Wild Animal Park

[wdhinn89]

We are thinking of going to the Wild Animal Park in addition to San Diego Zoo and Seaworld during our Summer 2009 visit. Can anyone tell me a little about the Wild Animal Park? Is it worth it? Is it similar to the Kilamanjara ride at WDW? My family loves animals and after my daughter saw the Jon & Kate plus 8 episode when they go there, she really wants to go now so any information on must sees would be appreciated.

 

[jasy]

My DH and I went to the Wild Animal park during our honeymoon last March. Previous to this I had been to the zoo only. We did both the zoo and the wild animal park over two seperate days. I loved the wild animal park, there are lots of things to see and do. The ride through the park on the bus thing is only a small part. There are numerous trails for walking and lots of activities for the young and old alike. We would definetly go back for a second trip. If you are planning on going to the WIld Animal park I might go to the zoo as well in Balboa park, you can save $$ by purchasing your ticket online (which is what we did) and buying a ticket for both parks.

I would also suggest visiting their website, it's a wealth of information. I know that the next time we go back we're going to pay extra and have a tour where we can feed the Rhinos DH really wanted to do it the last time around but we didn't plan it far enough in advance.

I hope you enjoy your trip.

 

[MelKeil]

how far is it from carlsbad to thw wild animal kingdom park? how long does it take to do the whole park? 1/2 day of full day?

 

[Disneylvrforever]

The Wild Animal Park is big like the zoo and requires a lot of walking. Make sure you drink lots of water when you're there bc it gets super hot during the summer.
The Journey into Africa tour takes you around the part of park where ppl can't go through bc it's where all the animals roam! You get to see many animals on the tour from your usuals, like giraffes, and endangered, like rhinos. I really like going on it bc you get to see what the animals do as if they were in their own habitat, in which most of it is sleeping, but they're still cute to look at. The tour costs extra, $10 for adults and $7 for kids 3-11.
My favorite is going to the Lion Camp bc the lions like to lay around in front of the glass that ppl can look through. If the glass wasn't there, you could literally touch them or they can eat you. Last summer, there were lots of lion cubs and were fun to watch.
Another one of my faves is watching the elephants, especially when there's babies around! There are many spots to look at them from and that's when the trails kick in. Make sure you have your map in hand bc it can feel like you're gonna get lost. HTH!

 

[Mrsjvb]

you must fed the Lorries.. really. when we lived there, we were members. It probably took us three separate trips to see EVERYTHING, but you could see the highlights in one day, but it is very hilly and a LOT of walking.

can't offer any insight on the new way they show you the preserve, as when we lived there it was still the tram along the perimeter and not the buses right down in( that was limited to photo safaris)

 

[arliepooh68]

you are out here in the summertime correct? They should be on their evening hours, which will make it a heck of a lot nicer out there. I personally prefer the Park over the Zoo. it will be incredibly hot in the summertime which is why the evening hours are great cuz the animals get active as it cools down. the positive about the zoo is you are a lot closer to a lot of other things as well. When my kids were smaller we went to the zoo for the location convenience. . Also remember some of the schools are year round down here in san dog and sometime in july the 5th graders invade balboa park, they do several different things the entire week. . .

savings tip. . . they have those character cups that cust almost 8 bucks, do not lose your receipt, you get free refills the day of the purchase of the cup. and there too you can bring your snacks in, just don't take them with you in the petting zoo area. . .

 

[DCDisney]

how far is it from carlsbad to thw wild animal kingdom park?

Carlsbad is relatively close--only 15 miles away.

 

[MelKeil]

actually just returned from our trip. It took us 35 minutes to get from Carlsbad to the Park... and honestly, I don't think it was really worth it. The zoo tram was the only interesting thing to do that we couldn't do at our local zoo (Cleveland, OH).

 

[Nanb]

Just back from a stay in Carlsbad and it was about 15-20 minutes. My third trip to the Wild Animal Park. I am truly their biggest fan.

I really encourage the photo safari and if you are there in summer it will be hot so water and dress accordingly I know the cost sounds like a lot ($90 for 1 1/2 hr $150 for 3 1/2 hour tour) but it is magical and all of you money goes into conservation efforts. Takes alot of money to feed and take care of these animals.

I've taken three different family members (they paid their own way of course Feeding giraffes and rhinos and just drinking in that place is amazing. You go out in a jeep with about 8 or 10 people into the enclosures and you'll never be so close to so many animals. The guides go out of their way to educate and entertain. I'm already planning my trip next year.

This year there are 3-4 baby elephants that were beautiful and I got some great shots of them playing. I know our guide said there were a lot of the giraffes pregnant also so hoping to see some new babies on the next trip.

I haven't figured out how to upload a picture here yet but here is the link to my webshots page.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/558297241MfRLlT?start=24

Have fun,
Nan