bkluvsNola

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.

ksucat

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!

ksucat

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.

bkluvsNola

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.

sunbum1944

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

ksucat

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

logandog

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

bkluvsNola

logandog,

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

bkluvsNola

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

ksucat

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

sunbum1944

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

MomDDTravel

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!

SOCALOC

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

spirobulldog

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??

bkluvsNola

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

bkluvsNola

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.

bigtyke

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.

wtm003

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

bkluvsNola

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

tchoiniere

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.