Sea Life Kansas City Aquarium

WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY!!! Im extremely dissapointed! We paid about 50 bucks for my husband and I and our 9 year old son. If I had known how dissapointing this place would be, I wouldn’t pay more than 5 dollars each person to see this place. Thats how little its worth! A total waste of money, time, and energy!

Don’t get me wrong they do have some cool things here. The kids loved all the colorful fish and other sea life. We went to Kansas City last year for a football game. To kill some time the day before the game, we brought the kids here. I don’t know maybe it’s just the San Diego boy in me, and comparing things to Sea World, but I really expected it to be a lot more than what it was. Again, the kids loved it and they really loved the class where they got to write their names with real squid ink, but as an adult, and as a admitted spoiled So Cal native, I was just underwhelmed. But don’t let my dissatisfaction sway you away from taking your family here. You may actually love it and I’m not saying it was totally bad, I’m just saying I personally wasn’t impressed and it was really over crowded, and noisy, but that’s just me. My kids loved it and want to go again someday. I think next time we’ll go here and check out the zoo as well since I’ve still yet to go there.

Small aquarium, definitely made for a young audience. I think it’s pricey, especially since the target is young children, but I do like the large shark tank. Keep your eye out for the sea turtle that’s missing a foot (fin? leg? oh well).
It’s conveniently located though, right in Crown Center. When I went, we walked across the street and hit up happy hour at Spin Pizza.
Check it out if you’ve got free time or love sharks/​fish (I have to admit, I’m fascinated). But if you’ve got other things to do, I’d skip it because of the $$.

This place is more of a tourist attraction/​profit center than a scientific presentation of aquatic life. That said, they at least do it well.
The small collection of fish, mollusks, crustaceans, etc are presented in a comfortable, accessible, family friendly environment. The young staff seem well-​trained and knowledgeable, and the facilities appear well maintained.
We allowed a far longer time frame than is really needed and made it through the whole exhibit in about 45 minutes. This is including the McDonald’s-style play land and the gift shop at the end.
I am not suggesting you skip it, just go in with appropriate expectations.

The grandkids were amazed. They loved the touch pool and Phillip was very informative. Scott gave us some great information and everyone helped to make the kids visit GREAT!

I’ve been to multiple aquariums in the US with our young kids. This is levels above any of the others. It is intentionally child friendly, they absolutely loved it. A nice feature was a play area at the very end. We let them tire themselves out there so we could rush them thru the gift shop at the exit.

Its not a big show case, but does keep you occupied. Try to plan atleast a day in advance so that you can get the tickets for $ 12-​$ 15 (Its worth that amount). It wont take more than 1 hour for the complete tour and thus, book the tickets after 3:00PM slot so that you get additional 35% off.
It had a lot of sea creatures and is good for youngsters and children. I loved the entrance.

It’s all about what you’re looking for! We took our almost 3 year old grandson and had a great time. We were greeted by a very friendly staff. It was just the right size for him and had plenty of beautiful and amazing sea creatures to keep us impressed. At the end is a play area that was just right to end the adventure. I plan to get a season pass next year.

I have been to many cool aquariums in my life (Monterey, Steven Birch, various sea world locations etc.) and this is by no means like that. However, for the Midwest it is a decent experience for young kiddos & adults alike. We lucked out and had the chance to view a feeding in the eel tank — really cool. The marine biologist was friendly and hung around to answer tons of questions. The tanks were well maintained and seemed clean. The animals seemed fairly happy. It wasn’t mobbed like Legoland next door. I like how they staggered entry so it wasn’t packed. Worth the trip if you get the admission as part of a combo pass. I agree with a previous Unilocaler– if you’re an adult go without kids so you can move at a slower pace and enjoy it more fully.

Things we liked
The places you could stick your head in under the tank and see the fish — it was a nice perspective, the large aquarium with the walk through area. The employees-​we had someone walk up to see if we had any questions and then spend about 10 minutes chatting with us about the fish we were interested in.
Things we didn’t like — the flow through the building is not great-it’s bottle necked a lot. Price for value — for the price they’re charging I expected more content.

We took our toddler here and we all loved it! Purchased tickets online for a specific day/​time but our child got sick. They made it easy for me to move the date and everything!
So many things to see, touch and learn. We will definitely be coming back. Such a great experience!

This is a nice little aquarium and we really like it. But it’s over priced and they haven’t worked out the flow just yet. In the last year it has changed twice for the kids activity walk through.
The 3d turtle talk is fun once. It takes maybe 2 hours to et through your first visit.
We like going and seeing the touch pools and the eels and Rays.
We have been to try Georgia Aquarium (easily an all day activity for $ 39) and other smaller ones like Seattle (3 – 4 hours and about $ 20) and the price tag for this one is just crazy. Seattle is larger and charges less.
Combo pass is great for one visit. We did the annual pass due to our family size (7) and knowing kids would enjoy a few visits. Would not recommend annual pass for small families.

I was in KC about a month ago with my family for a weekend trip. We wanted to do something before we drove back home and we decided on the Aquarium.
LOCATION/​PARKING/​WAIT:
It is located in downtown KC. There is a large parking structure right next to the aquarium. We went on a Sunday and it was free parking — not sure if it is like that everyday, so double check. You have to get in line to buy the tickets, they let so many people in at a time. It didn’t take us very long, under 10 minutes. Once you buy your tickets you get in line and have the option of having your photos taken. Then you walk through a door to enter the Aquarium.
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
Customer service was great!
AQUARIUM:
Overall, the Aquarium was good and fun. I grew up practically in the ocean all the time and I’m use to being around sealife. This may have contributed to me not being super impressed. I don’t want to really say I wasn’t impressed because it was good. Maybe a better choice of words is that it is more normal to me and I wouldn’t normally think to pay money to go see it, but we were there and our daughter had fun!
They have some fun photo opportunities inside. There are some fun tunnels your kid can crawl through and you can take a picture of them. Also, there is a bubble where you can walk under and pop your head up into the bubble and someone can take your picture as if you are in the tank.
One of the tanks — the larger one, maybe the largest — with the sharks is cool. When we were there they had two scuba divers in there. On the outside (with us) was a worker who was talking on a microphone answering questions for the diver insdie and you can ask a question for the diver to answer.
There is also a movie/​showing of a video inside too. We did not see it because we weren’t there during a show time. So, check ahead to see if there are any events going on while you are there.
PRICE:
If you buy online 24 hours ahead of time you get a cheaper price. You also select a time to come to the Aquarium. I think things like this are in general somewhat overpriced, so definitely buy it online 24 HOURS before you want to go.

Pricey for what you get. If you’re visiting and would never come back to KC if may be worth it. Tickets are expensive for what you get. There isn’t anything here that gives you the WOW factor it’s an oversized fish tank with few small sharks, string rays and other species. It’s an okay place to kill time.

My son was only interested in Stingrays and Sharks .we the adults had fun looking at all the pretty fishes and the ugly ones, it was also nice to sit on the bench under the water and this long fish is right above our head. If u going to Lego Land and here than prepare nothing for 3 in a half hours because once u leave across the street is a Crayola Store !!!

The price for what is available to see is not great. Went to the area for Legoland but not allowed to view there since we did not have a child with us. Not someplace I would return.

It is awesome for small kids! I took my daughter, who is three. It wasn’t too big and she could walk/​run at her leisure without getting overly tired.
The staff was nice and helpful with any questions we had. The location is AWESOME! We went to Fritz’s and ice cream in Crown Center afterward. It is also close to Downtown KC where other attractions await.
Depending, it can be pretty pricey. We went after 3 on a Saturday. The crowds weren’t too terrible. We did get the pass to go to Lego Land and Sea Life. I feel they need to add another bathroom. There is one at the beginning of Sea Life but that is it, from what I remember. We had to make a mad dash across the street to Crown Center so my daughter could go potty.
Honestly, I have been to the Atlanta Aquarium and it was amazing. But comparing this one to that, my daughter would be tired and want to be carried, as the one in Atlanta is super huge. Sea Life is the type of place to go and let your kid blow off some steam. It isn’t the best, but it’s a good energy burner for your kids. Plus, Crown Center is across the way.
Oh, we bought our tickets online. That’s what gets pricey. I think you are better off going in person to buy, but that is just my opinion.

What a wonderful experience this was! I purchased a Groupon for an «adults only» night. The exhibit was open to adults only from 6pm-​8pm. Now, I don’t mind little rug rats at all… most of the time… but…there are times when adults just want to be around adults and not have to look out for kids and the joys and disruptions that come with them. This was a nice idea to allow the adults to have access to such a kid-​friendly exhibit and not be distracted with noise, scampering, crying and such. We received a booklet that allowed us to conduct our own self-​tour, however, there were several stations where attendants were available to supervise exhibits and answer questions which was quite helpful and nice. There is a pool where visitors can actually touch some of the sea creatures such as starfish and urchins. There are tanks with various displays of exotic sea life such as seahorses, pipefish, starfish, manta rays, moray eels, colorful reef fish, anemones, sharks, even some fresh water fish. The jelly fish tank was very interesting and various types of lighting helped add an aire of mystery and sci-​fi to the live exhibit as the space-​ship-​like creatures wafted through the waters glowing in hues of electric greens, blues and reds. There were tanks one could walk under and feel like the ocean and sea life was all round. Several exhibits allowed teh visitor to crawl under and stick one’s head «into» the tank or to step behind the exhibit giving the appearance that one was «inside» the exhibit. There were benches available everywhere for resting and taking a break to check cameras and messages. Photography is ok without flash. (common sense) I thought the price was reasonable and the time allotted for the visit most satisfactory. The nice thing about this exhibit too is that if you do bring kids at other times, Legoland is right next door, which would make a pretty exciting day for a lot of kids. Crown Center is across the street for additional dining and shopping. The area is quite beautiful this time of year with the square lit up with the Mayor’s Christmas tree and a forest of lighted trees and then of course, the Ice Terrace. This is something I think most Kansas Citians will enjoy.

We were in town and really did not expect to stop in here but since it was so close to many other attractions my daughter saw it and wanted to check it out. The aquarium is sort of pricey but we had a good time and for $ 83 we got into both Legoland and the Aquarium which are collocated.
Overall, we enjoyed our visit.

Sigh… Sea Life KC Aquarium didn’t live up to my expectations, but then again, my expectations are set pretty high for these kinds of places. After going to aquariums in Baltimore, Chicago, and Monterey, SLKCA doesn’t hold a candle to these spartans of the aquatic. But then again, it doesn’t purport itself to be.
Spending 15 bucks here on a ticket before 3pm isn’t a back breaker (nor is the 35% discount after 3pm), but you’re definitely going to get what you pay for. This KC attraction has the usual things you’d expect from an aquarium, an array of fish, crabs, jellyfish, seahorses, and rays. It lacks, unfortunately, an «anchor tenant» to really distinguish it from your neighborhood pet store. Bring in some sharks, dolphins, penguins, walruses, etc… and then we can talk. 25 minutes from start to finish (including 5 minutes in the retail shop) had me thinking about going through in reverse to see things in a different order.
But then there’s the kids… and if you are a child on Unilocal,you’re rating SLKCA at 5 stars. My son is 4 months old, can’t put together sentences, stand on his own, or even feed himself. The look on his face as we meandered through the exhibit, however, was priceless. This is why I’ll continue to patronize this aquarium — it’s a haven for kids, especially in a midwestern city that doesn’t get to view many aquatic rarities outside a small mouth bass or channel catfish. The children running around and gasping «cool,» or «look at this» are the reason this place will continue to be popular.
2 stars for an adult, but 5 stars for kids. Save your money if you are coming here on a date with your sweetheart, but be prepared to be the «cool parent» if you bring your kids and friends here.