5 Tips for Visiting Six Flags Discovery Kingdom with Kids

This post is sponsored by Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. All opinions are my own.

Last weekend we had the pleasure of visiting Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California. I have been there about a dozen times growing up as it was the closest theme park to where I grew up in small town, Northern California. It has changed so much over the years, and all for the better! Since this was our first time going as a family, I didn’t know what to expect or how much entertainment there would be for young kids. We were so excited to find out that Six Flags truly is fun for all ages!

We visited the park at the very beginning of the season as they were only open on weekends (weather permitting) and we lucked out that the weather was absolutely beautiful. I’m talking 70 degrees, sunny, with a slight breeze that is annoyingly California. We arrived at 11 when the park opened and stayed until close which was 6pm.

If you’re looking for something to do with kids in northern California over spring break, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom would be such a fun day trip! They are open every day April 12-28. I’ve put together some of the tips and tricks we learned during our visit, if you have any questions, just let me know in the comments below!

Buy your tickets ahead of time

You can save $25 purchasing your tickets online, ahead of time instead of at the gate. TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS, you guys. That’s a lot. Just go to their website and click on ‘single day tickets’ and purchase at least one day ahead of your trip. Easy!

Be aware of the parking situation

Parking is up on a hill, a good hike from the park. There are shuttles but the lines tend to get long. I was worried at first about Sully and his tendency to…um, be slightly dramatic 😉 but it ended up being fine! For younger kids, strollers are definitely a must have, I saw them everywhere! There is a great view of the entire park from the parking lot that makes for a pretty picture.

The Wildlife Discovery Tour is a must-do

This was definitely the highlight of our trip! The Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Wildlife Discovery Tour is a behind the scenes, intimate experience featuring some of their most popular land animals. I loved that it was a small group and we were encouraged to ask any questions we had. The boys got to feed a tiger and a giraffe, up close and personal. We also got to hold a parrot and pet a porcupine named Quillson (who’s officially my spirit animal for life.)

Another cool thing that’s included is a photographer! One of the park photographers follows you throughout the entire tour and is able to capture some cool shots. Included in the ticket price is a voucher for a 5×7 of one of the photos of your choice ($15 value) which I thought was pretty great.

The tour lasted about 90 minutes and is a lot of walking but the boys (ages 4 and 7) never complained. I would also recommend purchasing these tickets online ahead of time, too–tickets are limited and you get a small discount for purchasing ahead of time.

If you’d like to see video of our Wildlife Discovery Tour experience, check out our Instagram Stories highlight of our trip here!

Know height requirements before you go

Both of the boys were super excited to ride bumper cars and I really wish I would have checked the height requirements ahead of time because Sully was a few inches to short to even be a passenger. Avoid the heartache and know before you go–the height requirements are all listed on the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom website.

Download the Six Flags app

I freaking love living in 2019. There’s an app for everything and especially when on a trip, it just makes life so much easier. From the Six Flags app you can check ride wait times, order food, see the show schedule and if you’re a season pass holder, you can manage all your photos.

We had an absolute blast as a family. We were there from 6+ hours with two kids who didn’t complain once. It was like magic. We can’t wait to go again!

Have you been to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom?