*Reminder!* For most weeks you will be getting more and more consecutive same-zoo tours so you don't have to watch just one feature, and have to wait a whole year to see the next. So for the next few weeks, it'll be all San Diego Zoo Safari Park! *Tour Schedule (for the time being, this will definitely change)* *2024:* 1. Walkabout Australia 2. Condor Ridge 3. Tiger Trail *2025:* 4. African Woods 5. African Outpost 6. Lion Camp *2026:* 7. Elephant Valley 8. Asian Savanna *2027:* 9. Nairobi Village 10. Gorilla Forest 11. African Plains Safari Park Map: sdzsafaripark.org/plan-your-visit Tickets: sdzsafaripark.org/tickets Wildlife Safari: sdzsafaripark.org/safaris/wildlife-safari Cart Safaris: sdzsafaripark.org/safaris/cart-safari Behind the Scenes: sdzsafaripark.org/safaris/behind-scenes-safari Camping Safaris: sdzsafaripark.org/safaris/roar-snore-safaris Flightline Safari: sdzsafaripark.org/safaris/flightline-safari Species List of the Field Exhibits: www.zoochat.com/community/threads/san-diego-zoo-safari-park-field-exhibit-species-list-28-april-2023.487441/ THE ZOO CREW GIFT SHOP (Look at the top of the website for the PROMO CODE) 1. Full Store: my-store-ba2df3.creator-spring.com/
I love the platypus. When I was there, I climbed up that hill six times to see them. I was getting worried that I wasn’t gonna be able to see him but thankfully on the six time I got to see them. It was such an honor to see a real life platypus
I live in SoCal and grew up going to the Zoo and Safari Park. I know one of the designers for the new elephant enclosure and the plans for it look amazing. Possibly a new global standard.
Yay, my hometown/county! And possibly my favorite zoo I’ve ever been to.. we do consider it an offshoot of the San Diego Zoo, although it’s hundreds of times larger. The Zoo is located in uptown, so only has 100 acres. The Safari Park has, I believe, 2500 acres, of which only 1800 acres are accessible to the public? 🤔 Something like that. The rest is hidden in the hills behind the park, large expanses for cheetahs and rare undulates, among other animals. It’s an amazing place. But many people who visit our city from elsewhere don’t quite understand or expect the rugged topography here, unless they’re forewarned… I don’t know what’s more "challenging", the Zoo or the Park! It’s nothing new to me, but both places are situated atop rather flat and level areas, where you enter, but inside they gradually start weaving and dipping in and out of canyons, valleys, gulleys and various "escarpments" and lookout points. Some of the pathways are VERY steep, but for those who wish, there is a great bus tour at the zoo and the safari park has a guided tram! But getting to the tram does require descending down some pretty steep paths. Just fyi. 😉
This was an amazingly helpful video. I wanna give you so much praise it was so well put together! Thank you so much for the warning, I’ve been debating visiting here since my husband and I have never been here. But we do have four children at 10 months, two years old, five years old, and 10 years old. I think we’ll wait until they’re older. But thank you so much for this!
As a SoCal resident, I'd add on the recommendation that in making your decision of Safaripark or SDZoo... consider what animals are on your bucket list. Between the two, the diversity lineup is immense, but specific animals are in specific locations, and that definitely can change your perspective of where to go. I love both, equally, but as I'm a huge fan of platypus and marsupials, I kindof lean more towards the safaripark. But there are also things at the zoo that I just can't get anywhere else, so it's a win either way.
I first visited in March 2019, so the platypi were not there yet. However, my encounter with the lions at Lion Camp and viewing the baby elephants in Elephant Valley made it one of the greatest experiences ever for me. Plus it was my first title seeing Cape Buffalo in a zoological setting.
Asian Savanna rep for the win!! The coolest and most underrated part in the whole park! (Now if only they could allow us to see it without paying extra🫠) I can’t wait to see more of how your tour went. The Nilgiri tahr and Javan banteng are my personal favorites!
As someone who has worked at the Safari Park for the last couple of years and a fan of this channel, this was such a fun video to watch! Definitely recommend going on a Wildlife Safari if you come back. I try to make sure to go on one at least every few months.
Wow I used to go here tons of times! And every time i loved it even though it was the same thing it was near where we lived but sadly we moved away :( This zoo still holds awesome memories :D (Don't judge my comment) :D
I'd like to see more zoo exhibits featuring ungulates. I think they're underrated and can make interesting displays, especially when they're kept in large, multi-species enclosures.
I went to the Safari Park 3 times during my trip in March, and is for sure tied with the zoo as my absolute favorite Zoo outside of Florida! The habitats were beautiful themed with many having immense spaces for the animals to roam, giving you that feel of being in the wild. And as a species list hunter, it was where I hit the jackpot! I did the Deluxe Safari tour to get an up clpse view of the animals of Africa and Asia, and the Africa Cart tour to see the Rams alot better This is definitely a place I'd want to visit over and over again in the future, and this video helped to build up the hype. Thanks for another amazing tour, bro!
I wanted to go because it’ll be for my wife’s birthday. I’m having trouble figuring out if it’s only walking or do you actually get in a vehicle and they drive you around. How does this work?
The Safari Park is amazing, I prefer it over the zoo actually because of the perfect exhibits like Tiger Trail and Walkabout Australia to convey the conservation messaging. Elephant Valley is going to be stellar when it opens and from what I’ve heard the Gorilla Forest section is next in line for an expansion.
Eeeeeee!! Been there 2 times way back!! Which attraction are you gonna visit there, Zak? I suggest the Tiger Trails! And also, here are 2 zoo trivia questions for you & your girlfriend.... 1) How many years ago did the San Diego Zoo Safari Park originally house dholes? 2) What years did the San Diego Zoo once house warthogs in an exhibit? Yet, the African Tram ride rocks!!🚃 🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘
Heart of Africa was the best addition to the Park for the longest time but that area hasnt really been maintained with interesting species. The grounds are still very beautiful, particularly around the stream.
I love the park, but one disappointing aspect, after I t changed names from the Wild Animal Park, is that the tram isn’t what it once was. From opening in 1972 until probably the 2010s (?), there was an electric, silent, non-polluting monorail that ran on a single track, all along the entirety of the large savanna exhibits. Now you only see less than half of it, and it’s only 25 minutes. And it’s one of those parking lot-style trams. Lol. Back in the day, the monorail tour was nearly an hour long. According the zoo, it was 50 minutes, but depending on where and how often you stopped, it would be about an hour. Now you either have to pay extra ($$$) to take a private hiking tour around the fields, or pay an arm and a leg to ride in a flatbed truck, out into the fields. The second option, the "photo caravan tour", is probably more fun, since you get to feed all the animals. I’ve always wanted to do that.
If i don't buy any extra tour, just my regular entre fee, do i walk along the whole park or there are tramp/cars or something that will take me for point a to point b?
If you're wondering if you can see everything just by walking, you can walk and are able to view every attraction that isn't the Asian Savanna. If you're wondering if there's some free of charge tram that takes visitors from one section to the next, I'm finding online that only the Zoo offers something like that.
Something you might have missed during your visit is there’s a secret exhibit way up at the end of the trail through the world gardens area, near the top left of the map. There’s no signs for animals, which makes me think it’s just a rotating holding pen, but last time I was there a year ago they had Somalian wild asses, which we didn’t see anywhere else in the park
As a San Diego native, imo the zoo is better for 6- hrs, WAP for 8+ hours. That being said the plants in the sd zoo are top tier. Like what’s above s tier?
Really strange they don't have spotted hyenas at this kind of place. I know they used to have striped hyenas as animal ambassadors here, but the lack of a proper hyena exhibit is extremely weird for this kind of setting.
*Reminder!*
For most weeks you will be getting more and more consecutive same-zoo tours so you don't have to watch just one feature, and have to wait a whole year to see the next. So for the next few weeks, it'll be all San Diego Zoo Safari Park!
*Tour Schedule (for the time being, this will definitely change)*
*2024:* 1. Walkabout Australia 2. Condor Ridge 3. Tiger Trail
*2025:* 4. African Woods 5. African Outpost 6. Lion Camp
*2026:* 7. Elephant Valley 8. Asian Savanna
*2027:* 9. Nairobi Village 10. Gorilla Forest 11. African Plains
Safari Park Map: sdzsafaripark.org/plan-your-visit
Tickets: sdzsafaripark.org/tickets
Wildlife Safari: sdzsafaripark.org/safaris/wildlife-safari
Cart Safaris: sdzsafaripark.org/safaris/cart-safari
Behind the Scenes: sdzsafaripark.org/safaris/behind-scenes-safari
Camping Safaris: sdzsafaripark.org/safaris/roar-snore-safaris
Flightline Safari: sdzsafaripark.org/safaris/flightline-safari
Species List of the Field Exhibits: www.zoochat.com/community/threads/san-diego-zoo-safari-park-field-exhibit-species-list-28-april-2023.487441/
THE ZOO CREW GIFT SHOP (Look at the top of the website for the PROMO CODE)
1. Full Store: my-store-ba2df3.creator-spring.com/
I’m glad that you had a change of heart about the San Diego Zoo Safari Park
I love the platypus. When I was there, I climbed up that hill six times to see them. I was getting worried that I wasn’t gonna be able to see him but thankfully on the six time I got to see them. It was such an honor to see a real life platypus
I heard Dan povemire visited as Doofenshmirtz to finally meet his nemesis after no other zoo at that time had a....a platypus?
@@isaacanimalogo-4548 I heard that to
@@zoolover4669 aren't you gonna also say, a platypus?.....
PERRY THE PLATYPUS!!!
Why is everything an extra cost 😢
I live in SoCal and grew up going to the Zoo and Safari Park. I know one of the designers for the new elephant enclosure and the plans for it look amazing. Possibly a new global standard.
One of the best channels!
Yay, my hometown/county! And possibly my favorite zoo I’ve ever been to.. we do consider it an offshoot of the San Diego Zoo, although it’s hundreds of times larger. The Zoo is located in uptown, so only has 100 acres. The Safari Park has, I believe, 2500 acres, of which only 1800 acres are accessible to the public? 🤔 Something like that. The rest is hidden in the hills behind the park, large expanses for cheetahs and rare undulates, among other animals. It’s an amazing place.
But many people who visit our city from elsewhere don’t quite understand or expect the rugged topography here, unless they’re forewarned… I don’t know what’s more "challenging", the Zoo or the Park! It’s nothing new to me, but both places are situated atop rather flat and level areas, where you enter, but inside they gradually start weaving and dipping in and out of canyons, valleys, gulleys and various "escarpments" and lookout points. Some of the pathways are VERY steep, but for those who wish, there is a great bus tour at the zoo and the safari park has a guided tram! But getting to the tram does require descending down some pretty steep paths. Just fyi. 😉
This was an amazingly helpful video. I wanna give you so much praise it was so well put together!
Thank you so much for the warning, I’ve been debating visiting here since my husband and I have never been here. But we do have four children at 10 months, two years old, five years old, and 10 years old. I think we’ll wait until they’re older. But thank you so much for this!
As a SoCal resident, I'd add on the recommendation that in making your decision of Safaripark or SDZoo... consider what animals are on your bucket list. Between the two, the diversity lineup is immense, but specific animals are in specific locations, and that definitely can change your perspective of where to go. I love both, equally, but as I'm a huge fan of platypus and marsupials, I kindof lean more towards the safaripark. But there are also things at the zoo that I just can't get anywhere else, so it's a win either way.
I'm so excited to see the tours!
Thank you so much 😊 very helpful for my family vacation coming up next week we can’t wait for the loads of fun 🤩
I first visited in March 2019, so the platypi were not there yet. However, my encounter with the lions at Lion Camp and viewing the baby elephants in Elephant Valley made it one of the greatest experiences ever for me. Plus it was my first title seeing Cape Buffalo in a zoological setting.
Ok, you have redeemed yourself with your updated take. Such an incredible park.
Asian Savanna rep for the win!! The coolest and most underrated part in the whole park! (Now if only they could allow us to see it without paying extra🫠) I can’t wait to see more of how your tour went. The Nilgiri tahr and Javan banteng are my personal favorites!
As someone who has worked at the Safari Park for the last couple of years and a fan of this channel, this was such a fun video to watch! Definitely recommend going on a Wildlife Safari if you come back. I try to make sure to go on one at least every few months.
I'm am from Brazil and one day i want to have this opportunity
I would love to visit San Diego Zoo Safari Park. As I am a lover of hoofstock this would be an amazing collection to see
An incredible park. The old days, the tram took 50 minutes to complete, it was a great place to nap.
Wow I used to go here tons of times! And every time i loved it even though it was the same thing it was near where we lived but sadly we moved away :( This zoo still holds awesome memories :D
(Don't judge my comment)
:D
I'd like to see more zoo exhibits featuring ungulates. I think they're underrated and can make interesting displays, especially when they're kept in large, multi-species enclosures.
I went to the Safari Park 3 times during my trip in March, and is for sure tied with the zoo as my absolute favorite Zoo outside of Florida!
The habitats were beautiful themed with many having immense spaces for the animals to roam, giving you that feel of being in the wild. And as a species list hunter, it was where I hit the jackpot!
I did the Deluxe Safari tour to get an up clpse view of the animals of Africa and Asia, and the Africa Cart tour to see the Rams alot better
This is definitely a place I'd want to visit over and over again in the future, and this video helped to build up the hype. Thanks for another amazing tour, bro!
I wanted to go because it’ll be for my wife’s birthday. I’m having trouble figuring out if it’s only walking or do you actually get in a vehicle and they drive you around. How does this work?
Outside of the safaris, it's a walking Zoo.
The Safari Park is amazing, I prefer it over the zoo actually because of the perfect exhibits like Tiger Trail and Walkabout Australia to convey the conservation messaging. Elephant Valley is going to be stellar when it opens and from what I’ve heard the Gorilla Forest section is next in line for an expansion.
I’m so looking forward you shall present species that you haven’t did before
I went there today :)
Yesss!!! 😁
Snore and roar was a fun night
Eeeeeee!! Been there 2 times way back!! Which attraction are you gonna visit there, Zak? I suggest the Tiger Trails! And also, here are 2 zoo trivia questions for you & your girlfriend....
1) How many years ago did the San Diego Zoo Safari Park originally house dholes?
2) What years did the San Diego Zoo once house warthogs in an exhibit?
Yet, the African Tram ride rocks!!🚃
🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘
There are senior rates as well.
Heart of Africa was the best addition to the Park for the longest time but that area hasnt really been maintained with interesting species. The grounds are still very beautiful, particularly around the stream.
Quick question so when visiting the safari zoo is there a tram you can take and view the park or all trams are an add on?
I love the park, but one disappointing aspect, after I t changed names from the Wild Animal Park, is that the tram isn’t what it once was. From opening in 1972 until probably the 2010s (?), there was an electric, silent, non-polluting monorail that ran on a single track, all along the entirety of the large savanna exhibits. Now you only see less than half of it, and it’s only 25 minutes. And it’s one of those parking lot-style trams. Lol. Back in the day, the monorail tour was nearly an hour long. According the zoo, it was 50 minutes, but depending on where and how often you stopped, it would be about an hour. Now you either have to pay extra ($$$) to take a private hiking tour around the fields, or pay an arm and a leg to ride in a flatbed truck, out into the fields. The second option, the "photo caravan tour", is probably more fun, since you get to feed all the animals. I’ve always wanted to do that.
I did the Photo safari, and yeah, feeding the giraffes and rhinos was one of the best experiences I've had at a zoo
Just got back. This was like every zoo I’ve ever been to.
If i don't buy any extra tour, just my regular entre fee, do i walk along the whole park or there are tramp/cars or something that will take me for point a to point b?
If you're wondering if you can see everything just by walking, you can walk and are able to view every attraction that isn't the Asian Savanna.
If you're wondering if there's some free of charge tram that takes visitors from one section to the next, I'm finding online that only the Zoo offers something like that.
@ZooTours ok, so a lot of walking right?! Taking 2 kids, just trying to be prepared 😅
Yep! About 4+ miles one time through up and down hill most of the way. Fortunately, the park stays open late so you can take your time.
As a local: The only thing that i’m surprised you didn’t emphasize are the Okapi! Such a rare animal that most people don’t even know exists.
Okapis are definitely on my list of "I've seen them so many times." I'd say to the average zoo traveler they are actually quite common.
Something you might have missed during your visit is there’s a secret exhibit way up at the end of the trail through the world gardens area, near the top left of the map. There’s no signs for animals, which makes me think it’s just a rotating holding pen, but last time I was there a year ago they had Somalian wild asses, which we didn’t see anywhere else in the park
As a San Diego native, imo the zoo is better for 6- hrs, WAP for 8+ hours. That being said the plants in the sd zoo are top tier. Like what’s above s tier?
Cool
Really strange they don't have spotted hyenas at this kind of place. I know they used to have striped hyenas as animal ambassadors here, but the lack of a proper hyena exhibit is extremely weird for this kind of setting.
There was one planned and a wild dog too at Lion Camp, but it blew the budget. The zoo had the striped hyenas for a long time.
9:52 what's an african elk?
Barbary stag/North African red deer
I take the Photo caravan truck for close up encounters
If you walk down to Heart of Africa, you eventually have to walk back up the hill. Plan wisely
🦁🦓🐘 + 🤩😉👍
I was here in 2017 and BARELY bothered to take ANY pics for some stupid reason. Wish I remembered it better!
They have senior day where seniors get in free
whats African elk
A very uncommon name for Barbary stag. Only visible with Safari Cart Africa.
In short time you won’t have to go to San Diego to see a platypus
Can you sine for every safari tour?
Been going since park opened. Go down the Africa hiking trail & I take photos of rhinos, a fav. 🦏 worth bringing zoom camera