Family mini vacation and dissapointed (Houston, Dallas: credit, homes, cabin)

[hitpausebutton2]

Originally Posted by shanv3

FOr a decent aquarium, you should have driven down to Moody gardens. Some parts are being remodeled, but still it was bigger than the Downtown "aquarent". Food is decent though at downtown.

Did you take the small train that shows you the shark? It was hidden but justified the cost to some extent

train? um no.. was hoping it had more than it had..

[oespinoza83]

The aquarium like others have said is not a real aquarium. Did you not spend 30 minutes on trip adviser reading into all of these attractions?

[Watchful]

Yeah you really have to think of it as "The Aquarium Restaurant" not "The Houston Aquarium!" No comparison to some of the great aquariums across the US and Canada.

Houston wanted one of the space shuttles but it went elsewhere.

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by hitpausebutton2

one tiger in a 200 foot cage just panting back and forth like he wanted to jump the fence so bad and run.. just run.

I was at the Houston Zoo for the first time in about 20 years last month and I also saw that Tiger, and another large cat in different habitat, constantly pacing as well. I'm not an anti zoo person at all, but it bothers be a bit to see animals do that. That said, it doesn't necessarily mean they were in any distress.

With regards to the aquarium restaurant, there are others located outside of Houston, and yes, I think many other people assume they are bona fide zoological facilities, when obviously, they are not. I lived in Denver for a while, and visited the one there (which makes Houston look nice by comparison) and whenever anyone else I knew went there, I felt obligated to explain what it was (and wasn't).

Wish we did have a good aquarium like nearby cities including Dallas and New Orleans have. I also wish Houston had a true Botanical gardens.

[texas7]

There isn't a houston aquarium. What we have is a seafood restaurant called the aquarium that has large saltwater aquariums spread throughout and a few other attractions. That is the fault of the city pass for being somewhat misleading.

The shuttle -- the government administration at the time decided we didn't need or deserve a real one despite NASA being here. To appease the city, they gave us the original mock up. And as Texans are known to do -- they made the best of it by showcasing it and allowing tourist to board it and look around. Apparently the real ones, you can't board -- only view. Glad you had a good two Out of three.

[Liljo22]

Like others have said, the Downtown Aquarium is a Landry's property that has the aquarium tour and rides attached. The restaurant on the second floor has the big tank. Its a fun restaurant atmosphere with ok food. My kids love to eat there. For the rest of the areas, the aquarium tour is nothing to write home about but the rides and shark train are fun.

The three retired space shuttles are in Virginia, California and Florida. The Houston one is only the trainer and the New York one is the test plane that never went into space. Was in DC this fall and was disappointed to find out its not at the Smithsonian at the National Lawn but rather at the one in VA.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by hitpausebutton2

The big disappointment was the Houston Aquarium. What a joke. We expected more than 2-3 tanks of the same fish, and more exotic fishes like sharks, rays, the good stuff. Nope you have to pay for the rays, and nothing to really look at.

I've been saying this for years
It's embarrassing that Corpus Christi (pop. 320,000) has an aquarium 10 times better than Houston (pop. 6 million)

Texas State Aquarium - Trip Advisor

Somebody had the balls to put the Houston "aquarium" as the #11 in best aquarium
and Corpus Christi at #16
25 Best Aquariums In America

[swopoe]

Originally Posted by Liljo22

Like others have said, the Downtown Aquarium is a Landry's property that has the aquarium tour and rides attached. The restaurant on the second floor has the big tank. Its a fun restaurant atmosphere with ok food. My kids love to eat there. For the rest of the areas, the aquarium tour is nothing to write home about but the rides and shark train are fun.

The three retired space shuttles are in Virginia, California and Florida. The Houston one is only the trainer and the New York one is the test plane that never went into space. Was in DC this fall and was disappointed to find out its not at the Smithsonian at the National Lawn but rather at the one in VA.

The Udvar Hazy center, where the shuttle is in VA, is an amazing place. And not just because of the shuttle. If you like planes, it is a must see. My son absolutely love it when we visited.

[texas7]

Many moons ago we had sea-Arama in Galveston. It didn't make it.

[Svensk08]

Originally Posted by Texas Ag 93

Wish we did have a good aquarium like nearby cities including Dallas and New Orleans have. I also wish Houston had a true Botanical gardens.

The Houston Botanic Garden organization recently secured the old Glenbrook Valley Golf Course property as the site for our city's new botanical gardens. Preliminary plans have been approved and fundraising is underway, but it will be years before it all comes together.