San Diego Wild Animal Park
15500 San Pasqual Valley Road,Escondido,
California 92027
760-747-8702
add photos
$$$$
All Ages30 families have been here
edit details
write a review
bookmark
ask a question
16 Reviewsfor San Diego Wild Animal Park
109
500 families found this helpful
"Nice to see animals roaming free"
The San Diego Wild Animal Park is a great place for families with children and a great place for animals. We took a train to access the remote area where animals roam almost free. They are big areas to live and cohabitate. It is nice to see the animals not being confined the way they are in a zoo.
Send a Message 
Send a Compliment
It's helpful
0 families found this helpful
"A Fun Adventure"
This place is a lot of fun, and certainly be prepared to be doing a lot of walking! The kids get warn out by the end of the day for sure. The tram tour costs a bit extra, but is worth it as you get to see fun animals out in larger habitats. Also, a good tip might be to bring a picnic lunch.
0 families found this helpful
"San Diego Wild Animal Park"
What can I say, our family loves this place. Since we live about an hour away we tend to get a yearly pass. The pass includes entry to both the Wild Animal Park and the San Diego Zoo. We prefer the park more since it is usually less crowded and a great place to spend the day and get some exercise. Our favorite exhibits are the butterfly garden in the Spring, the lions, gorillas, giraffes, and the water play area. It can be hot in the summer so bring extra clothes and let the kids run through the water "spouts" down near the lions.
1 family found this helpful
"Wild Animal Park or extra day at the zoo?"
The Wild Animal Park in San Diego is a great way to see animals. There is a tram that takes you on a tour in the animal park. Honestly, the park is pretty but I would have rather taken an extra day at the zoo, which is most likely what we will do next time. there were lots of hills and many of the animals we saw at the zoo the day before. The kids enjoyed the zoo more than they did the Wild Animal Park.
0 families found this helpful
"The sister to the best Zoo in the world!"
This is a great place to spend an entire day, but note this is in escondido and this area of san diego county can get HOT! be prpared with water and refreshments. They will let you bring in anything that does not have a straw :) I highly recommed the lion exhibit, there is a great kids water park in front and my daughter just can't get enough!
1 family found this helpful
"My favorite "zoo" in the entire world"
I am a season pass holder for the San Diego Wild Animal Park and the San Diego Zoo. The zoo is wolrd class and an amamzing experience but the Wild Animal Park holds the key to our hearts. Their tram is a great way to see animals roaming in an enormous enclosure and intermingling with each other. Its as close to a safari as most of us will ever get. Their petting zoo is not your notmal goats and sheep pen. There are exotic deer for your kids to pet and get up close and personal with. There is a cheetah experience where you can watch cheetahs run at full speed after a lure. There are segway tours, photo caravan tours, hot air balloon rides, zip lines, camp outs, and much more. If just have time for one thng to do in San Diego, pick the Wild Animal Park.
0 families found this helpful
"Wildly Unique and Enjoyable"
This is no ordinary zoo. Here is where you'll find some of the most exotic animals in the world. Plan on spending several days or focus on some of the key exhibits, particularly Journey into Africa. The park is HUGE and young children won't be able to walk it so plan on bringing a stroller and utilizing their trams and tours. We loved seeing the animals roaming "free." Their are a number of unique experiences you can pay extra for, but the park is so large I think you'll be content if you opt to explore it as it is.
0 families found this helpful
"Must Do - Journey Into Africa"
This park is big, really really big. So prepare for a lot of walking. But if you don't have much energy or can only do a few things then you must go Journey Into Africa.
Journey Into Africa is a semi-safari ride to where the animals live in the large area without cages. You won't be able to get up-close and personal on this tour but you will learn a whole lot about what the park do to help these animals. We were so lucky to see a brand new baby deer born a mere hours before we arrived.
It's an experience that like no other places!
2 families found this helpful
"Not your typical zoo experience"
The park focuses on a smaller variety of animals within a larger exhibit area. The safari tram tour is the highlight of the animal park, but don't expect it to take you close to the animals. For that kind of close-up encounter, you have to pay extra and take the photo caravan tours.
Our personal favorites are:
1. Lorikeet Landing: Pay $3 for a cup of nectar and feed the lorikeets in the aviary. Great photo-ops, but not for those squeamish of birds landing on them.
2. The lion exhibit lets you get a close up view of the lions. Only a few inches of window separates you from the lions.
3. There are many elephants at the park, and you may get to see a baby elephant or two.
I think this park is better to visit in fall, winter, or spring, as it gets hot in Escondido. I guess that's part of the safari experience, just take lots of water and go earlier or later in afternoon.
0 families found this helpful
"Amazing!"
Very awesome park! You get to see so many different animals and the kids learn so much. If you are in the area, don't overlook this place. Check it out. There are cool areas where you can feed the animals and a great tram/safari ride you can take that really makes you feel like you are in Africa! We will be visiting again really soon!
1 family found this helpful
"Loved the Park!"
The San Diego Wild Animal Park has a lot of exotic animals to discover, as well as a boarding a tour into the territories and habitats of the different animals. There is so much to see and do that it takes at least a day to go through it all. My favorite exhibits were: Journey Into Africa, African Aviary, The Lion Camp, and the Elephant Overlook.
1 family found this helpful
"Not-so-wild park"
This got lots of great reviews so I guess I was hyped up for it and a little disappointed. It's essentially a zoo focussed on a small range of animals, spread over a large area. Walking around is tough for any family, so the tram or other tours are a must. Many of the animals were in the usual zoo-type enclosures so the experience is not so "wild" anyway. The bird enclosure was nice though and the number of elephants was impressive. Way too many gift shops and snack stands scattered everywhere.
0 families found this helpful
"Fun with the Family"
On 2,100 acres of prime sanctuary land, and without a doubt the showpiece of North County, the park was designed originally as a breeding facility for the San Diego Zoo (its sister facility). You and your family will want to spend a day here to see more than 3,000 wild animals roaming freely in settings that resemble their native habitats.
Designed for the animals first and foremost, it is the only zoo where the guests are put in cages (specifically, into the comfortable Bush Line electric monorail, which glides above the habitats), while the animals roam unrestrained. You will see large herds of antelopes, gazelles, deer, rhinos, and exotic sheep and goats. Flocks of flamingos, pelicans, cranes, geese, ducks, herons, ostriches, vultures, and storks live
in the big enclosures as well. Even the single-species exhibits—herds of African and Asian elephants, families of gorillas and chimpanzees—are large and natural, such as a one-acre lion habitat. There is also DINOS, a life-size robotic dinosaurs display and new in 2006 is the bird show “Frequent Flyers.”
The seventeen-acre Nairobi Village holds most of the visitor facilities, including restaurants, gift shops, and picnic areas. Plan to attend the wild animal show and elephant demonstrations held here. And make some new friends in the petting kraal.
The Kilimanjaro Hiking Trail is a 1.75-mile walking safari where you can see rhinos, tigers, elephants, cheetahs, and giraffes up close and personal. Special photo caravan safaris will take you right into the middle of the habitats in a large, open-air truck for an additional fee. We cannot recommend this activity highly enough. The chance to pet a rhino or feed a giraffe as it bends over your head is a thrill of a lifetime. We really were impressed and amazed here.
2 families found this helpful
"San Diego Wild Animal Park"
We just returned from a trip to San Diego and one highlight was the Wild Animal Park. Our whole family and friends enjoyed walking around the beautifully landscaped grounds, seeing gorillas up close, and actually touching some animals in the petting area. Like other reviews, we also enjoyed the tram ride around the park which allowed us a break from walking as well as seeing animals in their more natural habitat. We bought our tickets at Costco which was much cheaper than buying them at the park and allowed us to return unlimited times.
1 family found this helpful
"Lots of fun"
The best part of the Wild Animal Park is the Journey into Africa tram tour where you can see among other animals, giraffes and rhinos in more natural habitats. One word of caution...it can get very hot in Escondido during the spring and summer months at the Wild Animal Park. I went when I was pregnant and it was a little difficult for me to keep up with my family because of the heat.
3 families found this helpful
"Must see"
I loved this place. I have to admit it was a few years ago when we went and it sounds like it has only gotten better. I mainly liked the tram tour around the main area to see all the animals. The rest of the park was ok but I would just go to the zoo to see animals in their typical caged area. Next time we hope to take the jeep tour and get closer to the animals.
What's Nearby? Hotels » Activities »
Find Hotels near San Diego Wild Animal Park »
Find Activities near San Diego Wild Animal Park »
Get the inside scoop from parents who have been there!
