The New York Aquarium Reviews

Great place but please PLEASE put your camera down! Just enjoy the sights and move along especially if crowded.

Went there with my girl ,its a cool place ,a lOT of different types of animals. Can't wait to go there again.

I hate to say this place was sad. New shark exhibit made it a crowded day for us and the exhibit was worth it, not counting the crowd, but the rest of the place is a sad site. Why doesn't New York have a top notch aquarium? Still, support it, maybe one day.

Very loose the show and there is no variety of species, I give two for the sharks, but after being in the marine world of Argentina, this was loose

It was great lots of animals and activities,the food is a little overpriced though other than that solid visit

Folks become members of the Wildlife Conservation Service just so they can get parking rights at Coney Island. That said, it's worth a stop inside too! Can't wait till the post-Sandy rebuilding is complete and it's worth the price of admission again! Kinda small and limited for now.

Right now it is under construction, so it's really small, plus hurricane Sandy did number on it. Otherwise, it's still a great place to visit. Besides, they lowered the entry price. I hope they will have more attractions soon.

Sea lion show was awesome. Learned a lot. The announcer and the trainer were very entertaining.
Glad they let you know in advance via the website about the renovation.

Beautiful something about sealife especially in the times we are going thru right now is soothing and calm..the sharks and penguins make u forget about everything even if its for a few minutes

Always fun always education a great place for family time.

Small but very interesting aquarium, amazing shark exhibit with a walk-through tunnel and glimpses of there fauna right in the Hudsen

It's my first time going, I remember being 12 and visiting and even then it was on construction. (I'm 16)

The New York Aquarium is the oldest continually operating aquarium in the United States, having opened in Castle Garden in Battery Park, Manhattan in 1896. Since 1957, it has been located on the boardwalk in Coney Island, Brooklyn. The aquarium is operated by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) as part of its integrated system of four zoos and one aquarium, most notably the Bronx Zoo. It is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

As part of WCS, the Aquarium's mission is to save wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature.

The facility occupies 14 acres and boasts 266 species of aquatic wildlife. Its mission is to raise public awareness about issues facing the ocean and its inhabitants with special exhibits, public events and research. The New York Seascape program, based out of the aquarium, is WCS s local conservation program designed to restore healthy populations of marine species and protect New York waters which are vital to the area s economic and cultural vitality.

It is good the first time and decent the second. In short, the more you go, the more boring it is. The shark exhibit dosen't get boring though.

The new Shark pavilion was done really well and was a really great addition to the aqaurium

Was nice only wish it was bigger but they're in middle of construction so they are working on expanding.

Nice place to spend some time in. Though go early if you value your time....

Was a small exhibit not worth the time, money was fair as this went to the animals.

It is great to see the sea animals here. I find the sea lions entertaining . So are the dolphins. The gift shop is great. I have fun here.

An excellent experience! One of the best wedding venues I've had the pleasure of being invited to.

The aquarium is still under construction due to the hurricane from a couple years ago. It's not horrible if you just want to see some colorful fish, but all of the other exhibits were just disappointing.

The Aquarium is not accessible to persons with mobility limits....stairs to upper deck and to bathrooms

It's a decent outing to take the children to. It is the first aquarium I have been that is partially outdoors. The parking is a nightmare. The lot filled quickly. understandably you are next to Coney Island, but local lot parking was outrageous. If you can take the train. It's about a 2 hour visit and that's a stretch.

This is THE New York Aquarium. We went with our 2 year old daughter and she loved the penguins and the shark tank. On the flip side, the place is in a sad state from Hurricane Sandy. There isn't a place to eat inside and a good number of the exhibits are closed. It feels really small. That said, tickets are only 11.95 for ages 3 and over, free under 3, so for the price it was a great way to spend the first 1/2 of our day.

UPDATE: The big shark exhibit opens June 30, 2018.

Got a discount for late visit (6-9pm). The sea lion show was the highlight of my visit - was worth the money.

Most of the buildings were closed except for the sharks

Definitely not worth the money, the long lines and the traffic getting there. Only the shark exhibit was the nicest out of all and that only had one tunnel with an all around tank. Canada's Ripley Aquarium is wayyyyy better. You can't even touch anything here at the "Touch Tank", only 1 lousy starfish that you quickly pet with 2 fingers and then the staff makes you keep moving. And even for that we managed to be one of the firsts on line for that or the wait would've been so ridiculously long. Took a vote in the car, 4 out of 4 kids did not think the trip was worth it

The two stars are driven by the significant amount of time it's taking to redo this aquarium. Even for $11, there just isn't enough to do. With that being said, the two stars comes solely from the Sea lion show. We went on a slow day and this was the best show I have ever seen. Even included an up close and personal experience. If the refurbishment is ever complete, I would try again.

Don't get me wrong you can have a good time here and the shark exhibit is good...but it feels small and unimpressive compared to the aquariums in other states.I often wish New York put more money in these types of attractions.

It was expensive but nice experience for kids,sea lion show was entertaining but it lasted only for minutes. We were expecting dolphin show. small place ,its good but need more animals for the price we paid

nice, but somewhat small and pricey both for entrance and parking fees. Shark exhibit was nice

My kids love this aquarium not so much animal but so good

I feel I got ripped off if you want a real aquarium go to Camden NJ, hours of enjoyment specially for the little ones...they should just close this and opened when finish construction stop robbing people

Paid over $100 and drive almost 3 hours to be done with it in 30 mins. Wish there was more exhibits for the amount you pay to get in.

Very nice site, it is not as big as one would think, but it is very complete. On Fridays you can enter by contributing a collaboration according to your capacity. It is good to check the schedules online, so you can coordinate the feeding times of certain animals such as penguins. You can see the sea lion show. There is a souvenir shop. It has an excellent and comfortable parking. The Coney Island metro station is about 5 blocks away, but the walk to the Aquarium is very pleasant near the beach and passing the different types of restaurants that exist there and the amusement parks. Detail against, they have several years building an annex and it is not known when they will finish it.

I thought there would be more attractions!especially for the price!but the kids will enjoy the brief time.

This place has been under renovation for quite some time now. There is a new shark exhibit which is really cool, and you have your regular fish exhibits and now a new "spineless" exhibit. However, there seems to be a lack of species. For the times that ive come I have seen the same fishes as the time before and the time before that one, and the last time I came was 3 years ago. Surely Im all for saving the fishes, but if we pay to come see something we dont see on an everyday basis then they should make it worth our while and money to make sure we dont see the same thing over and over again. My son loved it. Ill probably be back but really hope they change it up or at least practice a different choreography with the sea lions. Food is overly priced and ok tasting. $4 for a can of water? Surely you can bring your own. There are tables all over to eat lunch at and bathrooms are nicely scattered around the aquarium. Staff is friendly and helpful. Overall, hope to see some differences next time we go.

Be careful when you Order online tickets make sure you check your statement because they charged three times for the same amount looks like they want to do a fraud I called in the lady told me they will call me back wouldn t exactly 2 hours didn t hear from them this place is not worth your money everything is close garbage

I really like the New York aquarium but it is very small and because of that it is unreasonably expensive.

I was here today with my family. This has always been my favorite aquarium however the experience I had today was just horrible. I can understand the construction going on has made it much smaller temporarily. I drove 2 hours to get here to just receive an attitude from a worker when I was trying to be seated in the sea lion show with my 4mo old baby, all I wanted was a seat in the shade where others were sitting and worker told me I wasn't aloud to sit in that area. When I tried to express my concern to him on why I couldn't sit in the hot beaming sun with my baby he basically told me it was my problem and that there was plenty of other seating which was back in the sun where I didn't want to be. Just like handicaps are accomadate so should be families with babies. This had ruined my experience here for the day. This is what I payed for. Atleast my proceeds helps out wildlife other than that worker there had very poor customer service skills in the aqua theatre wearing the yellow vest. 4D theatre was great. I might return when construction is Over!

We visited during an elementary school field trip. So it was a little loud and chaotic, but a very enjoyable experience. It's a little out of the way from Manhattan and a bit of a sketchy train ride.. But I found it worthwhile. Make sure you see the show!

I like how they did the wreck part of the new shark exhibit. Amazing.

I liked the seals show and the little ice age movie but inside the aquarium it was very hot.

Finning After completion of new shark wonder i can proudly say now New York have a wonderful aquarium, we really enjoyed.

beautiful place to spend a warm weather afternoon with the family, there's so much you can do that you'll start your day believing that you can visit coney island after the aquarium but midway through you'll realize you aren't even close to being done. i highly recommend anyone native to NY or not to visit this aquarium at least once in their life. the kids will enjoy the vast amounts of fish and animals they'll see here and you won't forget your own experience as well.

This place was better than expected, though closures took a bit of the fun away.

It's nice that the aquarium offers 1/2 price while the construction is still on-going, but it had an incredibly limited content to offer. I'd say the bang for buck is there just to watch the incredibly energetic seal show team and the act, though. The temporary shark tank was so tiny and filthy, it kind of made me sad. :(

Awesome place. Love the shark exhibit. Not a big place but still enjoyable. The ani,as shows are nice to watch.

I liked it a lot but to make the lines like it took a little

Small but can see a lot. Has a great time with the kids

Place to watch live sharksand sea animals moving close to you... wonderful experience..spent whole day

Maybe I've been spoiled by the Atlanta and Gatlinburg aquariums, but this place was not very fun in my experience. It's too small and too crowded. If you're already at Coney Island and you don't mind spending some money it may be worth it to you. Personally, I'm not coming back.

(Just want to note, this review has nothing to do with the staff. Everybody was very nice!)

The tour was okay but I was expecting to see more. Had a good time tho

A magical place! We had the chance to meet each other in the beautiful aquarium where soft relaxing music is broadcast ... Not sure you have the same, but I wish you!
The tunnel under the sharks is superb, really a beautiful aquarium!

Very large aquarium, I loved the penguins (many).
As often in the US the prices of drinks / souvenirs are a little abusive ... but hey, it's "normal".
The outdoor show should be better when the weather is nice, but it's cool anyway.
They preserve the aquatic life and defend the waters against the pollution, it is a good additional point :)

Alot smaller than I imagined, but It was under construction when I went so I am excited to see what new exhibit they'll have. But for what was there when I went it's was pretty cool and educational.

The shark exhibit is awesome!! Everyone will enjoy it

Very small inside. Outside had limited animals. Sharks have been relocated.

Thought it was bigger...however what was there, Was excellent.

Visitors from Trinidad

Extremely small. Almost nothing to see. Very overpriced for the less than one hour it takes to see everything