San Diego Zoo Safari Park Please help me plan my trip

S

shanshan

New Member
My fiancee and I have decided to spend a night in San Diego. My fiancee is a big animal/zoo lover, so I am thinking of driving out to Safari Park as a surprise.

Does anyone have any suggestions on timing the trip? It would be 2/19 (saturday) unless it rains so 2/18. I can see generic advice that mornings and afternoons are better to see animals.. but does anyone have any specific guidance for mid-February? Currently we would try to It will take us about 1.5hrs to drive to the Safari Park, so I don't think we would be able to get there super early morning.

Any advice for tours as well is appreciated. Ideally, there would be an "elephant experience" (my fiancee would hug a baby elephant all day if she could). But since that does not exist, and I can't afford $500 for a VIP tour (especially since not worth it as no way to tell if hugging baby elephants is involved) -- it looks like its between the Caravan, the Segway, and the Zipline.

I think Ziplining is out as its not really an "animal" experience. Looks fun, but not worth $140 for the two of us. I've found mixed reviews on the Internet as to whether the Caravan tour is worth it (over the Tram) and I haven't really been able to find any reviews of the Segway. I like the idea of feeding Rhinos though and getting closer to the animals so they feel more "real".

Are these tours recommended? I understand they put $ into the zoo's pocket, but I have donated to animal related causes in past. I only want to pay the $ for these tickets if it is really "worth it".

Lastly, I'd be curious if anyone had a view as to whether the Caravan was duplicitive to the tram tour?

Also any advice for the Elephant Outlook also of course appreciated!

Sorry for the vague questions. I've spent a while googling, but haven't been able to formulate a game plan. :confused::confused:

Thank you in advance :):)
 
Greetings fellow OC Resident.

First thing you should know is that if you like Elephant's, the Daily "Elephant Run" at the Safari Park is the way to go. At about 11:30 the entire yard is opened up and the entire herd comes out to start the day. It's an amazing sight to see and they did have the baby birth not long ago so it will be that much more fun, although you don't get to hug them ;).

The Zipline is, as you said, very expensive and is a very short experience where you don't get to enjoy too much animal viewing. You can't go wrong picking between the Safari Caravan (which I have done) and the Segway Tour (which I want to do badly). I recommend the Safari Caravan for the unique photo taking opportunites and make sure you bring a nice camera with extra batteries and film/memory card(s).

I also strongly recommend getting there for one of the free Cheetah presentations. Depending on where you are in Newport, you might even consider taking the 73 toll road down past Laguna Niguel which could save you a bunch of time.
 
This is a huge park. You need to make every effort to stay from open until close - both to see everything and to get your money's worth. Remember, any experiences you pay extra for do NOT include general admission, so you still need to tack that on. Also, if you arrive later in the day you will have to park farther down the hill and walk a bit uphill to the entrance. The single best advice I can give - and I cannot emphasize this enough - is do whatever it takes to get up early enough to be at the front gate at 9am sharp.
 
Definitely get there early, walking up that hill can be difficult if you're not into walking and its really crowded on weekends. Schools are off that week too, so you'll have to deal with large crowds probably. You should probably get there at least before Elephant Rush though, it is pretty fun to watch too.

Oh and for eating, food at the SDWAP is better than most zoos, but like everything in the zoo, its expensive. The best places to eat are probably Thorntree terrace by the entrance, Okavango in Heart of Africa, and Mombasa Island Cooker is good near the lagoon.
 
Thank you for the tip for the elephant run. We will definitely be there before that. does it happen at 11:30 sharp every day like clockwork, or should I call zoo? I will also look into the cheetahs.

I like the photo opps so the caravan it is. Will do the $90 Caravan Adventure tour. Does anyone know which field exhibits it visits? Or which times to book? Should I try to plan the caravan around the elephant run?

Also.. if I do caravan adventure, do I not need the tram or is that duplicative? Do I use the tram to get to the elephant run?

Many thanks for all the help. And thanks for tips on food as well.
 
I spoke to the zoo. So the caravan stops are dependent on animal movement. And the stops at "3 exhibits" means geographic regions vs. animal exhibits. So multiple animal exhibits. the africa tram is also not duplicative as the tram goes around the exhibit, vs. the caravan into the exhibit.

For some reason I forgot to ask about the elephant run and cheetahs.
 
I've only been to Elephant Rush once, but it strictly happened at 11:30, you may want to arrive earlier than that to be sure though. I was rushing and I just got there in time.

I believe the photo caravan tour takes you into East Africa and the two Asian field exhibits which cannot be seen anymore. So it would be really special to go on the caravan.
 
My perfect date would be at the zoo or wild park, so I think I can help you out!

The elephant rush is definitely worth watching, particularly with the littlest one just a couple of months old. I saw him shortly after he was born and it was a real treat!

The special experiences the zoo and wild park offer are by far my favourite part! I've done the 3 hour photo caravan tour and the ride on the wild side with the cheetahs at the wild park. At the zoo I've done the discovery tour and the inside look tour.

By far my favourite tour was the photo caravan. Feeding giraffes and the rhinos is indescribable and by far one of the best experiences I've ever had. I basically had a grin on my face for three hours and you can't beat that. I loved it so much that I wanted to do it again when I visited again at Christmas, but because of the insane rain it got rained out.

But whatever you decide to do I'm sure your girlfriend will be thrilled no matter what! The wild part is truly amazing as is the zoo!

Have a great time.
 
thank you for the tips. will report back after the weekend. I have the plan, and am now watching out for the weather forecasts!
 
They no longer have Elephant Rush. But the shifts are around that time and the elephants run just the same. :) It is supposed to rain this week so good luck.
 
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