San Diego Itinerary
 

Okay, I have the plane flights, hotel, and car rental booked to San Diego so it's a done deal. I also purchased tickets to a Padres game, which should be fun. This is the initial plan I have:

Day 1: Arrive late PM
Day 2: Legoland (my son's been begging me to go to this)
Day 3: San Diego Zoo
Day 4: Wild Animal Park
Day 5: relax at beach / SD Padres Game (firm)
Day 6: Relax at beach
Day 7: Return to Austin

How's this itinerary? Is it doable? Too much planned or just right? Let me know.

Totally doable and a great plan!
How old is your son?
Kids under 10ish go nuts for this place.
They just opened a water park too.
Check on-line to Sandiego.org for discount tixs if they have them.
When you hit up the Padres game take him to the corner Western Metals building through the store and be on the field to watch the players.
This is the coolest thing!
Tin Fish next door to Petco has great fish tacos and cold beers for cheap.
Where are you staying?
SD Wild Animal Park you should have dinner outside at Hacienda de Vega in Escondido.
For beach, LJ Shores is perfect to swim, snorkel and a great beach with kids.
Super clean and clear water.
Have a burger at Jeff's burger or a sandwich at the Cheese Shop.
Oceanfront dining is good at the hotel LJ Shores and you can sit outside on the patio.
You can rinse off at the shower..bring some shower gel and a couple clean towels so you can head out to the Pad's game from there.
Have fun and report back!

maybe the water park at Legoland for the day at the beach.
like I said, it's like crack with these kids and if you can combo pack it either early beach and then water park when the marine layer burns off, and they might have a 2 day pass.
This is a HUGE success.
Carlsbad has Neuvo on the water which has great white chicken meat burritos and chile rellenos.

ksucat,

Thanks for the tips.

My son is almost 6.

I have a question about parking for the Padres game. Is there reasonably priced parking within a few blocks of the stadium?

Our hotel is in the Moonlight Beach area. Is the beach nice there? What about some cool relaxed places near the beach?

I don't know much about San Diego, only been there once on a conference so any information is helpful.

I love Moonlight Beach- one of my favorite spots

You know you can take the train in and not worry about parking for the game - its called the Coaster and there is a stop in Encinitas- sounds like that might be where you are staying

We stayed at the Best Western there and train stopped close to our hotel

Park at the new Hilton Bayfront next to the convention center..its $10 for the game and its a 5 minute walk.
It's where we always park.

They have a happy hour there along with McCormicks and Schmicks at the Omni.

Check the map on the Hilton since you want to go the back side instead of getting in the thick of the Gaslamp.

Moonlight Beach is awesome!
Encinitas is such a great surf town.
Make sure you go to the gardens at the Self Realization which is oceanfront..stunning place to walk and watch the surfers at Swami's.

You can hit up Las Olas on the water for Mex or Jake's in Del Mar.
Brigantine in Del Mar has one of the best happy hour with kids welcome with $3 fish tacos that are some of the best in town.

6 year old with his Dad in San Diego and going to a Padre game..plus Legoland...Priceless!

gaslamp.org

The only part of your plan that is flawed is Day 7.

logandog,

Gotta get back to work and pay the bills, especially after all these theme parks... :)

ksucat, The Coaster looks interesting. Do you know which stop we'd get off in downtown to go to PETCO Park?

Coaster drops you off at the SD train depot downtown.
It's a good walk but doable or you can catch a pedicab.
kids love the train and you won't have to worry about parking and all the other stuff.
Coaster is a great way to go.

http://gonctd.com/coaster_stations.htm

My daughter used to live in Carlsbad and always used the Coaster to go to games - did not have to worry about sitting in traffic if it was bad that day- no parking worries and as Ksucat says- kids love riding the train

I always used it to go to the airport too - drops you off at the train depot but then you catch a bus to airport - it was very easy to do and way less expensive than taking a shuttle from Carlsbad

Yes, the coaster will be the way to go. You have a great plan - sounds like a fabulous day. I hope you enjoy Petco Park as much as we do!

You can also take the trolley from the train station to Gaslamp. From there, it's a very short walk to Petco Park.

We loved the Wild Animal Park. I think to really enjoye it you might consider a couple of the "extras" there. We did the tour that you got to feed the giraffe and rhino. Very very cool!! I would have liked to have done the roar and snore program, but they didn't offer it on the day that we were there(only weekends at that time). This is where you actually spend the night in the park with just a few other guests. They may do this at the zoo also. No Seaworld??

Thanks everyone for all the advice about the Coaster - we'll definitely be taking it.

spirobulldog,

RE: Seaworld: We live in Austin which is very close to San Antonio and have been to Seaworld there multiple times. I've also been to Seaworld in San Diego before on business (got a free pass as part of the convention package). So, I'd rather see things we've never seen before. The San Diego Zoo is supposed to be the best in the country so can't miss that and the Wild Animal Park sounds interesting. Must do Legoland for my son and I had to get my MLB fix in. That pretty much fills up the days.

Looks good. The Coaster is convenient. I take it at least once every year during my vacation in Carlsbad.

If you are a AAA member, be sure to check to see if there are discounts at any of the attractions. I remember it saved me quite a bit when I last visited the zoo.

Your son is the perfect age for Legoland! Your schedule looks great, but I'm going to add one more suggestion in case an activity falls through or you find some extra time (haha). My son was about 7 when we went to SD and was totally captivated by the tidal pools at Cabrillo National Monument. In addition, the view of San Diego Bay and beyond is incredible. We sat and watched Navy ships (and a submarine!) entering the harbor for quite some time. There is so much activity in the harbor and in the air that it can keep a little boy and his family entertained for a very reasonable fee. www.nps.gov/archive/cabr/tide.html

Oddly enough my nephew subscribes to Lego magazine and has a discount coupon to Legoland.

I agree with wtm's suggestion of Cabrillo monument. Maybe do it on a morning of a beach day then head to the beach. Ive been up there a few times now and have always enjoyed it. Only thing I may change is changing the days of LegoLand and the zoo so its not 2 straight days of animals. I love both parks and feel that they are different enough to make them worthwhile, but a 6 year old may be overwhelmed. 1 more suggestion but he may be too young would be the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier tour.

Enjoy San Diego as its a phenomenal city and a lot of fun. I may be out there in a few weeks for work. Tough business trip...

For the Padres game, get there a few hours before game time and go in thru Center Field as there is a Whiffle Ball field for kids to play on. I believe these are pickup games and all kids are encouraged to join. Petco is my 2nd favorite stadium so enjoy it.

You may want to consider alternating a theme park day one day and a beach day the next day, instead of trying to do Legoland, the Zoo, and then the animal park in three straight days. Use the beach days to slow down and relax in between.

tchoiniere, thanks I'll keep the Cabrillo monument in mind. I'm psyched about the Padres game, can't wait!

globetrotterxyz,

Thanks, I was thinking that I usually feel like I need to take a vacation after I take a vacation and hopefully if I have a full day of relaxation, maybe I won't feel that way when I get home. So I planned to do all activities first then relax at the tail end.

Skip the Wild Animal Park, the Zoo will fit the bill. The Wild Animal Park, will seem too familiar to a 6 year old, after seeing the Zoo.
Plus, it's HOT!!!!
Tina

Plus, coming from Austin, a little more Ocean time is always enjoyable. I would do the tidepools in a heart beat. My kids Loooooved that when they were little. Or do the waterpark part of Legoland in place of the Wild Animal Park.
I agree with some the above posters, alternating Beach Day, activity, Beach Day , activity..etc. is the way to make everyone happy.
Tina

Just 2 more cents--my wife and I went to both the WAP and the Zoo and thought they were both amazing. The zoo for its variety of animals and the WAP for its unique set up. We are animal lovers. If your 6 year old really likes elephants and tigers, then IMHO, you shouldn't skip the WAP. The interaction there is incomparable to any other zoo we've been to (and we've been to zoos all around the world). For animals, San Diego has everyone beat. :-)

Don't know if someone else suggested this, but you may want to purchase the membership (which may be discounted on the site) instead of even discounted tickets. the benefit is that the membership purchase is I believe almost entirely tax deductible, which means if you keep the receipt, you'll get about a 30% rebate come tax time.

Note-when I say "interaction", I mean lack of interaction. It's like the animals aren't in zoos.

tinabina, not worried about the "heat" in San Diego, I come from Texas :) where it's been upper 90's the last few days.

What's up with the weather in San Diego though? I checked two days ago and it was low 70's. Now it's upper 80's? Maybe we'll be spending more time at the beach than originally planned.

chadnycity,

Ok, now you really got me confused :) I understand what the San Diego Zoo is, I've been to many different zoos. So what is the difference between the Zoo and WAP?

I meant the Wild Animal Park. They're about 30 minutes apart by car.

The zoo is incredible and very large. It has its own bus system (which I recommend taking advantage of because the hills are steep). As with all zoos though, you can't escape the fact that the animals are confined in small spaces, even though this zoo really goes an extra mile and small isn't by far tiny here. The zoo also has the pandas, the koalas and the white rhinoceros which looks like a fake metal statue.

By contrast, the Wild Animal Park is a massive area of land with less variety but moe of a wild in India (ex. tigers) or Africa (ex. lions). There is a tiger overlook where you stand high above acres of parkland observing tigers.

The membership includes both so my wife and I went to both on the same day. You could do that too, but with a six year old, you'd have to pace yourself at the zoo particularly if it's hot. You could also go another day, though you definitely don't need a whole day for it, or just pop in to the animal park for 30 minutes to see a couple things.

Either way, sounds like you've got a great flexible plan. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time and you can always go back. We hope to soon.

summer has finally arrived!
beach was around 83-85 degrees today and inland was in the 90's where the WAP is now called Safari Park.
Have fun at the Padre game..are they giving away a promo item? You can check on their website padres.com
beach will be perfect to boogie board and catch waves.
remember we have the best taco shops and Roberto's in Solana Beach (101) by Cardiff is excellent.

ksucat,

Yes, I got a deal where the second ticket was free. Apparently they are offering this deal for all day games remaining on their schedule.

So I paid $20 including taxes for 2 tickets. Really can't beat that for an MLB game.

Got a ticket for children's free admission to Legoland with Adult admission. That's like a $57 value I believe, so I'm saving there.

Seems like everything is falling into place.

Awesome!

Make sure you go through the store in the Western Metals Building..you can be right on the field, talking to the outfielders and your son will love it.

Tin Fish for happy hour fish tacos and other goodies is excellent next door to Petco.

Remember when you ride the Coaster on down that you want to sit on the right going down and the left coming up the coast..oceanfront views!

If you have some surf socks to wear at Moonlight beach has some small rocks at times and it might help your son's feet.
Lots of stingrays in LJ Shores yesterday.

Sammy's Pizza across the freeway from Legoland has the messy sundae for kids that they go nuts for and the pizza is pretty good.

Did you find out if they are giving away a promo item?
Usually, Pad's are very generous on free t-shirts, hats, bobble dolls, etc.

Keep us posted!

bklovesNova,

I really wan't to discourage the Wild Animal Park...Yesterday it was 95 degrees + and it's even hotter in the park due to the black top and lack of breezes.

Part of what "chadnycity" is referring to, the natural setting and doesn't feel like a zoo...are the exact reason a 6 year old won't enjoy it.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Wild Animal Park, just not in August with a tired, hot cranky 6 year old. My kids grew up going to both the Zoo and the WAP, so I really know what I am talking about. In fact the Zoo is huge!! You could actually go 2 days to just the Zoo.

Advice for the Zoo: Go straight to the Childrens Zoo upon entering the park (head left and follow the signs). This is a fun hands on interactive petting area.

Next, go on the open air bus tour of the park. It's not too long and gives little legs a rest.

Pick out 4 or 5 animals of interest, and map their location. This will insure you get the "cool" animals, instead of just "hoof and horn mesa", which is a series of african deer type species.

Great animals for a 6 year old are the elephants, the giraffes( you can pay extra and hand feed them which is amazing and fun), the polar bears, the monkeys and the big cats.
Last foot note: don't miss the Sea lion show...perfect for kids and a interesting fun presentation.

Have Fun...
Tina

PS: There is a carousel right out front of the Zoo, that is a sweet fun experience. It cost a dollar.

Roberto's in Solana Beach (101) by Cardiff is excellent.
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Agree- it's pretty good. Just know it's not a restaurant, more like a funky taco stand with outdoor dining. Beach attire is appropriate. Then again, if you're coming from Texas, you might be disappointed. ;)

One more thing to keep in mind about the Zoo. I don't how late or how long your son can go on- but they have the night time Zoo experience from 3-9 pm in the summer. You can always do relaxing beach time in the am and head there in the afternoon.

Tinabena,

Ok, If you really think that my kid won't like the park, then why bother. I'll plan an extra day at the beach or maybe we'll go to the Cabrillo Tidal pool.

As far as restaurants, thanks for the many good recommendations. However, I can't really go out of the way for a particular restaurant, not with my son. If he's hungry, we're going to whatever is convenient.

However, if I ever take a trip there sans children, I will definitely seek out the recommendations. It's just not worth it to try to drive around finding a restaurant with a cranky hungry child.

If you enjoy wine tasting, there's a great little winery right on the way to the Wild Animal Park. It's called Orfila Vineyards. You could even bring food and picnic on their grounds.

Yes...wine tasting with a 6 year old and then driving is the ideal family vacation. LOL Sorry howefortunate- you left yourself wide open for that one!

Just checked and it's 95 degrees in San Diego right now, about the same as Austin. I guess we'll be spending beaucoup time at the beach. I'm sure the Pacific Ocean feels great right now.

bkluvsNola--"it's 95 degrees in San Diego right now" is not a useful way to look at it. It can easily be in the 90's 10 miles inland but in the 70's within a mile or two of the coast. I think the official high temp (at the airport = near the Bay and not far from the ocean) on the 16th was 80.