My family and I are planning a long weekend (Fri-Mon) in San Diego at the end of September. We have two kids (3 and 8 weeks old). We definitely want to do the zoo and Sea Life. I'm looking at tickets now to those parks and see that there is a 3 park pass that includes the Safari Park. I worked it out and we would get a discount if we bought the pass and went to all three parks. However if we just went to Sea World and the zoo, it's cheaper just to buy one day passes. My first question is, "Is the safari park worth it?" and two, "Are there cheaper deals to any of these parks?"
I'm kind of leaning towards just doing the two parks as we don't have tons of time and I'd like to leave the afternoons to spend at the beach or walking around. What do you think?
I go to San Diego about every six weeks for the weekend and have had Sea Word and zoo passes for about 15 years. I say ditch the Safari Park and go to the beach, there is a ton of stuff to do.
Have fun!
Zelda:
The Safari Park was changed from the W. Animal Park - apparently - it wasn't PC for some people....it's a LONG day - but there's a lot to do and see....IF your kids were older - Zip Lining - and more! There is a tram that takes you all around the park. The W. Animal Park is NOT "in" San Diego - it's in Escondido - so if you are staying "in" San Diego - near Point Loma or Balboa Park - Coronado, etc. - it's about a 40 minute drive.
The Zoo and Sea World are "in" San Diego - all three parks are great - for different reasons....if your 3 year old is a Zoologist - then it might be fun!
Sea World just opened a water park - but it's NOT on Sea World property in Point Loma/San Diego. It's about 40 minutes away. Seeing that you have a 3 year old and an 8 week old? I would do the Zoo and Sea World.
Only way to get cheaper? If you are active duty military or retried (you would have to buy tickets on base).
What would **I** do with a 3 year old and an 8 week old? I would go to the San Diego Zoo and Sea World....then walk the beach - Coronado, Point Loma, La Jolla, etc.
If your husband is a military buff - he might like the USS Midway tour which is in San Diego.
Take in a Padres baseball game. The park is GREAT!!
Have fun!
I agree, 2 theme parks and a beach town. Or Balboa Park or something else more leisurely.
Between the zoo and the wild animal park, I prefer the zoo, personally. September should be a nice time to go! The zoo is a lot closer to the center of San Diego, and Sea World, than the Wild Animal Park is.
dont know if you have to go in September, But october has alot of Kids free park admissions, you might want to check sandiego.org/kidsfree
Going to all three of these in one short trip is way too much. Even two will be a lot, considering your kids are so young. You'll be traveling on Friday and Monday, so chances are that all day Sat and Sun you'll be at one of the parks.
The Safari Park is great. We were just there last month for the first time. All of us, ages 8 -24 (kids) and husband and I enjoyed it. It's big, (but not as large as the SD Zoo) and has lots of interesting things, but some of the awesomeness may be lost on the three year-old, especially on the tours.
The SD zoo is incredible, but huge, and with an 8 week-old and a 3 year-old, chances are they (and maybe even you and your husband) will get tired before you see everything there. Just know that going in and don't feel bad if you don't visit every square inch and see every exhibit.
Sea World is a wonderful place as well, and there are so many shows and also rides there that your three year-old can enjoy, plus the water park. You could easily spend two days just there.
For this trip, I would stick to the zoo or Sea World, or maybe even just one of those and leave some time for other things. There are so many fabulous family places in SD. The beach, Balboa park, where you can wander around with the kids. We recently saw Dr. Doolittle at the theatre at Balboa park. Not sure if it's still playing, but they usually have something fun going on there.
DZ Akins is our favorite deli there, if you like that kind of food! We always make a stop when we're in SD or the surrounding area.
Check out Costco, or similar, for discounted tickets to Sea World, etc. We've also purchased discounted tickets at some of the local grocery stores in the past.
Enjoy your trip!
J. F.
I would do: Zoo and/or Sea World (no Safari park), beach, Balboa Park. Have fun!
That's a lot for kids those ages. The Wild Animal Park (I assume that's what you mean) is a more natural habitat, but it can be a lot of walking (unless you take the tram and even then there's walking) and the animals are at a distance. The highlight for us was hand feeding the giraffes, which was fun. It's also a bit of a drive out of the city. As others have mentioned, it can be fun just to hang out in Balboa Park. There always used to be a model train museum there that can be kind of a fun, low key way to spend some time, especially if your 3-year-old likes trains. We've been to both Sea World and the Zoo and they can be pretty long tiring days. I would definitely limit it to two parks.
wild animal park rivals San Diego Zoo, however, three theme park days is too much, go to the beach.
We haven't been to the safari park, but have done the zoo and Sea World. Both of them are ALL day visits. We love both of them. There is a lot to do in Balboa Park (where the zoo is) and we love the beaches on Coronado Island. There is also a fun children's museum that is all art based. It takes about 1/2 a day. Our kids were about 1 and 3 the first time we went there. In a weekend you might find that both Sea World and the zoo are a lot to do with two young kids. If I had to pick one I don't know which I would pick. Sea World has a Sesame Street area with a splash pad that is fun for kids that age. I think it is also smaller than the zoo and more manageable with small kids. Have fun!
The Safari Park is a stunning park and is worth visiting at some time if you can.
But, a few things to know.
This time of year it can be very hot. 100+ easily hot depending on the year. So far it's been cooler but it can change easily. They've done a lot, like installing an elevator to the lower parts of the park to cut down on the virtual hiking you had to do to get around the park but it is still a good hike to really get around it all. There are not age limits for the general tram around the lower exhibits as far as I know. I know we've gone many times when the kids were little as we've had Zoo/Safari Park memberships forever. There are age limits on the smaller guided tours you can take where you can get closer among the animals safari style on a jeep.
Depending on where you are staying, it can be a sizable drive to get to the Safari Park. If you're staying near the Zoo and Sea World it can be 30-40 minutes at the low end, traffic can make it more.
I'm not exactly trying to talk you out of it but I'm not exactly saying to go. We love it. It really is beautiful. Being able to get so close to the Lions is breathtaking! Since they re-did the tram route to get you closer to the animals while of course keeping everyone safe is really neat. The cheetah run is so cool! We live close enough and with our membership we don't mind going for just a couple hours and going home. An entire day might be too much depending on how your kids are.
There is a ton of stuff to see in San Diego that aren't the major parks. Balboa Park is very close to the Zoo, it shares some parking in fact. The miniature train ride there is a lot of fun.
Safari Park is kind of far away. If you only have four days, three parks will be too much to pack in and still get to the beach.
Just see the zoo and Sea World and go to the beach. Pacific Beach is my favorite, and wealthy La Jolla is lovely.
Balboa Park is centrally located and is worth visiting as well.
Skip Safari Park.
You might check into age restrictions on the safari park. I seem to recall looking at it years ago when we were going to SD and kids had to be a certain age to go on the tour. I may have it confused with a similar place in Northern CA, though, but I would check.
I think two parks is plenty. Perfect game plan to enjoy a free afternoon with other activities.
We did the 3 in 1 pass (All 3 parks for the discount) and the Safari park really wasn't worth it. However, for us it wasn't worth it because we went in August and had to deal with the heat. The Safari park is a bit in-land while the other two are closer to the ocean... So the Safari park was about 10 degrees hotter than the other two parks. Not fun in mid-August.
I think that the 3 year old will be more than satisfied with just the regular zoo and sea world :)
Since you're only going to be there a long weekend I'd only do one maybe two parks. Sea world is great for little ones. The zoo is huge...not personally my fav place to go. Your 3 yo would prob like legoland and love the beach. Sept is a good time for water temps. Have fun.
