San Diego Zoo hours and how long to spend there?

[goofy4wdw2]

DH and I are thinking of going to the Zoo the day we arrive in California because it would work best with the rest of our itinerary. We land at LAX at 10am. I'm thinking if all goes smoothly, we could get our bags and be on the road by 11am (family picking us up), maybe get to the zoo by 12:30 or so.

The zoo's official hours are 9-4, but the grounds are open until 6pm...what does that mean? Can we roam around and see the animals until 6pm, or only certain areas of the zoo? Do you think we'd have enough time from 12:30ish on? We don't feel that we have to see every inch of the zoo, but we'd like to do the guided bus tour first, then walk around to the areas that interest us most for a little while. I'm pregnant, so we're thinking a full day might be too much anyway (I've heard there are lots of hills) for our firsts day. Your thoughts? Thanks!

 

[E&BMom]

We were just there last week. We flew into LAX and it ended up taking 2 1/2 hrs (traffic) to get from LAX to San Diego. The zoo is big and very, very hilly. There is a lot of walking. If you can do the bus thing with your being pregant that would probably be better. We were there from 10 ish until 4 and did not see everything. We did see a lot but still not everything. I am not sure about the time thing so I can't help on that. HTH

 

[ScooterL]

Getting to the Zoo by 12:30 is probably optimistic - you just never know about traffic and all. And it's a good two hours from LAX to the Zoo unless there's absolutely NO traffic.

The bus tour gives you a good overview of the Zoo, but the lines for that can get pretty long - you might find that you arrive at the Zoo at 1:00 and then wait in line for an hour for the bus tour. :-(

So it kind of depends on what you want out of the experience - if you just want to see the Zoo and ride around it, then you might be ok with just being there for a few hours, but if you want more I think you'll be disappointed.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Hi, we were just there last Monday. We got to the zoo about 8:40 am, parked and were at the gate in the ticket line before the 9 am opening.

It was a GREAT time and we enjoyed it so much more than SeaWorld. We took the bus tour first thing and then hoofed it around for a few hrs, took the skyfari ride back and hoofed it some more. We stayed til a little after 4 and didn't see everything even. The 4 and 6 thing means that they do not let more people in after 4 pm, but those already in the zoo can stay until 6 pm.

It is super hilly and good exercise walking up and down for hours. I felt bad for the parents pushing strollers! Glad those days are over for us.

Have a fun time,

Lives4Disney

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

We land at LAX at 10am. I'm thinking if all goes smoothly, we could get our bags and be on the road by 11am (family picking us up), maybe get to the zoo by 12:30 or so.

There is no way you'd be at the zoo by 12:30 pm driving from LAX. Plus, I would not recommend going to the zoo in the mid afternoon - way too crowded and many of the animals will be sleeping. It would be far better to get there when it first opens in the morning.

 

[tmatthews]

I too think 12:30 is pushing the envelope! It took us about 1 1/2 hrs from anaheim. However, we spent 4 hours at the zoo...no bus tour...and no we didn't see everything...but we saw enough to make us happy to say we have been there!