San Diego Zoo Safari Park: Strategies for a Great Day

I love the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Excuse me, the "San Diego Zoo Safari Park". (They changed the name in 2010, but I keep forgetting.) The Safari Park is located in Escondito- 40 miles away from the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, which has the pandas.

Compared to amusement parks with rides, the Safari Park left my kids bursting with new knowledge. My girls returned with a passion for animals around the globe- which channeled into their free play and school work. They developed an understanding of ecosystems, which couldn't be replicated by watching animals confined in cages.

I have been visiting Safari Park for years, even before I had kids. In fact, my husband had his mom's 80th surprise birthday party at the Safari Park. (Some people even get married there!) As a part of the birthday celebration, we took his Mom on a safari tour. Back then, there was was just one "safari". We all piled into the back of a truck with a zoo keeper and drove off into the wild open African plain. Well, we were actually in the open California southern wilderness, which mimics the African plains. With no small cage enclosures, the animals wander freely in herds. Our zoo truck brought us right up to the animals, and we fed them from big buckets. I will always remember the giraffe's long purple tongue reaching out to take greens out of my mother-in-law's hand. It was an experience like no other.

The park offers many other "safaris" now. I suppose that is why they changed the name to the "San Diego Zoo Safari Park". The safaris range in price from $45 per person with an hour long guided tour, to the deluxe package at $599 per person- the ultimate back stage/zookeeper pass.

For now, my family has a great time participating in the free stuff. I'd love to share our experiences from my very favorite park. I hope this information helps you plan your day.

photo: zoo.sandiegozoo.org

A tram looks like a truck cab pulling a bunch of open passenger cars. When we first visited the park many years ago, there was a monorail instead. The tram ride lasts about an half hour, circling the open plains of the zoo.

The tram driver entertained us with great animal stories and facts. I recommend taking the tram as the sun is setting because the animals are active after their afternoon naps. During our last safari, I thought the driver played a recording of a lion roaring. It was so loud. But actually, it was the big guy himself! The lion decided to tell us exactly where he was up on the hill, the true "Lion King of the Safari". Even though the tram stayed on the outside loop, the animals were close for great picture opportunities. In hindsight, it would have been fun to have binoculars.

We LOVE this show. We have gone every year. We arrived at the amphitheater early and sat in the very front row on the left hand side. As planned, my son was picked to go on stage to help with one part of the show. He got to do tricks with the birds in front of a huge audience!

Other great places to sit include the upper right side of the stadium, and upper center. During different parts of the show, great majestic birds fly overhead to the zookeepers waiting at those high spots. Sit near those keepers, and it seems like the birds are flying to you.

We stayed after the show to learn more about the birds. Only a few people stay, so the conversation is intimate, just perfect for bird lovers.

This was my big splurge. We went up on this balloon hoping to see the cheetah run. This balloon is filled with helium, so a cable lets it go up and down. It is tethered the whole time. There is no hot air burner, because of the helium. We missed the cheetah, but still loved this ride. We went up 400 feet and had a view of the whole park- wow.

This is the cheapest of the safaris at $45 a person. The other safaris are more expensive, but there are more perks too.

This one has an minimum age limit of 7 years old, and a maximum of 2 children per adult. It looked pretty scary. Two of my kids weren't interested- takes a certain personality.

This safari looks very similar to the one we took at the 80th birthday party. Fun.

The teacher in me would love to go on this safari. They say it changes every time... you never know what it going to happen at the zoo.

I'd love to do this one too. The tents look more like hotel rooms to me. They call this "glamping" because it is so fancy.

Love cheetahs?

My birthday party present, I hope.