The New York Aquarium Reviews

Good ride to take the kids. However, it is currently under renovation and with few attractions. The sharks are in a makeshift tank awaiting definitive installations.

It has new attractions and you can get a sea lions kiss. That was the best.

This was the first time for my family and I have been to the aquarium. I watch the "Zoo" and have seen a episode with the aquarium. We wish the aquarium was bigger. We enjoyed the exhibits. I loved the new shark aquarium. The restaurant on top was beautiful. A little expensive. The view! I love how the building is one big beautiful wind chime! We enjoyed being able to leave the aquarium and be right on the boardwalk. With tons of places to eat and tons of places to play.

A wonderful aquarium, and reasonably priced (with a 20% off coupon from their website, we got two tickets for less than $40). The aquarium is small but focused, with exhibits on sharks, the coral reef, etc. The octopus exhibit was closed during our visit, but there was still plenty to see. The focus of the aquarium is on wildlife conservation and education, so you'll learn a lot about God's creatures and how we can help protect them.

The attractions were not attracting..half of the aquarium was closed..my son was so bored...and hes 6..I would not recommend at all

It's currently under construction but still very fun

The Aquarium's Green Moray Eel lives in the Glover's Reef tank inside Conservation Hall - right by the entrance - but he's nocturnal so he's hard to spot during the day. Try to find him popping his head into view from the windows that look into the tank from the gift shop.

Nice small aquarium featuring local fish. And you just have to see the sea lion show. I won't spoil it but trust me it is one of a kind.

Word of warning, it is mostly under construction so there is not much to do. Maybe one hours worth.

Rare gem! Very different from topical east coast aquariums, good food in the center burger place. Nice views of Coney island.

I loved the Aquarium. I went on Sunday and it was crowded but if it is not Covid 19 era I would say it is normal. Line is too long spent like an hour to go in ocean wonder and spineless sections and also lines to buy some food or snacks. All lines don t care about the social distance. However, the long lines are because they allow few people to enter the sections. Overall, kids and adults will enjoy the Aquarium and aquatheater.

had a great time with my daughter recommend to everyone

I really liked the city aquarium, the child was delighted, experienced so many emotions, showed a finger at the fish and chatted incessantly) The aquarium with sharks is gorgeous, fish swim above you, it is fascinating! The rooms are cool, you can take a break from the beach sun. Also got on the show with a sea lion, very funny and smart animals. I recommend everyone to visit, both adults and children.

Great for kids. Staff is very friendly. Major renovations underway, which will give it a 5 star rating once completed.

The show with a sea lion was just heartwarming and very enjoyable! I liked the idea to show people how it's dangerous for the sea animals to trow out the trash to the oceans and how it's important to everyone to keep clean and sustainable our nature!
Thank you so much for that important reminder and bringing it up to the public!

I had a decent time here but let me be objective. Really small aquarium that can be completely browsed through in an hour or less. Always has one whole section closed for something coming soon. Adult ticket is $30 for entrance.

As far as aquariums go, this one falls short of impressing in terms of exhibit variety, innovation and feels way over priced for the value you will get. Though this place appears to treat the animals well. The sea lion show was good as well.

Honest Rating 2/5

+1 star for humane treatment of the animals and animal rescue/environmental efforts.

+1 star for a organized event scheduling like feeding times and sea lion show.

Most of the exhibitions are under the construction, I spent about 10 minutes looking at fishies and some seal barking. Hoping to see more, maybe during the summer when they're done with construction....

I was born in Coney Island. And very much proud it.

Multiple exhibits are closed for renovation. The new tunnel experience is cool but overall it s not really worth going till they open up more exhibits.

Great Facility and they have great marine life and they do conservation of species in the wild.

Great upgrades! You have some real "wow" displays. Your location can't be beat right on the Coney Island boardwalk. You should just up your smaller ordinary displays and you'll really be impressive.

Perhaps I'm jaded as I traveled here from Florida, but I was disappointed with the value to price ratio; frankly the value didn't match the price.

Loved it just cant wait for construction to be done.

It was great before the hurricane but most PDF the exhibitions are still closed. I expect it to be better after all the constructions are done. The one star rating is for the parking. People who manage the parking area horrible. In summer they don't want to stay too long on the street to do their job. So they allow cars to enter once every half an hour. They said the parking lot is full while there were plenty of spaces.

Nice place. Not all places opened but still nice to visit.

Was under construction while I visited but otherwise was quite nice, plenty of interesting and interactive exhibits. Perfect for bringing kids to learn about the sea and how to protect it!

Shark exhibit is the main attraction. Need more whales? ,turtles? ,crabs ,the ocean ?3D? The crispy chicken taco YUMMY!!!! Another eatery and free FAMILY days at least per season! Similator ocean sibmaribe ride!!! Would b wonderful

I took my students there today. They loved it! It can be quite crowded when the weather is warm, but in Autumn, it is alot easier to move through the space.

Make sure you double-check the website. We went in February 2017 only to find that approximately 50% of the aquarium is under construction and closed.

The new shark exhibit.. is the best at coney island

Much better visit. The shark exhibit is worth the trip.

Awesome experience. For a short trip as family we can have fun.. we can have a long walk at Cooney island. Nice view

Needs to be a bit bigger and not everything is up and running.

Excellent for the family different types of fishes and a great show and don't forget the 4D theater.

The "Ocean Wonders: Shark" was the best thing there. It's really small and does not worth the money. Thank God I went there using my IDNYC card for free. This place has so much potential to be better.

A lot of renovation are being made in the Aquarium however I still see some issues with some closed areas which are being worked on. It seems like every year I go back there there is always done kind of closed attraction. FYI in a WCS member.

Kids really enjoyed it. I only wish that the aquarium was bigger

Beautiful but not much to do. The quest was really fun.

Fun place to take the family. Small but it offers spot.

The NYC aquarium is one of the coolest places in the entire city. A really big and magical place, the entrance pays contribution to the conservatory.

Expensive but is well worth it! Enjoyed visiting this place many times with family and staff is friendly.

Not worth the money or the time. It was better before Sandy hit and all the money they got to rebuild, could have made it better. But I will say the shark tank is pretty nice. Better then before!

Way to much ppl you can t get to enjoy the aquarium

Reduced admission due to rebuilding since hurricane Sandy it will be nice when it's finally finished

Plan your visit right and you'll see the Sea lion show and the shark exhibit. Both are great. The shark exhibit has two lines, one goes to the actual exhibit, the other to a small area where you can touch the sharks. Go to the exhibit. Bring water, don't bring beach equipment (they make you leave it outside the aquarium for anyone to steal). The 4d show is ok, probably ok to skip.

A disappointment. Few attractions to be attached to the sea. Lost time.

It s a very fun place so far! The animals there are funny.

The Aquarium has reopened, at least the Shark exhibit. I still miss the old exhibits and felt a little cheated, but will wait until its fully reopened before giving a full review. For now, a great place to take the kiddies

If you're not a member; you'll pay $18.00 for Parking plus $29.95 admission. But there's so little what to see there, we were in and out in less then an hour.
If you're a member (free parking) and going on a Wednesday when admission is free, it makes sense.

Much bigger exposition than 2 years back. Great 4D movie included in package price. Lot of interesting information and show for kids. Parking - just $18.

Sealion show amazing..
4d experience was ok.
We didn't had time to give much time to aquarium.and some of the parts are under construction.

They have a great amount of attractions and beautiful sea lion shows! They did an excellent job during this time of COVID.

Lines where long but moved at a decent clip. very expensive for almost nothing to see.

Was fun ever I have bigest expectations for that place!!

Under construction so half the exhibits are closed but admission is half price

Just renovated! Beautiful shark tank with amazing huge tunnel!!

The aquarium at Coney Island. Because I went using IDNYC, I entered it with only children's fare (you need to change the year pass with Bronx ZOO).
It's a small aquarium, and it takes about two hours to watch a sea lion show. I went for 3 consecutive holidays (in the morning) in May, but it was not very crowded.
It feels like it's kind of ... to go for a regular fee. It is disappointing to imagine Japan's Sea Paradise or Yodogawa Sea World.
In the afternoon I played back at the beach (playing sand) and at Luna Park.

The aquarium is not really worth the detour. Apart from the most recent part of the sharks with magnificent aquariums, the rest is really dated and deserves a good renovation. Do not recommend compared to other things to see in NYC.

Ny Aquarium is not really an aquarium at its current state. Half the aquarium is under construction. Even after construction, i wouldn't consider it the worlds best aquarium. It is on a smaller scale. BUT being in the city, having an aquarium is awesome. A get away from the city, within the city. They had a sea lion show, and that was really great. (better than bronx zoo show) The indoor/inhouse exotic fishes were active and great to see. The small stingway was really fun to watch. I was there for over one hour. Afterwards, take a walk on the broadwalk. It is Really nice to see the environment; sand, water, sun, and of course the theme park there is nice to take a look at.

I went on a sunday. Could not get into the parking lot and could not find parking in the surrounding areas. Take the train there is my advise

Trainers are very nice and informative. The shark exhibit is great, the rest lacks polish.

It s fairly small. There s a couple of indoor rooms with fishes, a penguin enclosure, an otter enclosure, and the new sharks tank. The main attraction is the sea lion show, but it s not year round. A visit can be done in about 45 minutes. It really feels like something s missing.

Sea Lions show is very good but other than that it's just ok

The amazing show, ideal to spend with children, we had a lot of fun, recommended for the whole family

Worth visiting place. Aquarium and rides are thrilling.

Needs lots of work. They should have timed visits to the new Shark tank exhibit. Like give a group of people an allotted time. The lines were ridiculous for it to be such a small place. They had to close the touch pool because it was crowded kids did not want to make the 2hr shark experience line. Nothing much else to do. But.. with the little my son saw he was okay. If you dont mind the lines and lack of exhibit it's okay. Could be better. Feels chaotic.