Sea World & San Diego Zoo -- A Prelude to Disneyland

[ellebeegee]

Report for our days at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure can be found here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1508912

Trip report for June 1-June 8, 2007

OK, first thing, I have to give props to my new Canon PowerShot S3IS camera and the book, The Betterphoto Guide to Digital Photography by Jim Miotke. I know lots of people can take much better photos than I can, but thanks to the camera and book I can now take better photos than I ever thought I could!

Order of events to help you navigate:
6/1 – Travel to LA/San Diego
6/2 – Sea World
6/3 – San Diego Zoo
6/4 – Travel to LA/Anaheim
6/5 – Disneyland!*
6/6 – California Adventure*
6/7 – Disneyland*
6/8 – Travel home (I won’t bore you with that)
*will be posted later on Disneyland Trip Reports forum

DAY 1: Friday, June 1, 2007 – Travel to LA/San Diego

Don’t know who in the house slept much – I arose at 4:15 to shower, rouse the family, finish packing, and get us to the airport in plenty of time for our 8:15 flight. We made it in plenty of time, as usual – you just never know what the security lines will be like at Atlanta. We went to DH’s favorite breakfast joint in a food court there, Popeye’s. Not the best food to be had there but the sweet ladies there will “baby” and “honey” you to death, so the ordering experience is nice.

When we arrived in LA, we picked up the rental car and headed down to San Diego. I have seen pictures of southern California, with the ocean and mountains, but hadn’t really put the two together to realize how strange it was to see such large mountains practically at the edge of the water. The southern east coast, where I’m from, is pancake flat for many miles inland. The temperature was nice but it was cloudy/smoggy and you couldn’t see much and could really only make out vague silhouettes of the second range of mountains. We stayed at the Doubletree Del Mar a bit north of San Diego, quite nice – YUMMY warm chocolate-chip-walnut cookies upon check-in. I also found that, if you asked nicely, you could get them in the evening, as well. DD Olivia, age 7 1/2, was also given a cute KidsPack -- a nice-sized shoulder-slung backpack with an activity book, crayons, binoculars, and frisbee. I was disappointed because I thought, by looking at the map, that our hotel would have an ocean view but it didn’t. I realized later that the ocean was just beyond a small ridge that we could see from our room but there was no ocean view, regardless.

We rested a bit then headed down to San Diego proper to look around a bit and have some dinner. We drove on the road that fronts the bay and it was quite beautiful. We saw the USS Midway – I’ve only ever seen one, the USS Yorktown in Charleston, and I think this one is bigger than the Yorktown. Rats, I didn’t realize until just now, when I looked that up, that there’s a museum there. We also saw a humongous statue of the infamous “kissing” photo from V-J Day at the end of WWII. I think it’s really TOO big; unless you’re pretty far away, all you see is legs and up the nurse’s dress, LOL. But it’s impressive and next to the scale of the carrier (which is its backdrop) it’s probably appropriate.

I made DH TURN THE FOOL CAR AROUND just before we got committed to the San Diego-Coronado Bridge at the end of the bay. I don't do bridges like that and he has learned that my fear of them is not to be used for his amusement.

We ended up going into town a bit, into the Gaslamp District, to an Italian restaurant DH had read some great reviews on. The District was quite impressive – I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many restaurants – GOOD restaurants – packed into a few square blocks like that. I don't know for sure, but I would venture that you could eat there three meals a day for a month and not eat in the same place twice. DH wanted to try an Italian restaurant, Trattoria la Strada, for which he had read good reviews so we ended up there. The meal was just alright, for the money. The place was a little hoity-toity – you know, one of those places where you have to order the side of spaghetti and sauce separately from your entrée, because if you order chicken parmigiana that’s ALL you get. Olivia (age 7) and I shared Farfalline Al Pollo E Broccoli (Bowtie pasta, grilled chicken tenderloin slices, broccoli, sundried tomatoes and shallots in a cream sauce – greatly enjoyed by both of us ) and DH had Polpettine di Filetto e Spaghetti (Beef Filet meatballs served on a bed of spaghetti pasta in a light spicy marinara sauce with onions, basil, and grated Parmesan cheese). That was okay but, truthfully, the description was heartier than the dish. That was not what I would call a great deal for $22.95.

We had designs on visiting the Ghirardelli ice cream shop afterward but we were too full. I consoled myself with the fact that we could go to the one at Downtown Disney but that, too, never materialized. I guess we had virtual dessert that evening, though, as we wandered through VIP Classic Cars on our way back to the parking lot. There was everything from a 1965 Volkswagen Beetle to a Bentley and Lamborghini, and lots in between. My dream car, a Ford Cobra, was only a poster on the wall. Heck, that’s more than I have at home, LOL. It was fun to see the prices fetched by the 60’s Nova and 1971 Camaro and other muscle cars just like the ones I rode in I-don’t-know-how-many-times in the 80s. It was amazing, also, to see how closely together those cars were parked – I don’t think you could put a fist between many of them. It was fun to dream. DH picked out the ’65 Corvette. I chose the ’88 Mercedes 500 Convertible and DD fell in love with the little ’65 Beetle convertible that I don’t see on the site.

Back to the hotel and we took a nice dip in the hot tub outdoors before bedtime. Tomorrow is breakfast with Shamu!!

 

[ellebeegee]

Day 2: Saturday, June 2 – Sea World

Off to Sea world for breakfast with Shamu!! That’s at 9:30 but they let breakfast patrons in the park before it opens at 9. So we got in, then headed off to the side where that is held, and a well-intentioned employee tried to keep us out from the general area. I told her we were there for breakfast and we kept on going. I am generally very much a rule follower but I have found that sometimes, if you act like you know what you’re doing, other people think you have a right to do it, LOL. Nothing harmful and no deception. We saw the small holding tank, behind the large Shamu Stadium, and the covered-patio dining area to the rear. And lo, what's that? A blowhole?

DH went down the steps to the viewing tank. If you’ve been to a Sea World park, you might have seen this. It is a public viewing area and is not prohibited. But I thought we shouldn’t be there at that time. There was nobody else there but I was afraid someone would come running at us, shooing us away and scolding us, LOL. DH talked me down the steps and the place was deserted except for DH, DD, me, and WHOA….SHAMU!

He swam right over to us as though he was glad for the company. He was a real showoff, and was actually so close that Olivia wouldn't get beside him for a picture; it was a little unnerving! He was also vocalizing some, which was really stunning. We had probably a good 10 minutes of him all to ourselves before other people began arriving. We got some of the most amazing pictures but the moments are indelibly etched in my mind. It was truly a tears-of-awe experience. We could have walked away without eating breakfast and gotten our money’s worth just from that.

We eventually lined up for breakfast. DH had been checking all of April to get our reservations and the June reservations didn’t open up until the first week of May. We must have been one of the first ones to reserve because our table was down front right beside a staging area. We were truly waterside. Our confirmation gave a “the whales may splash” disclaimer but I was sure splashing wouldn’t be encouraged by the handlers; it just depended on how frisky the big guy felt, I suppose.

Breakfast was buffet style and consisted of Fluffy French Toast, Savory Scrambled Eggs, Machaca, Bacon, Sausage, Potatoes, Fresh Fruit, Orange and Apple Juice, Hot Chocolate, Assorted Pepsi® Products, Iced Tea, Hot Tea, Coffee. The cost was $16 for DD and $24 each for DH and me. I didn’t care for the machaca and the eggs were apparently powdered, but other than that everything else was very good. The bacon was thick, the fruit was very fresh, and DD’s drink was served in a souvenir cup that was refillable at a discount for the day. We had great views of the two handlers and they talked and Shamu showed off while we ate. Afterward, the handlers came around to the tables and talked to us and answered questions.

Then it was off to see the park. Overall, the daytime whale show (Believe!) and the dolphin show didn’t seem as good as the ones we had seen in Orlando a few years ago. The nighttime show, Shamu Rocks! was good and the lighting effects and rock music were fun. During the first Shamu show, Olivia wanted to sit in the soak zone. DH was obliging enough to sit down there with her. I wanted to take pictures so I had a good excuse to sit higher up (whew!). They both got pretty wet but I wouldn’t say they were soaked…yet! It was overcast and pretty cool all day and we all had on shorts. Olivia and I were the only ones who had brought jackets. I think DH was beginning to think I might have been right on that call.

Maybe a favorite for both Olivia and me was the Pets Rule! show. Cats, dogs, birds, a pig, ducks all showed how life would be if THEY ruled the world. It was really, really cute and I could have watched it again.

We couldn’t get DD on Journey to Atlantis despite our best efforts. This is a child who would live on Rock ‘n Roller Coaster and Splash Mountain in Orlando if she could. But for whatever reason, she HAD to ride Shipwreck Rapids. I didn’t want to – it was just too chilly, but DH bucked up and rode with her. They got off about 6 pm, it was cool and they were SOAKED!!

A summary of the other attractions/shows we saw:

• The sea lion/otter show, Clyde & Seamore, was cute – pretty much like the one at Orlando.
• Cirque de la Mer was okay. We sat in an area that said viewing was limited for the opening act, and boy was that right. Some of the acrobatic feats were pretty impressive but the costumes were bright enough to border on gaudy. We haven’t seen La Nouba at Orlando yet; I know it’s not the same group but I’m hoping Cirque du Soleil is better than this one.
• R.L. Stine’s Haunted Lightouse 4D was pretty spooky at first (duh!) and I was wary for Olivia but it turned out okay.
• The Wild Arctic Adventure is much like a cross between Star Tours and Mission: Space but set in, you guessed it, the Arctic. It was pretty fun and the exit put you into the Wild Arctic Pavilion to see the penguins, polar bears, beluga whales, etc.
• We went in one of the aquariums but they were jam-packed, elbow to elbow, and neither DH nor I can stand that. We didn’t stay in that one and we didn’t go into the other one. There are lots of places to see fish in tanks.

Otherwise, we pretty much saw all the animal exhibits: otters, rays, eels (eerie!!!), otters (Olivia’s favorite animal), flamingoes, etc.

We left at park closing time after a very long wait at Ticket Services to exchange our voucher for our SoCal City Passes. Back to Doubletree and the spa to rest up for Sunday, the San Diego Zoo!

 

[MomofCKJ]

Oh Lydia, sign me up! I have been WAITING for your trippie! Can't wait for the rest!

The Shamu breakfast sounds wonderful, the part where you were there early and had him all to yourself. How cool is that! I am glad you got to do that!

And boy Olivia and Clyde, esp Olivia, looks absolutely soaked in that last picture! LOL! And not too thrilled about it either! At least it was near the end of the day right?

I went to So Cal when I was 9 with my grandparents. We did Sea World, Disneyland,etc but I don't have too many memories of it. It will be fun to read your trip and see what things I remember!

Can't wait for more!

Allyson

 

[ellebeegee]

Day 3: Sunday, June 3 – San Diego Zoo

Up and at ‘em, everybody, I’m going to the zoo!! I’ve wanted to see the San Diego Zoo ever since I was a child and saw Joan Embery take cute little critters to crawl all over Johnny Carson. Our SoCal City Passes actually allowed us an option for either the zoo or the wild animal park, and at home I couldn’t decide which one to do. DH very wisely said, “If you don’t go to the San Diego Zoo while you have a chance, you’ll never forgive yourself.” He was right, of course, so that made it easy. I was pleased, while we were there, to find Joan Embery’s signature on a donor’s brick.

We ate breakfast at the hotel these mornings in San Diego. We had been given coupons for a free continental breakfast but it was only about $5 per adult to upgrade to the full buffet, and no charge for Olivia – definitely the way to go. DH had gotten a banana but couldn’t eat it so he put it in his fanny pack. “For the monkeys,” he said. Knowing full well he couldn’t do that but only to get a rise out of me. This will be important later.

We got to the zoo a bit before opening and the line to get in wasn’t too bad. Skies were overcast and Olivia and I wore our light jackets most of the morning. Our SoCal City Passes (great bargain, by the way) also allowed us access to the 35-minute guided bus tour (normally around $10 per adult and slightly less per child, I think) as well as access to the Express Bus that will take you from one area of the park to another. Let me tell you, that comes in handy because that zoo is HUGE, very spread out, and quite hilly. We actually only needed to use that Express Bus once, though, late in the day when we were tired and needed to get somewhere quickly.

My overall impression: I would nearly say it was worth the whole trip out there to see the zoo, especially since it had been a lifelong dream of mine. It is beautiful and is as much an exhibit of botanicals as it is animals. You can get closer to animals in their exhibits than any other zoo I’ve ever seen. Some of the larger habitats, such as for bears and primates, include beautifully landscaped waterfalls. It is, as I mentioned, a lot of ups and downs in walking but they’re not severe. Since we were walking at a leisurely pace, looking all the while, we didn’t feel worn out. It’s pretty cool that they have elevators and escalators in some places to take you to a higher or lower level. We did take advantage of those when they cropped up, LOL.

Even if we had paid for the bus tour, it would have been well worth it. The buses are open-air double deckers; we were able to get on the first bus that was headed out because the other people in line were waiting for a top deck seat on a later bus. We had no problems seeing from the bottom and I’m glad we didn’t wait.

Our driver/guide was wonderful beyond words and we got to see some sights that we couldn’t have seen later during the day or from a walking vantage point. The first amazing thing we saw was the polar bears. One of the keepers was dropping food in from waaaayyyy up high (LOL), and one of the bears was standing on its hind legs, stretching up. Let me tell you, that is an impressive sight! The bus driver asked the keeper some questions and she gave us some neat insights into the bears.

After we got off the tour bus, we headed for the Skyfari Aerial Tram (also included in our admission ticket) as we wanted to start with the polar bears on the opposite side of the park. This time we were viewing through the glass and they were already lazing about after having eaten.

On the way out, there was a little cave in the hill by the sidewalk. Olivia climbed in and pretended to be a sleepy cub, then she got vicious because I woke her up.

OK, remember the banana? We got to the mandrill exhibit. There was a fenced-in area for close-up viewing, as was the case in many of the exhibits. They were on a little hill just a few feet from the fence and they noticed us as we came up. “Hey, look guys, somebody else is here for us to watch!” Can you just imagine what goes through their minds? There was a big male and two smaller females. DH got the banana from his pocket and waved it at them. Now, he would NOT have given it to them even if he could; he was not purposefully trying to taunt the poor creatures, just wanted to see their reaction. Well, that set the big male OFF.

He charged down the hill to the fence and when he realized he wasn't going to get the banana he bared his teeth and shook his head and roared at DH. We were all three about doubled over laughing. At this point, we were the only ones in sight. Apparently the poor little guy had gotten VERY excited about the possibility of this indulgence and decided to relieve that tension. Let's just say that I grabbed DD and we took off. The whole banana/charging scene was really funny but I felt bad that the poor guy had felt teased. I made DH throw the banana away in the next trash can we saw.

Then we spent some time watching the gorillas. There weren't many people there and you could get quite close to some of them at the glass. I could sit and watch for hours; many people were doing just that. Including one woman who took up TWO benches in front of the glass to seat five kids and get out their LUNCH! What are people thinking???

We at lunch at the neatest place – it’s a restaurant in a tree house!! It’s on an upper level above the gorillas. We were trying to find our way somewhere else, so we went up the stairs. Lots of the walkways are practically in the treetops so it didn’t seem unusual but gosh, that’s a building – it’s a RESTAURANT!! It was beautifully designed and looked practically as though it grew there. There was open-air dining, which was full, but the inside area had huge plantation shutters that were open. The food was decent, the service was okay, but the atmosphere was quiet and lovely; it was a nice place to sit and relax and recharge before heading back out.

We saw the Children’s Zoo last thing before we left. It was very well done and a lot of fun. I think my sweet little girl is going to grow up to be a professional goat petter. Both at that zoo and at the kids’ petting zoo at Disneyland there were LOTS of cute little spring goats, just a couple of months old or less. At both places, she went from baby to baby to baby, petting each one two or three times and moving on, probably making about three complete rounds at each place. It’s really cute.

I don’t know the exact order of our tour but we saw pretty much everything…I thought! Until I just now opened up the map and looked at the insert that listed some shows and talks. Sheesh…you just can’t do everything. It would take two full days to explore that place completely. We didn’t hit the reptile house because we found it on our way out of the park at closing time. A snake is a snake is a snake – I enjoy looking at them but I can do that here at our local zoo, which also has a superb reptile exhibit. The flamingoes at the San Diego Zoo are the prettiest I’ve ever seen. Most of the ones I’ve seen have had barely a tinge of pink. The ones at Sea World, the day before, were quite pink but these were very brightly shrimp colored, just gorgeous.

We stayed until the zoo was closing down. I was happy to have been and it had been time well spent, but I would loved to have gone back. Thank goodness for lots of pictures and the everlasting memory of a stressed-out mandrill!

Miscellaneous pictures:

Claws on the sun bear -- no, I was NOT that close!!

Could this little critter BE any cuter??

Zoo Entrance

Topiary at zoo entrance

Bench at the Children's Zoo

A bunny and its house, Children's Zoo

Somebody else who wrote the book on "cute" -- Meerkats and panda

 

[MomofCKJ]

What amazing shots you got! That is one great camera! The meerkat one is adorable but my favorite? The Gorilla's hand. Oh my goodness! I have a thing for gorillas, I just find them amazing and awe inspiring. I could be one of those sit there all day and watch them people (though I would not hog 2 benches and serve lunch!). That gorilla hand picture is the coolest!
And DH and the banana my goodness, poor mandrill, what a tease!

Allyson

 

[4boysrus]

YAY! I'm so happy that you've started the TR! I've been waiting...lol.

I've really enjoyed reading about your first 3 days. I agree with Allyson, I'm a gorilla fan and I *love* the picture of the hand!

Poor Olivia did not look too happy about being soaked, hehe. Of course, I was LOL at the banana/monkey story. Too funny!

Can't wait to read more and see more pictures!!

 

[ellebeegee]

Addendum to Day 3:

Since it was only about 6:30, on the way back to the hotel we drove out to the highway that parallels the Pacific. Found a good place to park and got out to dabble our toes, just in case we didn’t get another chance later. And we didn’t get a chance, so it’s a good thing we went when we did. Olivia and I had on our Crocs so we were just going to get our toes wet. Well, of course a wave took us by surprise! We were both soaked to the knees, but of course it was great fun and we just laughed. That girl LOVES the ocean. The first time she saw the ocean she was 2 ½. I thought she might be scared since she was so little – it is always an awesome sight. But she took off and I wasn’t sure I’d catch her before she got to the water! She also loves rocks, so this evening she was picking up rocks and throwing them into the water. I had DH fetch a bag from the car because, just as I suspected, her pockets were full of rocks. She’s just like me when I was young; I couldn’t resist picking up rocks, either. We had a quickie cheap meal at Taco Bell because we were hungry and it was right beside our hotel, then we cleaned up and tucked in for the night.

 

[ellebeegee]

Day 4: Monday, June 4 – Travel from San Diego to LA/Anaheim

We arose and packed up to move headquarters, then ate breakfast at the hotel and headed off. We arrived in LA around 11:30, I suppose. The only map I had was an Enterprise map and it wasn’t that great. It had numbers all over it, indicating Enterprise locations in the area, so some of the street names were covered up. We headed for Hollywood. Wow. It’s not really what I thought! I don’t know what I expected, but that wasn't it. We hit Sunset Boulevard first and the end we got on, the eastern end, I guess, is really dumpy!! So, it’s possible to have a Sunset Boulevard address and not live anywhere impressive at all. We drove around a bit, hit Rodeo Drive (yes, I leaned out the window and took pictures like a tourist – of shops and street signs). When we were driving down Sunset, some huge limo pulled out of one of the driveways in front of us. We followed it down to Rodeo and it pulled over to the side. The driver stopped to go around to the back door. I tried to get DH to stop but there were cars behind him. Like I cared! He said I wasn’t missing anything – “It’s probably only Rue McClanahan.”

We saw a rental car place in Beverly Hills and it was quite amusing: Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Hummer, and Lamborghini. Not exactly what we were cruising in, ourselves.

We rode around a bit more, through Beverly Hills and Bel Air. It is BEAUTIFUL out there. I can see why people would live there if they could. People are all over selling maps to the stars’ homes, and of course you can take the bus tours. But I don’t really see why – at most of the houses, where notable people would live, all you can see are walls, trees, and mailboxes. I’d hate to spend $35 on a bus tour just to see the wall in someone’s yard!

I was disappointed that it was too overcast/smoggy to take a picture of the Hollywood sign. Olivia really wanted to see it and we could barely make it out on the hill. I bought a postcard, instead.

We tracked down Grauman’s Chinese Theater and parked the car a couple of blocks away. We spent some time browsing around the handprints in the cement in front of the theater – lots of fun.

I had been so busy looking at the theater when we drove by that I didn’t realize there was a Disney Soda Fountain and Studio Store right across the street! That made me smile – it wasn’t too early to get immersed in a little Disney atmosphere. It is right beside the El Capitan Theater and there was a crowd in line for the next showing of Pirates III. We went over for lunch and on the way had a treat of viewing the sidewalk stars of some very important entertainment personalities!!

Thank you, Walt!

My favorite Princess!

Where it all started

Oh, bother...

DD's namesake

Inside, the store was afloat in Pirates merchandise – wow!! Probably 75% of everything they had was Pirates related. We browsed a long time and I was lucky to find a LE of 300 pin that is Captain Jack’s hat. I love it!

DH had a French Dip sandwich which he proclaimed excellent. Olivia and I had spaghetti and meatballs which would have been good but the noodles were swimming in water. I really should have sent it back. Olivia and I shared so we could have room for dessert. A few of the desserts were also pirate themed – one was a cookie boat with ice cream, gold coins, and a flag. But we ordered a sundae that came in a HUGE parfait glass. It was chocolate, cherry, and vanilla ice creams with hot fudge sauce. The outside of the glass was smothered in marshmallow cream, sprinkled with Mickeys. So cute!! It was really rich but fun. It also came with a LE, special-to-the-soda-fountain, collectible pin – Sorcerer Mickey with the broom – which Olivia promptly gave to her cousin when we got back home.

When we left the soda fountain, we walked down the sidewalk on that side of the street to get back to our car and see the rest of the sidewalk stars. Yeah, cheesy touristy stuff but fun and one of those things you have to do if you’re only going to be there once.

We ended up leaving there at, guess when…5 pm! Honestly, I think if you’ve spent any time living and driving in Atlanta, there’s nothing on the LA freeways that will raise an eyebrow. We didn’t see anything we hadn’t seen hundreds of times before just a few miles from home, so we dealt with it. We got to our hotel in Anaheim probably about 6:30. I was disappointed it wasn’t closer to DL – it was about 7 miles away but in reality it wasn’t bad at all, especially since all our hotel nights were on free points DH had earned from lots of travel last year.

We checked in and settled in, caught our breath then headed out to Downtown Disney to find Guest Services so we could exchange our CityPass voucher for 3-day park hopper tickets. I have to say, the DTD there ROCKS!! It is wonderful. It truly does feel like a little town, much more so than the one at Orlando. And everything’s in one place with rows of buildings facing each other, so it’s not nearly as spread out. It’s quite cozy. DH had to go to the park gate to find Guest Services so Olivia and I headed to the two-story Build-A-Bear to take advantage of a $10 coupon we had. We had already agreed: NO MORE CRITTERS this trip!! I helped her realize it would be best to spend her money on things she can only get there and not at our local stores. She ended up with a set that had a cute Minnie t-shirt, mouse ears, and gloves and also a Jessie outfit. It is TOO cute! It has the little ring for the pull string on the back of the shirt but you can’t pull it. And I have to give a shout out to Build-A-Bear, too. When we took the Jessie costume pieces apart, there was a little gold thing and I couldn’t figure out what it was. When we got back home, DH figured out it was a spur, so that means there should be two. I e-mailed BAB and they FedExed us one right away.

It was getting late and we knew we needed some rest, so we headed back to the hotel, fully planning to get back to DTD later in our stay. Unfortunately, that also didn’t happen. Just so much to do in such a limited time, but we're going to Disneyland tomorrow!!

 

[ellebeegee]

It is posted at http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1508912. Thanks!

 

[mott]

Hello, what a wonderful trip report. If you don't mind, I have a couple of questions. We are planing a similar trip the first part of June next year... How crowded was it at Sea World and the Zoo - being on weekends?

Can you explain how the So Ca pass works - you have to redeem in each place?

Thanks!

 

[Beth76]

We are planing a similar trip the first part of June next year

Us too! DS's school lets out before Memorial Day, and I'd like to go as early as possible to hopefully have smaller crowds. We'll definitely avoid the holiday weekend though. We're wanting to do DL, SW and Legoland. Possibly the zoo too. OP, thanks for the trip report. I'm heading off to read your DL report.