These are some activities your 5 yr old might like,

Legoland in Carlsbad
The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park
The Wild Animal Park (part of the SD Zoo) in Escondido
Tide pools in La Jolla Cove

Also Sea World, Old Town some nice museums, even for kids in Balboa Park. The beaches.

My niece works at the SD Zoo, we are there most every summer. Zoo and Wild Animal Park are amazing, the Wild Animal Park is about an hour drive from downtown SD though. Have not been to Lego Land but have heard really great things about it, especially for your son’s age. Agree with La Jolla, about 30 minute drive from downtown. Mission, Pacific and Ocean beaches will have bigger waves, but still very nice. Coronado Island is great!
SD is huge, very spread out, with many intersecting highways and drivers as crazy as San Francisco. Take this in consideration if you, or your wife, are not comfortable with that type of driving. If you have a GPS, take it!
Have a blast SD is wonderful!

We took our granddaughter (along with her parents) to both Legoland and the next day the Wild Animal Park (now called Safari Park) when she was 5. She liked Wild Animal Park better and we paid a little extra so she could feed the giraffes.

Crazy drivers in San Diego? Surely you jest.

If you go after the morning commute and before/after the afternoon commute - you will be fine.

La Jolla Cove is about 20 minutes from downtown SD and the Wild Animal Park/Safari Park is about 30-35 minutes. Just drove it Monday for a volunteer session I had up there.

You can feed the giraffes between 11:30 and 1:30 - I believe at BOTH the Zoo and also at the Park. $8-$10 for three treats or some such. They stick out their 18"+ tongue and gently take the treat. Very memorable for kids big and small.

Kids also love the Shamu and Dolphin shows at Sea World.

Be sure to check the webpage for the SD ZOO/Safari Park: www.sandiegozoo.org, or close.

For the Zoo - at least right now - feeding the Giraffes is on weekends - noon to 1 PM and $5 for 3 biscuits/treats.

don't know if you saw my other post regarding j and t thai tomsd - tried it loved it!!

will definately be back for the fried rice with shrimp.

Thanks guys! these tips definitely will help in planning for my SD days. Also thanks for tips about food and driving conditions/distances. I think I will visit Zoo,sea world,Coronado beach.As I booked hotel bahia resort , mission beach will be visited by default. Looking at my schedule i might have to skip lego land. I hope weather is good there.

Yo Nanabee: Didn't see your T & H Thai post yet but will try to check it out.

Glad you liked it. It's sort of our favorite go-to option if we haven't made up our minds by Fri/Sat night - and also - it's an easy takeout for us.

And Norush: You can certainly enjoy SD with what you have listed and come back to further explore.

For the Zoo - if you go early - when it opens at 9 am - you can catch the animals when they are more active and also - love to see Big Cat Canyon when they are putting out their food - 10 to 11 am or so? They prowl around trying to find the tasty morsels.

Our first stop is usually the Tigers - and if you want to see the Pandas - walk up and catch them before the crowds start.

Really check out map they give you at the entrance.

I like the beach towns north of SD- Carlsbad being my favorite. You can take the train from downtown SD and not have to drive or worry about traffic. There is a train stop in downtown Carlsbad which is an easy short walk to the beach.
The train is the "Coaster"

It makes stops at several of the other beach towns - but not LaJolla.

Thanks Tomsd, yes I am planning to go early before actually they open.Thanks for info about animals schedule , yes pandas will be on top list. Pandas , polar bears , dolphins , penguins are my and my sons favorite.

Tomsd..do u have any idea how many hours I would need to see the zoo.

I wish I had one more day to visit legoland and carlsabad..looks like it wont fit into this trip...I will be driving back to LA. I will give it a try on my way back.

How much time at the zoo partially depends on how fast you walk/linger,etc. I would plan on at least 3 hours if not more. If you "poop out" when you are on the far side by the Elephant experience/Polar Bears - you can ride the Skyfari (cable car) back.

BTW - a good option is to ride the "tour" bus - or even the smaller express vans. The tour bus is narrated - but they both get your around - for a good intro/overview.

Suggest you get in line early for that.

Also - check out the Paznda Cam on the Zoo web page - and there you can also see the scheduled Panda showings. If they start at 9 AM - I would take the Tiger trail past the Tigers, Hippos etc - and then up Panda Canyon for an early/no lines viewing, and then maybe head up Cat Canyon - or take the moving stairway up to the Elephant/Polar Bear area and then decide if you want to go back - maybe via Skyfari - to take the narrated bus tour - or hop on an express van to get to where you want to go.

Hope this helps.

great! i m not sure about my rest of SD tour , but I m definitely All Set for ZOO now. thanks again Tomsd. Any other tips for rest of attractions are most wecome.

You might enjoy the tide pools out by the Cabrillo National Monument (Point Loma) as well as a tour of the small museum at the Museum.

Driving over to Coronado is very pretty - or take the ferry from the Embarcadero. The USS Midway/musueum is great also.

And SeaWorld also has a great artic/Polar Bear "tunnel", and other shows.

NoRush2day:

Look on www.sandiego.org for discount coupons, offers etc.

Be sure and try a fish taco - very delicious.

If you make it out to Ocean Beach walk out on the pier

Sandy

Hi. I've read all the posts and have a few suggestions.

First, I'm a suburban Angeleno, but have visited San Diego a number of times over the years for various reasons. Here are some suggestions.

!. Before you go, take a look at this San Diego city guide, as a check to make sure you are aware of places you would find interesting that have not been mentioned in this thread.

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/san-diego-city-guide.htm

2. On your first day, seriously consider taking the Old Town Trolley Tour. It's not a trolley at all, but a bus tricked up to look like a trolley. It's a hop on-hop off tour of many of the tourist attractions in the city. So you can easily see maybe 5 of said attractions in the day, without driving, and while being treated to some humorous patter by the driver. See:

http://www.trolleytours.com/san-diego/?gclid=CMzfhYy-47UCFYtaMgodcXcADA

3. One of the stops on the tour is Balboa Park, which has the Zoo and lots of museums. I recommend you not use the trolley as transportation to the Zoo, because the Zoo is an all or most of the day thing. But there may be some other things in Balboa park that would interest your family. See:

http://www.balboapark.org/info

4. A place that is frequently overlooked on these boards is the Cabriilo National Monument. I suggest it not only for its historical significance and its great view of the bay, but for its Junior Ranger program, q.v.

http://www.nps.gov/cabr/forkids/index.htm

If your kid goes home with a junior ranger badge, he will be top dog among his friends.

5. The 21 Missions of California are the most visited historical sights in the state, and all students in the 4th grade are required to study them, and if possible, visit one. You can bring your family up to 4th grade level by visiting the San Diego Mission. Full name: Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala. This Mission has one thing the other 20 Missions don't have, the distinction of being number one!

http://www.missionsandiego.com/index.htm

Schedule your visit during a time when there is no mass, which is most of the time.
Check in the gift shop as you enter to see if they still offer the audio tape self guided tour. I liked it a lot.
Are kids OK? Of course. This is a Catholic church.

the trolley tour is very good, i've not taken the one in san diego (as I live here) but i've taken it in other cities and this company does a very good job!

thank you all for wonderful suggestions.

Your son might also like Birch Aquarium in LaJolla near Scripps, it is small and not expensive. Nice exhibits.