Guests with Disabilities

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park welcomes guests with disabilities. A special information packet is available at all ticket windows. We have written scripts for tours and shows for the hearing impaired (download information packet for hearing impaired), and we provide free admission to the assistant of the visually impaired. Wheelchairs are available for rent on a first-come, first-served basis. Restrooms and other services are accessible. Kennel accommodations are available for service animals.

All disabled guests must pay admission fees to the Safari Park.

The Safari Park has several services designed to help guests with disabilities enjoy their visit. Pre-boarding on our Africa Tram Safari vehicle is available to guests with service animals or guests with disabilities that do not allow them to wait in line. In addition, informational pamphlets have been created, including show and tram scripts for the hearing impaired and a special map for guests with walking disabilities. The map highlights the most accessible routes and walkways throughout the Park. A courtesy shuttle is also available to our Heart of Africa and Condor Ridge exhibits.Trained service animals are welcome on grounds; however, if a guest does not wish to bring the animal into the Park, kennel facilities are available.

If you have additional questions about visiting the Park that have not been answered, please call 760-747-8702, ext. 5241.

Mobility Assistive Device Policy

San Diego Zoo Global is dedicated to providing all of its guests with equal enjoyment of the wonderful experience offered by its parks: the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. 

The safety of our visitors is extremely important to us. The parks are primarily pedestrian environments. By “pedestrian,” we mean any individual who moves within walking areas with or without the use of walking-assistive devices such as crutches, leg braces, wheelchairs, etc. Park attendance is often at high capacity, resulting in busy pedestrian pathways. Our goal is to maintain a safe pedestrian traffic flow for all visitors while allowing for use of mobility-assistive devices that do not fundamentally alter the nature of the experience the parks provide. 

In order to maintain a safe pedestrian environment and the desired pace and flow of visitor traffic, the parks do not allow guests to bring or use most wheeled vehicles within the grounds. Bicycles, tricycles, scooters, skateboards, roller skates, and similar modes of transportation are not allowed within the grounds. The parks allow strollers as well as the following mobility-assistive devices for use by guests with disabilities: wheelchairs, electric scooters, and Segways®. All Segways entering the parks must be operated in “turtle” mode so as not to disrupt the desired pace of the visitor traffic at the parks and disturb other guests. 

The parks provide accommodations to people who need mobility assistance while on our grounds. Several means of transportation throughout the parks are available to all guests, and shuttle service is available for guests with limited mobility and guests who use wheelchairs. Shuttle service can be arranged by asking any employee to call for service. The parks also offer for rent a limited number of wheelchairs and electric scooters. In addition, the parks provide free admission for a personal attendant/caregiver to accompany a guest who requires such help in order to access the public programs, activities, and facilities of the parks. Further, on seven-day advance notice, guests who use manual wheelchairs can request the assistance of a staff member, free-of-charge, for up to four hours, for the sole purpose of pushing the wheelchair while on park property. Please keep in mind that while all park personnel may provide minor assistance, they are not trained to and are not allowed to lift a guest out of his/her mobility device or provide assistance with medication or help of a personal nature. 

San Diego Zoo Global reserves the right to modify this policy at any time as it deems appropriate.