I’ve noticed a troubling trend in my life. As I age, humbling moments seem to be occurring with increasing frequency. Specifically, the “holy crap am I getting stupid” type. One such example occurred during a family visit to Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada in Toronto.
Now, I’ve always been a little dumb. Who isn’t? So, this whole issue may be nothing more than me maturing to a point where I’m better recognizing my base stupidity. But my gut tells me it’s something more. A worsening. I mean, how else do I explain this?
We traveled home to spend the Christmas holidays with parents/grandparents, something that we hadn’t done since before covid. The days around Christmas Day and the days around New Year’s Day were spent with loved ones. The days in between we chose to spend in Toronto with the four of us doing touristy things. A visit to Ripley’s Aquarium landed on our jam-packed itinerary for the afternoon of Sunday, December 28th. I figured it’d be a quiet day.
What? It was a Sunday. Between Christmas and New Year’s. And the weather was awful to boot. Grey, raining, sloppy slush everywhere. I’ve got socks that are still soggy as proof. Why would anyone be out hitting up popular tourist spots in downtown Toronto at such a time? In such weather? You know … like we were.
Plenty, apparently. Something that became shockingly evident the moment we stepped through the aquarium’s entry door. It was then, as I stood there slightly chilled and substantially moistened, momentarily taken aback by the onslaught of noise and activity, that the “getting stupid” alarm bells in my conscience rang once more. Except this time, they sounded more like confirmation than inquiry.
Thankfully this ego-piercing revelation didn’t prevent me from having a delightful time exploring Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada. Nor did the crowd and overall busyness of the place. Or the weather, for that matter. And, hey, isn’t being wet an appropriate irony for viewing sea life behind glass?
Getting to Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada
Luckily for dumb-dumbs like I’m becoming, Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada is easy to find. If real estate’s mantra … location location location … equally applies to tourist attractions, then it doesn’t get much better than the base of the CN Tower and a homerun shot from the SkyDome (or Rogers Centre to corporate capitulators).
Ripley’s is located on Bremner Boulevard in the epicentre of Toronto’s entertainment and tourist district a couple blocks north of Lake Ontario. With plenty of hotels in the vicinity, it’s easily within walking distance should you be staying in the area. Public transit options abound from other parts of Toronto’s downtown or the greater GTA including the subway with Union Station only a few blocks away.
For those making a day trip, the Gardiner Expressway runs almost immediately to the south allowing for relatively easy access by car. Just be prepared to spend a good chunk of money on parking, assuming you can find a spot.
Getting Started at Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada
The entrance (and exit) to Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada is found at the southwest corner of the building literally next door to the CN Tower. The entry doors are on the right-hand side atop a flight of concrete stairs. Inside the doors is the main foyer. The entrance and exit portions are separated by a retractable divider with the former being the largest aerially.
The entrance portion consists of a coat check and ticket counter. You can bypass both by not bringing a jacket (or keeping it with you) and buying tickets online. The former is season-dependent, and the latter is easy to do. In fact, I was dumb enough not to buy ahead of time and ended up purchasing online tickets while inside the building as it was quicker than waiting in line. Did I mention I didn’t think it would be busy?
Buying tickets online also provides discount opportunities. Timed Tickets (specific date and time) are cheaper than Flex Tickets (anytime). CAA members also get discounts. Keep an eye out for combo discounts such as SeaSky which nets you entry to both Ripley’s Aquarium and the CN Tower. And if you’re enjoying a prolonged stay in downtown Toronto with multiple tourist spots on your agenda, check out CityPASS for further bundle discounts.
Overall, timed entry prices range from $13.50 for children 3 to 5 years of age to $46 for adults, with youth and seniors $30. Corresponding flex tickets cost $15, $50, and $33. These are 2026 prices so if you’re reading this in the future be sure to check for current costs.
A Tour Through Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada
With tickets purchased, you now pass the checkpoint and begin your journey through the aquarium. To your immediate left are washrooms and classrooms. Further ahead, on your left, is an opening allowing you to view the lower-level Discovery Centre. If the hoard at the entrance had me feeling stupid, looking down into the mass of humanity in the Discovery Centre solidified the sentiment.
Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada comprises a two-storey, pseudo-figure-eight circuit around, and through, the massive aquarium in the centre of the structure. There are eight named exhibit areas, including the main aquarium, along with three non-critter spaces (not counting the entry foyer).
Canadian Waters
The first exhibit offers a taste of home and is appropriately named Canadian Waters. The displays cover the Great Lakes and coastal regions with the latter dominating. They’re also the most interesting thanks to the vibrant, Seuss-esque anemone. At the furthest extent of Canadian Waters is the impressive Pacific Kelp Forest, a two-storey tank of seaweed and such.
Rainbow Reef
On the far side of the Pacific Kelp Forest is a ramp descending to the lower level. You can further explore the Kelp Forest to your left at the base of the ramp.
Ahead is the first exhibit on the lower level, Rainbow Reef, an artificial coral reef. Shocking, I know. Reef environments are always fascinating to see, and this one is no exception. So many attractive fish of varied design, colour, and patterning. Even the ugly ones are pretty.
Dangerous Lagoon
Rainbow Reef transitions to the undisputed centrepiece of Ripley’s Aquarium, Dangerous Lagoon. And it’s better than you think.
A giant saltwater swimming pool filled with fish is pretty cool at any time, but Dangerous Lagoon kicks the experience up a notch by literally letting you wind your way around the aquarium floor inside a transparent tube. Better yet, this glass tube contains a conveyor belt enabling visitors to stand and slowly transport along effortlessly while gazing in amazement at the ocean life above and all around you. Not a bad way to rest your legs a bit without needing to sit down.
Having said that, the conveyor belt didn’t terribly interest me. It moves at a measured pace with a constant stream of people on it whereas I prefer to move back and forth as the views motivate me. With fish the main attraction, such movements happen quite often as I manoeuvre to get the best view.
Thankfully, there is plenty of room in the tubes to simply walk. The sights are every bit as enchanting as from the conveyor albeit less ideal for photography without stranger’s heads in the way.
No matter your mode of transportation through Dangerous Lagoon, what you see will wow you. This is where the big boys and girls reside and it’s fascinating to watch sharks, sawfish, groupers, sea turtles, and myriad smaller fish, patrol the waters all around you. It’s wonderful.
The only way to make the experience better might be recliners smack dab in the middle. Imagine chilling beneath a faux-ocean as life’s stressors melt away. Ahhh.
Discovery Centre
The exit to Dangerous Lagoon is not far from its entrance. It’s essentially a loop through the bottom of the aquarium. Once out, you are at the foot of the Discovery Centre and a jolt back to reality is about to hit hard.
The Discovery Centre is the aquarium’s downtown. At the midpoint of the lower level, it’s home to bathrooms, stuff younger kids like such as a climbing gym, submarine, and interactive science table, and Ripley’s Café with significant seating.
Not surprisingly, as I’ve already mentioned, this space gets crazy busy as people mill about with kids and strollers. And there is no way to avoid it because the pathing takes you right through it. Want to see more fish, then you’ve got to get through the Discovery Centre.
I did my best to quickly escape to the other side. With so many people I chose not to take any pictures of the bathroom interiors and risk a public perversion arrest. Trust that they offer a full suite of toilets, urinals, sinks, dryers, and change tables.
We also didn’t require sustenance, so grabbing a snack or meal at the café was unnecessary. Plenty of others, however, were refueling themselves from the stereotypical menu of kid favourites such as pizza, chicken strips, grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, and fries. Prices are a bit steep; hardly a surprise.
The Gallery
The Gallery is the first exhibit on the other side of the Discovery Centre and it’s not unlike Rainbow Reef. The most notable difference is the species on display with cuttlefish and lionfish being of particular fascination.
Graffiti Reef
Depending on your perspective, my tardiness in writing this review of Ripley’s Aquarium is viewed as blessing or curse. The reason for this dichotomy is that this exhibit has changed dramatically since we visited.
When we showed up late last December, this was the Dragons exhibit, and it was home to an iguana and a basilisk and other funky land dwellers. It has since been replaced by Graffiti Reef, a rather colourful, creative and, this is important, aquatic exhibit.
Sure, the “dragons” were cool, but they didn’t really fit in with the whole aquarium theme. From the looks of it, the new displays are pretty cool, with brightly painted city stalwarts, screens, and tanks of tropical fish. I may have to return to check them out in person.
Lower Ray Bay
Much like the Pacific Kelp Forest, the Ray Bay is a two-storey embayment adjacent to the main aquarium. Within is a fascinating collection of rays in a wonderful array (see what I did there) of shapes, sizes, and patterning.
This Lower Ray Bay is strictly for viewing but in a little while, as you make your way towards the end of the path through the aquarium, you’ll be able to do more than just look.
Planet Jellies
You don’t need to be a coastal dweller or world traveler to appreciate the awesomeness of jellyfish, but Planet Jellies still managed to impress me some. Not that I’m a Cnidaria aficionado, by any means, but I was unfamiliar with the variety of jellyfish out there in the big, blue sea. Upside down jellyfish, for example, are a funky species unknown to me prior to our Ripley’s Aquarium visit. And the wall of jellyfish is mesmerizing, albeit difficult to photograph well.
Life Support Systems
Now, you inevitably go to Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada to see the fish. But, as you return to the upper level via a long switchback ramp you will pass the Life Support Systems.
This is the engineering guts of the aquarium and a good portion of it is fully exposed for you to view. And while it may not be as magical as the fish themselves, it’s nonetheless colourful and intriguing to see all the machinery required to keep all these marine creatures alive.
At the top of the ramp is Ripley’s Photo Port where you can obtain images of yourselves green-screened into aquarium-centric backgrounds. For a cost, of course.
Judging by the overall poor quality of the pictures I took due to lighting and tank reflections and refractions, it may be worth the cost if memorializing your visit is important to you. Not to mention the lack of strangers ending up in your family photo.
Upper Ray Bay
While vertically integrated with the Lower Ray Bay, the Upper Ray Bay offers the only interactive exhibit in the aquarium. Here you can touch starfish and stingrays; the former in a stand-alone tank and the latter in a sandy shoal at the end of the ray tank. This is quite popular as you can imagine and the rays really do swim right up to the reaching hands at the edge of the exhibit.
Sadly, Upper Ray Bay also signifies the end of your tour through Ripley’s Aquarium. At least as far as critter exhibits go. You pass one last viewpoint of Dangerous Lagoon looking down into it. This is the best spot to truly appreciate just how big this “swimming pool” is. A fitting way to end your visit.
Gift Shop
As is popular with newer tourist attractions, the exit at Ripley’s Aquarium requires a trip through the gift shop. This is often much to the chagrin of parents and normally I’d include myself in that cohort. Thankfully, my kids have outgrown their obsession with gift shops and thus my innate frugality is no longer a point of contention.
If your brood situation remains in the gift shop wheelhouse, or your wallet isn’t firmly hidden between clamped buttcheeks, you’ll be happy to know that this gift shop is quite substantial. Known as the Cargo Hold Gift Shop, an extensive collection of items awaits you no matter if your budget is a few bucks or a boat load of them.
To Summarize
And with that, our visit to Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada in downtown Toronto came to a close. In our case, we stepped back outside into the sloppy, wet post-Christmas weather and contemplated our next steps. Well, my family did. I was too absorbed with the newfound recognition of my stupidity.
Regardless, I had a great time. Despite our sogginess upon arrival and the (embarrassingly) unexpected crowds, our tour through the aquarium was thoroughly enjoyable. The myriad aquatic creatures are captivating in both their beauty and strangeness. This is a world we never encounter outside of exotic travel, particularly for prairie-dwellers like us.
If you’re vacationing in Canada’s largest city, I recommend adding Ripley’s Aquarium to your tourist itinerary.