Another thread was mentioning parks that are no longer doing business.
I got to thinking.
I fear for the future of the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific.

If the Los Angeles area could not support the (Hanna-Barbara) Marine Land, and if the Queen Mary is having cash flow problems, then how can an aquarium, a passive experience in comparison to theme parks, possibly expect to survive?

I've been there ("A of the P") exactly once.
I have no motivation to go again.
If it were free, I would justify a trip.
But (a.) the admission cost exceeds the value of the visit; (b.) there is no secondary interest in the Long Beach area to justify the 30-mile (30 minute) drive from home (San Gabriel Valley).

Has any MousePlanet person found a return-value to "A of the P"?
Or, alternatively, is there something else in Long Beach to justify the trip?
(I've been to the Queen Mary. Likewise, there is not a lot of motiviation to go see the QM again.)

Will "A of the P" survive?

Do they have ongoing programs to pull in repeat business? If I had children and lived in the area, I might consider having a pass since I enjoy aquariums and would want to share the experience.

What is the price of an annual pass/membership?

I'm mere miles from the Aquarium and if I had children I'd probably consider a pass. I've been twice and they have a great variety of programs going on. The first time I went we got there late in the day and only had time to see one program in addition to the regular exhibits. A few mos ago I took my Brownie Girl Scout troop and we spent the entire day there and still did not see all the shows and educational programs they offer. I will probably go again in the near future.

For locals I think it's great and with various discounts offered (AAA, coupons, etc) not a bad price for a full day of something to do. However, if I were coming from 30 miles away it might be something I only did a few times in my lifetime.

The one thing that you misunderstand about the Aquarium of the Pacific is that it is NOT just a place to visit, it is a research facility just like the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I cringed when you compared it to Marine Land because it is in no ways an amusement park for animals to do tricks to please us land mammals. I know one of the biologist there and they do far more than you see when you visit. They do offer programs for school age children and to the general public but they also have their researchers/scientists out in the field, giving lectures and teaching. The Aquarium is not going anywhere anytime soon unless the funding for the research is going to go somewhere else.

My 3 yo daugher loves the place and gets to go at least a couple times a year. It is a little pricey but still fun although what Mrs. Newseditor44 says is correct.

Although I don't understnad why they have to get their fish the same place the restraunts do. Seems pricey.

Another thread was mentioning parks that are no longer doing business.
I got to thinking.
I fear for the future of the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific.

If the Los Angeles area could not support the (Hanna-Barbara) Marine Land, and if the Queen Mary is having cash flow problems, then how can an aquarium, a passive experience in comparison to theme parks, possibly expect to survive?

I've been there ("A of the P") exactly once.
I have no motivation to go again.
If it were free, I would justify a trip.
But (a.) the admission cost exceeds the value of the visit; (b.) there is no secondary interest in the Long Beach area to justify the 30-mile (30 minute) drive from home (San Gabriel Valley).

Has any MousePlanet person found a return-value to "A of the P"?
Or, alternatively, is there something else in Long Beach to justify the trip?
(I've been to the Queen Mary. Likewise, there is not a lot of motiviation to go see the QM again.)

Will "A of the P" survive?

Marineland failed because it wasn't very accessible. They weren't located near a major freeway. It was a very out-of-the-way location.

Long Beach is totally different. The Aquarium is part of a totally new revitalized Downtown Long Beach, which is proving very popular and crowded now-a-days. The hotels are doing a brisk business. The new "Pike" shopping center has opened up with a variety of nightlife and chain restaurants (Wish Anaheim and Downtown Disney had half, or any, of what Downtown Long Beach has)......Shoreline Village, Rainbow Harbor, the newly expanded Queensway Bay, the Convention Center etc... all make Long Beach very exciting nowadays. Remember all the crime? My mother wouldn't even let us roller skate along Shoreline, back in the day. But that's all changed. Dockside pier is glamourously lit........(the whole way Rainbow Harbor lights up at night, with the twinkling lights surrounding the Queen Mary).....very Vegas classy!

The Queen Mary bankruptcy has nothing to do with its popularity. In a misstep, the Long Beach City Council let a private company manage the ship, and the private company defaulted on rent payments, and left the City holding the bag. The whole thing is in litigation, but the Queen Mary is as popular as ever, with the two tours, and the special Sunday Champagne buffet in the Captain's dining room. All of that is still going strong.

If it were just the Aquarium, yes, I'd say don't bother. But with all the new shops, dining, and don't forget the Catalina express birth.....Long Beach has become an incredible destination.

I can't even get a hotel room, there, for my birthday in February, as they are sold out. That should tell you something.

i went once when it first opened. I was not impressed and there were way to many annoying kids there and oblivious parents...*sigh*

when i egt my rescue diver cert. I may volunteer there...but thats a ways off..:)

i went once when it first opened. I was not impressed and there were way to many annoying kids there and oblivious parents...*sigh*


Like I said earlier...its really a place to educate our kids about marine / ocean animals/mammals. Their primary audience is school kids/groups/etc.

Like I said earlier...its really a place to educate our kids about marine / ocean animals/mammals. Their primary audience is school kids/groups/etc.

yeah, and thats what I saw there and that is the primary reason I didn't go back. It would have been different if the parents showed the lightest interest in how teir kids were behaving, but that was not the case.

The one thing that you misunderstand about the Aquarium of the Pacific is that it is NOT just a place to visit, it is a research facility just like the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I cringed when you compared it to Marine Land because it is in no ways an amusement park for animals to do tricks to please us land mammals. I know one of the biologist there and they do far more than you see when you visit. They do offer programs for school age children and to the general public but they also have their researchers/scientists out in the field, giving lectures and teaching. The Aquarium is not going anywhere anytime soon unless the funding for the research is going to go somewhere else.Excellent point Mrs. Newseditor.

I love going and finding out about all kinds of ocean life.

its worth it my brother was there today he had a good time with his girlfriend and little boy. Well they enjoyed it a lot

We have been AotP members for years. It's 79 bucks a year for a family membership, all tax deductible . My kids have both attended classes and special programs, usually every 3-4 months one of them does something there. Our whole family has gone on a special whale watching cruise they organized in Santa Barbara which was fantastic (we saw 2 blue whales, six humbacks and hundreds of dolphins!). I don't plan on letting our membership lapse anytime soon.

We just purchased a family membership this morning for $109 dollars (up to two adults, up to two children). As a mother, it is definitely worth it to me to go and to have a family pass. Were I a single adult, I would likely just go once.