Houston’s Downtown Aquarium Review

As you might know we just returned from a two week trip visiting our families in Houston, Texas. It is where I grew up for 29 years of my life before getting married and it will always be a special place in my life. Now that I have children, all I think is sharing places my mother took me when I was young. Although, my kiddos are toddlers, I expect that most places are for older kids, but I also expect places to have something for the young ones.

Our first trip started with the Downtown Aquarium which I completely forgot I had never visited so it was going to be a new experience with my little ones. Since the summer has already become unbearable, finding an indoor experience was ideal. My mother came to help me and we quickly realized the space was really not ideal for strollers so we kept that in the car. Both my girls are mobile so there really was no reason to keep them in that especially since the place was crowded with groups of kids.

We had an All-Day Pass which gave us access to the Adventure Aquarium Exhibit, the Stingray Reef, and unlimited rides on Shark Voyage, Diving Bell Ferris Wheel, Aquatic Carousel, Lighthouse Dive, and Frog Hopper. It sure does sound like a lot for little kids 3 and under but the girls did really well. 

 We looked for Nemo and Dorie but then we introduced the girls to seahorses. We saw white tigers after going through the amphibian section of the aquarium. 

 We loved seeing the piranhas and even the jellyfish that changed color. There were huge aquarium with colorful fish and reefs. It was fun seeing my oldest pressed against the glass searching for her favorite fish.

We headed to Stingray Reef that was really neat! The stingrays were super friendly only to realize that they were holding out their fins for food. It was super cute but refrained from feeding although we pet the stingrays.

Next we went on the Shark voyage because I was very ready to see the sharks. The girls loved getting on the train anticipating our trip into the shark tunnel. 





The train took us on a 10-15 minutes trek, stopping in the tunnel to talk about the types of sharks. The biggest surprise was the sawfish shark with the largest saw! It was amazing.

After we had finished the exhibit we headed outdoors to the carousel and the ferris wheel. The girls love carousels non-stop and so we enjoyed 3 rides changing on different animals. 

 The ferris wheel was another story. My mother does not like heights so I took my oldest on the ride and boy was it a fabulous ride. I could see all of downtown and more and I was surprised that my toddler was so quiet and still for the 15-20 min ride.

The other rides were for older kids so we bypassed those and had lunch by the Dancing Fountains where other kids were splashing in the bathing suits. It looked so refreshing. 

The Downtown Aquarium is also known for their amazing dining experience. Even we did not stay for lunch there we took a peek at the area and were amazed! There was a 150,000 gallon aquarium surrounding the restaurant. The kids menu had lots of selections and looked liked a great place the keep everyone entertained. This will be a must-do for the future.