We visited on a Saturday morning. A tip: if you are certain that you are going, try to buy tickets online 24 hours in advance and you can head to the "will call" window. I think we spent nearly 2 hours in line for the tickets. Also, the aquarium closed early at 3pm this Saturday. (I have only myself to... more

We had planned a trip to see the aquarium a month before, but never reserved tickets in advanced. Surprisingly the day we went, the aquarium was hosting a "community discount day" which is free general admission to the public. WHOA! Bad idea. It was jam packed with 2 hours of waiting in line, and we got there around 11:00 am.... more

Visited Shedd with our three children on June 15, 2009. Way too overcrowded. Total waste of time and money because it was too crowded to be able to see any of the fish. We practically had to push our way through just to see a few aquariums. If it hadn't been so crowded I'm sure it would have been a... more

Our family loved the Shedd Aquarium. We have been to others and this one ranks right up there with the best. A definite must see while in Chicago. Nice thing is, it is located right by Field Museum and Alder Planentarium, so you can catch another attraction nearby the same day. more

Having a daughter who loves sea animals, visiting Shedd was an obvious choice. She loved seeing all of the sealife. The Spongebob 4-D show was great, it was our first experience in a 4-D theater. It was very cool. We were disappointed that the dolphins and beluga whales weren't there but we knew ahead of time that they weren't going... more

Shedd Aquarium is loaded with lots to see. The new Wild Reef exhibit is awesome. Plan to spend at least three hours to see everything. Save money and take your lunch with you. They have lockers on site and a lunchroom. Also, if you plan to go back within the next year, save money and buy a membership. Parking is... more

My husband and I really enjoyed our afternoon at the aquarium. I think we were quite lucky as the dolphins and whales had literally just come back to the aquarium a couple of days before we arrived (they had been away for 9 months). We found all the tanks clean and quite large and no signs of dead fish or... more

I took my family to Shedd Aquarium in Feb. 08. It was a Saturday morning, and it really wasn't that crowded. We were able to see everything and eat lunch there. All of the exhibits were great. My kids (6, 9, and 11) really liked the big tank at the entrance and tried to identify as many critters as they... more

OK, I readily acknowledge that Shedd can be busy with a zillion kids. But my husband and I, proudly child- free, can easily say we love visiting Shedd Aquarium. He's from Chicago and we've been there a million times, and we'll keep going back. It is a gorgeous historic building right on the lake, first of all. Secondly, the exhibits... more