The zoo in general I give 3/5 stars:…read more Parking and concessions are overpriced. The zoo itself is one of the oldest in America and it shows. Its desperate for updating. Other than the rainforest and Artic area, I'm not impressed with anything, especially VS other zoos. I've never seen a single person or zookeeper around welcoming guests or talking about the animals. Its almost always dirty and smells. No tech, nothing interactive. I get it, its a zoo. Healthy animals are the point and star of the show. And im sure the budget is skin tight. But the zoo shouldn't resemble the 1800's anymore. Other than the updated Artic exhibit, this place is exactly the same from when I was child in the 90's. I strongly urge to you check their schedule to see if any free events are going on to enhance your experience. Zoomagination (annual lantern fest) on the other hand gets a 5/5 rating and bumps this review. Its as close to Disneyworld as you can get in Buffalo. The lantern statues are stunning in the darkness. And the late summer vibes are immaculate.

The zoo is a classic buffalo attraction, a great place for the whole family to visit. Sone great…read morenew options to eat here, burgers, pizza slices and fantastic educational opportunities for all ages!

This is a must for anyone with elementary school age children or younger. I've been to a couple of…read morechildren's museum, but this one by far is probably the biggest one I've been to so far. They have 4 floors with a wide variety of stations and things to do for the kids. If we didn't have to worry about nap time, we could probably spend the whole day there. If you have a Bank of America card, this museum is part of their Museum on us program- IYKYK. I also like the cafeteria where you can purchase snacks or meals for the kids. I appreciate that they don't police you, if you just use the space to eat your own packed snacks, just clean up after yourself is all they request. There's just so much to do. I would say the only issue we ran into was finding parking, but that's to expected at that side of town. Overall, a must for kids.

We boldly went to see what Explore & More was like on a Saturday morning. Now I am sure it was…read morebusier because of the weekend but it wasn't too busy that we felt smushed with all the people. This place is AWESOME for our little guy. He loved this entire place and had so much fun. The building is 4 floors but Explore & More really starts on the 2nd floor. The first floor has a lobby and a cafe though which is nice too. The main floor of Explore & More is great. There is a Delta Sonic kid car wash, and so many cool historical Buffalo things like the Erie Canal and interactive boat for them to try out. The next floor has so many interactive things for kids to try and run around on. Everything has great theming for Buffalo and really shows off the hometown pride for the adults who are there with their kids. I'd recommend this place to anyone with kids because they have so much fun. There is something to do for all ages here. Definitely felt like a Buffalo gem.

I give kudos to Ripley's Aquarium of Canada because after I wrote to them complaining about Get…read moreYour Guide's poor ticketing experience (who refused to provide refunds and defended their UX design), the Aquarium refunded our tickets. Thank you! From Guest Services Team: Typically if someone had mistakenly purchased the Sharks After Dark, we would ask them to email us the tickets at tgservices@ripleys.com and then we would walk them in.

If you are planning a trip to Toronto, put Ripley's Aquarium at the top of your list. We made this…read moreour very first stop after breakfast, and even though we arrived early, it was already buzzing with people and honestly, I totally see why. The experience was phenomenal. Absolutely immersive. The massive tanks showing how communities of fish live together are impressive, but the Dangerous Lagoon is the crown jewel. There is a slow-moving treadmill through the tunnel pro tip: just stay on it and look up. Seeing the sharks and rays glide over you is a core memory. Staff & Service: Top-notch. The staff is not only friendly but incredibly knowledgeable. They are very proactive about animal welfare, constantly reminding the crowd to turn off their flashes to protect the creatures. Educational Value: We caught two of the diver shows where they feed the animals. It's amazing to hear them talk about sustainability and how our daily decisions impact these animals' lives for years to come. Crowd: It gets crowded fast! Even as early birds, we weren't alone. However, the layout is so well-organized that the flow of people keeps moving. Food & Amenities: After the shark tunnel, there's a convenient coffee shop and washrooms located in the basement. It's the perfect spot to take a breather. Transportation: Location couldn't be better. It's incredibly accessible you can easily walk if you're downtown, or take the bus/train (TTC) to Union Station. It's right in the heart of the action. Cost: Definitely worth the price of admission for the quality of the exhibits and the message of conservation they share. I got my pass with Citypass. Bottom Line: Whether you are a solo traveler or with a group, this is a 10/10 experience. Don't forget to skip the flash and enjoy the view

We don't stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing…read more.. This place is big! I spent over four hours here, and could've easily spent more. This place reminded me of the Exploratorium in San Francisco, , except instead of interactive exhibits highlighting scientific principles, these interactive exhibits were all about play! Play for both the kids, and the grown-ups. They had a ropes course for the younger kids, and another one for older kids and the grown-ups. For the kids, they had a scale model of a local grocery chain, where the kids could either "work", or "shop", right down to the working checkout lanes. They had a Sesame Street exhibit...., A butterfly habitat, and and All kinds of different indoor and outdoor play areas. I can still hula hoop! (for a whole five seconds...). They also had all of the exhibits on toys, games, and video games. This is the home of the national toy, Hall of Fame, and the national video game Hall of Fame. it was so cool seeing toys from my childhood, and a wide range of video games and pinball machine machines that are playable. The price to get in is very reasonable, and they also offer a military/veterans discount, and memberships to the museum, which offer free museum admission. There is a parking garage attached to the museum, with a small charge for parking, and there is a also a small charge for the ropes course, the butterfly habitat, or to play the video games/pinball machines. (4 tokens for a dollar, and every machine only takes one token...) This is an absolutely fun museum for kids of all ages. Thanks!!!

Reliving childhood memories and making new ones with the whole family…read more The Strong National Museum of Play is the ultimate place for interactive play with over 282,000 sq ft of fun exhibits. Smaller kids were able to immerse in the toy Grocery Store, Reading Adventureland pirate mail, and Sesame Street exhibits on the 1st floor. There were neat areas including the Pinball Playfield and outdoor Field of Play with a D&D dragon statue and Monopoly for photo-ops on a nice day. The Hulk strength and Spider-Man city climb exhibits in the Comic Book Hero area were also fun. On the 2nd floor, the Digital Worlds and Video Game Hall of Fame featured many classic and independent video games that kept us entertained on various consoles. We also had plenty of fun in the Level Up area, especially with the interactive stealth zone and wall toss games. These were all included in the admission price but my personal favorite were the arcades at $1 per 5 tokens and featured Mario Cart and Halo plus many more games from the past four decades. We literally visited three days in a row here to experience the many parts of the museum for multiple days of play. With added admission, we also worked up a sweat on the Skyline Climb rope course and zipline above the atrium. It was well-designed with a safety rail & traffic light system that made it suitable for young kids. The site has a rainbow parking garage with 6 parking entries included in each annual family membership. Skip it or hit it? We had such a fun time that we'll definitely revisit in the future. Good thing it's only 3 hours drive from Toronto.

Our recent trip to the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory was truly magical! Our tickets for…read moreadmission were included with our Wonder Pass Plus purchase. This attraction doesn't require an appointment, but it is a longer bus ride from the other Niagara Parks attractions, so be sure to plan for that. We used our passes to take the WEGO bus from Niagara Takes Flight to the butterfly conservatory. Rain was in the forecast, so this is a nice, indoor option. The conservatory itself houses so many butterflies, and they tell you upon entry that it is thought to be lucky if a blue one lands on you, so everyone inside is doing their best to attract a blue butterfly. Several landed on us, and while you don't want to move for fear of them flying away, you also want to get your companion's attention to snap that perfect pic! We had lots of fun even though the temperature is kept very warm and the space was crowded. Clearly, everyone had the same rainy-day activity planned. My only complaint comes from when I asked about re-entry. I was told that we could leave the conservatory, but not the building. We wanted to visit the cafe and grab a bite to eat or something to drink and perhaps return once the crowd had thinned out a bit, but that is not permitted. We were told that we could step out to cool down in the gift shop or lobby area and then return through the same entrance that we used when we arrived. The volunteer got on her walkie to tell someone that we'd be coming back in, so I'm not even sure that this is normally permitted. Overall, it was a fun and new experience for us. The staff was kind and the conservatory is beautiful. There's also a botanical garden and at least one beehive there, but we didn't get to explore the outdoor areas due to the rain.

Absolutely love the butterflies. If you pick a less traffic day it is soooo peaceful…read more So many different butterflies and a must visit if you are visiting Niagara Falls