“Mom! Wake up! Are you ready?” my aspiring little zoo keeper asked me at dawn, bouncing like a kangaroo with excitement, ready to see all her favorite animals at the renowned San Diego Zoo.
We arrived early, just before the 9:00 opening. Walking up the concrete path we encountered Rex, the reverent, bronze lion perched at the entrance, welcoming guests to his den. Friendly, knowledgable volunteers greeted us with smiles as we walked through the entry gates, eager to help us make the most of our visit.
The San Diego Zoo stood in distinction for multiple reasons.
The facility was beautiful, rivaling our beloved and top-rated Oklahoma City Zoo. We were pleased to find that the park layout, children’s area, and exhibits were impressively comparable, giving us pride in our native menagerie, while also enticing us to enjoy the marvels of our present location.
The animal exhibits were state-of-the-art and it was apparent that the animals were loved and well-cared-for. The Zookeepers highlighted their veterinary and conservation efforts and gave facts and detailed tidbits about each individual animal, referring to them by name and displaying their familiarity with the residents.
A volunteer we spoke with as we entered that morning gave us a tip to first take the Kangaroo Bus tour which covered 70% of the park, citing smaller crowds and cooler temperatures early on in the day. We were also advised to sit on the passenger side, giving us the greatest opportunity to see more animals since the bus took a clockwise route around the exhibits. It was a double-decker bus and we chose to sit up top since none of us had ever ridden on a double-decker bus before.
During the bus tour we lapped up adorable anecdotes about the animals and made mental notes about which exhibits to explore in more depth throughout the day.
One such example was Lucas the penguin, who had orthopedic shoes specially made for him to treat a foot condition. With boosted confidence, Lucas got himself a girlfriend the following day and now enjoys showing her off to visitors.
We also learned that, contrary to popular belief, not all penguins require arctic temperatures to survive, and many are native to South Africa, which has a similar climate to San Diego. This allows these land birds to thrive in their man-made habitat.
Similarly, we were surprised to see polar bears, who are native to arctic regions, but are able to thrive in the warmer San Diego climate due to their specialized care, which includes a climate-controlled enclosure, pools, and a carefully adapted diet.
There was an interactive play and exploration area specifically for children, similar to one we have at the Oklahoma City Zoo, with a splash pad that wasn’t explicitly highlighted on the website.
Skyfari® Aerial Tram was a fun addition and we loved that it was included in the price. It opened at 10:00 to a forty-five minute wait so we decided to walk the park instead, but toward the end of our visit we were able to get on the sky tram at the back of the park while only waiting about 10 minutes.
The most surprising distinction of all was the food! I wrote previously about this in my roadtrip culinary review, Savoring California, but it bears repeating.
We made an impromptu stop in the San Diego Zoo Sandwich Co. to combat hanger while out on the animal trail, but the fresh, tasty ingredients made for one of our favorite meals of the trip.
But the main attraction of our visit was the one-of-a-kind sighting of our favorite animal of all: my adorable nephew, Ollie, whose handlers brought him out to meet us for his zoo debut.
Native to the coast of southern California, this rare cub of the Homo sapiens sub-species affectionately known as the ‘California dreamboat,’ is distinguishable by his charming smiles, fun-loving attitude, and delightful giggles.
This family gathering made for a memorable inaugural experience at the San Diego Zoo for these cousins.
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