Shedd Aquarium Reviews

I love Shedd Aquarium, we take the train to Chicago just for this experience. It has many things to do and see for children and adults. Highly recommend taking a trip here.

Amazing Aquarium, so many new things I had never seen before! Beautiful!

Kind of spendy, lots of closed off areas. Seemed like a short day for the money spent

Really a great time. A must do if your in the area! Plan for lines to get in, but after that your good to go!

Everything is just perfect for adults and children. It's a must do if you come to Chicago

I love the aquarium our family has so much fun for everyone

Beautiful place, you have to have plenty of time to enjoy all the rooms.

A great experience for all ages! Wonderful exhibits and exciting shows. Add in dining options with spectacular views of the city skyline and right in the heart of Chicago's museum campus, you can't miss! Can be pricey but check the website for free days throughout the year. Parking isn't free but reasonably close, but check out the public transportation options. One of the gems of Chicago.

A nice aquarium but I have been to better. However the beluga wales make it worth the trip alone.

Really awesome exhibits from all over the world and nearby! From fish only seen in underwater lakes of Mexico all the way to Indonesia and Asia! Lots of opportunities to get close to cool animals and a great indoor animal show the whole family will enjoy! I was able to explore the whole place thoroughly in about 3 hours.

My husband brought me here for my birthday this year. The exhibits are interesting and well done. The 4d theater and One World shows were informational and entertaining. Sea Otters, Penguins, Beluga Whales, Sea Turtle, Sea Lion as well as many small marine life exhibits make this well worth your time! I love that the Shedd works so hard on conservation and animal life rescue!

Very cool aquarium!! Definitely worth the visit. Don't miss on your next visit to Chicago. The kids will love it!!

Awesome family fun.... Great time educational and super cool exhibits.. Loved it definitely going back..

I always enjoy the shedd Aquarium.i am a member of the shedd financial family.worth every donated dollar

Great aquarium with fish/animals from all parts of the world. One of the better aquariums.

Awesome place for family, especially small kids. Spend a good 2-3 hours looking through the underwater flora and fauna.

There was a very large selection of wild life, from all around the world. But one of the "ask me" people, was clueless about this one fish we wanted to see. She told us, it's either in this direction or the other direction. So she didn't help us at all. But overall it was a fun experience. But I do personally think that it was very pricey.

Awesome aquarium, the Beluga whales are amazing. The food court is a little on the pricey side ($33 for a burger, 4 piece chicken tenders 2 order of fries and 2 cokes but the view is great. Right on Lake Michigan. I would love to go again.

Went to the shedd with family yesterday. It was a free event for residents of IL. Parking was jacked up to $30 thou. Its humongous and amazing !! Do get ready for crowds on the busy holidays and weekends. Enjoy the pics and do visit !! There are cafes in the aquarium for snacks and food.

Great place to go on #rainydays, and especially the cold days in Chicago with the family. Parking was $25, and entry was $40 each adult. #wheelchairaccessible throughout the building.

We've been members for 28 years. It's one of our favorite places.

Fun place a bit pricey but not if you're a resident. Liked their organization and staff were great and engaged in the care of the aquarium and it's visitors.

The aquarium was very crowded. We went around 11:30. Grateful that we're purchased our tickets online because the line was outside the building. It was so crowded there was barely room to move comfortably and view the exhibits. It was a nice experience, don't have to go again

This aquarium is really big, lots of amazing fishes.

I would not recommend the Soundings Cafe because it is not family friendly. The hostess would not seat my family until we placed an order at the counter. I have four year old twins, a 14 month old, and a nine year old. It makes it very difficult to order food at a counter with all of them, a double stroller, and a single stroller. When we finally were able to get to the counter, the hostess said there was no more room and we would have to wait another ten minutes for a table that would fit our party. She could ve asked us how many in our party at the beginning, but they were so bureaucratic that they would not accommodate a family with small children. Eat at your own caution!

It was a lot fun! It was so interesting to see all those under water creatures, some were so prettyy, I totally recommend going here.

What can I say, one of the best aquariums in the country, with a large selection of marine animals. The dolphin show is great and it makes you aware of the conservancy efforts at the same time they show you a good time

Wonderful! So great to spend some time here to see the variety of life in the seas.

Worst museum experience ever. Website and workers here are very unprofessional. No information about general admission online. When I got there the worker told me the waiting time is 3hrs and you can get general admission even if you are not Illinois residence. So actually the waiting line was 1.5hr but there's NO GENERAL ADMISSION FOR NON IL residence! And same day online ticket would be $15/person. So if I could get these information the day before I would buy the $30 ticket online. And if I were there and they told me I cannot get general admission I would leave. Total fraud. Plus it's so crowded with noisy kids so the visit is not pleasant anyway. Never ever been to a big museum organized this bad.

Such a great place! Great dolphin show! We were lucky to see the whales being fed.

What an experience!
We choose the aquarium for our afternoon fun and I'm so glad we did! This place is huge! Lots of shows and interactive fun.

The aquarium is huge. So many different species from all over the world. The beluga whales were great.

It is educational, interactive and fun for all ages. The diver in the huge tank feeding the fish is amazing to watch. Go and wait a little bit early in front of the circular tank to get a good spot as it tends to crowd up before feeding time. They showcase so many exhibits that look natural. Staffed well to answer questions and encourage ways to save the planet by not overfishing particular species and educating people about plastic and how fish are affected, recycling is encouraged

It was very interesting. My family had a great visit. Something for all ages to find interesting. Great experience. Gift shop was a little expensive though

Dolphin show is a must. Very educational the exhibits are well taken care of. Love the turtles and the the dolphin cafe could use mode cleanliness

Nice indoor aquarium! I have never seen so
Many Variety of marine life ever. The place is huge and well kept. Still has a feel of old chicago flare and a welcoming atmosphere. It is right next to the lake and the views are absolutely gorgeous. The whale show is nice and the beluga whales look so happy even in enclosure they are swimming and dancing.

Wonderful for the kids. Thanks so much for a great day. We arrived early which enabled us to skip all the lines. As the day went on it got busier and busier. I am glad that we were able to arrive so early and take advantage of the quieter time. The land and water show was great and very informative. Moving around was easy with plenty of restrooms and rest stops available. I would recommend this to anyone who is visiting Chicago!

Love this aquarium! My sister and I got in for $10 total for being students and her being a resident of Chicago. We didn't pay to see the dolphin show, but if you go downstairs and watch from the tank below it's pretty cool too. You can see some interesting things without having to pay extra - just check the feeding and scuba times. The food court was pretty good too, and if it had been warmer it would have been really nice to eat on the terrace outside overlooking Lake Michigan.

buy tickets online, show on phone at gate, walk right past people line, PROCEED TO HAVE EDUCATED WHOLESOME FUN!!!!!

Heaven. My favorite is the shark room. We pet a sting ray and star fish. The wtw happy little whales. The otters were being silly. Great fun for the whole family.

Great place to spend the day. Lots to see and no extra fees for special exhibits. With the lakefront and the planetarium right there you have tons you can do.

Most beautiful place in Chicago! An unforgettable experience! Something my children will cherish.

Aquatic show is pretty good - even more so for little ones. 'Stingray touch' is kind of a guilty pleasure - (they must not be liking it). The view of lake Michigan is just amazing.

One of the best aquariums in the country. Just exploring all the exhibits makes cost of admission worth it. Alot of different ways and times to get free or discounted passes.

Buy your ticket online and a day or more early. Line is very long. If you buy your tickets online on the day you visit Shedd Aquarium, it will cost you more like $15 per ticket. We waited almost 2 hours in the cold weather 39F outside during last week of March. The staffs inside don't really care how long the lines outside. They could have organize the line inside the building better to accommodate as many people as possible inside the building so kids and families don't have to wait outside.

Beautiful aquarium, wonderful mission, and nice staff.

Dolphin show was fantastic. Loved getting close to the other animals. If you can, get down front and center during the show for the best views. Love the conservation mission of the aquarium as well, and some of the art they've developed from single-use plastics. Great time, cool atmosphere.

Very crowded. Sad the otters weren't out during our visit. Wish there was better advertising for the dolphin show, would have liked to see that.

This is undoubtedly one of the best acquariums I have ever seen in my life. It has a good collection of Amazon forest life which shows how reptiles, frogs, fish, marine weeds live and survive. The aquamarine life in Indian rivers, Latin America, Egyptian Nile has been beautifully showcased. The most amazing part was the whale show, the way they play with each other, smile, interact with people makes the whole place come alive with their innocence and smiles. It's the best place to hang around with your kids for sure

My kids loved it. Especially the 4D movie splash and bubbles

Super crowded and a long wait to get in, mostly because of spring break and there are soooo many children and the tickets aren't cheap. If you didn't purchase tickets before hand it was over a 20 minute wait. Buy online. Approximately $80 for 2 adults. The price of the tickets for the length of time it takes to go through the whole thing is a bit steep. Was able to walk through the whole thing in a little over an hour. The whales are super cool though and if you really want to see a show I would plan your visit around that.

Crowded, but everything moved along fairly well. Excellent exhibits.

My daughter and I had a blast here, can't wait to go back. The day we went was a public free day for illinois residents. Well be back next summer for the next free admission date. Awesome gift shop, had fun petting the sturgeon but we missed the whale. Hopefully next time.

The experience at Shedd Aquarium was enjoyable except the policy concerning obtaining tickets for a movie. We got our tickets online for the 4-D experience but when we went to watch a movie, the people who purchased tickets at the door had priority. We had to stand in a line while ONE person gave out tickets to whichever movie you wanted to see and most of those in front of us were buying for a different time. We almost missed our movie. Those who purchase online should be able to choose the movie online so we don't get stuck behind people who haven't made up their mind about which movie and what time to see it. This process could use improvement. Thank you.

They got 2 new exibits and they both great check out wild reef man

I really enjoyed this past visit to the Shedd. They have a wonderful new exhibit called Underwater Beauty, which shows off amazing fish and corals. It s a well curated exhibit!

A staff member named Steve was especially great to talk too. We just happened to start talking to him and took us back to the huge shark tank to show us where some of the more unusual animals like to nap, such as the Saw Fish and the Wobbegong Shark. It was really cool and added a little something extra to our visit.

The worst line management and admission process I have seen in a long time. I've been here an hour and haven't even gotten to the ticket booth yet. There are hundreds of people in line and only 5 people doing ticket sales, which for some reason seems to take 5 minutes per guest. Why they don't have a dedicated person all the informational stuff so the sales people can focus on sales is beyond me.
If you are coming and don't need a discount, I HIGHLY suggest buying online from their official website and they can scan the barcode and you walk right in.

Jazzin at the shed was great, would recommend to anyone who hasn't been to th Shed in awhile and wants to drink and eat while walking around.

Love this Aquarium this is by far the best Aquarium I ve ever been to. If your ever in Chicago makesure you stop by at the Shedd Aquarium.

Great place for children, lot of walking but well worth it

Aquariums are my personal favorite thing to see when out in vacation. I really love the layout and the exhibits in this Aquarium. It is definitely in the top 2 of all the aquariums I've seen in my life. And I've seen quite a few

Eels looked used up. Get better eels. Eel game week.

Great aquarium with a good variety and cool exhibits but a little bit expensive if you re not a local.

Great facilities and shows. Very well laid out and great assortment of aquatic life. Had a wonderful day with my son here. It was extremely crowded as the day we visited there was an event that offered some free or discounted admission. Even with the extra wait times it was very enjoyable.

We used the city pass and got to see the dolphin show and the 4D movie! We really enjoyed ourselves!

Huge place, fantastic attraction....worth a visit for families and marine world enthusiasts. The Beluga whales and the Otters are the stars....

Not very big. And would have loved to have seen more sharks!

Pretty nice, the whales were very cool. Just wish someone would've had more control over the field trip kids.

Always has and always will be one of the best places to visit in Chicago. Took my 10 month old daughter there for the first time and she loved it too.

Go here regardless of your age! It's fun for absolutely everyone. Also get there right at opening because the line builds up quickly.

Well worth the experience! They handled Covid restrictions pretty well. Just know you need to buy your tickets ahead of time online.

Amazing experience watching all the aqua life here. Very well maintained. You can get student discount with a valid student ID. Please give yourself a room of 3 hours at least to explore the whole aquarium as it is huge.

Really nice. Wish it stayed open later and had late afternoon shows.

Neat acquarium. Don't sit on the sides for the dolphin show. Spot lights shine right I'm your eye.

Fun place but you have to go early in the day to see most of it. Also very crowded on the weekends. Not suffocatenly so but enough to be noticeable.

Lousy. There was only one elevator for the thousands of people, 10 minutes or more to go between levels. What incompetent management that can t get the second elevator fixed before a busy holiday weekend. I have visited most of the aquariums in all of America s major cities, this is the worst, even if the elevator worked. The museum s layout leads to a lot of congestion, no one thought about the flow people when they designed this place. Don t bother, a true disappointment.

Everybody to a person was courteous and helpful I used a wheelchair and they Healthcare it up and down the steps for the fireworks it started raining after the fireworks and they ended up plastic bags to keep their patrons dry way to go!!!

Not as impressive as the National Aquarium, and much more crowded. I was disappointed that the animal displays didn't go into more detail about the creatures, just showing their picture and name. They had a good variety of creatures and allowed touching of stingrays and sea stars. It was a good aquarium overall, but the National Aquarium in Baltimore is better.

Wide collection of sea life...loved the place. So much to learn in there.

The Shedd is usually amazing but today it was unbelievably overly packed. We drove from Milwaukee and barely saw anything because it was shoulder to shoulder to the point that at spots we couldn't even move. I tried to get a snack, stood in line for 25 minutes and the line never moved once. My children are extremely disappointed and we feel that it was a waste of our day. I cant imagine it was within proper capacity and safety standards.

Came when I first opened and left around noon. Do not buy tickets when you get there, the line was out the door. Buy online and walk right in

Very awesome experience. Thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Need more than one full day to enjoy it all!

Is a great learning. will visit again on my next trip to Chicago