Which to choose in San Diego

[abbyndrewmom]

As part of our DL vacation we are planning on spending 3 days in San Diego. We really want to do Sea World as our 3 year old son loves Killer whales. We will spend one day at the beach. Which would be better for the 3rd day the Zoo or Legoland. My son is 3 and DD is 6. They are not big Lego fans and will have just spent 3 days at DL. Would the zoo be better or is it still worth it to go to Legoland.

Allison

 

[ilovemky]

These are two totally different places to visit. I guess it depends on your kids and their interests and their STAMINA. The zoo is wonderful but VERY BIG and lots of walking up and down very steep slopes. It also gets very hot in the summer. There is a very nice tram that takes you around to the various areas and there is one that allows you to get off in an area you are interested in and then re-board and continue on with the tour. There is also a skyway bucket ride that is fun and a kids petting zoo.

Legoland is geared at kids your age with rides and attractions based on legos. I have not personally been there as I do not have children so I can only guess if they would like it our not.

Also, LEGOLAND is NOT in san diego. It is up the coast in Carlsbad--about 1/2 way between DL and SD.

So, it would be which things your kids would enjoy the most that should determine where you go.

 

[din]

As Ilovemky stated Legoland is park built around Legos. The rides are all for kids and most are for kids under 12/13, although there are roller coasters for older kids (two that I recall).

If you are staying in San Diego near Sea World, Carlsbad is about a 30-45 mins drive in the AM depending on traffic. Just straight up I-5N and follow signs.

Just to add to your chaos, have you considered Wild Animal Park. Different type of place. The animals are roaming in huigh compund and live together. Birds fly free in big aviaries. As with the zoo lots of walking.

 

[ilovemky]

Wild Animal Park is on your way inland from San Diego to Orange county or vice versa--it is not in sand diego, but about 35 minutes north, but I love this park!

 

[Matt&Sarahsmom]

We LOVE Legoland! It's perfect for kids under the age of 10. The zoo is nice but to me it's basically a large version of any regular city zoo. I also wasn't too impressed with the animal park. It was a hot day and all the animals were hiding. Plus it's a lot of walking, so if you have a stroller you are going to be pushing it up some steep hills. I really like Balboa Park...there are tons of museums and things to do there. Old Town San Diego is nice and I'd highly recommend one of the city tours.

 

[sgtdilbert]

OT: Just wanted to share that we got back from a weekend trip to San Diego last weekend. I got into the Hyatt which is right on the water and near the Gaslamp district and 10 mins. to SeaWorld. $85 per night at Priceline, 4 star hotel, beautful property. You may be able to go less, I was surprised I was given the room at $85.

s.

 

[mrswortham]

We went to Disney, Legoland and SeaWorld last year with our 2 DS ages 6 & 2 at the time. My 6 yo DS is a Lego-holic, and he enjoyed it, but not 1/2 as much as he enjoyed Seaworld. My dh and I were disappointed in Legoland for the price per ticket that you pay.
SeaWorld was such a pleasant surprise! I wasn't really expecting to have as much fun as we did there. If a choice has to be made, I would choose SeaWorld over Legoland any day!

HTH!

 

[abbyndrewmom]

Thank you all for the suggestions. We are definetly going to Sea World, still havent decided on the other. I think probably legoland and we will save the zoo for when the kids are a little older. The zoo sounds like a lot of climbing and we have a good zoo near by home. We are still trying to find a hotel, I might give priceline a try.

allison

 

[Maridw]

As din suggested, as an alternative to the zoo, you could try the Wild Animal Park. It is owned by the San Diego Zoo and has a lot to offer. Here is a link to let you have a look at what they have.

San Diego Wild Animal P ark

They have a nice tram/railway ride that takes you around where the animals roam freely. There are also shows and other exhibits to explore.

When we lived in CA, my daughter was given an annual pass to the zoo & wild animal park. Because we were closer to the animal park we would visit that more often, but we could meet my brother there as it was a half way point from our house to his in SD.

My DD was only 4 when she went the first time and loved it.

 

[year2late]

I will make you more miserable...how about two days at Seaworld? We just came back and it was very nice to have two days to really enjoy the park (it has nightime offerings and fireworks as well)

Don't forget the Dine with Shamu Dinner .....ask for seats in te slide out area.... (the breakfast with Shamu does not have trainers so it is not too exciting)

 

[missypie]

I would choose the zoo over yet another theme park. The exhibits are remarkable. For example, where animals spend a lot of their time underwater (e.g. hippos), there is a place where you can look at them under water. Take your time and stroll around.

Also, near the airport is a nautical museum that consists of an old clipper ship and two others that you can tour. It's not very expensive and I mention its proximity to the airport because it's a great thing to do if you arrive in town before your hotel check in time, or if you have to check out of your hotel and have a few hours to kill before your flight.

 

[Matt&Sarahsmom]

Oh yeah---I forgot to mention Dine with Shamu (thanks year2late!). That was one of the coolest things I have ever experienced! We got a table right next to the water and it was awesome! Food is good but having the whales swim right next to you was just incredible.

 

[robsmom]

I would give another vote for the wild animal park over even the zoo as long as a ton of walking isn't a problem. We did not go to legoland so I can't compare it to that. The wildlife park is 1800 acres of mostly free-roaming animals. There is an hour long train ride that cricles the park. When we went in May there were at least 1/2 dozen baby animals no more than a few days old. One was just hours old and was trying to stand for the first time! We loved both the zoo and the wild life park. We live close to a zoo and go regularly so I think the wildlife park was more unique for us. That said, the zoo is wonderful and just beautiful. I am glad we did both. To be honest, our day at Sea World was probably the most disappointing part of our trip. There are great shows and attractions but the timing is poorly managed. I am not sure if it is just not well run or if the time management issues we found are deliberate. We get up and moving fairly quickly in the morning and made it to the park for opening. Once there, we found that not a single "show" started until noon. I can understand the recommendation to go to Sea World for 2 days because they have scheduled things such that it is impossible to see everything in one day! Most of the big shows are not timed to allow good flow from one to the other. We spent 65 minutes in line for the artic wild ride in the morning only to find that later in the day when the shows start, there is almost no line for this.

 

[missypie]

robsmom, I agree about the timing of the shows at Sea World. I've had that experience both in CA and in Texas. In Texas, Sea World has a water park that opens when the gate opens, then the rest of the park opens an hour later. Sea World is the park in which the most walking is required, because everythig is timed so that you're forever criss-crossing the park.

 

[year2late]

Originally posted by robsmom
I can understand the recommendation to go to Sea World for 2 days because they have scheduled things such that it is impossible to see everything in one day! Most of the big shows are not timed to allow good flow from one to the other. We spent 65 minutes in line for the artic wild ride in the morning only to find that later in the day when the shows start, there is almost no line for this.

The second day is also free with a membership (pay one day full preice, rest of year is free)

We refused to criscross across the park and we were thrilled with the lack of lines when we were not slaves to show schedules.

 

[Llisa]

We just returned from DL/DCA and took one day out of our "All Disney All The Time" schedule to do one day at Sea World.

First of all the good things - Sea World is very, very easy to find (we were driving a rented car). We left Anaheim about 9 am and got to San Diego around 11 am. Traffic had its moments but generally wasn't a problem at all (yayy for carpool lanes!!).

Re: the shows, given the above comments, we were extraordinarily lucky and the schedules just "clicked" for us - we not only caught the shows we wanted to see but also lucked out and saw feeding time at the seals, the penguins and the dolphins. As for the other attractions, the Shark tank is absolutely not to be missed. Wild Arctic was great and my kids loved Cirque de la Mer (husband and I not so impressed as we just went to Cirque du Soleil two weeks ago!!!). And you must not miss the chance to touch a sea ray and pet a star fish.

We left around 6pm as we'd all had enough by then and didn't feel inclined to stick around for the evening attractions (plus, we still had to drive back to Anaheim).

Now for the negatives:

Seaworld's map and signposts SUCK!!! My husband has an absolutely brilliant sense of direction and we simply could not find our way around. We criss-crossed the park a couple of times looking for somewhere to eat. Also, no notification that one cafe was closed - very frustrating to traverse the entire park, finally locate the darned place and find that it's shut. There are lots of smoothie, popcorn, ice-cream and similar type vendors dotted around but very few places for "proper" food.

As for dining with Shamu, I was all set to make reservations before our trip but was put off by the cost (I don't recall what it was but remember thinking that it was a bit steep).

Which brings me to the food that we did manage to find - it was awful AND expensive (and bear in mind, I'd just spent 3 days in Disneyland!!!). We ate at Shipwreck Reef Cafe and paid almost $60 for two plates of Jambalaya, a salad, a burger, a glass of wine (boy, did I need that!!!) and 2 or 3 soft drinks; I didn't enjoy the jambalaya one bit, the wine was positively evil and the "mixed" salad was almost all lettuce. On top of that, the seagulls were VERY agressive - I saw one whip a hamburger bun off a tray that was being carried by a grown man. I suppose this really isn't the fault of Sea World but still, it wasn't very nice.

And finally, the Turtles - most of the enclosures are a reasonable size but the turtles were crammed into a tiny pool; all of them were scrambling at the edges trying to escape.

All in all, DEFINITELY worth seeing but arrange food BEFORE you get there!

HTH and apologies for the length of this post - I guess I needed to vent - LOL!!!

 

[sparkysfriends]

I would choose the zoo every time! We will be in San Diego for 2 days this summer. We spent a week there in 2001. My son (now 11) insists on going to the zoo. This was his favorite part of the last trip and wouldn't miss it for the world. This time we will also have our 2 year old with us. Definitely spring for the kangaroo bus. You can get on and off as many times and in as many places as you'd like. It cuts down on the longer walks and makes it a lot easier with little ones. It's also a lot of fun.

Have a great time!
Alyson

 

[Liner18]

I don't think anyone has suggested Southern Calafornia Citypass. For $166/adult and $127/child. The pass includes 3 day Disney park hopper, 1 day admission to Seaworld, San Deigo Zoo, and Knott's Berry Farm. Pass expires 15 days after the first time you use it. We are going to try it for our August trip. My kids are too old for Legoland.