SD Zoo & Wild Animal Park

[karylrocks]

How possible is it to do both of these in one day? What would be the travel time from one to the other? If we do, which should we do first?

 

[iceskatejen]

No, it's not. First, both take nearly all day to see everything. Second, the drive between each would take around 45-60 minutes depending on traffic. I would do them different days. The zoo is huge and the Wild Animal Park is even bigger.

 

[abby]

We did the wild animal park in 1/2 to 2/3 of a day, but the zoo is much bigger with more to see and do. My dd who is now 5 (then 4) loves the zoo, but some of the wild animal park was too hard for her to see, mostly the almost hour long train ride, where most of the animals were either too far away or we went to quickly for her.

 

[lark]

You can't see them all both in one day. But you can see alot in both parks in one day, if you're so inclined. It's about a 45 minute to 1 hour drive, not including the transaction time from gate to gate.

 

[karylrocks]

Thanks for the replies. We are going in the summer when the zoo is open until 9:00 and the WAP is open until 10:00. That would give us 5-6 hours at each park which might be doable if we just see the highlights, maybe just take the train through both parks and see a few other things. We have a pretty good zoo here so would probably just want to see what we don't have. I will talk to DD to see what she wants to do; she is the animal person in the family and will be going to school to be a zookeeper working with big cats.

 

[Tink33]

You will be exhausted if you try to do both in one day. The Wild Animal Park gets hot in the summer (100 degrees is not uncommon). Most of the animals are in the shade during the heat. The SD Zoo is walking intensive. If you choose to see the entire zoo, you would probably walk 5 miles.

I would concentrate on one park. If you choose the WAP, go early in the day, drive to the beach for a break in the afternoon and go back when it cools down. If you choose the Zoo, again go early. Take a break at one of the many air conditioned museums in Balboa Park and return to the Zoo when it cools off.