San Diego Theme Parks

San Diego is the 8th largest city in the United States and second largest in California. It is often referred to as “America’s Finest City” for its great hotel accommodations, mild year-round climate, pristine beaches and abundance of entertainment.

One of the major attractions and most-loved destinations in the city are the various theme parks which feature thrilling rides, fun shows and delicious foods. Here is a list of some of those theme parks that the kids and the kids-at-heart will surely enjoy.

Legoland

Legoland California in northern San Diego County is filled with towering LEGO statues. It opened on March 20, 1999. It is composed of nine sections -The Beginning, Explorer Island, Heartlake City, Fun Town, Castle Hill, Miniland USA, Imagination Zone, Pirate Shores, and Land of Adventure. A Sea Life aquarium which opened in 2010 can also be found adjacent to Legoland. This Lego wonderland is full of fun water rides, hands-on activities and entertaining shows.

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Seaworld

SeaWorld San Diego, the first SeaWorld park, opened on March 21, 1964 is one of the best theme parks in San Diego for its thrilling water rides, entertaining shows and a variety of beautiful sea creatures. It also features a variety of educational shows and exhibits including “Turtle Reef” and the “Shark Encounter.”

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San Diego Zoo

San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park San Diego, California houses around 4,000 animals of 800 rare and exotic species in a beautiful 100-acre tropical garden. It is a timeless attraction for all ages featuring spectacular bioclimatic exhibits like Monkey Trails, Absolutely Apes, Ituri Forest, Rain Forest Aviary, Polar Bear Plunge, Gorilla Tropics, Sun Bear Forest and Tiger River. The zoo also has the largest population of the endangered and lovable Giant Pandas in the U.S.

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San Diego Zoo Safari Park

 The San Diego Zoo Safari Park, formerly Wild Animal Park is a 730-hectare zoo in the San Pasqual Valley area of San Diego, California. It is one of the largest tourist attractions in San Diego County visited by 2 million people annually. The park houses a large array of over 2,600 animals, some wild and endangered. The park is noted for its California condor breeding program, the most successful program in the United States.

Photo credit: Ryan Summers (Flickr)
Photo credit: Ryan Summers (Flickr)