East Idaho Aquarium — Attraction in Idaho Falls

Was very surprised at the amount and variety of creatures here at the IF aquarium and enjoyed our visit a lot. That being said, there was a lot left to be improved upon, specifically the staff.

Pros: -The hands-on approach to the exhibits was very fun and made our trip so magical! -The variety of animals kept on surprising us. -While tiny and isolated, you can tell an effort has been made to bring aspects of typical aquarium attractions here to Idaho Falls. -We loved the ability to use tokens to feed all the different creatures. Truly the highlight of our day and I would highly recommend doing that. -We visited on Sunday afternoon so it was nice and quiet.

Cons: -Over half of the token feed stations were empty and over the course of the entire hour we were there, I didn’t see any staff members refilling them. Considering how much money the aquarium charges for tokens, I would suggest a better effort be made to keep them stocked or at least put a sign up. -When I made mention of this to a staff member at the desk, she was less than enthusiastic about helping us and the other staff member that was told to help us also wasn’t very happy, which made me feel like an inconvenience and I didn’t want to bother anyone again for the other three token stations that were out. -A few of the token machines were either empty, broken, eating coins and not dispensing anything, or even dispensing empty containers. Again, not something the staff seemed concerned about when I brought it up. -I encountered five different staff members during our visit. Most of them were younger, and unfortunately everyone was very cold and distant to my sister and I. We were very excited to be hanging out together for a sister date and to be consistently met with bored and cold staff definitely put a damper on our trip. While an aquarium doesn’t need to be known for outstanding customer service, I was rather shocked at the quality of service I was given and it made me sad there wasn’t more excitement and enthusiasm, or even a slight bit of warmth!

Overall, I would recommend going. While the facilities aren’t as clean or well taken care of as what I’m used to seeing in Florida where I currently live, this is Idaho Falls and it’s far better than I expected! I am excited to see there is something here to inspire everyone to love the sea as much as I do. However, I would like to strongly suggest revisiting guest service, if not for the whole team than at least for the people in charge of the front desk and helping guests. I’m sure it’s a small staff, but being helpful and cheerful doesn’t...

The whole experience was one gigantic joke! Directly outside the front door, there was a sign advertising the "Finding Dory" movie that was playing. I excitedly told my girlfriend, "Oh boy, I've been waiting to see that movie!" After paying, an employee told us that the movie poster was commemorating the old movie theater that used to be there and that the aquarium was NOT showing that movie. The employee recommended that we check out the "mermaid" instead. "Oh boy," I thought again. Then, we discovered the mermaid was an employee in a belly shirt that was sitting in front of the shark exhibit (the sharks hadn't arrived yet because they are in their "soft open" stage).

Rewind to the paying process: A ticket for me and my girlfriend ended up being $24. Luckily, the cashier informed us that if we bought tokens with our tickets, we would be able to feed and pet the animals. How could we possibly pass up such an opportunity?! So, we bought 4 tokens which brought our bill to $34. After paying, we received 2 free tickets to come back again in the future. Upon this discover, we attempted to refund our tickets and take the free tickets that the couple ahead of us had received upon their purchase, so we could save on money by splitting the cost with the other couple. Unfortunately, because of it being in the soft open stage, no refunds are accepted.

Inside the aquarium, many of the tanks were murky or didn't have animals inside. When we got to the bird exhibit and wanted to feed the birds with our tokens, guess what? There was no bird food left! But, that's okay because you can get refunded for the tokens that you didn't use... OH WAIT, YOU CAN'T!

...Now the good: Everything was so ridiculous that I got a good ab workout in from laughing so hard. Also, I was able to pet a sting ray, look at some birds, and hold a couple of reptiles.

The exhibit was very small and definitely has potential, but as for now, you are paying a hard price for...

this inhumane “non profit” slaughterhouse is ran by a joke of a man that uses the money the animals earn, for himself, instead of for the animals. if you need an example, take a drive past the building and you can see a bright green tesla with the aquariums logo on it for “advertisement”. as a past employee, i have many things i would like to share, like the misery the animals are put through daily. the numerous hazards throughout the building that he hides from the city when they’re due for an inspection. the poor conditions of the exhibits that endanger the animals lives. the way the employees get ignored by him when they try to suggest improvements, then get belittled by him. how he mostly hires teenagers so he can pay them minimum wage without any push back. how he neglects the safety and well being of his employees. how his masculinity is threatened by male employees. the thousands upon thousands of dollars wasted on the lobby floor to make the face of the aquarium look better, instead of using it to get the building up to regulation. the ongoing affair he’s been having with the manger of husbandry team for years, and the fact she is favorited and compensated for it. the list goes on. there are countless employees who have shared similar experiences with me, who will agree that Arron Faires, the executive director, should not have the position he has. nor should he be allowed to continue to contribute to the extinction of the animals he uses to pay his bills. i do not want the aquarium shut down, however, i do whole heartedly believe that this horrible person should be let go from his position and shouldn’t be allowed to be in charge of another beings life, if not seized. knowing him and his terrible personality, the second he reads this he is going to obsess over it, find a way to hide it alongside numerous other accusations he has encountered, and try to make himself look like the idol he...