We attended the Spooky Seas overnight at the Shedd Aquarium on October 30. It was a blast. Parking was free in the East lot and you were able to park after 5 pm. Check in was at 6 pm, where they checked you in and then gave you a place to store your personal items - clothes, sleeping bags, air mattresses. It is a Halloween party so they do recommend costumes for the fun but is not necessary to have them. They had choice of hamburger, chicken fingers with fries for supper with dessert and drinks. You were allowed to walk around and look at all the exhibits and then take in the Fantasea show. The staff was very helpful and helped out answering any questions. They did have dj and dance, scavenger hunt, make a halloween bag, among other activities for kids. You are allowed to sleep in certain areas of the building and there were plenty of outlets for air pumps for the mattresses. Lights out at 11. The morning brought wake up at 6 and breakfast was bagels, muffins, cereal along with drinks. You must be either out of the parking lot at 9 or pay for parking the rest of the day. We had to leave for home for halloween but you are allowed to stay free of charge at the Shedd for the day. I would highly recommend this activity for any people with kids it is a lot of fun and my daughters ages 8 and 10 want to go back again next year!

We took our 2 year old to the Shedd on their community free day on 10/16/09. Their normal admission price is $24.95, which is a little steep for a 2 year old's attention span. Although, the free admission didn't include a number of speciality exhibits such as the dolphins, but there was still plenty to see. I would do this again in 2-3 years when she can more enjoy the fish, etc. The turtle that they rescued after being clipped by a boat motor was amazing to see.

Since I have two toddler daughters who have a limited attention span, I was shocked when I saw the Shedd Pass listed for $25/adult. For my wife and I to spend $50 combined for an hour or two at the aquarium would have been a deal breaker. There is another option, which they don't go out of their way to advertise: access to the salt water and fresh water "main aquarium" is only $9! We spend about 2 hours on these tanks alone. The Shedd Pass gets you into the aquatic show, which would have been fun, but really didn't work for our situation. Nine dollars per adult, though, is a bargain for the Shedd Aquarium.

The Shedd Aquarium is located right along Lake Michigan. What a great location! There were a ton of exhibits and animals on display appealing to all ages. The kids were mesmerized by all the creatures on display. The Rainforest Exhibit was one of the best I have seen.