The San Diego Zoo - Wow, who does their marketing?
Written: Aug 31 '03 (Updated Jan 15 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Some interesting exhibits, sky ride, area dedicated to kids, shows, pandas
Cons: Steep hills, bad food, totally overrated, some inhumane enclosures
The Bottom Line: The San Diego Zoo is good but not exactly the best zoo in the country.
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| modernmarvel's Full Review: San Diego Zoo |
Being on the east coast, the San Diego Zoo has always held some kind of mystique for me. It is marketed as one of the best zoos in the country and I thought, for sure, it must be true given the solid reputation and the year-round good weather that would be inviting to many kinds of animals. Boy, was I disappointed. Sure, there were some great aspects of the zoo. However, I also found that the San Diego Zoo is not nearly as big as I expected, the variety of animals leaves something to be desired (unless you like deer) and some of the enclosures are not very humane.
The other kind of odd thing about the San Diego Zoo is that there is a road running through most of the zoo used by the Zoo's bus tours and express buses. It was a pain to constantly have to monitor the children from stepping into the street and we had to cross the somewhat busy street multiple times to see the exhibits.
The San Diego Zoo also has a very commercial aspect. There are lots of visible gift stores and restaurants throughout the park. There are craft projects kids can do for a price. The bus tours and gondola rides cost extra money. There was also a place where kids could jump on mini-trampolines and climb a rock wall for a price. I expected more of a serene environment and instead there were lots of additional places to separate my money from me.
THE BUS TOUR
I highly recommend taking the bus tour when you arrive as a way of getting acquainted with the zoo. Bus tickets are in addition to your admission ticket. There is a 35 minute tour available aboard a double decker bus. The wait to sit on the top part of the bus is longer than the wait for the bottom but the view is much, much better. We arrived mid-morning and waited about 20 minutes for a top floor seat although we heard the wait can top an hour.
The bus takes you past about 80% of the enclosures. The bus driver also narrates the trip and had some pretty good information about the animals. After taking the bus tour, you can plan what you want to walk back to see more of.
THE ZOO OVERALL AND HOW TO AVOID HILLS
The first thing you will notice about the San Diego Zoo is that it is spread out and very hilly. There are a couple of outdoor escalators to help you get up some of the steepest hills. There is also a gondola ride between the back and front of the park (there is a small fee each way). If you don't want to hike hills, plan your visit so that you can walk downhill, then use the escalators to get back up. It also makes sense to take the gondola from the front of the park to the back of the park since the back of the park is on higher ground.
Make sure to pick up a map. If you pay for the bus tour, you can use express buses throughout the park. They travel in a loop and make 5 stops that are clearly marked on the map.
The zoo itself is quite large and spread out. While some enclosures are close together, others are quite separate from surrounding attractions (the pandas come to mind here). Although the number of actual animals on display is not overwhelming the size of the zoo requires a lot of hiking. It would take most of a day to see everything and allow time for a meal and resting.
THE CHILDREN'S ZOO
This was, by far, my favorite part of the zoo. It is located just near the entrance. A path winds through about 30 animal exhibits that are fairly close together. There are also a lot of hands-on exhibits. The sheep and goat petting area was a family favorite (the kids way outnumbered the animals who looked drugged). There was even a considerate family wash-up area right outside the petting area with lots of soap and sinks. The children's zoo also had exhibits to explore including a garden and a bug house with some really huge, creep bugs. The cages were well-labeled with animal information. I highly recommend this area for both children and adults.
THE PANDAS
The San Diego Zoo has a female and male panda. When we visited in August 2003, the female had just had a baby and neither mother nor child was on exhibit. The male was allowed to move to a private area for a nap so we did not get to see him either. The panda enclosure is about a 5 minute walk from the other exhibits. I understand not being able to see the new family, however it would have been appreciated if there was a sign near the entrance of the zoo so I didn't trek out of my way.
OTHER EXHIBITS
There is a very large collection of "horns and hoofs" which are deer, antelope, cattle and other 4 footed brown animals. I don't really appreciate all of the nuances between all the varieties of deer and could have skipped some of these exhibits.
Polar Bears: The Polar Bears have a very large and considerate enclosure. There are plenty of viewing area and the exhibits around the back of the Polar Bear exhibit were also pretty neat.
Elephants: Three large elephants are kept in a relatively small, inhumane enclosure with no opportunity for privacy. It really broke my heart to see them kept this way.
Monkey Business: There is a decent collection of primates that were pretty active on the cool day that we visited.
Cats: I love to watch the large cats in any zoo. The San Diego Zoo had a relatively small collection of these animals. There is one small tiger enclosure and another for a lion.
OTHER THINGS TO DO BESIDES SEE ANIMALS
We saw a 20 minute show called Wacky Science with Dr. Zoolittle in the children's area of the zoo. The show was free and quite good. The kids loved it. We didn't need tickets and the show occurred at the top of each hour.
There was a trio walking around on stilts dressed like birds. It wasn't exactly a parade, but it was interesting to see.
There was a band at the entrance playing pretty good music. They also had a kid's limbo contest.
There was an area with a climbing wall and a mini-trampoline. It was $7 per child for 3 minutes on the trampoline which I forked over because my guard is down when I am on vacation.
EATING
I really don't like the overpriced, low-quality food found in tourist attractions. We brought a lot of food into the park and no one questioned us. We ate one meal at the restaurant near the entrance. There was only one person working the counter so the service was very slow. As predicted, the food was overpriced and low-quality. The only plus to eating in the zoo was that the kids' meal came in a plastic bucket that we brought home as a little memento of our trip. We also got sturdy plastic cups that could be reused.
PARKING
Parking is free in a large lot. You may have to park away from the zoo and hike. We were about 5 minutes away. There are no trams or other transportation to the entrance.
SHOPPING
Strangely, the San Diego Zoo has more shopping than my local mall. There was a huge shop near the entrance and other retail shops throughout the park selling animal-themed merchandise. The only annoying thing is that many gift shops were open air and, in some cases,you had to walk through a gift shop to exit an exhibit area. My kids, who usually don't ask for anything, became fixated with getting something because so much was on display everywhere we went.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
I am going to recommend this zoo because we had a fun daytrip here. However, now that I have seen it, I don't think I would return. I didn't like the road running through the park and I didn't care for the commercial aspect. We have our own hometown zoo that is not as glitzy but is just as nice.
MY REVIEWS OF OTHER THINGS TO SEE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Disney's California Adventure
Disneyland
Legoland
SeaWorld San Diego
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
The San Diego Wild Animal Park
Balboa Park
The Museum of Making Music
Recommended:
Yes
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modernmarvel
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