Joy mentioned that there was a Living Social deal for a San Diego Zoo Safari Park for $22 (50% off) and with Mother’s Day around the corner we bought 4. It was going to be a hot weekend so we picked up my parents at 7:30 in the morning to get there by their opening at 9:00am. By the time we arrived the temperature was into the mid 80°s.
When we arrived they told us about Bike Race going on that day that would close the parking lot from 11-12pm and you wouldn’t be allowed to leave during that time. We stood inline to exchange our Living Social tickets, until i read the fine print that we could just walked straight to the gate and have them scan my phone and get in right away.
The park was still opening up and we made our way to the Tram ride to get on before it got really hot, and it was a good thing too because the Tram operator made it out to sound like we were lucky to see most of the animals before it got really hot and they went further into the enclosure to seek shade. We got to see plenty of gazelle, the rhino, birds, giraffes and even a cheetah.
My parents told me that I’ve been to the Safari Park back when i was super little so i don’t remember anything about it so it was a fun new experience for me again. I always thought that this was the park where you drove your own car through the exhibits and where animals would come up to your car for a lick, but i guess its been years since that was possible.
Once the Tram ride was done, we decided to leave the park before the street closures and go to Valley View Casino for a lobster buffet. It was going to get into the 100° and didn’t need to spend the whole day at the zoo since the Tram ride was the most important thing to do. On our way out of the park we did manage to stop by the elephant exhibit and enjoyed the baby elephants running around the bigger ones trying to find shade.
We arrived to Valley View Casino just after the buffet opened and ended up waiting for an hour. By 12:30pm they cut off the lunch line and only allowed people with a players card reservation in until dinner started at 3:00pm. I knew this would happened and why we left the park so early. We probably ended spending more time eating then at the zoo, but you have to know your priorities. I gorged myself on four plates of food and plenty of dessert to make it worth it. Once we were done eating we each blew $20 on slots and went home.
