Aquarium of the Bay — Attraction in San Francisco

This place is horrible and ridiculous.

Me and my fiancé drove 2 hour to surprise our 1 year old twins to the aquarium. We got there around 3:45 just to see that their elevator is not working and to go to another elevator around the corner. Just to find out that it’s also blocked off and not working.

Me and my fiancé spent over an hour trying to figure out where to go and by the time we got the aquariums gift shop they were already closed.

When you call the aquariums phone number it states that they are open DAILY FROM 11AM TO 6PM. So then finding out they closed at 5pm shocked me. Yosemite (manager) stated that they updated their website with the new times and that I should have checked the website instead of calling the phone number. How could she tell me to check the website and have an attitude about me calling the phone number. EVERYTHING SHOULD BE UPDATE.

I called to file a complaint regarding our experience. I talked to Yosemite (Manager) which she was EXTREMELY RUDE. I told her my situation regarding the whole elevator and that it was just ridiculous. Instead of her apologize for the inconvenience. She stated that I’m the first person to say this and it’s not their fault that the elevator they sent us to was not working and that was the piers responsibility. And that I should contact the piers maintenance to report it. I said well why would you not check to make sure that the elevator that you guys are sending us to actually works. She then said that’s not my problem and to call the pier. She then wanted to argue with me.. YOSEMITE IS NOT GOOD WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE at all.

I would never go to this aquarium again. Tried to surprise my babies just for our whole day to be ruin due to lack of knowledge on what is working and what is not working by the aquarium.

How can someone with a wheelchair or stroller get to the aquarium with no elevators working unless you go all the way to the end of the shopping stores just to turn around and go all the way back to the aquarium with no access to go straight there. Then to walk all the way back to end of the shopping stores just to get back into the car for another 2 hour drive home.

They definitely lost my business… I would definitely not recommend going...

A 10/10 experience. I went here on Labor Day, which is 1st of September. I wasn’t actually excited about it but to my surprise what an experience. Be it kids, adults/ elderly people. Couples or singles. It’s all worth it. It’s something I recommend everyone to go once, if you’re in fisherman’s warf or in San Francisco barely, add this to your check-list. I’d list the prices below for you to see. They have family package too or even single adult prices with kids. Their staff is very welcoming and 10/10 on hospitality. Special mention Melissa, she’s so knowledgeable. I’ll tell you how, so we visited and they had a “Back-to-School scavenger hunt” some questionnaire thing. If you are able to answer all the 15 questions and u get a 100% you get a souvenir which is like a shark or fish tooth, nice & fun right? Something to look forward to after the experience. There a bowl in which there are small envelopes having shark/fish tooth and the representative there to check us in helped me in knowing what shark or fish tooth I got.

I think it’s divided in 2 sections. One has the fishes/ jelly fishes. (NearShore tunnel) The other is where the Shark tunnel lies.

I got a chance to see river otters, jelly fish, moon jellies ( they’re so cute ) Big skate, Japanese sea nettle, pacific spiny lumpsucker ( she’s a tiny fish ) and many more which I don’t frankly remember.

They have a pressed penny collectible thing, which is $1 for 1 and $4 for 4, unfortunately it wasn’t working when we were there as in it was out of order.

They even have a gift shop where u can get your kids (soft toys of the sea animals) or even yourself a souvenir as a memorial of this aquarium (like a fridge magnet, tee, bottle & even accessories)

They even have a restroom before you start your tour. Fairly clean. Although I did see someone cleaning it at regular intervals. Plus points on that.

They even let the kids ( I too ) touch the fishes at the end, which is an experience.

Tip- public parking is $12 per hour. And maximum is $60.

I actually had fun. I 100%...

Literally only getting a star because staff were mildly helpful and informative (and because I can’t review without giving at least one).

Listen, I like my aquariums, I go to a lot! I would genuinely consider myself a thorough aquarium enjoyer. But this one… oh boy. The atmosphere is just wrong. The entire aquarium is short (15-30 minute traversal), expensive ($35 USD pp), and lacklustre (lack of animals/exhibits as a whole). The whole time I wanted to get out of there and it GENUINELY seemed like the animals did too.

Yunno how fish have that dead, 1000 yard stare stare? Ok so, imagine that but like 10x more sad. It’s like all the fish there are depressed or sick or something— to the point where there were full schools of fish that had literally stopped swimming in their tanks. They just kinda floated in mid-water. Yes, including the fish that aren’t supposed to be stationary (ie. fish other than stonefish). And don’t get me wrong, I’m no ‘fishologist’, but the Academy of Sciences had moving fish. I feel like that’s like… supposed to happen. Even the anemone look suitably unimpressed with their living situation; discoloured and sickly stiff amid the current. Oh and there were tortoises that were so frantic to leave their exhibit that they were scrambling around the habitat, whacking their shells against the glass and pushing one another over. Again, totally not a tortoisologist, but like even THEY wanted to get outta here.

And like, I get budgets and everything but at least don’t subject living animals to that. It’s like they’re all living in one bedroom apartments in communist Russia. And oh my god— One squirrel to a habitat… if I was him I would go postal— NO FRIENDS??? I just feel bad, man.

Frankly, the whole experience made me feel like I was watching a bunch of adult child stars on downers, forced to perform for munchausen parents. It was literally so sad I didn’t even feel like...