelly fish tank. Lots to see and do. Theres an area that is safe for the kids to touch some sea life as well.

Highly recommend this. You can also get a couple hours of whale watching in right out of the harbor.

Parking is very easy. The area is very handicap friendly as well if thats important to you. The staff are very friendly, well trained and accommodating.

Awesome fun...great time, great aquariums....I take the kids every couple months and it's always fun. A great learning place. We bring our own picnic and make it a day.

I love this place. My kids love seeing all of the animals and it's very educational. It can get extremely busy though depending on the time of year and day.

My kids always have a good time. Especially looking at the sharks..

I have always enjoyed the aquarium. It is beautiful, informative and exciting. The volunteers and staff are helpful and informative. I brought my 1 year old nephew and it was great for him! The elevators even made it easy for his stroller. The tide pools are a great way to get up close and personal. They even have endangered species like the salamander in the picture below.

Too crowded for Labor Day. If had to do over we would arrive around 3-4 pm because the crowd was less plus closing time extended thru 9:00. We would suggest leaving @8:00 pm because shutting foenbus taking place and fish want to go to sleep.

I absolutely loved this place! I would love to go back again. There is so many fantastic fish and other things to see there. We just didn't have enough time. Go early, parking is literally right across the street. This is for ages 1 to 110. Wheel chair accessable everywhere as well. Staff is very very friendly. The whole place is awesome! Go make a day of it! My daughter took me as a surprise. Boy, it was one of my favorite surprises of my life!

Love the Aquarium.... Fun family trip with the grandbaby!

We had a great time and my daughter loved it. We got to pet sharks and JELLY FISH!!!

Great aquarium! Noah and Mike from the volunteer team are great. Watch out for the birds...they're super aggressive.

Awesome experience!!! Kids had so much fun. We went on a field trip, will definitely go just with my kids.

Always nice to visit, just to many people let in, hard to see things and move around.

Yes it s busy. And yes it s still worth taking your kiddos here, even when it s cold, windy, rainy and your umbrella blows inside out while you re making your way from the garage to the entrance.

The likelihood of this being your experience when you come here is probably slim, given we live in CA and very rarely get weather like this that often. All that said, we still had a great time!

If you ve never been, this aquarium is definitely worth checking out at least once.

Nice aquarium, but not very large, comparing to e.g. Monterey. Quite overcrowded even in the morning on weekday. The animals are in a very good condition.

Nice layout. Not many stairs and an easy walk to the hotel's.

It's cool but I dont think its 35 bucks a ticket cool, you can literally do and see it all in under a couple hours

Fun for the kids prices are good and you get to see a lot of different animals it's worth the pay.

We loved it! It was so nice and everyone was very friendly. The animals were awesome.

In the entrance there is a stand for maps and help center. The Aquirum is a good place to take children and see all the sea life. It also has a restaurant inside and can bring backpacks inside.

My kids had a great time here, they enjoyed looking at all the animals especially the exotic colorful fish. Staff was nice

Really enjoyed this place. So many things to do and see. I really loved the fact that you are hands on many of the animals here. And best thing of all was that you can enjoy a beer while you're in there

An amazing array of awesome sea creatures many of which you can touch and interact with.

Just bought the family membership. Went for the first time in more than 6years. The kids (13,7,3) were so excited running from one tank to another. The staff at the touch pools were great. Can't wait to go back.

I've only given 5 stars because there aren't more to give. Even though we don't live in Long Beach, it's always worth the trip through traffic.

The Aquarium is a great way to kill a couple of hours with kids (under 7). Especially on holidays when kids are out of school and you're at a loss for what to do. The outside play also doubles as a mini water park on warm/hot days (bring a extra change of clothes and towel :)

Get the yearly pass. After a couple of visits it's paid for itself, and you don't feel bad for not staying long if there are any "meltdowns". Pass holders also have a separate entrance that never has a line.

Also, the Aquarium has special evening events for pass holders - most are free - throughout the year exclusively for parents (date night style events neither adult beverages) or kids, and obviously joint events.

A great place to spend the day with kids, amazing exhibits, touch tanks and outdoor play area.

Great way to spend an afternoon. Visit after the elementary school rush of 11 am - 2pm. They may close around 5 or 6 for evening events. Expect about 2 hours to visit the aquarium. Petting the sharks was my favorite. Parking garage fee is good for the day so you can go up pine for drinks after. I say visit Bo Buao for nearly 100 bear options and all the good cocktails.

I love this aquarium- I visit every time I'm in LA, starting back in 2012. This last time was truly wonderful, as I was able to take my 5YO daughter with me. She had a blast with all the touch tanks- not just rays, which are normal, but also the bamboo sharks, horseshoe crabs, moon jellies, sea urchins, and anemones also.

We were there right before Christmas and everything was festive. I loved the Scuba Santa in the main tank, and all the little touches, like the snowflake in the seahorse tank. Kiddo adored the snow bubbles during the polar bear photo opportunity.

I also had the luck to be there for a private reception one evening, which was truly lovely. They had a band, a special otter time, and it was a lovely getting to see how the animals outside changed their behavior with the dusk and nighttime.

Bonus- I fell in love with the stuffed rainbow rays outside, but when it was time for us to leave, they had closed that shop up. My partner went into the gift shop and asked- and they went and got the rainbow ray especially for him/me. Now that's customer service!

Always a great place to take the family. Can get very busy and crowded after 12pm.....I always arrive when they open at 9am that way I can enjoy the exhibit with less crowds.

Our visit to the Aquarium was a fantastic learning experience. The only problem was the throngs of people who planned to visit on the same day.

A great time, got to touch some marine life. God those penguins are foul smelling though.

Was amazing very educational as well!! A lit to see!

This aquarium is great to teach kids about marine life and the impact of humans on the environment! They have things such as scuba divers in tanks talking about the marine life in the tank, places where you can touch sting rays and star fish, and activities to teach about water conservation.

I took my cousin there for her birthday and let me tell you - wow oh wow oh wow

The fish were alive and they had a man so the water with them I didn't know people could go under water like that so it was truly a treat for her and I After awhile the man went to the surface and disappeared We tried to find him but he wasn't anywhere to be found. My cousin - who's a blind mute - signed that she didn't believe me that a man can go underwater I explained what I saw but she refused to believe me so I tracked down the manager and she confirmed what I had said My cousin was upset that she couldn't see it herself so the manager gave us a voucher to feed the birds for free It was good for only one person so I tied my cousins leash to a tree so she wouldn't wonder off and I went inside Wow oh wow oh wow There must have been millions of them and I fed each and every one I even got a picture with three of them When I went outside my cousin was gone I looked all over for her but couldn't find her I had never ridden the bus alone and when I got home I couldn't help but wonder what happened to my cousin It's been several months and the police still don't know where she is If I had wondered off s probably would be working at the aquarium cleaning tables and watching the man swim with the fish At night I can't help but think she's somewhere there now swimming with the fishes herself One day I'll go back But I can't tomorrow I have school

Loved it. The aviary was awesome. Got lots of great pictures feeding the birds. Lots of things to explore.

The staff is so friendly and the whale watching cruise was so wonderful.

Enjoyed the visit and surprised by the very reasonable gift shop prices.

The behind-the-scenes tour was fun and very informative. Our guide, Hanna, was great!

Too crowded for my taste, but a great place to bring the kids

My kids loved it me and my hubby wished there was more

Very informative. The staff was very helpful without being too pushy. I would definitely recommend as a day with the family.

First time here. Amazing. Experienced new creatures I've never seen before and enjoyed the petting the jellyfish and baby shark and rays.

Love the LB aquarium! So thankful we became members. Definitely worth it!

Great place to bring kids to learn about the ocean. It's also a great place to go to as adults as well.

Great aquarium, gift shop nit so much. Touts local art jewelry but my experience with them they gave production pieces ie. Widely available silver charms hung on ear wires and called local art. An art jeweler, I was chosen to sell my silver sea themed hand crafted pieces there. Although my pieces sold they were not displayed property, I often found my necklaces hung backward shoved behind the earrings made from commercialcially available charms. I felt that inferior pieces created with cheap materials were given coveted prominently lighted space as the buyer for the store gushed that the artist who made them worked as a Disney "Imagine ER", that being more important than his art. While my pieces sell quite well in other venues, being related to a bottom shelf with poor lighting, hung on displays poorly and backward sold anyway, yet it was a very disheartening experience to have been told they were looking for local artists, yet giving precedence to jewelry that was simply assembled from commercially produced pieces were given top shelf, crated space. Found very little handcrafted jewelry other than that of the Disney employee displayed. Mass produced art from well known artists was available but very little from local artists was displayed with high visibility

Touched a shark! Petted a ray! Sea lions! Eels! Penguins! Scary weird fish! Sea dragons that looked like plants! What's not to love here? Spent about 5 hours here and don't think I even saw half the stuff to see. Kids loved it too. The restaurant inside was even decent. I got the burger.

Nice outing for the family. Lots of shows and exhibits to see. The food in the food court is not bad either and they have a wide range of options.

My children and I love this place. We got to feed birds on our arms, touch jelly fish and sting rays. We are now able to identify the eggs of the sea. Oh, and those mud skippers have an interesting story.

Bought annual pass love the exhibits and they are expanding the aquarium.