TR: And now for something completely different - a WDW Family did DLR *(new - 4/15: HK Disneyland)*

[Vernie822]

Awesome updates! I always love to read about people's Disney trips and it's really interesting to see all there is to do in San Diego as well. I wish we would have time on our honeymoon to stop in San Diego, it looks like you guys really enjoyed your time there.

It was located in a shopping plaza that seemed pretty nice and even had outdoor escalators (to people from the North East this seemed like quite the novel concept).

An escalator? Outside? Yeah, news to me too!

They do a lot of different types of pancakes here and one thing you can get is a pancake flight - which is your choice of any 3 pancakes. Judi did this and chose the Sweet Potato Pancake (Our signature sweet potato buttermilk pancakes topped with homemade caramel, candied pecans and ginger butter), the pancake of the day which was a Peach Melba type pancake and the Pineapple Upside Down Pancake (Buttermilk pancakes with caramelized pineapple chunks, housemade vanilla crème anglaise and cinnamon butter)

A PANCAKE FLIGHT? Ok, that's so awesome. One of the hard things about trying an awesome new restaurant in a new city is deciding what to eat - so you get to try 3 new items. Love it.

Emma had a blast though dealing with the waves and undercurrents was definitely new to her, so she would get turned around/knocked off balance often:

Omg, haha! Looks like a blast. And I take no offense to the pale-ness - every time we go to WDW I think 'gosh these people probably think we are so pale'.

After our fun time at the beach we cleaned the kids up as best we could and changed them into clean clothes and headed off to our next meal - that being 2nd brunch of the day, this one at the Pacific Coast Grill.

2nd brunch of the day? I want to be one of your kids.

The churro pancakes are the first thing that I saw on the menu and I stopped there because I thought those sounded amazing.. and it appears they were!

Love all of the safari pictures - looks like a blast!!

 

[Leshaface]

Peter decided to get his carry-on there by riding on it

I mean, why use your legs when you can use your suitcase to get you places. Atta boy

Turns out that the staff could not figure out how to fold up our stroller. Of course this is not our normal stroller, so I couldn't figure it out either and had to call Judi. Fortunately she answered and walked me through it ... and we definitely didn't make the same mistake on the way back.

Oh yikes that stinks. Assassin's Creed GIF??

Is this girl ever not smiling?!

So we strapped Peter into the car seat and I sat on that side of the plane along with Olivia as well and Judi was in the aisle seat on the other side of the aisle holding Emma - who was quite squirmy. Made us wish we had paid for a 5th seat for her. Prior to take off, Peter struggled to tell when we were on the ground vs flying, especially for take off and asked roughly 3,267 times if we were flying while still on the ground waiting for our chance. So that started to get annoying.

I know you needed the car seat for the car, but did you find it necessary for the flight? I'm really struggling with if we should take it on the plane for our WDW trip (did I mention we're going in under two months?! ) We're not renting a vehicle, so really only using it for the plane but it is just another 'thing' to carry that we don't want to carry. And also he's getting taller so his feet will definitely be kicking the seat in front of him with a car seat. I"m looking at that CARES harness for toddlers. What do you think?

(including passing a few strip clubs .... and despite Judi's pleading, we didn't stop)

Not sure if it was just this location but the people working there were by far the friendliest people I have ever met working in Fast Food

In-n-Out workers are the BEST and most accurate in the industry. In the drive thru, they repeat your order back to you when you place it, again when you pay for it and the last time as they are handing out the food and they are just so nice.

Verdict: Pretty, pretty, good!

Yay glad you liked it! Just discovered another 'hidden' menu option called Monkey Style, where they stuff animal style fries into a double double

Yep always smiling!

Still out the door by about 7:15am

Woah what time did you originally want to leave?!?

We were first off to our first brunch location for the day - though I suppose at that early time it really could just be considered breakfast. But that would ruin the fun, so we won't

Thank you

I was pretty loud and vibrant

I know it was a typo, but I giggled at the thought of you being loud and vibrant

Sweet Potato Pancake (Our signature sweet potato buttermilk pancakes topped with homemade caramel, candied pecans and ginger butter)

Peach Melba type pancake

Pineapple Upside Down Pancake (Buttermilk pancakes with caramelized pineapple chunks, housemade vanilla crème anglaise and cinnamon butter)

So I originally highlighted the first pancake, then I read the second, then third and realized I needed all of them! Those sound amazing.

*WARNING: I must apologies in advance if anyone is blinded by the pastiness that is our northern selves in swimwear shown in the following images*

This was so cute

Peter wasn't into the water as much - usually take a while to get him used to being in large volumes of water be it a pool or the ocean. But he did have fun playing in the sand

This is exactly how DS is. He'd rather play in the sand than the water.

Perfect view.

Oooh, yes please to both, especially the mango one!

Still drooling.

Oh gosh! I wish we had additional stomachs, I would get both!

Yup - there were tons of seals just hanging out. At time in the water pretty close to where the swimmers were! They were fun to watch, but definitely stank!

Don't they though! There's a Central Coast beach we visit all the time and about 15 mins North from that beach, is an Elephant Seal beach filled with such ugly, stinky seals but they are darn cool. I took this a few months back

Good shot with the bird! And yeah, crowded beaches make me nervous too.

It felt like we found half the beach in Emma's swim diaper, and then the other half when Olivia took her shower.

That sounds yummy!

and the House Made Porcini Mushroom Ravioli (true porcini-champagne black true cream) which was definitely yummy (not very photogenic though):

Based on said conversation she also appeared to be quite high-maintenance so I found myself feeling for the guy a bit.

That guy should run, and run fast!

#twinning

That is pretty cool! And I seriously love that you kept his hair up like that!

That's a fun option.

Uh, woah super close!

 

[annie170]

Uugghh sand! There is a reason I refused to allow my kids to have a sandbox in our backyard. Cats in the neighborhood also contributed to this decision.

Dinner looked delicious. Super cute pic of Olivia in the wineglass.

I like staying at Embassy Suites for the better than continental breakfast. That's such a plus.

Growing up in Chicago, we always recognized Columbus Day. I now live and teach just over the border in Northwest Indiana and Columbus Day is not recognized. It's funny, whenever we get a new student who has moved from Illinois, the parents are always shocked that the kids have school on Columbus Day and Veteran's Day. Interesting how things are different everywhere.

That Safari Park appeared to be a good time. I really dislike when there are all kind of add on fees at places like that. The museums in Chicago are like that.

Kind of random, but how do you like your double Combi Stroller? My daughter has that same exact stroller (in a different color) and it went with us to WDW a couple years ago. My grandkids were 3 and 1 at the time and weighed about 45 pounds combined. I found it very difficult to push with the two of them in it and my 1 year old grandson could easily maneuver his way out of the harness. I wondered if she got a dud or if others had the same issues.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I am from Oregon and we do not celebrate Columbus Day. Instead, there is an Indigenous People's Day, that is celebrated the same day, although, that still hasn't caught on much here. You can do a quick internet search and see the history. Since it is a federal holiday, banks still close and there is no mail. Glad you got light crowds at the park. Love the lion pictures and the picture of the kids being a bat.

I like the idea of an Indigenous People's day - but I could see it being hard to take off being on the same day. Also thought something like a generic "Explorers" day or something could work ... celebrate the risk that people like Columbus took rather than the person

Definitely happy with the crowd levels ... and the lion pictures!

It amazes me how sand gets literally everywhere..maybe you're supposed to consider it a free souvenir?

Love that picture of Olivia in the wine glass!

Aww, all the kids were pooped! But I guess that made for a peaceful dinner!

Peter in pigtails!! He's going to kill you for that one in a few years

Glad you lucked out in not seeing Columbus Day crowds!

Such great pics at the Safari Park, the kids sure do look happy.

Sand really does get everywhere - so annoying!

Once Olivia felt asleep it was almost like a mini date night for Judi and I - which was nice

He's wanted pigtails a lot - even since we have been home ... but yeah, probably not the best for showing off to his buddies in about 10 years

Thanks! Kids definitely enjoyed the Sarafi Park

Being from New York, I would have expected crowds at the zoo on columbus day. Looks like you had fun.

Yeah, I know things like the Bronx Zoo would have been packed on Columbus Day ... didn't even think about it not being celebrated - definitely not complaining!

Your two brunches looked fantastic! I think your brunch at Pacific Coast Grill appeals to me more, but I am a sucker for awesome pancakes!

A day at the beach sounds perfect during a California vacation. I'm glad you found an inexpensive place to park!

Your dinner looks INCREDIBLE! I'm not always a cauliflower fan, but your appetizer looks absolutely delicious. I'm drooling!

What a fun day at the Safari park! I'm sure it was much less crowded than the San Diego Zoo and it looks like there were lots of great animals to see!

I felt torn too between the two brunches. Definitely 2 good choices though!

Definitely felt like if we are going all the way to California we had to get to a beach at least once

It was really good - love veggies like that when they are really roasted.

Still more to come of the Safari, but we really like it. Definitely enough to keep our attention!

I had no idea Columbus Day wasn't celebrated everywhere.... I should take note of this for the future....

Food looked good and dinner and breakfast! The zoo looks really cool! Can't wait to see some more!

I know it comes up each year should Columbus Day be celebrated but I didn't realize some places actually didn't celebrate it - but definitely worked in our favor

More of the Safari park still to come!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I mean, why use your legs when you can use your suitcase to get you places. Atta boy

Oh yikes that stinks. Assassin's Creed GIF??

Is this girl ever not smiling?!

I know you needed the car seat for the car, but did you find it necessary for the flight? I'm really struggling with if we should take it on the plane for our WDW trip (did I mention we're going in under two months?! ) We're not renting a vehicle, so really only using it for the plane but it is just another 'thing' to carry that we don't want to carry. And also he's getting taller so his feet will definitely be kicking the seat in front of him with a car seat. I"m looking at that CARES harness for toddlers. What do you think?

Peter is just trying to be efficient.

Yeah, I couldn't find a better gif of trying to get through a crowd - not my best effort to be honest

90% of the time smiling, the other 10 screaming her head off

We've always rented a car - so not sure what we would do if it was just for the plane. Though, having the option of strapping a child in at times might still be appealing. I did have to "remind" Peter a few times not to kick the seat in front of him, though he wasn't too bad. I'll ask Judi about the CARES harness and get her thoughts

In-n-Out workers are the BEST and most accurate in the industry. In the drive thru, they repeat your order back to you when you place it, again when you pay for it and the last time as they are handing out the food and they are just so nice.

Yay glad you liked it! Just discovered another 'hidden' menu option called Monkey Style, where they stuff animal style fries into a double double

Yep always smiling!


Woah what time did you originally want to leave?!?

Thank you

I know it was a typo, but I giggled at the thought of you being loud and vibrant

That's cool about them trying to be accurate with the orders and definitely seemed like a pretty happy crew working there

Does the Monkey Style come with a free heart monitor?

Well, Peter and Emma are usually up by 6am at the latest - and that is EST so I was thinking they'd be up even earlier and we'd be out by 6:30am or so ... which would still be about 9:30am our time

Hey, I am nothing if not Loud and Vibrant

So I originally highlighted the first pancake, then I read the second, then third and realized I needed all of them! Those sound amazing.



This was so cute

This is exactly how DS is. He'd rather play in the sand than the water.

Perfect view.

Oooh, yes please to both, especially the mango one!

Still drooling.

Oh gosh! I wish we had additional stomachs, I would get both!

Don't they though! There's a Central Coast beach we visit all the time and about 15 mins North from that beach, is an Elephant Seal beach filled with such ugly, stinky seals but they are darn cool. I took this a few months back

View attachment 136602

Good shot with the bird! And yeah, crowded beaches make me nervous too.



That sounds yummy!



That guy should run, and run fast!

All the pancakes were pretty darn good - very glad we convinced Peter to get the fancy blueberry one though

A couple times Peter would go near the edge of the water but didn't really go too far in. He still had fun though

The mango one was really good - wish I had just gotten two of those, but what are you going to do #1stWorldProblems

Stupid cows wasting multiple stomachs on just grass!

That is what I was thinking ... this is really cool - but stinks!

That is also what I was thinking - I hope this guy knows what he is in for

#twinning

That is pretty cool! And I seriously love that you kept his hair up like that!

That's a fun option.

Uh, woah super close!

He's wanted his hair like that a lot - I'd say it was in pigtails for most days over a 3 week period when we came back

IT was pretty cool seeing the lions like that!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Uugghh sand! There is a reason I refused to allow my kids to have a sandbox in our backyard. Cats in the neighborhood also contributed to this decision.

Dinner looked delicious. Super cute pic of Olivia in the wineglass.

I like staying at Embassy Suites for the better than continental breakfast. That's such a plus.

Growing up in Chicago, we always recognized Columbus Day. I now live and teach just over the border in Northwest Indiana and Columbus Day is not recognized. It's funny, whenever we get a new student who has moved from Illinois, the parents are always shocked that the kids have school on Columbus Day and Veteran's Day. Interesting how things are different everywhere.

That Safari Park appeared to be a good time. I really dislike when there are all kind of add on fees at places like that. The museums in Chicago are like that.

Kind of random, but how do you like your double Combi Stroller? My daughter has that same exact stroller (in a different color) and it went with us to WDW a couple years ago. My grandkids were 3 and 1 at the time and weighed about 45 pounds combined. I found it very difficult to push with the two of them in it and my 1 year old grandson could easily maneuver his way out of the harness. I wondered if she got a dud or if others had the same issues.

We have a sand box but with a cover - and we don't use it that often so totally get where you are coming from

Dinner was yummy - I think just exactly what we were looking for as a family ... but still, really good and a place I could see Judi and I going to for date night if we lived out there

That must be really interesting with being so close to a line of demarcation between celebrating an not celebrating. It's just such a big thing around here - not just the day but the whole weekend is full or parades, etc. that just never dawned on me that it wouldn't be celebrated, at least to some extent, everywhere

Yeah, the "extras" think was a bit of a turn-off for me, but we got our tickets through living social and actually in October kids got in free so worked out really cheap for us - and as it was our first time there was plenty to do without the extras

So the stroller is more of an extra one we have and just because of how well it folds up we use it for travel. We actually rented another, sturdier one for our time at Disney. It worked well enough for us. Definitely not the easiest to push though I don't recall it being as bad as you describe. Harnesses seemed ok for us, though definitely not as good as others.

 

[Dugette]

even had outdoor escalators (to people from the North East this seemed like quite the novel concept).

Yep, those seem so strange. I remember encountering some in southern CA in past visits.

Overall we both like the pancake of the day the most (I a typically am not a big peach person).

Sounds delicious - and I AM a big peach person, so not a surprise, I guess. Mmmmm....

the Sandwich I am (A soft pretzel roll filled with scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese and a sausage patty, served with a side of smoked cheddar hollandaise & house hash browns.):

This sounds fantastic too!

And Peter wanted a blueberry pancake. Here they do two different versions and he opted for the Blueberry Danish Pancake (Buttermilk pancakes topped with blueberry coulis, sweet cream and almond streusel surrounding a center of lemony cream cheese filling) and we are really glad he did as we all wound up loving this! Probably our second favorite next to the peach one - definite recommend!

And another amazing sounding/looking treat!

Beautiful lunchtime view!

That's awesome!

Judi went with the Cardiff Reef Lava Flow (Cardiff is the area/town the restaurant is located in). It was pretty darn good - and she definitely liked it as she went through 2 of them:

That also sounds delicious!

Yup - there were tons of seals just hanging out. At time in the water pretty close to where the swimmers were! They were fun to watch, but definitely stank!

Oh, wow, fun to see! Too bad about the stinkiness, though.

After visiting our second beach of the day we headed back to the hotel to clean-up and rest up. It felt like we found half the beach in Emma's swim diaper, and then the other half when Olivia took her shower.

Ugh, I can imagine. We had never-ending sand in the car in Hawaii on the day we stopped to walk on a beach.

One of the best things we got was theCrispy Cauliower (house made bacon, apple cider glaze, sultana, bread crumbs, grana padano .... though we got the bacon on the side). Just lots of good flavor going on here:

Mmmm, that sounds pretty good - I do like cauliflower, so nice and interesting variation.

Emma stirred too at one point and then fell asleep while I held her (you can see a bit of the restaurant decor in this picture too):

Haha, love all the sleeping kiddos! That's one way to have a romantic date-night dinner.

First we had to get ready. We had started to put Emma's hair in pig tails a Peter wanted in on that as well:

How cute is that?!

Wow, so much different than the AK safari!

I know you needed the car seat for the car, but did you find it necessary for the flight? I'm really struggling with if we should take it on the plane for our WDW trip (did I mention we're going in under two months?! ) We're not renting a vehicle, so really only using it for the plane but it is just another 'thing' to carry that we don't want to carry. And also he's getting taller so his feet will definitely be kicking the seat in front of him with a car seat. I"m looking at that CARES harness for toddlers. What do you think?

I know you didn't ask me, but I'll just throw in a few thoughts. I brought Izzy's carseat in August 2014, which was a solo trip (me and her) and no car involved. I felt it was worth it just for the plane. And, since I strap it on back of the stroller to transport through the terminal, it's only a pain when they make you take it off (security scanning and boarding the plane). So, it was worth it to me. However, that was when she wasn't even 2 yet, so a CARES harness wasn't a good fit for her yet. At this age, if your DS meets the size guidelines (can't remember what they are, but I'm sure he does), the CARES harness might be a good option. I have heard a lot of good things about them. I have heard that you can rent them too, but if you keep traveling at your rate, probably worth buying. My main concerns would be 1.) Probably not very likely to nap vs. in a carseat and 2.) Could DS stay restrained? I think they rely on the airplane seatbelt for the lap and those are SO easy for kids to undo (and fun!) But you are right about the kicking - those seats are so close together that a carseat makes it near impossible to not kick the seat in front - just trying to stretch her legs was impossible with only a couple inches space.

 

[Leshaface]

I know you didn't ask me, but I'll just throw in a few thoughts. I brought Izzy's carseat in August 2014, which was a solo trip (me and her) and no car involved. I felt it was worth it just for the plane. And, since I strap it on back of the stroller to transport through the terminal, it's only a pain when they make you take it off (security scanning and boarding the plane). So, it was worth it to me. However, that was when she wasn't even 2 yet, so a CARES harness wasn't a good fit for her yet. At this age, if your DS meets the size guidelines (can't remember what they are, but I'm sure he does), the CARES harness might be a good option. I have heard a lot of good things about them. I have heard that you can rent them too, but if you keep traveling at your rate, probably worth buying. My main concerns would be 1.) Probably not very likely to nap vs. in a carseat and 2.) Could DS stay restrained? I think they rely on the airplane seatbelt for the lap and those are SO easy for kids to undo (and fun!) But you are right about the kicking - those seats are so close together that a carseat makes it near impossible to not kick the seat in front - just trying to stretch her legs was impossible with only a couple inches space.

Thanks for this! DH has his mind set on not bringing the car seat on the plane just because of how heavy and bulky it is and the lack of car. But not just that, it's also because we won't be having my mom on this trip and we would make her take the seat in front of DS so that when he kicked, he kicked her seat. The tips of his toes were definitely touching the back of the seat so I know they will be on the seat in front of him this time around. I definitely don't want him kicking, that really is a concern of mine. With that said also, none of our flights are direct unfortunately, so lots of boarding, de-boarding. The harness just seems so much easier for that reason. I've been trying to read up on reviews and how children nap and some seem to do well! And he does meet the requirements!

"According to the FAA certification for CARES, the FAA states “The system is for use by children between 22 and 44 lb. (~10-20 kg) in weight, less than 40 inches (~101 cm) tall and who are capable of sitting upright alone in a forward facing position.”"

 

[ljcrochet]

Thanks for this! DH has his mind set on not bringing the car seat on the plane just because of how heavy and bulky it is and the lack of car. But not just that, it's also because we won't be having my mom on this trip and we would make her take the seat in front of DS so that when he kicked, he kicked her seat. The tips of his toes were definitely touching the back of the seat so I know they will be on the seat in front of him this time around. I definitely don't want him kicking, that really is a concern of mine. With that said also, none of our flights are direct unfortunately, so lots of boarding, de-boarding. The harness just seems so much easier for that reason. I've been trying to read up on reviews and how children nap and some seem to do well! And he does meet the requirements!

We never brought the car seats for my girls when they were little. Not sure how long of a plane flight you have, but my very active girls were find on our 3 hour flights without a car seat.

 

[afwdwfan]

It felt like we found half the beach in Emma's swim diaper, and then the other half when Olivia took her shower.

I don't see how there is still so much sand left on the beach. It happens every single time!

I love a watermelon salad and this one was quite good - appologies as we only realized part way through we hadn't taken pictures yet:

No apologies needed. Enjoy!

During the meal Peter woke up, but not very hungry, so he went onto the banquet seating and we had a little blanket to put on him. Shortly after Olivia fell asleep with him as well:

Aww... At least they were comfortable and quiet so you could enjoy dinner!

One other memorable part of dinner was a couple that was seated a few tables away from us (not sure if they were a couple-couple or just friends), and the girl apparently wanted everyone in the restaurant to hear her conversation based on how loud she was. Based on said conversation she also appeared to be quite high-maintenance so I found myself feeling for the guy a bit.

Always interesting. And I definitely feel for the guy.

Overall we like dinner quite a bit but found the place to not be super kid friendly and I think more a place Judi and I would hang out on date night or with friends or something.

I think this could be said for about all of the Gas Lamp District from our experience.

First we had to get ready. We had started to put Emma's hair in pig tails a Peter wanted in on that as well:

Whatever makes him happy.

The kids mostly had yogurt and bagels with cream cheese (one of Emma's favorites - both to eat and to make a mess with). I opted for an omlette with some homefries ... both were pretty good and definitely better than a typical "free" breakfast:

Looks like a very good free breakfast. Now why did you go pay for 2 brunches again?

Then we came to the Bats area - out front they had a set up where you could "be" a bat:

You're married to a vampire????

We then walked by the Lion enclosure and I must say the number of lions they have and the level or movement they did (at least while we were there) puts the lions on the Safar at Animal Kingdom to shame. Plus you just felt a lot closer to them, as you can tell from the one photo with Olivia in the foreground:

Cool! The park looks like fun and I'm glad you got to see some active lions!

 

[Leshaface]

We never brought the car seats for my girls when they were little. Not sure how long of a plane flight you have, but my very active girls were find on our 3 hour flights without a car seat.

Thanks for the reply! We're from California going to Florida but the flight is broken up, so we stop in New Orleans (which is about around a 3 1/2 hour flight) then a shorter flight from New Orleans to Orlando (Under 2 hours). Coming home would be a stop in St. Louis, then home and I'm thinking it's around the same plan (2 hour, 4 hour).

I'm thinking he'll be okay if I bring a small pillow and a blanket for him to get comfy in case he naps, which I know he we, he's good at napping anywhere.

 

[horse11]

Love the pictures of the kids falling asleep at the table!! We have a picture of our kids doing the same thing after our day at AK when we ate at Rain forest!! Wonder how many other family have similar shots lol!!!
Great pictures of the animals!! Wow what a great place!!! So much more active then the Safari at AK!!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I don't see how there is still so much sand left on the beach. It happens every single time!

No apologies needed. Enjoy!

Aww... At least they were comfortable and quiet so you could enjoy dinner!

Always interesting. And I definitely feel for the guy.

I think this could be said for about all of the Gas Lamp District from our experience.

Whatever makes him happy.

Looks like a very good free breakfast. Now why did you go pay for 2 brunches again?

You're married to a vampire????

Cool! The park looks like fun and I'm glad you got to see some active lions!

yes - we did joke that after all the kids were asleep it was the closest thing we would get to a Date Night on this trip

good to know - we really liked the feel of the Gas Lamp District, but perhaps not the most kid friendly

well, breakfast and then 2 brunches would have just be gluttonous

Park definitely was fun and was neat to see the lions up and about ... other large cats coming up next update!

Love the pictures of the kids falling asleep at the table!! We have a picture of our kids doing the same thing after our day at AK when we ate at Rain forest!! Wonder how many other family have similar shots lol!!!
Great pictures of the animals!! Wow what a great place!!! So much more active then the Safari at AK!!!

haha - I am sure a lot of us have pictures of at least one kid falling asleep at dinner. I have a video of Peter as a baby literally falling sleep while he is eating


Definitely a lot of active animals - which was fun!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Chapter 12 - San Diego Day 2 - Part 2
October 12th
The actual Safari part of the Safari Park
​

First, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving - and for those of you that braved it, survived Black Friday Shopping ... I just picked up some beer as Good Island did their annual Bourbon County Stout release. They had some special versions but none were available by time I got there - some people got there at 8am for a 3pm release.

Second, before I continue with the update, thought I would post some stats about the Safari Park as people had some questions/wondering what the deal is.

• Both the regular San Diego Zoo and this, the San Diego Safari Park are operated by the Zoological Society of San Diego. The Safari Park is located 32 miles from the zoo
• The Safari Park is 1,800 acres (for comparison, Animal Kingdom is only 500 acres, so less than 1/3rd the size)
• Houses over 2,600 animals representing more than 300 species
• Visited by over 2 million people annually (Animal Kingdom gets over 10 million)
• The park has the world's largest veterinary hospital and is Southern California's quarantine center for zoo animals imported into the United States through San Diego

Ok, and now for something completely different, back to the Trip Report .....

We had just seen the lions and headed to the safari tram. The park offers a number of different of safari experiences, but the tram is the only one included in your park admission. Actually, as October was "Kids go free" the kids got in free, but that didn't even include the tram so we had to pay for them, which was $12, but also included unlimited rides on the carousel (more on that later).

The tram is pretty much what you would expect as far as a tram ride vehicle would be - here are the kids getting settled:

The tour was hosted by an actual person, not a recording, which was nice. And she had quite a bit of interesting information as part of her spiel. The tour is basically set up as doing a loop through/around the savannah starting from lower elevation, up to higher, and then back

I'll just post pictures, to be honest I don't recall the exact name of all of them (lots of different types of antelopes/gazelles/etc.). "Butt" first, Rinos!

Some birds - at the point they mentioned that when animals are kept separate it was generally because their diets were different. These birds are meat eaters.

Another Rino - they had both black and white rinos

Hello giraffe!

This was near the high point of the area and these animals are considered the "watch dogs" as they stay had high elevations and can see when predators are coming:

I remember these used to be known as "Unicorns" as when viewed from the side it looks like they only have 1 horn:

Baby Giraffe!

The tour guide mentioned it was unusual to see giraffes sitting as a) it is hard for them to get back up and 2) if they sit for too long it is hard on their circuilation and can cause health issues, so they only are usually down for 5 minutes or so at a time.

Overall we enjoyed the tram. I wouldn't say it was amazing and it really showed the difference the level of theming at Disney can make (you can clearly see fences, etc. vs at Animal Kingdom where everything seems natural. I did appreciate all the good facts and information the tour guide provided though. I do think this was partially an advertizement for some of the other safari's which you have to pay for - but still, good time overall.

At this point we decided we were not going to make our lunch reservation (which I had moved up from dinner time) so we decided to push it back (we would eventually push it back twice, ultimately to 3:30) - and then decided to get a snack here. Nothing big or fancy, just some chips, cookies, and plantain chips. It was all fine, but a bit pricey (was over $20 for everything), but did the job:

Coming up - more play areas, and gorillas!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Chapter 13 - San Diego Day 2 - Part 3
October 12th
Gorillas, and tigers, and carousels, oh my!​

After our snack we decided to head to another play area for the kids to run around a bit, on the way checking out some other animal enclosures.

This is the Eastern Gian Eland, and he was huge!

One thing I did like was that each animal had a sign providing some information and facts along with the current status of stable, threatened, or endagered:

We then got to the play are which had a lot for the kids to do, including a pretend jeep that Emma loved:

and a hut type thing that also had some tunnels, and of course Peter wanted to climb to the top:

From there we went to see the gorillas!

Before the actual gorillas they had a sign up showing the dimensions of a typical gorilla. We all stood in front of it but I'll just post Peter in front of it:

Next is a picture of me in front of the area with the gorillas to give you an idea of the scope of the exhibit - this was the main part but further down there was a secondary part too:

This was the chief gorilla who just hung out in the cave eating:

There was a mommy with a young one that was a ton of fun to watch. First a still shot and then a couple of gifs:

The second one is funny as at the end you can see the mom waving him over. The baby spent a lot of time climbing down and over the rocks in the front that would make the crowd gasp a bit, but one of the workers there was just "He does that all the time, nothing to worry about"

After that we headed to the carousel to let the kids go for a ride - this was near the entrance, but also on the way to the tigers which was off form the main area in a different direction so made sense to stop. It was a cute carousel with a bunch of different animal options instead of just horses:

After that fun we went to see the tigers. This was their newest area and had the most theming to it ... as you entered the area there was a ton of bamboo and mist and music playing, etc. - definitely the part that made me think the most of Animal Kingdom (you can see a bit of this in the video that I will post soon - yup, got the video for the San Diego portion of the trip done yesterday)

We saw a lot of this one male lion. Apparently one of the females (that was in a different enclosure) was in heat and it was, well, it was driving him a little crazy - so he was pacing around and moaning:

Definitely an impressive creature when up close! Next is a gif of his mating call followed by a youtube in case you want to hear it for yourself:

Next enclosure there were a couple of other tigers lying down - one up close and one in the back:

Overall we really liked seeing the tigers, but again, showed the difference with Disney as this was more like a traditional zoo, watching the animals behind a fence, not a natural setting like Disney tries to do.

After this we took another spin on the carousel and headed out to our dinner, er, lunch, er, Linner, location.

Overall, I think we enjoyed the Safari Park more than we thought they did. Perhaps the low crowd level helps, but it was just something different and we got to see a lot and also appreciated the number of play areas for the kids. Definitely would go back!

Coming up - dinner at a brewery! .... and then another brewery!!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Chapter 14 - San Diego Day 2 - Part 4
October 12th
Stone Brewing​

As mentioned we were on our way to eat our major meal of the day. Originally it was supposed to be dinner, then we moved it to lunch, and then back a bit to around 3:30. This actually worked out really well as it wasn't too crowded and we got to enjoy the garden area - but more on that later.

For those that don't know, Stone is one of the real pillars of the craft beer movement - founded in 1994 it is the largest craft brewery in southern California and the 9th largest in the country. The readers of Beer Advocate voted it the #1 "All Time Top Brewery on Planet Earth." in 2011. Their beers are located pretty much everywhere with their pale ale and Arrogant Bastard Ale probably the most popular. They typify west coast beers - meaning heavy on the hops and some of their most popular beers are their "enjoy by" IPA's which have a date on them which is the date they are supposed to be enjoyed by. They have two main locations both having a restaurant and gardens area where you can wander on the paths and sit in chairs and just enjoy life. ... so if this isn't enough of a sales pitch, hopefully these pictures will help

We arrived and were led to our table (we asked to sit outside on the patio and had a great table). First, I love the warning on their kids menus:

First, beer. I got a sampler which allowed me to pick any 4 beers they had on tap - I picked the bottom four on the list to a) make it easy, ii) I hadn't had any of these, and 3) how can you pass up beers called "your father smelt of elderberries" or "Witty Moron"?

and the actual beers:

The second, the 24 Carrot Golden Ale, Judi was interested in trying. She did, and enjoyed it, so got a full glass of it later. I wound up later getting a full glass of the Your Father Smelt of Elderberries.

For food, Judi and I decided to just split a number of things. First, the "Quail Knots" (Fried quail quarters with Sriracha-honey glaze and Asian slaw). These were really yummy though did have a bit of a kick to them, so I wound up eating most of them:

Brussels Sprouts (Crispy Brussels sprouts with a sweet and sour twist and fried pancetta lardon) - though we got them without the lardon as Judi doesn't eat beef or pork. This was definitely very good - we love when the Brussels sprouts are roasted a lot:

Cheddar, Garlic, and Stone Ruination IPA soup (AKA the "pungent one." Beautifully bitter soup with roasted garlic, extra sharp white cheddar cheese, Stone Ruination IPA beer, and smoked paprika). I could definitely go for some of this now! It wasn't exactly soup weather out, but still really wanted to try it and glad we did - nothing better than dipping some break in beer and cheese soup!

Moroccan Lamp Pita (Coriander, cinnamon, and paprika-spiced lamb meatballs, on pita bread with falafel spread and roasted garlic-lemon-infused yogurt, served with a grape tomato and cucumber salad. Judi enjoyed this too but also was a bit spicier than expected.

For the kids we just had them split a kids mac-n-cheese (you can see Olivia in the picture to get an idea how big it was. This was also pretty tasty - the kids ate a lot of it, along with trying some of ours:

Oh, I don't often take pictures of bathrooms (at least outside of Disney) but the sink in the mens' bathroom was really cool as it was made from one large lab of stone:

We then headed out to the gardens areas (after checking that it was definitely fine to take our beers with us). Judi enjoyed a moment to rest a bit while the kids got to explore:

you can see a waterfall in the back, and you could go out on top of it, as shown here. Note, we did not gain another kid, there just were other kids there that our kids befriended (her face isn't shown so I think ok to post):

and then the view from the top of the waterfall:

After spending about 1/2 hour in the garden we went back in to take a tour of the brewery. This was free and came with some beer samples at the end (since, well, you know). First, Olivia and Judi were reading from the Stone Bible:

No real great pictures from the tour, but our tour guide was pretty good and pretty entertaining. Always love hearing how different places set up their breweries and new things that are going on.

Then Judi waited for our samples (that is our tour guide behind the bar):

and here is Peter on my shoulders trying to stick his finger in my beer:

Oh, and I asked our tour guide how Stone feels about craft breweries being bought by larger entities. She said that the company and one of the owners probably has slightly different views. One of the founders is a trust fund baby (her words, not mine) who said they would never sell, but I got the feeling for how she was saying things that if he moves on or eventually she could see it happening. I mentioned that I am sure they are looking at how things work out for Founders and she just nodded her head.

We had a great time at Stone - great food, great beer, lovely location - just a fun afternoon.

After we left, we still had some time left in the day and were deciding what to do. The kids fell asleep in the car so we decided to go .... to another brewery! Ballast Point is one of my favorites - I think they are the absolute best as mixing other ingredients (fruits, etc.). Though, ironically, since our trip they have gotten bought by a bigger entity - constellation brands, makers of Corona, Modelo, etc. - for a cool $1billion. So with the kids asleep we figured we'd stop by their Old Grove location so I could at least stop in quick:

They had some of their standard stuff on tap, but I was interested in their limited beers:

as well as what they had on Cask (you can see the cask in the lower right and the standard menu on the left):

and here is a gif of them drawing my beer from the cask:

Below is my sampler which includes (left to right):

• the cask ale - which is their Big Eye IPA brewed with candied ginger, vanilla, and cocoa nibs
• Fatham - brewed with orange and vanilla,
• Victory at Sea (which is a stout) - brewed with orange and milk chocolate

These were all great - though, definitely not everyone's cup of tea. I loved the cask ale, but that really is not necessarily for everyone. I wish I had more time but didn't want to leave everyone in the car for longer than needed, but am very glad I got to check it out!


From there we headed back to the hotel. Judi and I took turns going down to the free wine and snacks they offered in the lobby and we just had leftover pizza in the room and went to bed.

Wanted to get a relatively early start the next day as we were heading up to Disneyland ... and another brewery on the way!!

TTFN

 

[annie170]

The San Diego Safari Park looked like it was worth the visit. Now I know what an amorous tiger sounds like! Thanks, Phil!

My daughter used to call a late lunch, early dinner "dunch." Yours looked pretty tasty. That's great that your kids will sample your food. I like when kids are adventurous eaters.

Wow! You really know your beer! I'm not a big beer drinker, but I wouldn't mind sampling the Fatham with orange and vanilla. I do much better at wineries!

Looking forward to reading about DL.

 

[afwdwfan]

They had some special versions but none were available by time I got there - some people got there at 8am for a 3pm release.

Holy crap. They can have it.

"Butt" first, Rinos!

You clearly know your audience.

Some birds - at the point they mentioned that when animals are kept separate it was generally because their diets were different. These birds are meat eaters.

Well, I assumed that much for the Lions and the gazelles.

The tour guide mentioned it was unusual to see giraffes sitting as a) it is hard for them to get back up and 2) if they sit for too long it is hard on their circuilation and can cause health issues, so they only are usually down for 5 minutes or so at a time.

I've never really thought about it, but it makes sense. I can't recall having seen them lying down.

This was the chief gorilla who just hung out in the cave eating:

Livin' the life.

Definitely an impressive creature when up close! Next is a gif of his mating call followed by a youtube in case you want to hear it for yourself:

Cool! I'm glad you got such an up close and active look at the tigers.

Overall, I think we enjoyed the Safari Park more than we thought they did. Perhaps the low crowd level helps, but it was just something different and we got to see a lot and also appreciated the number of play areas for the kids. Definitely would go back!

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

and here is Peter on my shoulders trying to stick his finger in my beer:

He just wants a taste!

From there we headed back to the hotel. Judi and I took turns going down to the free wine and snacks they offered in the lobby and we just had leftover pizza in the room and went to bed.

Sounds like a win to me!

All in all, a nice day. And your late lunch/brewery tour looks like it was well worth re-scheduling a few times.

 

[missangelalexis]

Great pictures from the tram!

Love the gorilla gifs, and you got some great picures of the tigers.

Sounds like a great time at Stone, I'm glad you all enjoyed it! And nice that you were able to sneak in a trip to a second brewery

 

[MarbleBob]

I'm one of those weird people that doesn't get excited about zoo's. (Animal Kingdom is my least favorite Disney park.) The St. Louis zoo is consistently rated in one of the top few zoo's in the nation, and I've been there more times than I can count, so I usually don't get excited about them elsewhere. However, I had fun looking at your photos! I especially loved the one with the kids on the metal rhinoceros. That one's a keeper! (And I love Peter's hair. Funny to see that he kept them in so long!)

I like the Gorilla gifs too. I've often visited the St. Louis zoo just to visit the primates. The young ones are indeed a lot of fun to watch.

Thanks for sharing the story behind Stone. Sounds like a cool place! Too funny about the warning for the ""parental units".

Great photos of the food! I just finished lunch, but I'm wanting one of those lamb pita's. Looks really good! The garden outside looks fun, and beer samples after the tour? This just gets better and better! And I just got my hopes up for a second.... I'm heading to LA/Palm Springs this weekend. I just checked their locations in SoCal, and unfortunately the one in LA will be too far north from where we'll be. Darn!!!

The Ballast Point brewery looks interesting too.

Sounds like your second full San Diego day was a lot of fun! Looking forward to reading about your DL experiences!