Southern California – 2019 9 – San Diego Zoo

Libby · 1 Jun 21, 11:23 AM

I’ve been an absolute failure with this trip report and nearly 2 years on I can’t find my trip notes. So … I’m going to continue with some photos and things I remember. Sorry the next entries will be very brief, but I hope you enjoy the photos.

Southern California – 2019 9 – San Diego Zoo
Thursday August 15th 2019

I was very excited about today. I’ve wanted to go to San Diego Zoo since I was given a Viewmaster set of pictures of there over 50 years ago. Bearing in mind the pictures were taken some years before I received them I really wasn’t expecting it to look at all the same, but I was still excited.

Breakfast at the hotel and then we got the car from the valet parking (much research and discussion led us to tip the valet when we picked up the car only – there seems to be much disagreement on tipping the valet but as all the money appeared to then be put into a central pot at our garage it wouldn’t have made a difference if we’d given a smaller amount at both drop off and pick up … I’m happy to tip but I always find it awkward or clumsy.)

We made the right decision to drive. It was an easy trip and the parking lot was vast.

Once in the zoo we picked up a map and worked out our plan. First we did the included orientation bus tour.

This made us realise how big the place is. Sadly the children’s zoo was razed to the ground and a lot of building work for a new area had just started (this was where most of my View master slides were of.) We were also sad to know that we had missed the giant pandas by a few months. (They were still there when we planned the trip but we knew we wouldn’t get to see them – in the following October we had a short trip to Copenhagen and saw their new pandas, so all was OK.)

The layout of the zoo was a lot more visitor friendly than at the safari park and we got to see a lot in a day.
We walked through lots of exhibits including:-

elephants

flamingos

orangutan

tigers

hippos

koala

and many, many more.

The grounds were beautiful with flowers and statues everywhere

We had lunch in one of the cafes and I had to get help from another customer to get water from the drinks machine. (I also grinned internally when he said “spigot” such an alien sounding word to me!)

I enjoyed the zoo much more than our day at the Safari Park it wasn't a bad attraction, but in hindsight should probably have skipped the safari park as we really didn't need to do both.

No idea what we did that evening but we must have sat on our balcony for a while as we have photos of the view of Coronado Bridge and the old Police Headquarters.

Mortimer Mouse · 11 Jun 21, 08:50 AM

I'm an awkward tipper too

KayLouise · 12 Jun 21, 05:35 PM

The zoo looks lovely, think I will add it to our list for our trip next year (fingers crossed!) Thanks for sharing! 😊

1 Jun 21, 11:23 AM	#1
	1 Jun 21, 11:23 AM Libby Imagineer
Libby Imagineer Join Date: Nov 03	Southern California – 2019 9 – San Diego Zoo I’ve been an absolute failure with this trip report and nearly 2 years on I can’t find my trip notes. So … I’m going to continue with some photos and things I remember. Sorry the next entries will be very brief, but I hope you enjoy the photos. Southern California – 2019 9 – San Diego Zoo Thursday August 15th 2019 I was very excited about today. I’ve wanted to go to San Diego Zoo since I was given a Viewmaster set of pictures of there over 50 years ago. Bearing in mind the pictures were taken some years before I received them I really wasn’t expecting it to look at all the same, but I was still excited. Breakfast at the hotel and then we got the car from the valet parking (much research and discussion led us to tip the valet when we picked up the car only – there seems to be much disagreement on tipping the valet but as all the money appeared to then be put into a central pot at our garage it wouldn’t have made a difference if we’d given a smaller amount at both drop off and pick up … I’m happy to tip but I always find it awkward or clumsy.) We made the right decision to drive. It was an easy trip and the parking lot was vast. Once in the zoo we picked up a map and worked out our plan. First we did the included orientation bus tour. This made us realise how big the place is. Sadly the children’s zoo was razed to the ground and a lot of building work for a new area had just started (this was where most of my View master slides were of.) We were also sad to know that we had missed the giant pandas by a few months. (They were still there when we planned the trip but we knew we wouldn’t get to see them – in the following October we had a short trip to Copenhagen and saw their new pandas, so all was OK.) The layout of the zoo was a lot more visitor friendly than at the safari park and we got to see a lot in a day. We walked through lots of exhibits including:- elephants flamingos orangutan tigers hippos koala and many, many more. The grounds were beautiful with flowers and statues everywhere We had lunch in one of the cafes and I had to get help from another customer to get water from the drinks machine. (I also grinned internally when he said “spigot” such an alien sounding word to me!) I enjoyed the zoo much more than our day at the Safari Park it wasn't a bad attraction, but in hindsight should probably have skipped the safari park as we really didn't need to do both. No idea what we did that evening but we must have sat on our balcony for a while as we have photos of the view of Coronado Bridge and the old Police Headquarters.