San Diego Safari Park with Toddlers

Our family has enjoyed the San Diego Safari Park with toddlers many times and today we’re offering a few tips for you to plan your visit! The San Diego Wild Animal Park is one of our favorites because of how engaging and accessible it is for families with young kids. You can easily spend the entire day visiting the animals, taking tours and interactive exhibits. There’s even a fun splash pad! I spent one of my best Mother’s Days to date at the Safari Park and I know, once you read this, you’ll be excited to take your toddlers and young kids too.

San Diego Safari Park

Tips for Toddlers

The first time we took our daughter to the San Diego Safari Park, she was not even two years old. It was a wonderful age to take her! She was smitten with the elephants back then, but now that’s she’s preschool-age she is obsessed with the big cats.

Tip: Review the map and schedule of events when you arrive at the park to schedule your day! There is only one time for the Cheetah Run (3:30pm) and it was definitely a must-watch for kids of all ages. The kids’ splash pad is right next to the area where the Cheetah Run occurs, so I reserved our spot while Dad let the kids run and get wet (it was SO hot in Escondido on this particular day in May).

San Diego Wild Animal Park

The San Diego Wild Animal Park is huge, so you will definitely want to bring a stroller instead of just carrying your baby or toddler all day. Pack the stroller with plenty of water and a change of clothes, since they will most likely want to play in the spalsh pad. There are lots of shaded areas that make decent spots for breastfeeding or relaxing to animal watch.

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Free African Safari Tram

100% do NOT miss the Africa Tram tour (comes included with general admission) where you can see the cheetah’s habitat, all the other amazing animals and get historical information on the park. There are even two of the only seven Black Rhinos on earth – a species that is almost certainly going to go extinct. You can take the tour as often as you want while there. When the kids get older, we will totally pay for the tour that allows you to get up close and personal with the giraffes!

Tip: The tram is free and you can ride it multiple times a day, which is what we did when we needed a break from walking in the heat.

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Rainbow Lorikeet Exhibit

One of our favorite parts of the San Diego Safari Park is the Rainbow Lorikeet Exhibit! It’s free to enter and hang out with the beauties, but for $3 you can feed them a little cup of nectar. We bought several cups because the birds were very active and hungry. One cup was flung into the air when a lorikeet tried to walk onto her arm! I died laughing and, while my daughter was not impressed, my toddler LOVED sticking his fingers out for the birds to nibble on.

Tip: The Lorikeet exhibit can be overwhelming for some kids and, if the birds are very hungry, they can get quite assertive. I love that this area is free to enter, so maybe check out whether your child can tolerate the closed encounter before purchasing the nectar.

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Safari Park Mother’s Day

I was pregnant with Sebastian the last time we came to the San Diego Safari park, and now he is, living our travel legacy along with us. My boy is amazing. I thank the heavens above every day for the blessing that he is. Sometimes I am humbled and amazed at the legacy that I get to create everyday with these kids. They are open and curious – and thankfully, flexible travelers. Especially so on Mother’s Day, I kept looking at them in awe – I’m a mom and these are my babies. Does that ever happen to you?