Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium New Aquarium

Separate Admission Aquarium?

My #1 question: Can this aquarium (or zoo) be seen for a lower, separate admission? I'm wondering whether this aquarium can be considered a separate entity, or is it just another "exhibit" of the zoo? I fully realize that you paid one big admission fee for both the zoo and aquarium, but COULD you have paid less for just one or the other.

Examples of places where you do either or both: Albuquerque and Berlin.
 
The aquarium can be seen for a reduced admission of $18 after 5pm. The aquarium closes at 10pm. However during the day, you cannot purchase an "aquarium-only" pass.

It is set up such that at a future date (and I think this is likely to happen) that they could set them up as seperate entities and then offer a combo-ticket type arrangement in my opinion.
 
From looking at the website they look like they are part of the same "zoo"...
 
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They are physically attached, but there are two seperate entrances.
 
While I have been to ALL of the major zoos in the USA and most of the top aquariums, there are a few I haven't yet seen. Here's a list of major aquariums I've never been to:

Maui Ocean Center (Maui, Hawaii)
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (San Pedro, CA)
Sea Life Aquarium-Legoland (Oceanside, CA)
Oregon Coast Aquarium (Newport, OR)
Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay (Las Vegas, NV)
Living Planet Aquarium (Sandy, UT)
Great Lakes Aquarium (Duluth, MN)
Atlantis Marine World (Riverhead, NY)
Jenkinson's Aquarium (Point Pleasant Beach, NJ)

My questions: (1) Have any of you been to any of these aquariums? (2) Which of them should be considered among the nation's best, and which are merely smaller aquariums?
 
I've been to Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay, it's a very nice small aquarium (better since accreditation) But it's not among the nation's best. I've meant to get to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy, but haven't yet. From what I've heard and seen it won't be among the nation's best either (yet, they have big plans)
 
I've been to:
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium - I would classify it as a small aquarium, sort of the educational type, rather than the bigger flashy type, if that makes any sense.
Oregon Coast Aquarium - I really like this one, it's worth a trip. I was there while they were building the exhibit for Keiko, so it's been awhile. I wish they had kept him, I think his quality of life was better there than in the wild. Considering he got so bored he swam all the way from Iceland to Norway, as I recall. Anyway, my favorite part of the aquarium is the walk-through puffin aviary.
Great Lakes Aquarium - this one's nice, too. Bigger than I would have expected from a relatively small city such as Duluth.
Jenkinson's Aquarium - I would say this is pretty much what you would expect, a small aquarium on an ocean boardwalk on the Jersey Shore. It reminds me of several of the small aquariums I've visited in the UK. I notice they were AZA accredited last year.

I actually haven't gotten to the new aquarium at Wildlife World Zoo yet. Trying to talk my mom into going, too. They've never reciprocated with AZA members when I've gone in the past, probably hasn't changed. We tried to do a staff swap with them when I was still a night camp instructor at the Phx Zoo, but they weren't interested - you know the thing, we'll go to yours and you come to ours so we all learn new stuff. San Diego did it, although I wasn't able to go.
I know a bit about the history (I'm a Phoenix native). When I was a kid, the owner, Mickey Olson, had an exotic bird farm not far from where I lived. When my parents first bought their house, it was really in the boondocks, but now, completely developed for miles and miles. So, I think gradually Mickey wanted more space, and a less urban environment, so he bought a big plot of land in what is still a fairly remote spot (although probably not in 10 years!), and bred more and more exotics. At some point he opened it to the public as a zoo. I think this is why you still see so much non-state of the art exhibit design. They were originally just designed for breeding, and not viewing.
 
Spent yesterday (Memorial Day) at Wildlife World so I could see the new aquarium, plus take more photos at zoo. (I will post some photos once the slides are developed and scanned - long live film!). The review posted earlier on this thread is very accurate. Although I've only been to a few aquariums, this one is not in the league of other big-name ones. Still it is the first one in my state so it does provide a unique attraction.

Basically a series of small and medium tanks, which are all fine. The only thing keeping out of the big leagues is no huge keystone exhibit, like some of the two-story wall-sized windows you see elsewhere. Take it for what it is, and you will enjoy it. In summer, it is good because it gives visitors a cool place indoors. The restaurant is a very nice addition - I had a pecan crusted trout that was one of the best fish meals I've ever had. It was also very popular, since there was a 15 minute wait even for late lunch when I went to sit in main shark tank room, so I sat in the lounge overlooking flamingo pond, which had no wait.

The new entrance buildings, which include one of the aquariums/restaurant, are very impressive looking I thought. In fact, I was surprised to see they still use the old entrance as well.

As for main zoo, it is homemade as stated, but the hoofstock yards are all good-sized, even if a bit generic. The cat and dog yards are also generic (but at least not cement) and average size. Many of the bird aviaries are way too plain and way too small, as stated on this thread. That would be my biggest complaint. Oh and the last exhibit in the aquarium is an ocelot exhibit that is also too small. Is it worth $28? For a zoo fan like me and if you go maybe once every year or two, yes. If you have a big family, I'm not so sure.

Still, there are lots of rarites and if you want to tick off a long list of species in one day, it may be good for that.
 
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