Zoo Safari Park in September?

[RAnderson0819]

Hi all. We will be in San Diego in early September. We are staying in Carlsbad and heading to LegoLand on the 8th. On the 9th we will be going to the Chargers-Texans game in the evening and are considering doing the safari park that morning. My SIL just was there in June and she did not have a good review; she said there weren't a lot of animals and it wasn't worth the cost. What do you all think? We are looking at the cart safari instead of the tram. Are there any discounts/coupons available? Or should we skip it and do something else? We did the Zoo on our last trip, and we've been to SeaWorld already this year and I don't think doing SW and the football game on the same day are a very good idea. TIA!

 

[Itinkso]

Livingsocial.com sometimes has coupons for the Wild Animal Park. I haven't been recently but I do remember it was hot there as it is inland in Escondido. That may be kind of tiring/draining before a football game.

You can tour the Midway, battleship, at the Harbor and there is also a tall ship anchored there too. There are a lot of museums at Balboa Park adjacent to the zoo.

 

[RAnderson0819]

Thanks! We ended up buying the new Living Social deal last week for the safari park.

 

[AussieCaribou]

I love the WAP (I used to work there so I could be bias). It will be hot. So make sure to drink lots of water. Dehydration is a common cause of visiting the nurse! Particularly important for little bodies...if you have young children going along, lots of water...often.

Because of the heat, the animals won't be out in the main part of the day. So, do the tram (which is lots of fun, informative, and the way to see the whole park - the 'photo safari' doesn't see all of it. So if you are doing the ground tour, do the Bushline as well) early and visit the walking areas later. Make sure to visit the 'petting' area. It's not your normal goats and sheep.

 

[MumToIndy]

I agree with PP. September is the hottest month of the year here in Southern California. Try to get the earliest tour you can, the animals will pretty much go catatonic once the heat sets in.

 

[RAnderson0819]

We will plan to go early so we can go back to the hotel and rest the kids before the game. So is the cart safari not worth the extra cost? DH does not like crowds so he's a little hesitant about the regular tram.

 

[AussieCaribou]

I wouldn't say that it's not worth the money. You are a lot closer to the animals. Not sure if they still do it but when I worked there we let people feed selected animals (bring wet wipes!).

The worst part of the Bushline is the wait to get on...think a Disney line and you have a good image. Go early and you should be fine. The trams are open air bench seats. We were never allowed to overpack seats. Best seats are on the far side as you enter the row (away from door).