“This is an absolutely beautiful aquarium,” Ford said at the grand opening of the new Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada. “It creates jobs, stimulates our economy. What more can we ask for?”
Putting together the 135,000-square-foot attraction at the base of the CN Tower took years of planning, said Jim Pattison, whose company owns the aquarium.
But come opening day, that effort appears to have paid off.
“I’m very, very pleased,” Pattison said. “It doesn’t matter whether you're young or old, it’s always very interesting.”
Kids, grandparents and everyone in between celebrated the opening by checking out the aquarium’s 16,000-plus marine animals.
Nervous children tentatively touched giant crabs in one of the interactive areas, as staff stood by to teach them about the crawling creatures.
Over in the giant glass tunnel that makes up Dangerous Lagoon, there were oohs and ahs as giant marine animals swam just above visitors’ heads.
Watching fish and sea turtles float by was a highlight of the day for 10-year-old Wyatt McGill, who got to cut school for some non-traditional learning with his dad.
“I think my favourite is the shark,” he said.
Ford told reporters he’s also partial to sharks, particularly the great white. “It's got a big mouth and sharp teeth,” he said. “Anything that gets in its way, it gets rid of it.”
While Ripley’s Aquarium doesn’t have any great whites, the sand tiger and sandbar sharks in Dangerous Lagoon were a big hit with the Lake family, who were visiting from Yorkshire, England.
“I liked all the turtles,” said Mackenzie Lake, 10. Meanwhile, Corben, 7, was enraptured by the orange squirrelfish.
While the Lakes happened upon the aquarium’s grand opening on the last day of their visit to Canada, others had been anxiously awaiting the chance to check out the new attraction.
Jason Gudmalin and Jennylyn Casugay, both 19, lined up outside the aquarium around 8:30 a.m., an hour and a half before doors opened to the public.
“Ever since we found out they were building this in Toronto, we wanted to be the first ones here,” Gudmalin said. “I think this is pretty big for Toronto.”
The pair bought their tickets online Tuesday night, and Casugay started looking forward to the variety of animals she’d see.
“Even at the Toronto Zoo, we don’t have this many different fish.”
Tourism Toronto vice-president Andrew Weir didn’t have to wait until the grand opening to see the new aquarium. He took his kids for a sneak peek on Saturday.
“They have not stopped talking about it,” Weir said. “The jellyfish seem to be their favourite.”
The “well-designed attraction” is just the latest addition to an area that has emerged as a tourism district, one that’s sure to draw visitors to the city, Weir said.
“It’s a geographic cluster, a very dense cluster, of entertainment that, for travelers, is something to look for.”
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