Sobela Ocean Aquarium

It's my second trip to the zoo aquarium, so I'll have to check back to see how I liked it! OK it's later and I this was a great day at the KC Zoo. I took the African Tram ground transport to the African Sky Tram, which I rode all the way around 2x, my favorite thing at the zoo! I was able enjoy the beautiful landscape and saw quite a few animals from up in the air, including the new baby giraffe wandering around. The aquarium was way better than last time... many more pretty fish, sharks, and other creatures of the deep to see. And being a kid at heart, I took a ride around on a flying pig on the carousel with all the kids. And to top off my day, I got some Dippin dots, another favorite thing at the zoo!

Having a hard time finding reviews for this new aquarium on Yelp (or really anywhere), so I'll do my best to outline everything about this wonderful new addition to the KC Zoo. If you want to avoid any spoilers and be surprised, skip my review but note that this is worth your time and very cool. They opened the Sobela Aquarium in the center of the KC Zoo in September of 2023, and it's been so popular that you currently have to book a reservation spot to get into it -- however, and this is important, it is included in your ticket to get into the zoo. No separate charge which is great. Although I've only been once, it was quite busy inside which was to be expected, and also because it was really cold out the day we went. You walk in and see waves crashing, lobsters prancing about, stingrays floating up to the glass, and an exciting path that unfolds with all kinds of cool sea creatures. The architecture is super modern and with some sort of harsh lighting inside, but all designed to spotlight the animals so it works out. From the outside, it's almost a scaly black and I'd love to know what all went into it. Pretty cool for the most part, but not super iconic. Keep walking to see Tortellini, a sea turtle, and then around the bend and you'll experience touch tanks for horseshoe crabs, seahorses, and more. That leads into a dark room, lit only by the gigantic view into a big tank. This was a highlight as a good-sized shark slowly floated right towards us, scaring the bajeezus out of my two year old. There's other good views of this tank with places to sit as you make your way through, and then you enter a really cool exhibition featuring tons of various jellyfish. These are always hypnotic and fun to see.Then you come across octopi, which I don't think I've ever seen with such clarity. Looking back, this may have been the highlight overall as these alien-like creatures are just so cool. It closes out with some creepy, Ursula-esque eels, and then otters playing in a large tank. We spent an hour in here and felt like it was all that we had hoped for. The large crowds weren't quite overwhelming, however it did keep us from reading all about each animal and learning more about the environmental factors that are heavily featured in this aquarium. Fortunately we are Friends of The Zoo and will be back on a slower day to take this all in. We really loved it, and liked it more than the other aquarium in town that is too pricey for not a lot of action. This is definitely the way to go. Keep in mind, it's big and really cool, but not a gigantic all-day destination like Shedd, the Georgia Aquarium, etc. Very exciting not only for the Zoo but for our city to get this nice addition. It's also great to have another place to go in the zoo on those cold or rainy days, as there is now a great blend of indoor/outdoor activities here. Go see it for yourself, it's really well done!

I visited the aquarium on MLK day during a very cold day and it was the best thing I could've done as there was quite no one there, but 2 other couples.For my first time there I was impressed with the architecture and structure of the entire space. In my opinion there was very little to see...perhaps I expected more. I did speak with an employee who mentioned they will continue to add in more animals so I will be visiting again in the near future. The habitats that the animals were in looked spacious and clean. There were spaces for one to sit and view the animals swim which was a pretty nice. Overall it's a great addition to the KC Zoo, but I would like to see more animals and animal interactions like the STL aquarium.

First visit...midweek morning but still busy. Stations for kiddos to touch and learn. The large tanks were so fabulous....could just sit and watch the fish all day. So many different varieties. The sea turtle, octopus and otter were a favorite. I hope they limit the number of strollers inside as you can already see wall damage and they cause so much congestion in tight spaces.

Didnt want to send pictures to ruin it for anyone that wanted the full experience without previews , we are that type no movie previews , ride previews we have the ability to wait....I will say this little to no seating. I think this is by design they want the flow going smoothly no sitting except in very very few places. Im glad it is not a stand alone aquarium as it would be too small to do that and try to charge just for that, its small enough to be a zoo attraction and no way big enough to be a stand alone. We are aquarium people every trip we go on we visit aquariums. the exhibits need to time to mature the live corals etc will take a year to grow and get use to the water thats why you see brown over most things. otters were hiding and could not see them so was a couple of other things.the main stage, largest tank had a seam down the middle to offset it which distorted the view of EVERYTHING that swam by , never seen that at any aquarium and not a great idea. I think the did it to get more people off the path and up closer but the could have curved it. Really ruined the entire view in our opinion. Not sure what they were thinking on this....Its good could have been better. worth the zoo ticket though...we spent 30 minutes for avid aquarium nuts. When we talk with people they said "its better than nothing"