For a mom and her 5-year old girl, and their somewhat-nerdy cousin visiting from Tennessee?|||Balboa park is GREAT. It is free, there a many cool buildings and interesting people. There are fountains to play in, fish and sometimes turtles to watch. There is also a Science museum, but it is hands on, very fun for kids of all ages. Lots of really cool toys, magnets, very fun stuff. I loved it at the age of 5 and I love it now (I'm a 21 year old girl) However, if the weather is nice Sea World is a ton of fun. You pet sting rays (No stingers), pet starfish, feed and pet the dolphins, watch Shamu shows, Sea Lion shows, there is a large play set like a huge jungle gym for kids to play on. There are polar bears, Clydesdale horses, a few rides that the 5 year old can probably go on. I used to work here and it was fun to watch families having a great time. It is expensive though.|||They are very different so it is hard to compare. Sea World has whale and dolphin shows, and this summer at least they had a great circus show. If you like to be entertained with live shows, it is a blast. It is expensive, and an all day activity. Balboa Park is a beautiful old historic park that in itself may not be that interesting to kids, but it does have some great museums. My favorite is the Reuben Fleet Science museum, which has interesting hands-on exhibits. They also show IMAX movies, which are fun. This is a less expensive choice that Sea World, and you can just spend half a day there and get your money's worth. For ideas for other San Diego activities, see http://www.San-Diego-Beaches-and-Adventu鈥?/a>|||Sea World is very commercial and very expensive. It's a lot of choreographed shows. It's like a bad casting call for "Up With People." The Zoo is non profit and a better place to go. The Balboa Park has tons of things to do including the Zoo. You can get a passport and see a dozen museums plus the zoo. http://www.balboapark.org/info/passport.鈥?/a> One of my favorite museums is the Model Railroad Museum. It contains the largest model railroad layouts in the world. Kids get in free. http://www.sdmrm.org/|||Try to do both. You will enjoy the shows and exhibits at Sea world - no question. But Balboa Park is a beautiful place. The ornate old architecture is very nice - mold or not. And the museums are very good. But the real treasure is the zoo. Don't miss it. And don't overlook all the plant life from around the world.|||my vote is for... Balboa Park and the Zoo|||I agree with the other people, they have good points. My thoughts are this: for a 5 year old, SeaWorld is much more cool. Shamu show, dolpin show. She'll be talking aobut it for days afterwards. However, SeaWorld is very commericialized with a gift shop at every corner you can imagine. SeaWorld is expensive and for adults - it might be a bit corny in as much that you know Orca whales and dolphins are trained to jump and flip. It's not their natural behavoir. I think if I were you, I would go to the zoo. http://www.san-diego-travels.com/zoo.htm鈥?/a> Balboa Park is very nice but I think adults enjoy it more than kids. There's a lot of walking with gardens and waterfountains etc, but how much does a 5 year old really enjoy that? Two good things about Balboa Park for little kids are the Puppet Theatre, and the Science Museum (hands on play and explore). http://www.san-diego-travels.com/balboa-鈥?/a> http://www.san-diego-travels.com/puppet-鈥?/a> You can just check this list for kid friendly places in San Diego (the beaches are very nice, though it will be too cold to go swimming in it) http://www.san-diego-travels.com/san-die鈥?/a>|||well balboa park is kinda small and dissapointing and theres mold that grows of the sides of the buildings which leaves huge noticable streak marks. Anyway I was surprised at how small balboa park was. The museums are all right, but not that great. so i'll go with seaworld which is also small too btw.

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