Planning a vacation to San Diego?

Question

Would you go to Disneyland OR The San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park? I have a 4, 13 and 14 year old. We can't decide. Does anyone know of any way we can see all of the parks for less money?

Answer 1

Well, since your family is planning a vacation to San Diego, I would put San Diego's attractions priority. There is so much there for everyone in your family. How long is your stay in San Diego?

World renowned San Diego Zoo has many things to see. http://www.sandiegozoo.org/
And it is situated within Balboa Park, which is large and in itself is another must see/must do attraction. There are so many museums, and other international sites and attractions this park has to offer. Also many areas to relax, picnic and play. Very picturesque. It also has free trolley transportation where you can just hop on and hop off wherever you want to explore at Balboa Park. Again, a place with something for everyone in your family. http://www.balboapark.org/

Wild Animal Park is another awesome place. Yes, there are many animals, but not in a zoo setting. You take a train as if you were going through Africa or Asia to see animals in their natural habitat. http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wap/index.html

(But if your time is limited, and you're all [land] animaled out, I'd personally choose SD Zoo instead of Wild Animal Park.)

Another place to consider is Sea World. Near the beaches in Mission Bay. They have many shows, attractions, displays, and play areas in Sea World. http://swc-parkevents.com/funcard/index.htm?src=swc2007FCPPC&s_kwcid=sea%20world|751274082

Of course check out all the beaches! My favorites are (south)Coronado, next/near the historic Hotel Del Coronado, and (north) La Jolla Beaches and it's Cove; and all in between! http://www.a-zsandiegobeaches.com/

Another person posted here on Y!A in the San Diego category, Amy, said there is an $89 3 park pass for adults and $77 3 park pass for kids for the SD Zoo, Wild Animal Park and Sea World. She said it's available at Costco. (Ooops! I just saw it was YOU who shared this information!)

Between San Diego County, (but still in San Diego) and Anaheim, there's Legoland. I've never been, but they say there are rides and so much fun stuff to see and do there. http://san-diego-attractions.10-best.info/legoland.html

Now if your time allows, you can travel north to Anaheim, (near L.A.), and go to Disneyland. But another planned vacation to Anaheim/L.A. is probably needed since there are many places to check out there! Of course there is Disneyland; but there's also Knott's; Six Flags Magic Mountain; and so much more!

Have fun in San Diego!

Answer 2

They are two very different cities. I lived in SD for 3 years and am moving to SF in a couple weeks. San Diego is fun, but not much excitement for a 15 year old unless they surf or skateboard or love going to the mall (they have great ones). The pacific is cold in SD, even in the summertime. The zoo is great,and Disneyland is 90 minutes away on a good day. Pretty much that is all there is to do if you are a teenager, unless you like Korean Karaoke rooms or are a young foodie (amazing places to eat). San Diego is a good place if you are over 21 or are 8 years old. San Francisco is WAY more interesting IMO if I were a teenager or an adult planning a visit to California. Better art galleries, much more diverse and interesting population of people and has a lot of history.

Answer 3

Disneyland all the way for small children. I would say San Diego is more for the adults. Very relaxing although I will admit Sea World is good for the small children. I like the zoo but kids get bored with it after a while. I guess since you have a 13 and 14 year old Mickey mouse doesn't seem to attractive. If i had to chose for myself it would be San Diego and make sure you do the trolley Tour. So much history there and if your teens are boys they would love the USS Midway self guided tour. My husband and I spent 6 hours on that ship last year.

Answer 4

My family is planning a trip to San Diego this summer also. We considered the same time dilemma and concluded that for us, we are going to stick within San Diego and do Sea World, Mission Bay, tour the Navy ships, and see the Point Loma Lighthouse.

You can get discount tickets and hotel rates from a place called "Getaway Today Vacations" We got a nice deal with them.

We are also planning on visiting the San Diego Temple while there, and the 13 and 14 year olds could do baptisms. Some one needs to tend your 4 year old of course.....

We will be there is August.

Answer 5

Disneyland if you're willing to travel north a couple hours by freeway. Take the Katella off ramp to DL; there are signs everywhere.

If you wish to stick to San Diego; Sea World. There are rides and shows the kids will enjoy. Getting splashed by Shamu the Killer Whale is great fun for most kids.

For a great, and cheaper time, the San Diego Zoo. They have rides, too, but the animals are the main attractions. The animal shows are fun and the exhibits are spectacular. All these are free; so the price paid is for admission only...and food if that's needed.

Try on line for tix to all the places. You can find some bargains, including bundling hotel costs with admission costs. If you belong to AAA or similar, they might have discounts as well.

Answer 6

Well just to let you know....I'm going to San Diego too and if by chance you decide to go to sea world you can get a discount if you buy your tickets by the end of April. The promotion code is Lowes or Lowe...I dont' remember, my sister found it for me. But I saved about $50 on one adult ticket and 2 kids. I know this doesn't answer your question but i just thought that you could find this interesting. Oh also, your 4 yr old may not enjoy Disneyland because he/she may not be big enough to ride the rides. I found that problem when I took my 5 yr old. He wanted to ride all the rides he couldn't.

Answer 7

I would suggest the San Diego Zoo & Seaworld. Also, if you take a Old Town Trolley Tour it stops at all the major attactions : The San Diego Zoo, the Harbor, the Gaslamp Quarter, Old Town & Coranado. There is a site www.gosandiegocard.com they offer a card to all the major attactions & ideas for your trip.

Answer 8

I used to live there. San Diego zoo is a must.. Disneyland is second and thats 60 miles away in Anaheim. Maybee take them to Mission Beach too.

Answer 9

www.getawaytoday.com has best prices for san diego and anaheim attractions, dining, events and hotels, including hotels in disneyland. Everything from the hotel stay, the character dining at disneyland, the entrance fees to seaworld and disneyland, etc were all cheaper via this site.

We flew to anaheim during the "kids fly free" promotion (see alaksaair.com and click on vacations), staye at disney for a few days then took Amtrak from anaheim to san diego and went to sea world then flew home from san diego airport so we didn't have the expense of driving (or train tickets) back to anaheim. Amtrak tickets were only $60 TOTAL for all 4 of us for one way from anaheim to sea world. (to break it down, it was $20 each for me and my husband and $10 each for 2 kids). Couldn't have driven from Anaheim to San Diego for that price (didn't have to rent a car or deal with traffic and the train ride in itself is exciting and beautiful scenery).

Have fun!

Answer 10

You could try the southern california city pass where you get to go to sea world, universal stuios, disneyland, & either the zoo or the wild animal park.

http://commerce.4adventure.com/eStore/scripts/skins/swc/TicketsMultiDay.aspx

There are also multi day, multi attraction packages on that link.