San Diego Zoo - help!

[Stephen's Mom]

We are thinking about renting a car to drive to San Diego Zoo. We'll have it either for a Friday and Saturday or for a Saturday and Sunday. What day would you recommend going to avoid crowds and traffic as much as possible? And, can anyone give me easy to follow directions to get there (we'll be staying at the new Embassy Suites on Harbour Blvd next to the Convention Center)?

Also, we'll be renting from National Car and I don't know exactly where we go to pick it up. Their website said Anaheim Station. Does anyone know where this is?

I suddenly do not feel very well prepared for this trip at all (11 days to go!!)! I haven't been to California in over 24 years (and I was only 9 at the time) so I have absolutely no idea where anything is or any concept of how long it takes to get somewhere (keep in mind we have virtually no traffic where I come from compared to LA!).

Thanks!

 

[Amy1013]

Hi, Stephen's Mom!

Well, I live in San Diego and as far as which day would be lightest in terms of crowds, traffic, etc. for a trip down to the zoo from Anaheim- it really depends on whether it's more important to you to have lighter crowds at the zoo, or lighter traffic on the drive. If you go to the zoo on a weekday, such as Friday, the crowds will be lighter than on a weekend day. However, driving down from Anaheim on a Friday, the traffic will be a bit heavier since you'd have to leave early in the morning to get a full day in at the zoo, and you'll face rush-hour traffic. It's about a two hour drive from Anaheim to San Diego, slightly less if you hit a light traffic day such as Saturday. If you opt for driving down on Sat. or Sun, of course traffic will be lighter, but there will be more people at the zoo on the weekend. However, I've gone to the zoo plenty of times on weekends and have never found the crowds to be more than I can deal with, except if you're going during summer vacation time- which you aren't. I've always found Sunday to be the lightest crowd-wise out of the two weekend days. If you are going during Thanksgiving weekend, then Friday will be a bit more crowded than usual due to all the holiday visitors. For directions to the zoo: take 5-South freeway, the freeway will split down towards San Diego and become 805-South. Take the 805-South to the 163-South freeway. That will take you towards downtown San Diego. From the 163-South, take the Park Blvd. exit and follow the signs to the zoo. It's well-marked once you leave the freeway and you shouldn't have any troubles finding it.

I wish I could help you out on where to find the rental car place in Anaheim, but I don't know that city very well. Perhaps someone else knows exactly where it is. Have a great time- you'll love the San Diego Zoo no matter when you go!

Amy (btw- I'm also mom to a Stephen)

 

[Stephen's Mom]

Thanks Amy,

I think we'll opt for the weekend if the traffic is better. My Stephen is almost 3 and the less time we have to be cooped up in a car in traffic the better! We'll be there the first weekend in December so hopefully it won't be too busy. We're only going to be in San Diego for one day and we thought the zoo would be a better choice than Sea World which we went to in Orlando last year. We all enjoyed it but being that we've never taken Stephen to a zoo before we thought he would enjoy it. Hope I'm right!

 

[Amy1013]

Hi, again. Oh, since you're not going till December, then you should have no tremendous crowds to deal with, even on Saturday. And I'm sure your son will enjoy the zoo. My Stephen is a little older, but we took him to the zoo from the time he was a baby and he always loved going. There's a section in the zoo called the Children's Zoo which you should try to take him into- they have a petting zoo in there and baby chickens that are adorable in another exhibit. Also, the zoo has a skyride and a double-decker bus tour that my kids always wanted to go on. The bus tour gives you an overall look at what exhibits there are, since the zoo is pretty large and you will get a chance to see what you might not have to time to see on foot. Also, outside the entrance to the zoo- actually near the exit- there is a section of the park that has a few small kiddie type rides. There's a small train that runs around a nice-sized track, including a tunnel it goes through- parents can ride on this with the kids and your son would probably love this at his age. Also, there's a carousel and another small ride just for young children. All these rides cost about $1.50 or so a piece to ride (can't recall for certain if there has been a price increase recently), and operate on weekends only, except during summer break when they are open daily.

Have a great time!

Amy

 

[Stephen's Mom]

Thanks again Amy! We'll go on the weekend for sure because I know he'll love the rides (and I always get to ride with him since I'm just under 5' and his dad is 6' and doesn't fit as well on the little rides. I didn't know they had those and that they were only open on the weekend so that is great to know. You have definately made my decision a lot easier.

Kim