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Old 03-04-2012, 04:16 PM
 
11 posts, read 37,506 times
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Need some advice on anyone that's been to the Shedd Aquarium. I'm taking some family there (all adults) and was wondering if there's a huge difference in the amount you can see between general admission versus the Shedd Pass. Price wise I know general admission is about $20 cheaper, so are you pretty limited when inside the aquarium? Is the Shedd Pass the better value?

Thanks!
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Old 03-04-2012, 07:31 PM
 
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Yes there is a considerable difference. The main exhibit areas are significantly older and far less interactive than the stuff that costs extra: Shedd Aquarium - Chicago | Plan a Visit | Ticket Prices

General admission is kinda boring. Caribeen Reef is the "big main tank" and a diver gives the sharks stuff to eat a couple of times of day, but that is one of the oldest "sets" in the place. "Waters of the World" is a fancy name for dozens of the kind of tanks that some amateurs have bigger / nicer ones in their homes / offices. "Amazon Rising" is more of these "pet shop type" exhibits.

Ocenarium is really the highlight. It is HUGE and expensive because they have Pacific White Side Dolphins and Beluga Whales. These are mammals and they do a nice "Sea World" type show with trainers and such. There are also so really neat tide pool exhibits like you'd find on the Pacific Coast.

Spend the money...
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Old 03-05-2012, 08:34 AM
 
Location: Chicago
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I hadn't been in years. I went right before Christmas to see the jellies. I LOVED it. I personally thought the Oceanarium show was kind of cheesy - it had a Christmas theme, but my mom wanted to see it. I could have spent all day looking at tropical fish in the Caribbean Reef and the Waters of the World.
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Old 03-05-2012, 09:20 AM
 
Location: IL
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We were members, but didn't renew. We did go probably 5 times as a family when we were members though. As Chet said, I would spend the extra dough on teh more expensive passes, unless you are just stopping in, it makes it a significantly better experience. The Oceanarium is my family's favorite part of the day. The aquatic show is great also, worth the $4 extra on top of the Shedd Pass, imo. Play zone is pretty good, but not awesome....It gets pretty crowded on weekends for the kids, kind of annoying to me.
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Old 03-05-2012, 10:05 AM
 
Location: Chicago
2,884 posts, read 4,970,002 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by almost3am View Post
We were members, but didn't renew. We did go probably 5 times as a family when we were members though. As Chet said, I would spend the extra dough on teh more expensive passes, unless you are just stopping in, it makes it a significantly better experience. The Oceanarium is my family's favorite part of the day. The aquatic show is great also, worth the $4 extra on top of the Shedd Pass, imo. Play zone is pretty good, but not awesome....It gets pretty crowded on weekends for the kids, kind of annoying to me.

Oops, you're right, it was the show in the Oceanarium that I would skip next time. The Oceanarium itself is interesting.
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Old 03-05-2012, 11:07 AM
 
Location: Chicago, IL
725 posts, read 3,008,248 times
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You might also be able to save a few bucks if you/your wife/husband have a Bank of America debit/credit card. They have been offering free entrance to select museums for a few years now (inclusive of Shedd) though only on the first consecutive Sat/Sun of the month.

Museums on Us®

Last edited by s0nginmyheart; 03-05-2012 at 11:23 AM..
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Old 03-05-2012, 11:15 AM
 
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I can't remember which pass we bought, but we were able to cut pass the entrance line, that was worth the extra cost alone.

Pus we were able to pick which 2 of the 10 minute movies we wanted to watch. It got us into the dolphin show too.
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Old 03-05-2012, 03:10 PM
 
Location: Nort Seid
5,288 posts, read 8,849,428 times
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You might find this helpful:

Museum Free Days 2012 | Explore Chicago

But I will tell you that you couldn't drag me to one of the first-tier museums on a free day, I'll pay full price so I don't have to deal with just completely insane crowds.
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Old 03-05-2012, 03:13 PM
 
14,801 posts, read 17,612,419 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chi-town Native View Post
You might find this helpful:

Museum Free Days 2012 | Explore Chicago

But I will tell you that you couldn't drag me to one of the first-tier museums on a free day, I'll pay full price so I don't have to deal with just completely insane crowds.
I agree, sometimes saving money isn't worth it.
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Old 03-05-2012, 06:34 PM
 
11,289 posts, read 26,114,009 times
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Yeah, spend the extra money. Otherwise it's pretty weak. The dolphin show was pretty cheesy, but the jellies was really cool. One note - they do NOT like it when you stick your hands in the jellies aquariums and try to scoop them out.
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