For the first time since March, I'm back at Discovery Kingdom! This time, it's in the middle of the little heat wave that we've found ourselves in in the Bay Area. And it has been hot. Mid to high 90s today as I get back from the park. Can't wait for it to cool off! But that didn't stop me from visiting. Although there weren't any huge changes, we did see the start of a new animcal exhibit as well as the event at the park celebrating Independence Day! Let's take a look.

Table of Contents

• Independence Day Weekend
• Animals
• Misc Changes

Independence Day Weekend

This weekend the park was celebrating Idnependence Day

To start with, of course there was plenty of photo ops throughout the park

Including in the main fountain

There was some interesting new drinks

And this one

There was some live music

I caught the one man band and he was great!

Interestingly, it seems the foam pit that in events past was free is an upcharge now?

Didn't seem like kids were lining up for it at that price. Not a huge fan of that but I understand that it's probably inefficient to keep it running all day for no one. Maybe just keep it free and start it up at certain times for 20 or 30 minutes?

Finally, every good Independence Day needs some fireworks. SFDK opted for drones

And most cool to a nerd like myself is that it took place at Chabot Stadium home of the old water ski shows! Glad to see them using the stadium even if the water skiiing isn't possible anymore

I didn't stay for it but I was also confused as to whether it was free or not? This sign makes it seem like only a VIP wristband is paid?

But this one made it seem like you have to pay to get into the show period? I'm not sure

Animals

The most interesting news of the week is the new otter exhibit coming soon!

The entrance is right next to the current seal tank taking up what used to be a little Looney Tunes Frog Hopper type ride

A closer look at the sign

There hasn't been a ton of construction right now but I can't wait to see what it turns into!

Let's continue with our old friends, the giraffes! It was such a hot day today that most of the animals were in the shade and I can't blame them one bit

Over at the nursery, this bat was sleeping very cutely

But several of the windows was blocked off with stickers

The dolphin viewing windows in the entrance plaza still have the same sign on them promising something soon

The penguins are back too!

Misc Changes

The bumper cars are back open again after being used for Scream Break! I anticipate them being open until Fright Fest this year

Kickin Chicken, not to be confused with Totally Kickin Chicken which was its old old name has a new name: Totally Wingn It but the same menu

I liked these silly looking prizes!

Over at the ex-walrus exhibit, still no sign. I think this project is officially dead for now!

Flash remains closed

As does Monsoon Falls. This did have workers working on it so I bet it's just temporary

It's crazy to think that Fright Fest is only a few months away!

Even though it's only The Grill now, the old name still lives on in this sign!!

Kong was closed

With workers in the station clearly working on the ride. It can't be too much longer until it opens!

Scatabout was all back together even though it wasn't open!

Boomerang was still closed

Glad to see that through it all Medusa is holding strong

This sign for a new food item was up but I didn't see where it was being served. The sign was close to Safari Grill but I didn't see it on the menu or any sticker for it

Now this is an interesting concept. Not shocking but I have to wonder how valuable it is? Like I don't think I've ever seen any of the kids rides at SFDK have a line. How much value would you really get out of this? Maybe on really crowded weekend days it would be valuable?

And finally, White Water Safari was also down. I didn't stay long enough to see if it came back up but it's not a great look to have both water rides go down in the middle of a heat wave!

And that wraps up the update! It was such a hot day at the park but even still, it was a fun day. I'm really excited to see the new otter exhibit which I'll keep you up to date with. I must say that I'm a little disappointed with all the closed rides. I understand that it's a Friday that I went but still. It seems like it might just be a temporary thing and I hope to see some improvements during my next visit!