This past weekend one of my bucket list trips came true. My family and I were invited to a Roar and Snore Safari sleepover at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park! We were hosted by Universal Pictures in honor of the new film, Dolittle, that opens in theaters this weekend!
I have literally been waiting decades to spend the night in a tent next to the animals at the zoo. I have always loved animals, hiking, and camping but this epic overnight experience was better than I ever imagined. It was a dream weekend come true and I was so grateful to share the experience with my family!
We also were able to share the weekend with some other local blogger/content creator friends of mine, which made it extra fun!
When we first arrived, we were taken on a private walking tour throughout the park – stopping along the way to see the flamingos, gorillas, and more!
When we arrived at the campground, we were greeted by Iggy, a 5 year old red river hog!
Then we were able to go inside our tents for the first time. Our tent was #42 and we were on the corner closest to the elephant exhibit. Seriously, I could honestly say I was sleeping next to the elephants just feet away from our tent! It was incredible!
What was also incredible was the tent. We were hosted in a premium tent that came with a queen size bed with pillows and linens, two cots with sleeping bags, an area rug, a storage chest, a lamp, a coat rack, two bedside tables, a space heater, and electrical outlets! It was “glamping” at its finest and an experience I will never forget! We also loved all of our Dolittle gifts including out backpacks, binoculars, sweatshirts, blankets, hats, and stuffed animals!
Once we settled in, we were taken on a nighttime safari truck tour where we were able to use infrared night vision goggles! It was dark and cold, but with the goggles, we could see all sorts of animals like giraffe, camel, donkeys, birds, and more!
This part of the tour was for children 6+. If you have a child younger than 6, there is a modified tour you can go on!
Then we came back to camp for a buffet dinner! We were able to have salad, hamburgers, hot dogs, or even choose a vegetarian dish with rice and stir-fry vegetables and tofu! We also had the option of ice tea, lemonade, water, and more as well as dessert options like delicious cupcakes in all sorts of flavors!
After dinner, we were taken on a nighttime walking tour throughout the park. Obviously the park had been closed for quite some time and we needed flashlights to get around, which made it extra spectacular! We even got to experience exhibits behind the scenes so it was a huge highlight of the trip. First we met Peanut, a 10 year old 3 banded armadillo with a tongue that is 5 inches long! It was the tiniest nocturnal creature who has been an animal ambassador for almost his entire life! We had the opportunity to touch him and learn so much from his diet, his predators, and more!
Next we walked to the tiger exhibit where we went inside where the tigers sleep at night when they aren’t in the front exhibit. We learned what they eat, how they train, how they watch all the exhibits on film, and more! We learned they can eat 5 pounds of meat each day and they love having “bloodcicles” for dessert!
Then we visited the bats before heading back to camp for s’mores, hot chocolate, popcorn, and coffee!
I know you all want to know how we slept and if we were actually warm enough, right? Well, let me tell you the tent is very secure with two sets of linings from the outside and two sets of zippers, so you are pretty tucked in once you are inside. And with the space heater on 80 degrees, we slept pretty well under the covers. We were a little cold walking around without the covers, so we definitely slept in sweats and socks, but honestly I was pretty warm considering it was about 40 degrees outside! I do want to mention that the bathrooms were a 2-3 minute walk from the tent, but were very nice with mirrors, toilets, sinks, and showers! But when traveling with young children, like we were, you will want to make sure you go before you are in for the night or make sure you keep your jacket and flashlight where you can easily find it in the middle of the night!
The next morning we woke up early (first wake up call was 6:15am)but to be honest the animals including the lions wake you up much earlier than that! And speaking of lions, before breakfast, my husband took a walk to see the lions waking up and playing.
Then we had a delicious buffet breakfast with cheese omelettes, sausage, pancakes, fruit, potatoes, and more! Plus all you can drink coffee, tea, and juice!
After breakfast, we went on a private tram tour before the park opened! I have been on the exact same tram tour probably ten dozen times, but this tram tour was my favorite because I have never been on it so early in the morning when the animals were just waking up and so active! Plus it felt like we had the park to ourselves and it was so special.
After the tram tour, we were able to have another private meet n greet with some birds including Scooter, a 52 year macaw, similar to the one you will see in the new Dolittle movie!
We spent the rest of the day exploring the park and seeing more animal exhibits including the new Platypus exhibit in Walkabout Australia! And of course, rode the carousel a few times before leaving since you can buy a $6 ticket/child and ride all you want throughout the entire day!
And I loved that my children both captured everything through their binoculars! Yep, all 1800 acres of land! Can you believe it? The Safari Park is so big it could fit 18 Disneyland parks inside of it!
Here’s the best part, you can take your own family on a Roar and Snore Safari, which includes starting in March! The safari is from 4:15pm-9:30am and there are 3 different tents and price points to choose from. They have family nights, 21+ adult only nights, Girl Scout nights, and even school field trip nights! All sleepovers include camp activities, an after-hours look at the wild life of our animals, guided walks, a campfire program, dinner, an evening snack, and breakfast the following morning.
And you can see the new Dolittle movie in theaters this weekend! Dolittle stars Robert Downey Jr. as Dr. Dolittle, a veterinarian that can talk to animals! In the film, he is forced to set sail on an epic adventure to a mythical island in search of a cure for the ailing Queen, where he regains his wit and courage as he crosses old adversaries and discovers wondrous creatures.
The film also stars Dolittle’s animal friends, including an anxious gorilla (Oscar® winner Rami Malek), an enthusiastic but bird-brained duck (Oscar® winner Octavia Spencer), a bickering duo of a cynical ostrich (The Big Sick’s Kumail Nanjiani) and an upbeat polar bear (John Cena, Bumblebee) and a headstrong parrot (Oscar® winner Emma Thompson), who serves as Dolittle’s most trusted advisor and confidante. The film also stars Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen (The Queen), Oscar® winner Jim Broadbent and Carmen Laniado (FX’s A Christmas Carol) and voice performances from Tom Holland, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez, Oscar® winner Marion Cotillard, Frances de la Tour, Jason Mantzoukas and Craig Robinson.
The film is Rated PG and is 1 hour and 40 minutes. Pick up your tickets in advance here!
This post is sponsored by Universal Pictures but all photos and opinions are my own!
Leave a Reply