San Diego Mamas (2024)

28/11/2024

Gift experiences not things! Comment PASS and I’ll send you info on all these passes and the websites to buy them.

Also which pass levels I recommend buying. It can get confusing.

Send this post to the grandparents to gift your kids for Christmas, because you know they already have way too many toys.

Note: nearly all these passes pay for themselves in 1.5 visits. I’ve done the math. 😃

🦓 The San Diego Zoo / Safari Park: Kids: $71, Adults: $99 (weekdays)

🧱 LEGOLAND: $174/person Black Friday Deal (usually $299). Includes Waterpark and Aquarium. Ages 2+ will need a pass.

🐟 SeaWorld: $85/person, Black Friday Deal, they’re normally $122.

They also do $24 Preschool Passes for preschoolers (ages 3-5) in January.

🐤 Sesame Place: $99/person. Can bundle with SeaWorld for $174 for both.

🔎 Balboa Park Explorer: $229/family of 6. Includes nearly all the museums in Balboa Park.

🐻 The New Children’s Museum in Downtown San Diego: $150/two people or $250/family of 4.

🪴 The San Diego Botanic Garden: $105/2 adults + 4 kids

🪀 San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum in Escondido: $105/two people $160/4 people

🦈 Birch Aquarium: $149/two adults + four children + 4 guest passes

🎢 Belmont Park: $101/person (Black Friday deal, they’re normally $130/person).

👙The Plunge: $120/family

💦 Water Conservation Garden: $74/family, reciprocal admission to other gardens including The Botanic Garden in Encinitas

20/11/2024

Comment LINK and I will send you a link to buy tickets.

This is everything your ticket includes! ⬇️

The Nutcracker Tea Party is a fully immersive experience.

The San Diego Ballet will be performing to tell the classic story of The Nutcracker directly to the audience.

Children will be invited to sit in front of the stage to experience the dancing up close!

Following the performance, a member of the Ballet will lead a short, interactive demonstration of basic ballet moves.

Photos with Santa are included with free photo downloads after the event.

Tickets are between $60-$70 and it sells out every year so grab yours soon!

11/11/2024

Comment SANTA for dates and ticket links to all of the above.

I’ll be posting about a lot of these events in the coming weeks so follow along and stay tuned for more info!

EVENTS
🎭 How The Grinch Stole Christmas at the Old Globe (ages 3 and up)
🚤 San Diego Bay Boat Parade
🎅 Jingle Jets aboard the USS Midway
⛸ Skate By The Sea at The Hotel Del Coronado
💡 Lightscape at The San Diego Botanic Garden in Encinitas
🩰 Nutcracker Tea for kids at Liberty Station

THEME PARKS
🦁 San Diego Zoo Jungle Bells: lit up animal light sculptures, zoo open till 8
🧱 LEGOLand: life size LEGO Santa, nightly LEGO Christmas Tree lighting
🐟 SeaWorld Christmas Celebration: Christmas shows, seasonal food, light tunnel

SHOPPING
🥜 Bates Nut Farm: Christmas Arts, Crafts and Vintage Market
🎁 Westfield UTC: Peppermint Beach Resort and Santa Meet and Greet
🎄 Del Mar Highlands: Amazing beach themed decor.

LIT UP NEIGHBORHOODS
💌 Christmas Card Lane Rancho Penasquitos: 9190 Oviedo Street SD
🍬 Candy Cane Lane: Hickory Street Poway
⛄️ Merry-tage Court Scripps Ranch: Stonebridge Pkwy & Merritage Ct SD
🤶Carlsbad Christmas House: 6646 Elegant Tern Place Carlsbad
🔔 Jingle Bell Hill: Peegen Place, El Cajon
☕️ Harmony Grove Escondido: Trail Blazer Lane, Escondido

01/10/2024

Comment JULIAN and I’ll send you more info on all of the above!

Also I gotta know: what’s your favorite pie shop in Julian? I have my opinion but I wanna hear yours. 🥧

09/09/2024

Dates here ⬇️⬇️

Comment PUMPKIN for the 10 best pumpkin patches in San Diego and what there is to do at each one.

Oh and make sure to follow along because I’ll be sharing updated info for this year including my Halloween Light Map and Theme Park Party Guide.

Pumpkin Patches
🎃 Pumpkin Station Rancho Bernardo / Del Mar: Opens Sept 27th
🎃 Bates Nut Farm Valley Center: Opens Sept 19th
🎃 Oma’s Family Farm: Opens Oct 1st (reservation required)
🎃 Fallbrook Pumpkin Patch: Opens Sept 27th
🎃 Julian Autumn Jubilee at Fort Cross: Sept 21 open weekends
🎃 Carlsbad Strawberry Company: Opens Sept 20th

Theme Park Parties
TIP: Lots of these are included with membership or for a small add-on fee!

👻 Brick or Treat at LEGOLand: Sept 14, 21, 28, Sat / Sun in October
🍁 Belmont Park Fall Fest: Starts September 13, weekends
🐘 HalGLOWeen at The San Diego Zoo: Fri / Sat / Sun in October. Makes a great free date night especially if you’re zoo members!
🧛‍♂️ The Count’s Halloween Spooktacular at Sesame Pl: September 14 - Nov 3.
🏰 Halloween at Disney: now to October 31st (Oogie Boogie Bash is amazing, but sold out 👎)
🐡 Halloween Spooktacular at SeaWorld: Their daytime Halloween event, September 6 - Nov 3
😱Howl O Scream at SeaWorld: Their nighttime event runs September 27 - Nov 2nd, weekend nights. Adult / teen event with haunted houses.

Festive Halloween Lights Neighborhoods:
🟠 Bressi Ranch Carlsbad
⚫️ Harmony Grove Escondido
🟠 San Elijo Hills San Marcos

25/07/2024

Here’s how to score tickets for your fam! ⬇️

1. Follow .mamas and
2. Comment HOOK

Prize: Four tickets to the Tuesday, July 30 performance of Peter Pan starting at 7 PM. Valued at $336 ($84 per ticket).

Can’t wait to win? The San Diego Mamas community gets access to Family Night on Broadway.

Buy one ticket and get one free for Wednesday, July 31. Enjoy pre-show activities, a themed photo opportunity, and a great night out with the family.

Use code FAMILY in the 🔒 on Ticketmaster to access select sections.

Comment HOOK and I’ll send you the direct link to buy tickets. BOGO works on 7/31 only, up to 9 tickets. Fees may apply.

27/06/2024

Comment LINK for more info & event websites!

Also LMK if there are any I missed, I’ll add them to the caption.

08/06/2024

Comment BEACH and I’ll send you parking info and what to eat nearby!

Also a list of our tried and true beach gear.

Swipe to the end for a surprise! 🍑

Any I missed? Let me know in the comments. 😃

Send to a mom friend you want to go to the beach with this summer!

04/05/2024

Raise your hand if you’ve been personally victimized by kids places that charge per activity 🙋‍♀️.

doesn’t do that! There’s tons of stuff to do around every corner and kids can move between activities freely.

It’s not open all the time, just select weekends in the Spring / Summer and then the pumpkin patch in the fall.

This weekend they are doing a Dump Trucks and Diggers activity where they demo construction vehicles moving dirt around up close.

I’ll have to show you the videos I took in my stories, the kids were entranced.

There’s also construction vehicles you can sit in!

Admission is $16/kids over 2 and $12/adult. There are more than enough activities for the price.

I’ll go over them all in my stories tonight!

23/03/2024

Comment LINK and I’ll send you my full list of 25 ideas!

Who needs to travel for Spring Break when we’ve got all this right here?

18/03/2024

Comment LINK and I’ll send you more info, pricing, and which pass I reccomend getting.

Here’s the details ⬇️

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The annual pass deal is 3 for 1, so you buy 4 passes for your fam and only have to pay for three.

🎟️ It applies to all new passes. It does not apply to renewals.

🔄 Pass renewals are currently 30% off, I’ll send you that deal too if you comment LINK.

🦖 Dino Valley opens March 22nd. That’s this Friday! I’ll be previewing it for you on Thursday, so make sure to tune in!

🛑 Deal ends 3/31. Last time I saw this deal was two years ago.

Got questions? I’ll do a Q&A in my stories tonight.

This is my favorite SD pass to have. Well except my zoo pass. I love the baby animals!

08/03/2024

Comment LINK and I’ll send you the ticket info and link to check bloom percentage (currently 7%).

Here’s my tips for taking kids ⬇️

🌸 The cherry trees are in in Balboa Park. You can use your Balboa Explorer pass to get in!

🌸 The festival is from March 7-10, but you can enjoy the blooms all month.

🌸 Make sure to grab a scavenger hunt when you go in! Great for teaching kids about Japanese culture.

🌸 Park by Spreckel’s Organ Pavilion or anywhere in Balboa Park and use the free green tram to get there.

For more info, comment LINK or go check out my stories tonight!

01/03/2024

Comment LINK for more info / pricing plus even more ideas.

Dates ⬇️

🌹 Carlsbad Flower Fields Open: March 1st

🧪 Festival of Science and Engineering @ Snapdragon Stadium: March 2nd

🚧 Lakeside Touch a Truck: March 3rd

🕺🏻 MJ The Musical (ages 13+): March 5-10

🌸 Cherry Blossom Festival @ Japanese Friendship Gardens: March 7-10

🦔 Wild Kratts Live @ California Center for the Arts in Escondido: March 10th

🍀 St. Patrick’s Day Parade @ 6th and Laurel: March 16th

🦭 Seals in La Jolla: All month but will be best in early March.

🍓 Strawberry Picking Season (we like Kenny’s in Fallbrook)

🖼️ Beyond Van Gogh @ Del Mar Fairgrounds

🥚 Plunge Underwater Egg Hunt: March 30th

🐰 Bunny train in Campo: Weekends in March starting the 16th.

Follow along as we cover these events!

06/02/2024

SWIPE for my favorite San Diego rainy day activities.

2 and 6 are my favorites.

Comment LINK and I’ll send you the info on Museum Month. It goes until Feb 29th and you can get half-off 60+ museums in San Diego.

You know you’re a SoCal mom when you see rain in the forecast, grab your poncho, and head for a theme park.

Just make sure you watch their website for closures as many theme parks close early when storms come!

02/02/2024

Comment LINK to grab your pass!

I’ll also send you pricing and whatever special requirements each museum has for entry.

Some you just show up, some require online reservations.

Somehow LEGOLAND achieved museum status and is in included in this deal for the first time this year.

Their half-price tickets are good until Dec 24. Get them now and use them for Dino Land opening in the spring!

Here are my recs for which museums are best with kids. Full guides / parking recs on my website. ⬇️

1. Birch Aquarium
2. San Diego Botanic Gardens
3. The Maritime Museum of San Diego
4. The California Surf Museum
5. The Living Coast Discovery Center
6. LEGOLAND / SeaLife aquarium
7. Fleet Science Center
8. San Diego Air & Space Museum
9. The New Children’s Museum
10. San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum
11. The San Diego Model Railroad Museum
12. The Natural History Museum

29/01/2024

Comment LINK and I’ll send you all the links to book tickets / get more info on these events.

I will be running ticket giveaways for some of them and I’m working on getting you discount codes as well.

🏛️ Museum Month: Starts Feb 1st, all museums in San Diego are 50% off. For some reason they are including LEGOLAND in this for 2024!!

I’ll do a post on this with my top museum recs soon.

🛍️ Rhea Lana Sale in Poway: Feb 1-8

🥷 Ninjago Weekends at LEGOLAND: Feb 1-19 (use Museum Month for 50% off)

🦭 Seal Pupping Season at La Jolla Children’s Pool: Feb 8-March 8 (roughly)

🐶 Bluey’s Big Play at The Balboa Theater: Feb 9-11

🖼️ Beyond Van Gogh / Beyond Monet at The Del Mar Fairgrounds: Jan 28-April 4 (use code MARKET for 15% off)

🏮 Lunar New Year at Disney California Adventure: Jan 23-Feb 8

🐋 Whale Watching: All month, apparently it’s been a great season for it!

22/01/2024

🚨Reminder! In-N-Out gives out free kids hot cocoa on rainy days.

Look for this sign on the drive through.

You do not have to purchase anything to be eligible.

However I have never managed to go to In-N-Out and smell the burgers and not order something.

Please let me know if you figure out how to do that.

Tell me your In-N-Out order below!

28/12/2023

Comment LINK and I’ll send you pricing and links to tickets for the events.

I’m also working on getting you discount codes to the paid events. 😃

🐚 King Tides: Jan 10-13th

🚡 Free rides on The Old Town Trolley: Jan 3-14

🤠 Old Town Pioneer Festival (free!): Jan 27th

🐶 Paw Patrol Live at Civic Theater: Jan 5-7 (Discount code CAMILLE for 25% off)

🛻 Monster Jam at Petco Park: Jan 13-14

🦖 Jurassic Quest at Del Mar Fairgrounds: Jan 19-21

🏰 Disney on Ice at Pechanga: Jan 18-21

🐴 Rodeo at Petco Park: Jan 12-14

📚 Winter Reading Challenge at the library: Jan 3-Feb 14

🖼️ Beyond Van Gogh Del Mar Fairgrounds: January 26-April 4

Anything I missed? Tell me in the comments so I can add it to the list!

Stay tuned as I’ll be featuring a lot of these individually over the next month!

San Diego Mamas