Loveland Living Planet Aquarium

12033 Lone Peak Pkwy, Draper, UT 84020, USA

Address:	12033 Lone Peak Pkwy, Draper, UT 84020, USA
Phone:	+1 801-355-3474
Site:	thelivingplanet.com
Rating:	4.4
Working:	10AM–8PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

Chris Hansen

I am a fish and wildlife enthusiast so I was really excited to visit the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium. If you have visited other "Larger" aquariums like the Denver or Georgia Aquarium then you may be slightly disappointed with its size. That said, this "little brother" of an Aquarium was really nice and had a lot going for it. I went on Saturday July 19th, 2014 which is just a few months after reopening in this new location. I arrived at 10:30am and it was already fairly busy but the parking lot was not yet half full. It steadily got busier as time went on but it WAS Saturday. My recommendation would be to plan out your visit time for when it would be less busy like a weekday around opening. I read most of the previous reviews and many of them are from a year or two ago at the previous location and the rest are the "silly people that went the first week or opening day." Their biggest complaints were "too crowded" and "many unfinished exhibits." But that my friends is why you dont go opening week! I waited and it was well worth the wait. This is still a new attraction and for those of you who know anything about live animal habitats and especially aquariums, it takes lots of time to "season" an environment before it is ready to support animal life. At this point there were only a "few" empty habitats but it wasnt too noticeable. The fish were healthy and seemed happy and content with their environments. I have to say I enjoyed seeing simple Tetras and Platys (and babies!) in a stream where probably 99% of the people had no idea that there were even fish in there! My favorite locations were the "Journey to South America" and the "Ocean Explorer" exhibits. They also had some pretty cool notable enclosures that included a "Tide Pool" with rising and lowering water levels and a touch pool with rays and small SHARKS! The Shark Tunnel was a highlight as was the viewing room just outside the tunnel. If you are looking for a nice relaxing area to watch the fish and sharks this is the place to be. There is good amphitheater like seating and relaxing music that really sets a good mood and tone for the exhibit. My personal favorite area was the "Journey to South America" exhibit where you see creatures from the fresh waters of the Amazon. This is a nice area located in the big round corner seen from the highway. If you have ever watched "River Monsters" you will also enjoy seeing the HUGE Arapaima, Pacu, and Arowana! The Caiman exhibit was still closed in this area but it should be nice when it opens. The staff seemed happy, available, and knowledgeable. As for the Value and the Price, tickets are around $15 which I felt was reasonable just because it takes an incredible amount of resources to run an establishment like this. It is difficult and also not cheap to maintain large aquariums and especially the salt water exhibits. Some may argue with me on the price and its okay, but I felt it was overall worth it. I even bought the annual pass as I plan on coming back to see the unfinished exhibits as well as see the "evolution" of the existing ones. Overall Feelings: Its still a new attraction and will need time to "season." It is a little busy but plan your visit to avoid crowds. Price was acceptable and in my opinion worth it. The Building and Habitats are really nice and maintained.

Ærin Lund

I thought most of the exhibits were well laid out and informational, but their tarantula exhibits were some of the worst I have ever seen! There were three main problems I noticed: 1. Their "Goliath bird eater" is misidentified as Theraphosa blondi. It is, in fact, Theraphosa stirmi, as indicated by the lack of setae present on the patella, among other things. 2. The informational plaque about the supposed T. blondi listed inaccurate information. In particular, "Typically solitary and aggressive..." which is an awful misrepresentation of both T. stirmi and T. blondi. Almost all tarantulas are solitary, but these tarantulas are not aggressive at all. They are, when faced with real harassment, defensive. Otherwise, they are docile and sweet tempered. Many people even keep them as pets and handle them regularly. 3. The enclosures for both the Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens and the T. stirmi were horribly inhumane. Both species are terrestrial and need sufficient substrate in which to dig, as well as to soften any falls that might occur. (Tarantulas can die from a fall just like any human.) There were cactuses in the C. cyaneopubescens enclosure, which could also pose a danger to the tarantula, which could bleed out if pierced with cactus needles. Furthermore, both enclosures were brightly lit, forcing the tarantulas to hide the best they can. The majority of tarantulas spend almost all their time in dark places in the wild. The C. cyaneopubescens wasnt even given a place to hide in its "desert" enclosure, and therefore was webbed up in the top left corner. Awful! Whats more is that the informational plaque for the C. cyaneopubescens contained accurate information about their natural habitat. So, WHY didnt the enclosure match that? Not only were the enclosures inhumane, but scientifically inaccurate. Shame on whomever is treating the animals this way! I think live animal exhibits are useful and educational only if the animals are treated well. Please fix this, Living Planet Aquarium!

Adam Olsen

YOU NEED TO READ THIS!!! I have seen the new draper facility and have some insight as to why there is such a variety of reviews that are negative towards the new aquarium. First, the new aquarium is a technological wonder land for engineers. Many people do not understand the massive effort that has made this facility possible for Utah residents to enjoy. This aquarium is the 9th largest aquarium in the United States! Every pool, aquarium and rainforest exhibit has only been made possible by many donations from companies and individuals. Also, each exhibit is custom made to replicate the environment for each individual species. Anyone who has had pets like the animals in the aquarium would understand the complexity of each enclosure. I keep dart frogs and was extremely impressed with the dart frog exhibit! According to some of the staff working there, they have been working night and day to finish tanks and move animals. The aquarium will feature 5000 animals and possibly more in the future. Yes, there is much to be done, but there is still much to see and animals arrive every day! We are all very fortunate to have such an amazing building here in Utah! As for entrance fees, the money collected in the aquarium is used to cover the costs of operating this enormous facility. There are hundreds of fish and other creatures in the building already with hundreds more waiting to arrive according to the great staff that was there! When all is said and done, this will be one of the most complex and unique buildings in the state of Utah! If you see the aquarium before everything is finished, l am sure all of us, both disappointed and excited will be absolutely amazed with what we will see. Oh Yeah... the place is very big, it took me a long time to find all the major exhibits. You will definitely need to ask where to find stuff!

Golden Bear

My daughter and I visited the aquarium for the first time last week. I can say the facility is quite nice and the exhibits are very well done. What ruined the experience for me was all of the out of control kids everywhere! There are signs all over the exhibits not to climb on them, not to stand on them, or lean over. And in most areas, DO NOT TOUCH OR HARASS THE ANIMALS OR PLANTS! Yet, what do you think the kids and irresponsible parents were doing? Just exactly what the exhibits said NOT to do in every single area. It was as bad as the kids swinging on the ropes that hang in front of the doors to the entry way of the Amazon exhibit (to keep the loose animals inside), blocking the way in and out, while their parents literally sat there and looked on! Then inside the shark exhibit, a group of 4-6 year old girls started screaming at the top of their lungs having a screaming contest for well over 3 minutes. Where the hell were the parents!? No where to be seen. This all combined to ruin the experience of quite a nice place. I will never pay $36 again for two of us to deal with that. The aquarium needs to enforce their rules, or start kicking people out! Simple as that. I have visited aquariums all over the country and many, many states and never seen such ill behaved kids as here in Utah! They seem to run free and do whatever they want.. Parents, it is not your personal playground. Teach your kids some respect and manners for others, the aquarium and animals!!!