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Balboa Park Miniature Railroad
Category: Active Life Amusement Parks Amusement Parks [Edit]
1800 Zoo PlaceSan Diego, CA 92101
Neighborhood: Balboa Park
(619) 239-0512
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
24 reviews for Balboa Park Miniature Railroad
Review Highlights
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"For $2 you can make a kid smile and ride a mini train." In 4 reviews -
"The tunnel before the ride ends is awesome for kids." In 6 reviews -
"Fun little train near the zoo and carousel." In 3 reviews
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24 reviews in English
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Review from Tony N.
8/24/2011 2 photos
When I was younger, my family used to have a circuit of places for weekly outings. A short list includes:
- Mission Bay
- Seaport Village
- The tidepools beneath Cabrillo Monument
- Bookstores (Upstart Crow, Crown Books, B. Dalton)
- Balboa Park
Balboa Park was especially fun, even though we generally kept to the Prado and never really went into any museums or the side trails. My pops was under the impression that we would be exposed to some freaks doing freaky things in a freaky way.
The highlight of trips to the park be climbing the Moreton Bay Fig tree and riding the Mini train!
Exclamation points are necessary when speaking of the Mini train! because I had some kind of maniacal obsession with trains. I'm not even kidding when I say that my favorite thing at Disneyland is the steam engine that traverses the park.
The Balboa Park Mini train! takes you down to TJ, then back through the East County back country and home to San Diego. When you were a nerd like I was (am) you would keep track of the places you go and geek out when you're older and have your own car and you take road trips out to East County and drive through all the places the Mini train! takes you.
Because geeks do that.
One thing of note: if you should happen to have the male conductor drive your train, the man seems like he's been there since time immemorial. When I was a kid, this guy in a denim shirt and a red hanky around his neck wearing aviators would let us through the gates with a small smile on his face.
Imagine my shock when this same man popped out of nowhere to open the gates when I came to ride the Mini train! as an adult. My brain exploded when he came out of the ticket office because
HE HADN'T AGED AT ALL.
It's probably Mini train! magic, so it's cool, but also really, really spooky. -
Review from Matthew B.
Chico, CA
11/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
I have been going here since I was a kid. It was great to be able to take my children to this ride now.
It is not a fast moving scary ride, just a simple train ride. It is fun for the kids, and that is what is important. -
Review from Judy L.
San Diego, CA
10/24/2011
This is a cute little train to take your kid on after the zoo and before the carousel! Line up early so you can sit next to the animal that you want :)
It's short, but I think lasts forever for the little ones.
The tunnel before the ride ends is awesome for kids.
The only thing I don't like about the train is that the price increased from $2 per ticket to $3 per ticket. It increased a dollar, and the only change was that now the tickets are no longer the roll of ticket variety, but a printed ticket (like you'd get at the zoo). Is that where my extra dollar was going to?? Because I only get to hold onto the ticket for one minute before the train operator takes it, and its too pricey for my tastes! -
Review from Daryl C.
10/20/2011
6 year old loved the merry go round and the train. I'm sure we'll do it again when we go to San Diego.
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Review from Walker S.
San Diego, CA
3/12/2007 1 photo
The Miniature Railroad in Balboa Park is a delight for kids of all ages. A $2 fee gets you a ride that takes 3-minutes or so and covers a -mile through four acres of Balboa Park. It is operated by the San Diego Zoo Department of Transportation.
The Miniture Train & Railroad Company (MTC) produced the G16 Balboa Park Railroad which uses a 16" gage rail. The Balboa park train is actually a scale model of the 1946 EMD's F2 diesel locomotive. One big exception is the extra large hole for the operator to sit. Cute. -
Review from Lo F.
San Diego, CA
6/20/2010 1 photo
Five years old or fifty years old, the Balboa Park Miniature Railroad is fun for everyone. For just $2 per person, a darling, little train will take you on a leisurely partial tour of the park, chugging slowly past pretty scenery and inviting friendly waves from onlookers.
I used to shriek with delight each time my mom surprised me with a ride on the railroad as a kid. When my dad suggested we recreate one of our favorite family past times recently, I was skeptical about how much fun it could be at 25 years old, but my skepticism was quickly laid to rest as I was reminded that a pretty ride through the park is enjoyable at any age.
We're so fortunate to have staples like the Balboa Park Miniature Railroad in San Diego, so please, take your kids, take your date, take anyone and support this wonderful piece of San Diego history. -
Review from Sarah G.
San Diego, CA
10/30/2011 1 Check-in Here
I always loved this as a kid. Now enjoy the smiles that it brings to my kids. In the past few years the zoo has taken over and the service etc is fantastic.
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Review from Amy S.
10/10/2008
This has to be my favorite thing about Balboa Park. I rode this train every Sunday as a little kid and still enjoy piling a few friends into the small seats to ride around on during any given evening.
It's good to see classic attractions like this still up and running in a world where the people are losing sight of things like this little train in the sea of video games. For being small, this thing hauls ass around the tracks and be sure to pay attention to the little brown signs posted up along the trail; some tell stories sign by sign and others have riddles.
And don't forget to scream when you're in the tunnel!Listed in: Yelp on Yelp Action
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Review from Al A.
7/7/2008
When you're done visiting the sites at Balboa Park or chillaxin' with the critters at the San Diego Zoo, get your butt on the train.
It's a great way to wind down after walking 10 miles and a nice refresher before you scarf down a large soft serve ice cream cone.
This is ONE SERIOUS looking mini-train. Not like those cheesy golf cart looking deals you see at the malls. This bad boy is a true Santa Fe minature on rails which you can ride in with your family and fun loving homies.
Lots of shade and picnic tables surround the track.
A hidden gem.
For real. -
Review from Bridget W.
San Francisco, CA
1/3/2010 1 photo
There's a cool tunnel
and at night there are bunnies
it's fun every time! -
Review from Vicente V.
San Diego, CA
12/17/2007
YOU HAVE TO DO THIS! Ok, this is the "Coolest" thing ever!!! I remember this train when I was so young! This is a must for any child who has never done it. It's a giant "Toy" train that travels through the park, bushes, trails, and a "TUNNEL". Any guy would love this, and to take the family through the tunnel...well....you have to try it yourself to see.
You go to the zoo, which is cool, but it is the "Zoo"...right? At the end you skip on over to the "Train"...and I tell you now, it's the cherry on top! You'll remember the zoo, and the candy, and the "Camels", but your'll never forget the "Train"! -
Review from Matthew J.
Palos Verdes, CA
8/24/2011 1 Check-in Here
Fun little train near the zoo and carousel. The land the train rides through is a little sparse and boring. The kids love the mini train.
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Review from Gail P.
San Diego, CA
2/2/2010 1 photo
Just like Yelp-er Ann T., I had a serious Thomas the Train fan back yonder and he would watch those Thomas the Train video's endlessly, so I just KNEW he would love the Miniature Railroad, and I was surely right! Every time we would go to Balboa Park, it was axiomatic that a stop here would be on the itinerary.
I have pictures of both my kids riding the trains and they are some of my favorite shots. I remember one afternoon, I just sat on the bench and watched my little boy ride that thing around and around. I believe I paid the bulk ride rate! I had never seen that kid so happy! When the conductor hit the horn and toot-tooted, I would cringe but it was so cute!
Even now, it brings a smile of recognition and a glimmer of youthful days gone by as you drive or walk past the area near the Merry-Go-Round where the antique train plies the 1/2-mile rails. There are only 50 of it's kind left and the model G16 is faithful representative of just why BOYS- especially dig trains! Not to be missed when you visit Balboa Park. Please note: The Miniature Railroad is open weekends and school holidays but daily in the summer. -
Review from Carrie B.
Our group of 11 fit handily in this train and the kids loved it. There are stuffed animals for the little kids to sit next to and a tunnel that everyone screams in when the train goes through it. Fun thing to do if you're killing the day at Balboa Park and not really sure what to do. Big hit with the little kids!!
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Review from Josh M.
8/10/2009
Every friend from out of town gets a ride on the miniature railroad. At first, they're always skeptical, but by the time we round back to the station, everyone is won over. Just remember it's not open every day during the off-season.
While the miniature railroad's price has gone up steeply to $2, there's limitless charm in the three minute tour of San Diego and its environs rendered in, well, plants and signs, with the occasional joke.
The ladies love it, trust me. -
Review from ANDY L.
San Diego, CA
3/14/2011
For $2 you can make a kid smile and ride a mini train. After I took my 2 year old here, it was almost impossible to go anywhere near the train without him freaking out and demanding a ride or deal with a melt-down. Kids love it and so will you. Sometimes there's cute little bunnies near the tracks and it makes this ride even more adorable.
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Review from Deb N.
Palo Alto, CA
8/8/2006
See also, the San Diego Railroad Museum.
http://www.yelp.com/bi... -
Review from Luana S.
San Diego, CA
6/23/2008
We just discovered this cute little train a couple of years ago. How did I miss it on all those zoo trips when my kids were little? I have no idea. It's ok though, because they still enjoy it. The scenery is cute, there's city and Burma Shave signs. We wave to the people walking by near the carousel. It's a nice way to end a visit at the zoo.
Listed in: The Places I Go Out
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Review from Ann T.
San Diego, CA
3/12/2008
A MUST FOR SAN DIEGO VISITORS AND ESPECIALLY LOCALS! My best friend told me about this place having been one of her favorite childhood memories. Now being a parent I have taken my child there NUMEROUS TIMES and he just LOVES IT! Being a major Thomas the Train fan also was a big deal to why we had to go. It's only open on weekends so it works out great when you go to the zoo and as you leave you make a stop over and take a train ride.
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Review from Noelle P.
San Diego, CA
12/17/2008
This was so fun, I took my son on it when he was 6...he is 9 now and remembers it fondly...I loved this memory for my son as it was something I was taken to do as a kid...
Listed in: Looking for some fun???
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Review from Jai J.
12/3/2008
This was always such an awesome ride to go on... when I was a kid and even when I had my own. I loved kickin back on this ride and just enjoying the views and the company of family. Joking around and waving at passersby.
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Review from Maya M.
San Diego, CA
8/20/2010
This is a 3 minute ride that no child can resist. Tickets are $2 and considering that its a very short ride you may want to buy several rides in advance. My child was trying to jump the fence to get back in... is that fun. The only reason I don't give give a 5 star is for the short duration... I'd rather pay $5 and get a 10 minute ride...
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Review from Alysaun K.
San Diego, CA
12/22/2008
Slightly cheesy, but my 3-yr old LOVES it. There was a similar ride I used to love going on when I was a kid, so I'm so glad to be able to give her the same experience. Waving to bystanders and screaming in the tunnel is a must!
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Review from Lucy L S.
Oceanside, CA
2/11/2010
It's antique. It's cute. It was so much fun. My son is a big Thomas The Train fan so we just had to drive from the North county all the way down south just so he can ride this miniature train. It made him happy so am I. My son sat next to his dad. I sat next to a big stuffed teddy bear that was placed by the operators of the train, I guess. It's not always open so its best to call and check first before you go.
