San Diego Zoo help for novice travellers

[sweethannah]

Hello all!

I am heading down to Disneyland at the end of September and we have a day trip to the San Diego Zoo planned. Our date to go to the Zoo is the 28th September, a Friday.

The tour company will pick us up at 9ish so I hope to arrive at the Zoo by 11am - is this reasonable? It's a non-weekend and most are in school, shall I still expect it to be fairly crowded?

Being that we won't be there for the opening where shall we head to first? I would like to do the bus tour but being that we've just spent the last 2 hours sitting on our butts we might want to stretch our legs. Should we walk to some exhibits first, double back and then pick up the bus to do the tour? Take the express bus and then walk back to do the tour?? I understand it can be hilly so walking down hill is recommended but what exhibits are 'downhill'?

A question also about Alberts.... being that we'll be gone all day until Park closing and then have another 2 hour drive back to the hotel I thought that having a nice sit down lunch at Alberts would be a nice idea. How is the food? Should I make a reservation a head of time or just try a walk in?

In our party we have two healthy adults, a 76 year old who can walk well but lets be reasonable, she is still 76 and an 8 yr old ... any tips for navigating the Park with this kind of demographic. We don't need to go ( pardon the expression ) balls to the wall and see *everything* at a break neck speed - I'd sacrifice some attractions for a more relaxing day. I'm from the Pacific Northwest so I'm not worried about seeing deer, cariboo etc if that helps.

I thank you all in advance for any help you can give me.

 

[Camonkeygirl]

That time of the month is slow, and the Zoo's hours are 9-6.

I would suggest walking through Lost Forest - where the primates are, and maybe Reptile Mesa. These are areas not covered by the bus, so they are a great place to start off. Anther thing would be to go down and see the pandas, although they most likely will be sleeping. Feeding time is generally between 12 and 1, where they go off exhibit one at a time, for about 15 to 20 minutes, so the keepers can come out and clean up, then put out food. I would also recommend Elephant Odyssey, as it is a great exhibit.

Alberts restaurant is great food. Most likely their hours are going to be about 11-2:30. You should not need a reservation, but if you would like to make one their number is 619-231-1515, opt.2 at the recording, and ext. 3200.

You might also go to our website and see what animals are where, and plan which ones are on your must see list.

For more suggestions on the day of your visit, we have volunteers that man an information booth between the Ticket booths and the turnstiles, that can point you to what is going on for that day.

If you have any specific questions, send me a PM, and I can answer them for you.

 

[PHXscuba]

The pandas can get crowded (I've seen Disney-esque lines there mid-afternoon). They are in the middle of the park, so maybe walking there and back after arriving would be a good warm-up. They are probably only going to get busier as the day goes on.

I think 2 hours for the bus to get there after rush hour would be the max.

PHXscuba

 

[yankeepenny]

I leave saturday for anaheim and san diego. would you like a park map?

pmail me your name and address and I will send you one.

I am paying it forward.

(anyone else? just p- mail me)

 

[tinkerbelt]

The zoo shouldn't be crowded then, and even if it is, it's nothing like bad Disney crowds. There are very few lines at the zoo (Pandas, bus tour, sky tram are the main ones), and they keep those moving fairly quickly.

It's a lot of walking. I recommend buying the bus tour and taking advantage of the express bus with it.

If you're leaving Anaheim at 9am, you might hit the tail end of rush hour traffic, but you should be there close to 11.