San Diego Zoo vs. Safari Park?

[aijj]

Ok so we will be going in early May to SoCal. First to Disneyland (Sun-Wed) then Thurs morning drive down to San Diego and stay there for 2 nights before flying back home. We were planning on seeing Midway museum on Thurs, and just kicking back mostly in hotel..sort of a taking break after DL. Staying at a Marriott in San Diego. Friday we were planning to see San Diego Zoo. However, now i am wondering if we should do Safari Park instead. I don't think we can do both.

Reasons not to do the Zoo - I hear it's hilly and lots of walking. After 4 days of Disneyland, i'm guessing the kiddos will be tired. And we will be too! The kids are 3 and 4, so definitely will need to be pushed around in a stroller (we will be renting one). Also, some say it's not anything that much more extraordinary vs. any other zoo.

So, considering doing Safari Park instead now, because that seems more of a unique experience. Admission says it comes with Africa tram, which sounds appealing vs. walking everywhere. Am just wondering if anybody has been to both and can weigh in?? Especially considering my kids' ages. Only thing i'm worried is that if will be hot (since its' more inland), and it will be a long drive (how long is it? 1 hour?)

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Disworldluv]

My family has done both the Zoo and Safari. We enjoyed the SD Zoo so much more. The Safari has a lot of walking too. At the zoo you will definitely
see more varieties of animals up close as compared to the Safari. Go to the zoo, you won't be sorry. Plus you won't have the travel time the Safari takes to
get there.

 

[Simba07]

We are frequent visitors to both and like them both for different reasons. The zoo has more kinds of animals which you get to see more close up. Even if you go to your local zoo, the San Diego zoo will feel special. It has spoiled me on all other zoos, to some extent.

The safari park is a little more relaxed feeling. The african tram is nice (very similar to the safari ride at DAK in Florida if you've done that). But it is really only a small part of what is at the safari park. You will have a pretty long walk from the entrance to the tram. There are other great experiences there. Many days they have a cheetah run demonstration in the afternoon. That is very impressive. The bird show is great. Feeding the lorakeets is fun. There tend to be more demonstrations with the animals there. It is better for viewing elephants and big cats. But it is more spread out, so more walking between animals. The enclosures are a lot bigger so you may be farther from the animals. And they don't have as many different kinds.

If your kids have favorite animals, I might look to see which park has their animals. My child is a lion fan, and although they have lions at both, it is more fu to watch them at the safari park. I'm a polar bear fan and they only have those at the zoo.

Good luck making your decision. I think you'll have fun either way.

 

[figment_jii]

The Zoo is very hilly, but there is a bus system that can help you navigate/avoid the worse of the hills. There are two different options at the Zoo. One is the bus tour and the other is the Kangaroo Express Buses (hop on and off bus). I would highly recommend purchasing tickets for the Kangaroo Express Bus (if your tickets don't include it; most do). It'll help you get to most places without having to do a lot of hilly walking (there will still be some).

It's been a long time since I've been to the safari park. I remember liking it, but liking the zoo much more. (Probably because my favorites were the koalas and polar bears, which are at the zoo.)

 

[aijj]

Thank you everyone! Ack, decisions, decisions!!

My kids love to see all animals but I must say their favorite (especially my 4yo son) are MONKEYS. OMG, If we said we were going to a zoo and did not see any monkeys, we'd NEVER hear the end of it!! So if the Safari Park does not have monkeys, that will probably be out. I'd think they'd like to see giraffes and zebras and elephants too though...and to be quite honest I'd really like to see the Safari Park just for myself too...
.
that is good to hear that the Zoo has buses to avoid some of the walking. I've only taken my kids to the Dallas Zoo (twice) by myself and i was able to handle it when them in a stroller, and i never took a tram or bus or anything. It was pretty flat though....

my DH was saying we could technically do both parks, as long as we go to SD Thurs before lunch (we would do Zoo on Thurs, and then Safari Park on Friday). But not sure it would be worth doing that..i'm sure we will be quite tired after 4 days at Disney (though we do plan to rest every afternoon)....

 

[cagirl4life]

I grew up in San Diego and went to both a lot. If I were to have only one day I would go to the zoo. While it is hilly the bus works nice. Also if you start in the front and work your way back there is only one big up hill (it's huge though) and you could take the sky tram back to the front. The zoo has lots of different types of monkeys. There is cages near the front and you can hear them as you walk in a lot. With your age kids it might be better because the captivities are small enough the animals are a lot easier to find. There is also a good size kids zoo inside with petting zoo and fun things to climb on. My favorite as a kid was the bus tour. They also have pandas. Which not many zoos have. Most of what is at the safari park is at the zoo but not the other way.

The safari park is generally warmer (5-10 degrees) but in May it should still be pretty nice. It is a very large park and a lot of the fun stuff is extra. I haven't been in quite some time but the shows were always good. That would depend on how your kids will like those. While the zoo has some big hills they have adapted a bunch to make it not bad and it's normal zoo in size. The safari park everything is far apart and I know the back side is down hill from the front. It's also made in a valley with the big animal captivity in the middle so there is rolling hills. They have a good butterfly exhibit and someone mentioned the lorrekeets. I want to warn about feeding them freaked me out when I did it at about your kids and I still have a slight phobia to bird exhibits.

I would not do one day zoo one day safari park. Both are good all day stuff and your gonna be tried from that alone not including your Disney trip. I would do something a little more relaxing. The water will not be warm enough (your kids might not care) but maybe a couple hours at the beach might be fun. La Jolla has a playground and grass and would be a fun outing that could be relaxing. Or Coronado island has some nice looking beaches and you can explore and eat at the hotel del. The other one if your kids are into animals is to go to Scripps Aquarium. It's smaller and has a lot of species of fish and is educational. Midway is right by an outdoor shopping center (name is escaping me now) which is nice to wander in. If you want good California Mexican food old town Mexican cafe is my favorite. It's in the middle of old town.

The sd zoo is one of the best zoos I have been to. I might be a little biased because of it being my home zoo but it is world famous for a reason.

Hope you enjoy San Diego!

 

[Purrkins]

Zoo. Monkeys are right by the entrance, following them you can then walk downhill to Tiger River, through the canyon to the Pandas, and walk slightly up hill through Big Cat Canyon, taking a left once you get to the top and making your way through Elephant Odyssey and then straight to the skyfari which will take you back to the entrance side. From there, reptiles are straight ahead, heading left is the children's zoo and heading right past the entrance/exit will take you to the Koala's, giraffes and rhinos. This route has very little hills. What you miss: Bear Canyon, Raptors and Birds of Prey. If you want a great hill however, Fern Canyon trail is a thigh buster especially running up it (I live across the street and jog in the zoo).

 

[Simba07]

There are monkeys at both but they are much better at the zoo. Lots of types. Multiple levels. It is a really nice area. Given your family preferences, I'd say the zoo for sure. And as others have said, the bus is a good option to cut down on walking.

 

[SanDiegoGirl]

Being born and raised in SD, I think you should go for the Zoo. Yes, it has hills, but so does the Wild Animal Park (called Safari Park, or something now)... Utilize the bus. I always feel like I see more at the Zoo.

 

[JasonShannon76]

I live in San Diego, was a season pass holder for years. This is the first year I don't have passes. Hands Down, the zoo is much much better than the Safari Park! First of all, the San Diego Zoo is NOT like regular zoos, not even close. It's called "World Famous" for a reason. It has plants and trees from all parts of the world to accommodate animals, so it feels very rainforest like. It's located near Downtown San Diego in Balboa Park so the temperatures are nice. It has something crazy like 8,000 different animals, including animals you will not find at other zoos (Panda Bears, Polar Bears, Koala Bears, Hippos, etc etc). There are TONS of different monkeys at SD Zoo (the Gorillas and Orangutanes are fun to watch). There is also a Children's Zoo in there.
You can also feed giraffes which is fun for kids.

There are a couple big hills (but I would not say the whole zoo is hilly). Polar Bear is up on the highest hill, but you can take the Sky Ride to the top of that hill. Also, there is a tour bus in the zoo, and also an "express bus" that you can hop on and off of to get to different points in the zoo. There are also "moving walkways" (basically escalators without steps) that take you up some of the hills so you do not have to walk.

Safari Park is 45 minutes north of Downtown San Diego/Zoo and it's inland so it gets hot up there sometimes. It also has nowhere near the amount of animals the zoo does. It has a more "Africa Desert Feel" instead of Rainforest Shade Feel.

The San Diego Zoo is much better.

 

[Plaid Princess]

I have AP's to both, but I much prefer the Safari park. I feel like you get a much better up close experience with the safari park, and you get to see the animals in a much more natural environment.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I think both the zoo an safari park are good choices, but for your family, I think a first-time experience would be more enjoyable at the zoo. There are so many exhibits there, and I think the children will have a better time because of the children section, as well as the shows they do have there, and exhibits.