Thank you to SeaQuest Trumbull for giving my family complimentary admission for the purpose of writing this blog post. All opinions expressed by this blogger are 100% her own.
Now that we are all settling back into our new school year routine, I am happy to have the chance to finally share about one of our fun outings from this summer. Really, it was one of our few new things we tried this summer. The weather was really great and we did our best to take advantage of the beach and the pools at both of their grandparents houses. I feel like it was one of the best summers we have had in awhile – the boys are at really fun ages Ace is 8, Rex is 5 and Muffin is going to be 2 next week (Yes, I am finally giving him a blog name after almost 2 years) and we were able to slow down and enjoy the little things.
Disclaimer – I know I have been saying it and I probably will continue to classify the boys as “being at really fun ages” for years to come – maybe I’ll change my mind when they’re teenagers??
When Shawna reached out to me about checking out SeaQuest, I was excited. Although we had been having a great summer I was having a little bit of that mom guilt when we would run into friends and they’d ask what stuff we’ been up to – I started to realize we hadn’t really tried anything new. And I was looking forward to visiting SeaQuest specifically because it seemed like it was something that all 3 of the boys would enjoy. My littlest guy – Muffin doesn’t ever really get to do little guy stuff if the big boys are around – We find ourselves doing things more geared towards Ace and Rex so he tends to just be “along for the ride” a good amount of the time.
Before our visit, I did a little research online and asked around if any of my friends had been. I was able to come up with some helpful info. I was told the best place to park was right outside the mall between Target and JC Penny. It was the perfect place to park, the parking was all covered and it was a really short walk into the mall.
We didn’t bring in much with us – our normal bag of mom stuff – and because Muffin can still be a little tough to keep close by in busy places, an umbrella stroller is still essential when it’s a solo outing for mom with all 3 boys. You all know your kids best – the entire mall and SeaQuest is very stroller friendly, but I also wouldn’t say its that much walking – so a stable walker would do just fine without one.
But either way – stroller or no stroller – the walk from the parking lot into the mall is a short one and from the mall entrance to SeaQuest is equally as short.
When we arrived at SeaQuest, we were quickly greeted by the friendly staff who connected with the manager, Ashley. She was knowledgeable & helpful in pointing out lots of details and answering all my questions as she gave us a guided tour through out their facility. When on an outing for the blog, I feel a sense of responsibility to ask all the questions that come to mind, because I figure if I have them, a lot of the readers probably do too!
Typically, after paying for admission you and your family would get their hands stamped (for readmission for the day) and you would be guided towards the animal exhibits. From there you’re able to move at your own pace taking as much or as little time at each of the different animals or fish. You can take as much time as you’d like, but for planning purposes, I would say planning for an hour and 1/2 is realistic to be able to really take a look at everything. Like I said before, Ashley wanted to make sure we got the full experience and didn’t miss any details to share with you all, so she was so awesome to walk us through everything.
One of the things my boys liked best were the little “candy machines” filled with food for the various animals.
Depending on the animals in each area, the food in each machine would be different (everything from little pellets for the ducks to pieces of fish for some of the larger animals).
If you think your kids might enjoy getting to feed some of the animals as you go, be sure to get some of the special tokens at the front desk when paying for admission. Tokens can be purchased in packs of 4, 10, 20, or 50 and range in price from $10-$76. It is hard to say exactly how many tokens to buy – it all depends how much your family will be interested in feeding the animals. If I were to go back again with the 3 boys, I would purchase the pack of 10 tokens for $20.
So, let’s get to the interesting stuff – the animals! But even if I wanted to go through and tell you about every animal and fish we saw … I wouldn’t be able to – there were so many, I truly can’t remember them all. Luckily, the pictures I took are a good way to jog my old “mom brain” so I think I will go ahead and share a few of our favorites.
For Ace, he really liked the little pigs – I know, pigs at a SeaQuest? I have to say the name–SeaQuest–is a little bit deceiving. The best way I could explain it or compare it to something would sort of be like a mix of an aquarium and a petting zoo. You can touch just about everything…and they have such a variety! Ace says he enjoyed the pigs because of how tiny and playful they were… they had all these little balls and toys in their enclosure like you’d expect a dog to have.
The pigs were one of the animals we got to feed also – and the best way to describe feeding them was a little bit wet and sticky. We headed right to one of the sinks to wash our hands after this one!
For Rex his favorite (and I think mine too) was the HUGE turtle that was just sort of hanging out and strolling around.
When we first came across the turtle, it was in an enclosure area and we just could not get enough of him or believe how big he was! Then an employee mentioned how a few times a day they take him out for walk… and he just does laps around SeaQuest…. I don’t know why it was so fascinating and funny to us, but we loved it. And I will tell you what – he wasn’t that slow for such a big turtle.
Although I can’t say for sure – I suspect Muffin’s favorite part of the day was getting to see these tiny little baby snakes…
One of the employees, who happens to have lots of pet snakes, brought in some of her baby snakes and offered to bring out her 2 baby snakes (I believe they were a couple weeks old) for the boys to see and touch. Muffin LOVED them.
He just better not ask for a pet snake one day! It was really cool to see how the employees weren’t just employees, lots of them were true animal lovers and experts there taking care of these animals and sharing their passion with the visitors.
Aside from all the interactions that are included with your admission (you can basically touch and feed all the animals and fish they have there) – there are a couple of additional experiences you can add on to your visit. We were fortunate that Ashley arranged for us to enjoy both of them as part of our visit.
The first thing we got to do was feed the otters, the ADORABLE otters. We got to get close to them and give them some little treats – such a fun experience with them.
Now, I have to give the disclaimer – I am not necessarily a big animal person – I mean I think they’re cute and I like to look at them, but we don’t have any pets at home (having 3 boys is almost the same right?) But – I swear I could have snuck one of those little otters out of there. They had so much personality and the cutest little faces. Even if you don’t opt for the additional Otter experience, make sure you don’t miss them!
The second awesome experience we had was getting up close with and feeding a sloth! Unlike the turtle, this guy definitely lived up to his reputation of being a slow poke.
But once he saw we were trying to feed him a little snack he made his way down to us. At first the boys tried giving him a cucumber, and then a carrot, but he didn’t seem hungry.
We gave it one last shot and tried to feed him the sweet potato, and that was exactly what he was looking for. He gobbled those raw sweet potatoes right up!
It was such a cool experience getting to feed, pet and ask questions about an animal that we had never really seen in person before.
I really could go on and on about all the different reptiles, mammals and fish at SeaQuest, but like I said before – that is the fun of visiting. I will share some additional photos to give an idea of all we saw, but you have to check it out for yourself 🙂
A couple of things I always take note of – bathrooms and birthday party space… I don’t know why, maybe it’s from doing lots of blog outings or maybe it’s just life as a mom, haha, but I just always have to take note of both. So- obviously I have to share with you all. There are bathrooms located inside SeaQuest, a single men’s and a single women’s bathroom. Perfect for bringing a stroller and your kids in with you.
I did not look in the men’s bathroom but the women’s room does have a changing table. You’ll also notice a shower in there – which I thought was strange – but then Ashley explained there are experiences where you can swim with the stingrays and those showers are for cleaning off before and after that… that made a lot more sense!
While we are on the topic of bathrooms, I am going to get a little off topic from SeaQuest. But can we please talk about this for a minute? Just outside in the main mall area, there is a hallway with some public restrooms.
We didn’t intend to check them out, but with a little over an hour car ride ahead of us – we needed to make a quick stop on the way to the car. Well… am I glad we stopped! The Trumbull mall has theeee nicest family lounge I have ever seen in a public place!
I feel like no other public restroom will ever stand up against it. It was this HUGE room – with 2 seperate family bathrooms, 3 nursing nooks for mothers with comfy chairs and privacy curtains, a big lounge area with chairs, a tv playing a children’s movie, space for the kid to stretch their legs and some small toys… oh and feature I haven’t seen before – a big counter area with sinks, a changing table and a microwave to warm up milk (or anything else I suppose).
As a mom – this family lounge was DREAMY! If you go, check it out. My kids didn’t want to leave the lounge! haha! A really great feature that makes a visit to SeaQuest that much better.
And now that we all know I am obsessed with the public restrooms at the Trumbull mall – we can get back to SeaQuest and the really great party room space they have available.
They have a big private room that would be really great for hosting a birthday party. If you live in the area I would definitely check it out!
SeaQuest was a really fun afternoon for the boys and myself. It was fun to take a little road trip to another part of Connecticut and check out something new! Being that it was in a mall I even got to make a couple of returns and grab some new school shoes for the boys while we were there! And because we couldn’t go home hungry, we had a great dinner at Wahlburgers which recently opened in the Trumbull mall. A fun AND productive day!
SeaQuest – Trumbull
SeaQuest Trumbull 5065 Main St., Ste 1106 Trumbull, CT 06611 Phone: (203)502-8337 Website - https://trumbull.visitseaquest.com/ Find them on Facebook
Hours (2019):
Mon – Saturday: 10:00AM – 9:00PM Sunday: 11:00AM – 6:00PM
Pricing (2019):
Ages 12+, Regularly $16.95 – Only $14.95 online! Ages 2-11, Regularly $12.95 – Only $10.95 online! 55+ / Military / Students, Regularly $14.95 – Only $12.95 online! Check out their website for the most up to date rates and hours
Details:
Stroller Friendly: YES
Coffee Mug Friendly: YES
Restroom: YES (also the family lounge in the mall)
Baby Changing Station: YES; in the women’s restroom and the mall family lounge
Parking: YES
Food for Sale: NO- there wasn’t when we visited but they were in the process of getting their snack bar up and running – so it should be ready soon!
Outside Food Allowed: They didn’t say no outside food, but it’s not really an environment for snacking or eating
Cash Required: NO
Dress Code: No
Age Recommendations: All ages
Evening/Weekend Hours: YES
Discounts: YES – purchase tickets ahead of time online to save $2/per ticket
Birthday Party Venue: YES – Check out their birthday party page
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That was nice they gave you a personalized tour, but that would not be the case with a typical guest. We bought the pre-opening membership and I was not aware at the time that feedings required extra cost and then there are upcharges for the special experiences. Your readers should know that it can be a very costly outing. Also, there is no stroller parking inside Seaquest. This was a disappointment because I needed the stroller in the mall but my toddler wanted to walk in Seaquest. I, however, did not want to push the stroller around as there were a good amount of people to navigate through and most passageways are very narrow. It was annoying.
Hi Shelly!
Thanks for the tips! We enjoy having the opportunity to give our readers an “inside look” at the destinations that we visit, but sometimes that does make it more challenging to describe what a “normal” visit would be like. We do try to indicate when we’ve gotten some kind of special VIP treatment so readers can be aware that they might have a bit of a different experience. It’s always helpful to have comments from readers who have experienced it too! Thanks again!
Best,
Shawna