Activities pre cruise in vancouver

We are cruising with my in laws and they have been to Vancouver and said we should all go to Gastown. There is a total of 5 kids going and from what I read they won't really enjoy it. We are staying at the westin so I was thinking Stanley park. I don't think we will do the aquarium as we have a full 13 days a head of us. Thoughts?

Depends on the kids - ages? hobbies? likes & dislikes? are they arty kids, sporty kids, angsty teens with noses stuck in a book about sparkly vampires all the time?

Gastown is not very historic even by Ontario standards, and the Steam Clock and cast iron lamps around Water St are all late 70s tourist traps, but it does look pretty. Plenty souvenir & other shops that may entice some older kids who buy their own clothes etc. Stanley park - small kids may like the train and the little water park with an awesome 'walk through kid dryer' on the Seawall there, totem poles, but mostly it's wandering about looking at the views and plants of various types which could be just as boring or interesting as Gastown depending on the particular kids.

Not sure how 13 days of travel or 3 or 30 have any impact on the quality of the aquarium unless it's budget-related. Certainly not a cheap attraction, and personally I think the value has been declining - even if you have no ethical issues over whale deaths etc. there are fewer Big Hit attractions and the price just keeps climbing - but at the end of the day, I've yet to meet a kid who doesn't love aquaria. If you can afford it, they'll certainly have an enjoyable ~3 hours.

Granville Island, with it's Kids Market (has a 'jungle gym' up in the roof space) as well as quirky shops, houseboats etc. and Science World are definitely kids-of-all-ages enticing spots, but without knowing more about YOUR kids I'm loathe to offer any other suggestions except to Search the boards and Tripadvisor for 'kids+vancouver' and see what other opinions you can find...

Depends on the kids - ages? hobbies? likes & dislikes? are they arty kids, sporty kids, angsty teens with noses stuck in a book about sparkly vampires all the time?

 

Gastown is not very historic even by Ontario standards, and the Steam Clock and cast iron lamps around Water St are all late 70s tourist traps, but it does look pretty. Plenty souvenir & other shops that may entice some older kids who buy their own clothes etc. Stanley park - small kids may like the train and the little water park with an awesome 'walk through kid dryer' on the Seawall there, totem poles, but mostly it's wandering about looking at the views and plants of various types which could be just as boring or interesting as Gastown depending on the particular kids.

 

Not sure how 13 days of travel or 3 or 30 have any impact on the quality of the aquarium unless it's budget-related. Certainly not a cheap attraction, and personally I think the value has been declining - even if you have no ethical issues over whale deaths etc. there are fewer Big Hit attractions and the price just keeps climbing - but at the end of the day, I've yet to meet a kid who doesn't love aquaria. If you can afford it, they'll certainly have an enjoyable ~3 hours.

 

Granville Island, with it's Kids Market (has a 'jungle gym' up in the roof space) as well as quirky shops, houseboats etc. and Science World are definitely kids-of-all-ages enticing spots, but without knowing more about YOUR kids I'm loathe to offer any other suggestions except to Search the boards and Tripadvisor for 'kids+vancouver' and see what other opinions you can find...

The kids are 8-13. We have been to Toronto aquarium. Budget is a big thing for sure.

The kids are 8-13. We have been to Toronto aquarium. Budget is a big thing for sure.

Ripley's Aquarium at the CN Tower? If so, Vancouver is a little under twice the total tank volume, but with well over double the number of exhibited animals. All the surviving belugas are on loan elsewhere though, so there's just one dolphin, a false killer whale, a harbour porpoise for the cetaceans - several sea otters and pairs of seals & Steller sea lions though. It's still a nice spot, but I find that the off-season pricing (~$8 less) is a much fairer reflection of how much time/enjoyment we get out of it.

Price-wise, your 13yr old is a youth ($27 - same for any Seniors) and the remaining kids $21ea, then adults $36. The best generally-available discount available I've seen recently (except in special cases like disabled person with attendant) is $1 or $2pp off, by either showing transit passes or buying a Vancouver City Passport ($14, gets some much better discounts elsewhere). Aquarium no longer features in Entertainment Book and other '2 for 1' type deals.

I can think of several better-value uses for the ticket price the Aquarium wants - while it's better than Toronto's, it's not ENOUGH better to be worth paying that much for to see some similar exhibits and very few really spectacular animals (especially when you must have visited fairly recently, Ripleys only opened in, what, 2014?)

I'd think that Science World would be a much better value ($27 adult, $22 Youth, $16 Child) for a kid-friendly downtown option - or if they all like boats, the Maritime Museum does a good job with young'uns too and is even cheaper ($35 for a family, 2 adults and up to 4 kids, then $10 for the extra kid). The savings could pay for a trip on False Creek Ferries to get to the museum from downtown, for extra nautical goodness.