![]() Louis Aquarium, spends his days playing and swimming as a visitor favorite. Sawyer, one of three river otters at the St. A 3-D virtual reality train ride pays homage to the station while introducing visitors to the city and the aquarium. Louis' iconic Union Station, the two-story aquarium filled a niche missing in the city, Milton says. Its popularity is now increasing, so visitors need to reserve tickets, especially for weekends.īuilt in the area of a former mall at St. It remained open for three months but then had to shut its doors until June 2020, when it limited occupancy to 25%. Precautions against COVID-19 include an enforced mask requirement and timed entry with 50% capacity.ĬOVID-19 stalled the aquarium's takeoff after it opened on Christmas Day 2019. Of course, you don't really leave with your hands wet as the aquarium provides hand-washing stations after each encounter. At a water table mimicking a stream, "little kids love to splash and play but still are learning," Milton points out. ![]() In addition to experiencing doctor fish (red garra), visitors can stroke a (stinger-trimmed) ray, hold a stick to see archer fish spit to dislodge food and touch anemones, sea stars and sea urchins. "We want people to leave with their hands wet." "It's very high-tech and high touch," says Nancy Milton, aquarium spokesperson. Louis one provides an intimate experience with water creatures. While the aquarium is not as large as Shedd in Chicago or the New England Aquarium in Boston, the St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station, home to 13,000 animals. Such a tactile experience is an integral part of enjoying the St. I giggled as they nibbled away any dead skin, the tank's attendant assuring me it was a perfectly safe pseudo-manicure. Plunging my hand into a shallow tank of doctor fish and having dozens swarm it tickled my fingers and my psyche. ![]() The rays’ stingers have been removed so visitors can touch them. Aside from the Polar Express, nothing else to do except for ferris wheel, until the Aquarium opens.A tank of stingrays is a popular attraction at the St. Friendly staff and decent food at reasonable prices. (Part of the entitled generation, I guess). We left, not just cause a long wait, but the staff were not friendly, borderline rude. Maybe there's only one person making food, or they only have one blender, but waiting 2 hours is insane. Come on, it's an ice cream shop with limited good options. The Soda Fountain, maybe it's new and getting settled, but a 2 hour wait is absolutely ridiculous. The limited number of restaurants do not have acceptable kids menus. Union Station itself is not family friendly. They made the trip fun and were great with the kids. The staff on the train (Northern Lights) were exceptional, friendly, and entertaining. ![]() However, the tickets are over priced, in my opinion, especially getting hit with $14+ per ticket in fees and taxes. Keep that in mind when making your plans.įirst time experiencing the Polar Express train ride, was worth it to see the excitement on your grandkids faces. Final words: It's not all what it's advertised to be. We asked housekeeping for directions more than once. Staff was helpful, as it is not easy to navigate all of the hallways to find your way around. We were told we could only get that from sit-down restaurants. We looked for coffee or hot chocolate, but none was available in the open area. The open area near the Wheel and carousel needs a drink kiosk other than alcohol. Very little is covered in the area, so standing in the rain took away from the fire shows at the time. The water & fire show is pretty good, but it was sprinkling rain. And only one restaurant (soda shop) appeared to be a good choice for kids. Landry's was by reservation only at the time of our visit. I have an idea that was the end of it right there. We were told we would "hear something" via email within 7-10 days. Several others were in line with us also requesting refunds for the same reason. We then stood in another long line to ask for a refund. We've been to aquariums all over the USA, and this one doesn't compare to any others whatsoever. What a disappointment! There is very little in there to see - very few exhibits, other than sticking your hand in water for the minnows to nibble at your fingers. Stood in long line for two hours after basically being forced to purchase an expensive annual aquarium pass, as that was the only way they were letting people in (supposedly because of the large crowd). The aquarium is a joke (surely there will be more added?). Drove 3+ hrs to stay overnight at Union Station and visit the new aquarium.
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