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Call 1 (800) 434-7894 to speak with a Travel Planning Expert  ·  7 Days a Week  ·  International Callers +1 (619) 546-5622

San Diego Attractions for October Fun

San Diego Zoo
October is the perfect month to visit gorgeous San Diego and its many attractions. The weather is warm, but not too hot, and there are many great places to visit. Visiting the city in the offseason means fewer crowds at most attractions and beaches. San Diego in October is the best place to bring your kids for Kids Free San Diego, where children can visit over 100 attractions for free! Kids Free San Diego runs from October 1-31 each year.

San Diego Zoo

With an adult ticket, up to 10 kids who are ages 11 and under can go to the San Diego Zoo free as part of Kids Free San Diego this October. Special discounts on adult tickets are also available.

The world-renowned San Diego Zoo boasts a whopping 100 acres of zoo area and has over 3,500 animals in its care! There is a creature here for every kind of animal lover, from rhinos to adorable red pandas. The Zoo also houses some animals that are being kept for the sake of preservation and visiting the zoo helps keep these endangered species safe and healthy. The Zoo also features some fantastic plant life in addition to their wonderful animals. The Australian Wonders exhibit features some of the most bizarre and incredible-looking plants on earth. You can also experience the majesty of the rainforest at the Bromeliad Garden.

The fun doesn’t stop at the San Diego Zoo, which has attractions like the Discovery Cart Tour and the Penguin Beach experience. A ticketed adult can also bring up to 10 children who are 10 and under to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Be sure to make the San Diego Zoo a primary destination during your October fun journey.

LEGOLAND® California

LEGOLAND® California in Carlsbad, a quick drive from San Diego, is one of the best attractions to visit in October. The park celebrates the Halloween season in style with lots of activities and events, including the famous Brick-or-Treat Party Nights. The park is adorned in spooky decorations with cobwebs and creepy spiders nestled in every nook and corner. Restaurants and stores will also be offering special Halloween merchandise, from devilishly good treats and snacks to special Halloween LEGO® sets and costumes.

You can build your own LEGO® jack-o-lantern and help complete a LEGO® Halloween mosaic. Meet your favorite spooky LEGO® characters like Lord Vampyre, LEGO® Mummy, and LEGO® Frankenstein. Join the fun by wearing a costume to the park, or visiting the costume shop.

The Brick-or-Treat Party Nights at LEGOLAND® California are a monstrously good time and will be sure to satisfy your sweet tooth. There are treat trails and treat stations for candy located throughout the park, and ghoulish dance parties with your favorite characters and story shows. Extraordinary fireworks light up the dark sky on select nights.

SeaWorld® San Diego and Aquatica

At SeaWorld® San Diego, there’s always something fun to do for kids in October. During Kids Free San Diego, children 9 and under get in free with a paid adult ticket. SeaWorld® San Diego also has some spooky fun in store for the Halloween season. Make sure to bring a costume and a bucket with plenty of room for candy. There is Halloween adventure around every corner and plenty of sweets to go around.

The Halloween Spooktacular annual event is back at SeaWorld® San Diego. There is an all-new Fall Festival zone where the spooky party is always hopping, the challenging mysterious hay maze, trick-or-treat fun with candy routes and treat trails, and the grand Sesame Street Halloween Parade. Don’t miss out on character meet-and-greets with your favorite characters dressed in their harrowing Halloween attire.

Buckle up for thrilling fun with the aquatic animal-inspired coasters at SeaWorld® San Diego. The jaw-dropping launch coaster Manta boasts two launch points that will send you and your family blasting through riotous twists and turns. The Tidal Twister offers a fun change of pace with its dueling roller-coaster feature and heart-pounding upside down dips and dives. Enter into the world of a famous lost civilization with the Journey to Atlantis coaster and make sure you are not afraid to get wet. The splashes are just as frequent as the adventure on this ride.

USS Midway Museum

With one adult admission, up to two kids ages 12 and under can come aboard the awesome aircraft carrier museum for free! There is no better opportunity to experience this epic slice of U.S. naval history and learn about the Pacific Theater that changed the tide of WWII. The USS Midway was the longest-serving aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy, sailing from 1945 to 1992 until its final mooring at Navy Pier in San Diego.

Explore the real-life legend of the USS Midway at the flight deck and below deck exhibits. See what it would be like to serve aboard a naval aircraft carrier during World War II. Walk through the ship deck where admirals gave commands, and see the crew’s quarters and bunks. You can visualize what it was like to live in such tiny quarters for months at a time. You will also have the opportunity to visit the eye-opening Battle of Midway Theater and other interactive displays that will transport you back into the heat of battle.

Over 30 restored aircraft are available to see on the flight deck and hangar deck, including WWII-era fighter planes. More modern fighter jets are strapped down on the flight deck which make great photo opportunities for your family. Your kids will be fascinated and awed by the advancements in technology, and the sheer size and power of these planes. This is a must-visit October attraction for history lovers and patriots alike.

San Diego Natural History Museum

Kids Free San Diego also extends to the San Diego Natural History Museum.Take a trip back in time when you visit the many exhibits housed in “The Nat.” You and your kids will have fun learning about the wondrous creatures of our planet and the biomes they inhabit.

Take a photo in front of the huge Megalodon replica, a shark that lived millions of years ago and could grow to be up to three times as large as a modern great white shark! Al the Dinosaur is also available for taking selfies. He was an Allosaurus whose original fossil bones were discovered in Utah.

One of the most beautiful exhibits on display is The Hidden Gems exhibit. It showcases some of the most beautiful naturally-occurring gemstones in nature. More than 100 gemstones from The Nat’s mineralogy department are currently displayed.

Fossil Mysteries is a must-visit for dinosaur lovers after visiting Al the Dinosaur in the museum’s lobby. In Fossil Mysteries, you will learn all about the dinosaur age, which spans over 75 million years. Fossils on display were discovered locally in the Baja California area by The Nat’s very own paleontology team. An Ice Age site that was worked on by museum staff is also on exhibit, featuring the bones of the mighty mastodon.

San Diego Air & Space Museum

At the San Diego Air & Space Museum, kids 12 and under are free during Kids Free San Diego month. The museum is located in the famous Balboa Park and is within walking distance of many other great attractions and destinations, including the San Diego Museum of Man and the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater.

The Air & Space Museum features aircraft and spacecraft from the beginning of aviation to the present. Impressive reproductions of the Wright Brothers’ original gliders and the Apollo 9 Command Module are just some examples of the awesome aviation exhibits in store for visitors at the museum.

The museum also features an incredible new interactive exhibit that lets visitors become part of the action. SPACE: Our Greatest Adventure is the museum’s newest attraction. See the history of mankind’s epic journey towards the stars firsthand, and learn how space exploration impacts our everyday lives.

Restaurants participating in Kids Free San Diego

Kids Free San Diego doesn’t just stop at attractions: many restaurants in the San Diego area also offer free meals for kids. At some locations, up to two kids under age 10 can come and eat completely free of charge any day of the week. It’s the perfect opportunity to have a family meal together without breaking the bank!

Looking for delicious breakfast with spices and zest for even more mouth-watering flavor? Look no further Al’s Cafe in the Village. With an entire section of the menu devoted to their yummy Omelet Bar, and another outlining their delicious Waffles and French Toast selections, there are plenty of awesome breakfast options to go around. Whether you’re a traditional breakfast lover, or you have a sweet tooth, there is something for everyone on Al’s Cafe menu. You can take advantage of Kids Free San Diego at Al’s Cafe, where up to two kids under the age of 10 can eat completely free, any day of the week during October.

Hankering for a juicy hamburger? On Tuesdays, the Hamburger Factory is offering kids 10 and under the opportunity to eat free when accompanied by a paying adult after 5pm. The restaurant offers classic family-style cooking with stomach-stuffing breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. This location sports an Old West motif. The welcoming atmosphere and warm hospitality of the staff make this the perfect location to dine as a family.

If you’re hankering for a cultural experience, look no further than Hooley’s Public House in East County. On Wednesdays during Kids Free San Diego, kids 12 and under can eat for free with one paying adult. This eclectic restaurant harkens back to the old pubs in Ireland, featuring detailed brickwork and whiskey barrels. Kids have a variety of food choices, from traditional fish and chips to quesadillas to a wee bit of the house mac and cheese.

Be sure to contact restaurants in the San Diego area before you visit to learn what their deals and participation days and hours are.

Best Beaches in San Diego

October is one of the best months to visit and explore gorgeous San Diego because it’s still warm enough to visit the beach, but there are fewer crowds. This makes for the perfect time to take a trip to one or more of San Diego’s many fantastic beach locations.

Visit La Jolla Cove for unrivaled natural beauty and picturesque moments just waiting to be captured on your phone. The beach itself is tucked away between sandy cliffs and empties out into the beautiful Pacific Ocean with its deep blue-green waters an enticing treat for snorkelers and scuba divers. The area is also teeming with exciting marine life, which makes for interesting learning experiences for kids.

Del Mar City Beach offers the best in classic beach experiences and fun. The beach sports two parks that make for great play areas and nice spots for a picnic lunch with the whole family. You can also supplement your swimming and splashing with some hiking on the trails that run through the bluffs lining the southern coast of the beach.

Mission Bay Beach features islands and coves which are fun to explore for kids and adults alike. The Playa Pacifica park features playgrounds for kids to use in between their swimming and sand castles. Mission Bay is also the largest man-made park in the United States, which makes this location even more fascinating. Put Mission Bay on your family’s must-see list for your trip to San Diego.

Other San Diego Museums

Two kids 12 and under accompanied by a paid adult can visit over 40 great museums in the San Diego Area. Online coupons for participating museums must be downloaded at the San Diego Museum Council website.

You will have the ultimate chance to visit new museums and old favorites, as well as a great opportunity to explore the beautiful San Diego area.

Conclusion

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