Business trip to Anaheim - will do some sightseeing in San Diego. Will I regret not going to the San Diego Zoo? I feel if you've seen one zoo, you've seen them all. Or is there something really special about the San Diego Zoo? It seems to be the main attraction listed for San Diego. Appreciate any suggestions on must-sees in San Diego or Anaheim. Thanks.

Don't miss it, the SD Zoo is truly a wonderful outing for all ages.

On the contrary . . . once you've been to the San Diego Zoo, you realize how superior it is to other ones.

Your question was "will I regret it?" Probably not, unless you're a real animal/zoo fan.

Marie--I always felt the same as you regarding zoos. Then I visited the SD Zoo and changed my mind. It's truly amazing and worth a visit.
Have a great time!

I don't know, besides the Panda Bears, it was your basic 'above average' zoo. And besides, it's VERY hilly, so wear some good walking shoes!!!

My view is that the SD zoo is a good zoo, and surely in the top 5 percent of zoos, but it is still just a zoo. A better choice is the Wild Animal Park because the animals don't have that "How much longer do I have to live like this" kind of look.

As you can see, zoos make me a little uncomfortable, so if you don't share that feeling, you might like the SD zoo a little better.

Enjoy your time in San Diego. It's a nice city.

I visited the zoo a couple years ago and was very disappointed in it. I had been there as a child and went back...mistake.

The animal enclosures looked dirty, the polar bears water was green and slimy,the seals were swimming with lots of debris, the windows in the reptile house were so smudged you could hardly see in and many of the animals were stressed...repetative pacing etc. I was really suffering from the "Free Willy" syndrome by the time I got out of there.

I agree with Cindy about the look on the animals faces. It was sad.

Marie:
I have lived in San Diego for 22yrs and have visited the Zoo many times. When my children were younger, we went every week to either the Zoo or the Wild Animal Park. Please pay no attention to Cheri's post. I have never seen "green and slimy water" in the polar bear enclosure and, in fact, they now have a new enclosure which is fabulous! I can't recall ever seeing the windows in the reptile house "so smudged that you could hardly see in", either. These windows are cleaned several times a day, because this exhibit is very popular with young children! Check out the San Diego Zoological Society web site at www.sdzoo.com for more information about both the Zoo and the Wild Animal Park (very beautiful!) That should help you decide which to visit during your much-too-short visit!
I hope you enjoy yourself so much that you'll want to come back!

Oh here we go again...a sign of fodors. One pompous know it all thinking their opinion is the only one telling everyone to ignore ones that differ from their own.

I agree with Barbara. I've been to the San Diego Zoo many times over the past twenty-two years--once this year--and it's never been anything like described in Cheri's post. In fact, her description caused me to immediately think of the L.A. Zoo, where the animals appear sedated, the once-interesting penguin exhibit has deteriorated, and the polar bears actually do tend to have a greenish tint.

Plus, the pandas at the SD Zoo are back out of panda/newborn seclusion. It's a great place to visit.

Also, as the zoo is in Balboa Park, you might like to swing by the museum section. Even if you're not into the various museums' contents, the architecture is impressive, as are the grounds.

How rude! "Pay no attention to Cherie's post."

I also was a little disappointed in the SD zoo when I went about 5 years ago. At that time, they still had big cats in small wire enclosures, off the beaten path such that fewer people would notice. Too much pacing. Someone please tell me that this exhibit has changed. I hope so.

To be precise, "big cats" did not mean lions and such. I meant lynxes and cats of that size. So big compared to a house cat, but not big compared to a big cat. Is that more clear?

Marie,
We took our two children to the San Diego Zoo last February and were very disappointed. First I will say that we come from St. Louis which has a world class zoo of its own which is FREE. The San Diego Zoo is very expensive and unfortunately we got very little for our money. It poured for most of the day when we were visiting. As everyone knows, "It never rains in Southern California...." so the zoo is not set up for bad weather visiting. All of the exhibits seem to be outside and in the rain the animals all went into enclosures where we couldn't see them. The sky tram closed due to weather as well.Luckily we saw the pandas before the rain started but we saw them for only our allotted 2 minutes because of the long lines to see the baby panda. It was not very successful for us. However, the next day with the sun shining we had a wonderful time at the Wild Animal Park. It is awesome to see rhinos and giraffes running in the savannah-like setting. My vote would be for the Wild Animal Park (also run by the San Diego Zoological Society) for an exciting differnt kind of zoo experience. Have a great time in San Diego!

Wendy -- was at the St. Louis Zoo three weeks ago. Nice -- yes. Free -- yes. World class -- you've got to be kidding!!

We went to the SD Zoo a couple of years ago (with our 12 yr old daughter who loes animals) - - if you have never seen a zoo or just a small local zoo then I'm sure you would enjoy it - but doubt you would feel it was an exceptional experience. We found it to be expensive and just not as impressive as it was portrayed. We did enjoy Balboa park though and the horiculture hall was wonderful. We also went to the Wild Animal Park and although it was a hot day in August (100+) we thoroughly enjoyed it and wished we had more time there. It was definitely something out of the ordinary and worth the trip.

Though I do prefer the Wild Animal Park, the San Diego Zoo is definitely one of the best.

I have visited the St Louis Zoo and it is not in the same class. I do not know what Wendy expects. She blames the zoo because it rained. The zoo is contructed with the weather in mind. The weather is normally sunny so of course everything will be as open as possible. It would be totally unreasonable to build it the same as St. Louis where it rains a lot more.

How to get to the Wild Animal Park from downtown/Gaslamp area? And how long does it take? Thanks.

I want to chime in on the side of those who say go to the Wild Animal Park. I enjoyed the San Diego Zoo, but I have found other zoos to be comprable. I went simply becuase of the reputation of the San Diego Zoo. I found it a bit too commercial for my tastes. The Wild Animal Park monorail ride with guides who are zoology(sp?) students was a unique experience. Well worth the drive.

Ricky:

There is bus service to the zoo and I also believe there is a shuttle service. It is only about 10 minutes to the zoo from the Gaslamp area.

I lived in San Diego for eight years and most of those years I had a pass to the SD Zoo & Wild Animal Park. I think they are both fantastic. The zoo is constantly upgrading its exhibits and is on the cutting edge. The plant collection is actually worth more than the animals. When you combine the zoo with a stroll through Balboa Park with its wonderful architecture, you'll have an enjoyable day. We had some friends in their 40s visit us and they spent an entire day there.

That said, you might want to visit the Wild Animal Park instead. You'll see many of the same types of animals in a vastly different setting. They mix species of animals according to natural habitat in huge enclosures. A monorail takes you around the vast pens. It is inland and tends to be warmer than in SD.

We're going back for a visit soon for a few days and intend to go to the zoo.