Sea World or San Diego Zoo?

[tarheelalum]

Seaworld is a lot of fun. They have a couple of really good rides and their shows are great. The Zoo is fun but it's a lot like other zoo's too me. If I wanted to go to the Zoo, I'd go to the Safari park in Escondido. That is place is very cool. We did the cheetah experience there a few years back and it was awesome.

 

[Disneyland1084]

Do you want to see animals or aquatic animals? That should be a big factor.

I haven't really thought about that.

Thank you everyone for your responses. I see I have a lot to think about.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

San Diego native here - the Zoo, without a doubt. The San Diego Zoo is one of the greatest zoos in the world (and I have visited other zoos all over the world, in the U.S., Europe, Australia and Asia). Sea World doesn't come close. Additionally, you can visit Sea World in several other places in the U.S. The San Diego Zoo is unique.

To the poster comparing the Bronx Zoo to the SD Zoo, you must be kidding! That's like saying KMart is better than Nieman Marcus (yes, I've been to the Bronx Zoo).

 

[Vougar]

In 2012, we did 5 day parkhopper at DL and then rented a car and stayed in SD for a few nights. We did both the SD Zoo and Sea World. In hindsight, I would have rather stayed an extra 1-2 days in DL then visit both the SD Zoo and Sea World. It was my first trip to both DL and Sea World but I had been to the zoo before. However, between the SD Zoo and Sea World I found the Zoo to be much more enjoyable and more "bang for the buck" then Sea World.

 

[NannyBeBe]

I would choose the zoo. And Balboa Park is so pretty; and I really enjoyed the museums in the park.

 

[SylviaL]

We went there 2 years ago with kids ranging in age from 6 to 16. We all really enjoyed the San Diego Zoo (and we live 20 minutes from a pretty good zoo -- Brookfield Zoo). We would not go to Sea World again. We just felt like all we were doing was waiting in the hot sun for cheesy shows to start. The shows were very disappointing. It seemed like they were trying to be more Cirque du Soleil-ish. We just loved walking around the San Diego Zoo. The kids fed the giraffes (line up early to get tickets). They loved the sky tram thing. Next time, we'd like to go to the safari park.

 

[DSNY4ever]

We love the zoo, but we also love the whole Balboa park that it is in. We havent taken our kids yet, but as adults we would get there at opening and spend all day and in the afternoon we would walk through the beautiful gardens and buildings at Balboa park. I definitely enjoyed it.

 

[starshine514]

Our group loves Sea World. They have awesome shows and really nice exhibits. Plus, they have a few rides, if you are into that sort of thing. The SD Zoo was not a great fit for our group because of the terrain (up/down/up/down) and our group mobility (wheelchair, ECV and stroller). It didn't help that it was really crowded when we went, either... Sea World is really a much more relaxing day for us. I get why people say that it's a half-day park, but when we go, we typically stay in the San Diego area for a week and do three days at Sea World. If you go around the holidays, they really decorate the park and have a neat snow play area that my kids love. That being said, we went to the Safari Park last year and really enjoyed it. My parents would go to the Safari Park again, but they won't go to the SD zoo again.

 

[IdahoMike]

For us its the Zoo hands down. Everyone in our family loves the variety of animals, (especially Pandas, and now they have a tasmanian devil!) and the hilly terrain is not an issue for us. Well worth the cost of admission.
Sea World was fine, but not something any of us are clamoring to go back and see anytime soon, and it is significantly more expensive than the zoo as well.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I moved this thread to the "other theme park" board since it doesn't discuss Disneyland.

 

[ktlm]

Neither- we would pick the San Diego Safari Park. We went there last summer for the first time, and loved it so much more than the other two places! Had we known how great it was, we would have done that on prior trips. We were always confused by the web site as we thought you had to buy a ticket for the park and also buy a separate Safari to be driven around to see animals. That is not the case. With your ticket, you automatically get a tour on the Africa Tram included. It is great. We did not feel the need to spend the money on a separate add on Safari, but I know they have some great ones. In addition to the Africa tram there are a lot of "zoo" type walking paths and a top of animals- it is beautiful and fun.

 

[mileshuff]

San Diego Zoo is known for its conservation efforts, with tons of research and programs behind the scenes. While Sea World enjoys a less stellar reputation *cough, blackfish, cough*

If you buy into agenda driven propaganda easily! Same things can be said about most any zoological facility. Those same research and programs behind the scenes you mention with the zoo also occur at Sea World as well as their involvement outside the park. Don't want to get into a political debate, closes informative threads down quick! SW has its pluses and minuses as does the zoo. They're both great parks but very different.

 

[mileshuff]

We love both! SW has enough to see and do for a full day and into the night during busier months. Zoo is generally 1/2 day. Zoo is large with lots of walking up and down steep hills (there are shuttle trams, tour bus and aerial tram to help with that). Hard to say one is better than the other as they are vastly different experiences. SW is more of an oceanic themepark with rides, shows and exhibits, aquariums etc. The Zoo is, well a zoo although the SD Zoo is one of the best in the country. The Safari Park near Escondido is also worth a visit. If I only had 1 day I'd pick SW as there is more to do. We usually spend a long weekend and visit all 3 parks.

 

[mileshuff]

We spent a whole day and could have done more. We found sea world to be ok, but thought we liked the Florida one better.

We preferred the San Diego SW over Orlando. Mainly because at Orlando many shows are indoor or covered. I prefer the outdoor experience at San Diego a bit better. I assume Orlando goes inside or covered because of the rain, intense summer heat etc. Journey to Atlantis at Orlando completely drenched us head to toe! San Diego we got wet but not soaked to the bone! Fun either way!

 

[Camonkeygirl]

All three parks have there good and bad, and right now there is quite a bit of construction at the Zoo as we plan for our 100th anniversary next year and yes, I work at the Zoo and have been there for a long time.

Only you know which one is the best for your family. Ask them what animals they want to see. All three parks also have their maps online, maybe take a look at them to see what looks like fun