We live in chicago and hit the Shedd at least a couple of times a year. There is no real way to compare the two. The Shedd is very traditional and the MBA is modern. Both have great exhibts and will delight those who go with an open mind and a willingness to learn.

My 10 year old (at the time) LOVED the MBA! As did her older brother and sister (13 & 14) The new shark exhibit was the whole reason we went there and we were not disappointed. The views from the courtyard were unbelieveable and we enjoyed walking around the town.
FYI: We also went on a Kayak excursion at a local company. We rented the kayaks and after a short lesson off we went to the kelp forest area that you see right outside the Aquarium! We watched a sea otter less than 5 feet away from our kayak. A sea lion kept playing with our kayak and scaring the living daylights out of us by scraping the bottom (thought 'jaws' was gonna eat us until he popped up!)LOL
WELL worth the time and $$. The 5 of us loved Monteray and cannot wait to go back.
j

Hate to join the chorus of "how does the Monterey Aquarium compare to (fill in the blank)"....but for those who have been to both, how does it compare to Atlanta's new aquarium? We live in Atlanta and are planning a trip to Monterey in July, but only have about 2.5 days total to spend there before heading up to Napa for the rest of our week's vacation; so I was wondering myself if the Monterey Aquarium was worth trying to squeeze in during that short time, when Atlanta's is almost at our doorstep (and is pretty excellent, btw).

Neither my wife or I enjoyed the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Dunno why--we've not been to any others--but it just didn't click for us. As the saying goes, your mileage may vary....

Busymom - what a great story about the seaotter scraping the bottom of the kayak.

I drove by the MB aquarium Saturday afternoon. what a long line. I like it, but not enough to stand in that line. Go to Pacific Grove (PG), and visit some very nice second hand shops. Then have lunch at the Red House Cafe. I really like that place!

If you buy your tickets online, you don't have to wait in the line. Just pick them up at the will-call window.

Also, Saturday afternoons are the most crowded, so if you go in the morning or on a weekday, it is much nicer.

Across the street (kitty corner) from the aquarium is Kalisa's cafe. Casual spot for a sandwich or Lappert's ice cream. :-)