Southern California Trip from Disneyland to Safari Park Zoo in Escondido?

[jenhelgren]

Has anyone made the drive from Disneyland down to the Safari park Zoo in Escondido lately? I am looking for opinions on the zoo itself and if it is a full day activity as well as traffic and driving times/routes? We will probably make the trip on a Sunday in the middle of our Disney days to break things up a bit and avoid a crowded Sunday in the parks! Thanks in advance!

 

[Tyggress]

I am a Zoo member and live about 40 miles from the Safari Park....I would say it's a 3/4-day activity to see the whole park, including taking one of the safaris....so it would be a perfect 1-day diversion from Disneyland.
It will likely be about a 2-hour drive from DL to the safari park. You could leave around 8 am, probably arrive at the Safari Park around 10...stay and see all you want to/the whole park by about 3 or 4 pm, and then head back to DL.

The easiest route, BTW, would be to take the 5 North to the 91 East to the 15 South to the 78 East to the park.

 

[ktlm]

We absolutely loved the Safari Park!!!! We thought it was so much better live than in the photos we saw online!! We would consider it a full day activity. I can't really speak about the traffic from DLR though because we usually move from the Disneyland Hotel to a hotel on the beach farther south down the coast, so we have not made the drive there directly from DLR.

 

[jenhelgren]

Tyggress-thanks for your local advice! For some reason the map programs are telling me to take 5 down the coast and I was wondering if 15 South would be faster/easier driving. We will also be spending a few days in Newport Beach before we head to Disney and may be able to fit the zoo in one of those days but the only route I see from Newport Beach is down 5 and I saw in other posts that there are some pretty terrible construction delays on 5. Would we be driving through the construction from Newport Beach to Escondido and are there any other routes to avoid 5 from Newport Beach to the zoo?

 

[jenhelgren]

I also wanted to ask how busy Sundays are in October. We will be stopping in Blythe on our drive to California and I was considering trying to leave the hotel early enough to be able to spend the rest of the day at the zoo but we probably wouldn't arrive at the zoo until 11-12. I read the safari tends to get lines in the afternoon and I'm guessing a Sunday would be busier than a weekday. Then-we would still be faced with the drive from the zoo to Newport Beach on Sunday night on 5 unless there is another route......for some reason I cant come up with a plan to save my life this trip! lol

 

[tarheelalum]

The safari park is awesome. We did the cheetah experience a few years ago and I'll never forget it for as long as I live. As far as the drive to Newport, the only way to get there is the 5. You could get off on the PCH in Dana Point but it will be dark so you won't be able to see the ocean so no point to it dealing with all the stop lights. From Escondido I'd take the 78 to the 5 to the 405 to the 55. The 73 freeway is a toll road and I think it requires the exact amount for the toll but its been so long I've been on it I can't really say.

The sarfari park has lots of really neat videos on youtube. You should check them out before you go. Especially the cheetah and dog videos.

 

[gottalovepluto]

The Safari Park is awesome! Definitely a full day in our experience though. Lots of walking, so while its different from DL don't expect to be getting any rest for the day. We were there the whole day early June and still didn't get to see everything we wanted animal and show wise. I recommended visiting the website before you go for a bit of planning to make sure you don't miss someone's favorite animal. (My family is not one of fast walkers- especially after a couple days in DL.)

 

[Tyggress]

I also wanted to ask how busy Sundays are in October. We will be stopping in Blythe on our drive to California and I was considering trying to leave the hotel early enough to be able to spend the rest of the day at the zoo but we probably wouldn't arrive at the zoo until 11-12. I read the safari tends to get lines in the afternoon and I'm guessing a Sunday would be busier than a weekday. Then-we would still be faced with the drive from the zoo to Newport Beach on Sunday night on 5 unless there is another route......for some reason I cant come up with a plan to save my life this trip! lol

Sundays are a great day to go. The Safari Park is a little less crowded than the actual SD Zoo; mostly because it is far more spread out. I would suggest, however that you arrive no later than 10, if you can. It does get busier the later you arrive. And yes....Newport Beach from the Zoo is going to require you take the 5 (it's the most direct route).

 

[Tyggress]

Tyggress-thanks for your local advice! For some reason the map programs are telling me to take 5 down the coast and I was wondering if 15 South would be faster/easier driving. We will also be spending a few days in Newport Beach before we head to Disney and may be able to fit the zoo in one of those days but the only route I see from Newport Beach is down 5 and I saw in other posts that there are some pretty terrible construction delays on 5. Would we be driving through the construction from Newport Beach to Escondido and are there any other routes to avoid 5 from Newport Beach to the zoo?

There's pretty much no avoiding the 5 from/to Newport Beach...it's the most direct route. And, construction delays notwithstanding, that section of the 5 is pretty much always packed anyways.
From DL to the Safari Park, take the 91/15/78 route I mentioned. If you make the Safari Park part of the Newport Beach portion of your trip (either before or during), you'll need to take the 5 and plan for a lot of traffic.

 

[jenhelgren]

If we don't get lucky and drive into a mess on 5-what is the longest the trip should take from Newport Beach to Escondido? I am thinking it would be easiest to hit the zoo on our way into California so we would only have to take the 5 on the way to the hotel in Newport Beach but not sure how early we will get up and be on the road after a few long days in the car already!!
Have you been to the Rise of the Jack O Lanterns that will be in the Safari Zoo parking lot this year? It looks like fun and we don't have any in our area so we have never even heard of it. It doesn't even start until dark when the park closes so I think it might be too long of a day to try and see it the same day of the zoo unless we take a few hours to have dinner and come back.

 

[Tyggress]

Actually, that plan might benefit you in several ways...

You'd arrive to the Safari Park a bit later (11 - 12, as you mentioned); but that's OK because you'd be staying later to see the Jack-o-Lanterns. It would be a little busier, but like I mentioned, the Safari Park is pretty spread out, so it never really feels packed/crowded. Take your time and see everything, do the basic tram safari, etc. Then yes, I would go grab some dinner somewhere and come back for the lanterns. The only Sunday that might be bad would be the Columbus Day weekend....you haven't mentioned what weekend in October you're planning on.

By the time you leave Escondido to head to Newport, it will be later in the evening, which means the bulk of the 5 traffic will be gone....Sunday afternoons are the worst because people are heading home from weekend excursions...but by the evening, it will be better. You're probably looking at 1-2 hours from Escondido to Newport Beach. In the afternoon with heavy traffic, it could be 2 - 3!

Benefits:
You could start the morning later, getting some rest from so much driving.
See the Safari Park, with a nice dinner break...so might not be too long of a day.
See the lanterns and head to Newport Beach in the evening with a little less traffic, etc.

 

[jenhelgren]

OMG!! 2-3 hours is traffic is not going to make hubby happy after a few days of driving!! lol
It will be the weekend of Oct 17-18, so the weekend after Columbus Day. Is there a best/worst time to tackle the 5? If we don't get tickets for the Rise-the zoo closes at 5 that Sunday-so I am guessing from your comment that will still put us in the rush of Sunday evening?? I was considering taking a night off our Newport hotel and just staying the night in Escondido or close that Sunday and making the trip up the 5 to Newport Beach Monday morning but was concerned about hitting work commuters....It doesn't help that this is our first trip to California so we have no idea where we are going or what the best/worst decisions are for traffic so I am EXTREMLY grateful for the Disboards and the local Californians willing to answer all my questions

 

[ImDMous]

I got an email about the Jack-o-lantern thing just today. This is the first year of it as far as I know, so no opinions yet. It looked a little pricey, but they supposedly have some 40% off coupons you can request on their website until they are used up.

5-ish on a Sunday evening going up the 5 could indeed be a nightmare, as could Monday morning during rush hour. Sunday night would probably be best. We can get from Escondido to Disneyland in about 1 1/4 hours on a Sunday morning or weekday early afternoon and we always take the 5, not 15. Newport Beach should be pretty similar.

 

[Tyggress]

OMG!! 2-3 hours is traffic is not going to make hubby happy after a few days of driving!! lol
It will be the weekend of Oct 17-18, so the weekend after Columbus Day. Is there a best/worst time to tackle the 5? If we don't get tickets for the Rise-the zoo closes at 5 that Sunday-so I am guessing from your comment that will still put us in the rush of Sunday evening?? I was considering taking a night off our Newport hotel and just staying the night in Escondido or close that Sunday and making the trip up the 5 to Newport Beach Monday morning but was concerned about hitting work commuters....It doesn't help that this is our first trip to California so we have no idea where we are going or what the best/worst decisions are for traffic so I am EXTREMLY grateful for the Disboards and the local Californians willing to answer all my questions

It's really only a 1-1/2 hour drive, if there were no traffic issues; which is why I estimated 2 hours on a Sunday evening.
Staying in Escondido would give you a break from the traffic and driving for an evening, but you definitely DON'T want to do that drive early on Monday morning. If you go that route, I would wait until about 9 - 9:30 am before starting to head to Newport and then you should breeze through with little issue.

 

[ImDMous]

Don't stay in Escondido! There really is no safe place to do so. Try San Marcos around CSUSM. There is a Hampton Inn right near campus or better yet a new Residence Inn right across the 78 freeway with a large shopping center near by with plenty of restaurants. If you go the staying in town route...

The only "hotels" in Escondido are not in good areas of town and San Marcos is only a few extra minutes away on the 78-west.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I recommend when driving down to the Wild Animal Park, if you have the Waze app, use it to get fastest route down. I have mine set to fastest route (without tolls) as opposed to most direct route. That way, if there are any traffic snafu's, or other delays, you'll be directed to the faster way to get there. I would have also taken the 5 to the 78, so it's nice to get a local's perspective.

 

[jenhelgren]

Thank you-thank you-thank you Tyggress and ImDMous!!
About the area not being safe-I have been reading Yelp and Trip Advisor reviews for the Safari Zoo today and read that someone had their car broken into in the zoo lot. Is that an off occurrence or something to be concerned about? If we do stop at the zoo on the way into California we would have everything in the car until we check in to a hotel after the zoo, which makes me slightly nervous. It would be impossible to carry everything of value around the zoo with us all day so that might affect our planning some.

 

[ncc1701]

Thank you-thank you-thank you Tyggress and ImDMous!!
About the area not being safe-I have been reading Yelp and Trip Advisor reviews for the Safari Zoo today and read that someone had their car broken into in the zoo lot. Is that an off occurrence or something to be concerned about? If we do stop at the zoo on the way into California we would have everything in the car until we check in to a hotel after the zoo, which makes me slightly nervous. It would be impossible to carry everything of value around the zoo with us all day so that might affect our planning some.

Are you driving a van where people can see luggage or a sedan where everything is in the trunk ? If it is the trunk and nothing of value is in view I wouldn't worry . I am always amazed walking thru parking lots and seeing laptops, phone etc in plan view.

 

[jenhelgren]

We will most likely be in a rental minivan or suv so no trunk available. I never leave things in view in any vehicle but it will be obvious that there is luggage and a "full load."
All the early times for the Rise are sold out at the discounted prices for Sunday 10/18 so we have decided just to do the zoo on the way through. What time frame will be the worst to hit the 5 on Sunday evening up to Newport? We are either going to plan on arriving at the zoo as early as possible for us and leaving early afternoon or staying until the zoo closes at 5 and finding dinner to avoid most of the Sunday rush.

 

[ImDMous]

The zoo and the Safari Park are different places. The Zoo is down town San Diego and is much more of a metropolitan feel in the surrounding area. You can walk into the parking lot off a busy street.

The Safari Park is pretty much out in the middle of no where, it's in an agricultural valley and you'll pass ostrich farms and wineries on the way there. There would not be any passers-by wandering around.

The Zoo and the Safari Park are owned by the same zoological society, but they are about 45 minutes away from each other.