Very Short San Diego Visit

[temple4]

We will have a chance to be in San Diego for just 1 1/2 days before our 5 nights in Disneyland. I know we won't see it all, but I would like my kids to see a little of Sea World and the Zoo. It would be all day Saturday and 1/2 day Sunday. Any suggestions on how to manage this? Maybe most of one day at one, then only hit a few things at the other. We will be there with my sister and her family so altogether the four kids will be 4, 7, 8 and 12. Thanks in advance and any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[RalphMouth]

We will have a chance to be in San Diego for just 1 1/2 days before our 5 nights in Disneyland. I know we won't see it all, but I would like my kids to see a little of Sea World and the Zoo. It would be all day Saturday and 1/2 day Sunday. Any suggestions on how to manage this? Maybe most of one day at one, then only hit a few things at the other. We will be there with my sister and her family so altogether the four kids will be 4, 7, 8 and 12. Thanks in advance and any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

IMHO- I'd only do Sea World-
with four kids at the ages they're at you will have some issues. The San Diego Zoo is HUGE and 1/2 day will be very tough. If your kids were a bit older maybe but I wouldn't do it. The SD Zoo is wonderful but other than pandas I'm sure your local zoo will have your usual lions, zebras, monkeys & such. Doubt you can see killer whales, dolphins & penguins were you live.

My suggestion for a 1/2 day-

go to Cabrillo Point- it's in SanDiego and is awesome. You are up real high and can see San Diego to your left, the naval station ahead & the ocean to your right. There's a lighthouse and other leisurely thing to see. Don't KILL yourselves off before you even get to Disney.

 

[denyd]

I agree with RalphMouth about Sea World for the full day. There are alot of attractions and it really is a full day park.

For the half day there are a couple of choices:

1. The San Diego Wild Animal Park (which I haven't been to yet) is supposed to be excellent and can be done in half a day. They also sell a Southern California City Pass that is good for 1 day at Sea World, 1 at either the SD Zoo or Wild Animal Park and a 1 day Park Hopper Pass for DL & DCA.

2. Balboa Park, which is right next to the SD Zoo has quite a few museums and a Planetarium & IMAX theatre. Depending on your families hobbies (Model Railroading, Airplanes, Astronomy, etc) this might be perfect for you. There is also a nice playground for the under 10 set to romp around at.

3. You could also leave SD early and try out another LA area attraction like the Long Beach Aquarium or the LA Zoo (smaller than SD) or spend a day at one of the beaches.

4. You could leave SD early and stop at San Juan Capistrano to check out the Mission and wander around the town, though this might be a little boring for the young ones sandwiched between Sea World & DL.

 

[karylrocks]

Another vote for a full day at SeaWorld. Another option for the half day, especially if you are driving from San Diego to Anaheim, would be Legoland, which is on the way. It would especially appeal to the younger ones, but the 12 year old would probably find it amusing for half a day.

 

[Redcon1]

I second the beaches for the half-day. You could even stop at one on your way up to Anaheim. From experience, I know Carlsbad is a nice town with a good beach or even Oceanside a little farther north.
If you wanted to stay in San Diego proper, try a harbor cruise...

 

[LucyKate]

We also had 1 1/2 days in SD and did a few hours at the zoo, and the full day at Seaworld.

I'd agree with the above - we needed the whole day at Seaworld to see all the shows and do the rides, and it is something very special.

A few hours was not enough to see the zoo but if that's al you have I'd still do it as long as you prioritise - for example we made sure we saw the pandas straight away, as that's something we can't see anywhere else.

But the mountain gorillas were also very special, as were the hippos, which have a glass front tank so you can see them swimming - which was sensational. Being from Australia we skipped the koalas, but they are also something you might find unique to that zoo.

I'd skip the polar bears - which were hard to see at the zoo, but in a great display at Seaworld.