The many thrills at this annual event are what keeps them super popular. Every year they add a…read morenewer, scarier, and positive feature to the setup. When you arrive, parking can be a challenge. You must know that the road is a one way in front and alongside the venue. It runs north so don't drive down it because there are a lot of people, kids too, who are running out of the venue from actors with fake chainsaws. This year they have several scary monsters and one was even on stilts, which made him scarier. The screams from the customers inside validates the cool setup that they have. My most scariest part is the large bus. This year at the end there were food vendors and a tarot reader. The food was Los Panchos Rollys, which is the Los Panchos popup in which they only sell loaded rolled tacos. The Rollys cost $14/each order of 3. You can also find them at Lemon Grove Farmers Market on Thursdays. The event was great this year. I am excited to see what they offer next year.

My first genuine haunted trail and maze experience!! People who know me understand that I get very…read morejumpy (magugulatin), so yes! I was screaming, jumping, and running away throughout the entire experience! ‍ The props and make up are magnificent! We bought our tickets online with Good Will's $5 discount for 9:30p. Arrived 9:05p, we were welcomed by a long queue. The groupings based on time slot was not followed but still organized. Will come back for the next!!

Writing a review just to make sure I remember not to come back here. There are 3 zones with the…read morefirst one being the most fun, but still not actually scary. The hayride was a joke. The wait to get on was absolutely ridiculous and there was nearly no scare actors throughout the whole thing. Parking is an additional price, which is dumb in my opinion. Absolutely not worth it for an adult.

General admission is time based and tickets are available every 30 minutes. I purchased tickets a…read morefew hours before we decided to go and the VIP and first three timeslots had already sold out. We ended up with general admission tickets for 8:30PM. Parking is easy and only $10, the lot is at the back of the fairgrounds and a short walk to the entrance of the event. When you walk up to the event you do not see a lot other than the ticket booth, a few food vendors and some picnic style bench seating. There was no signage directing us where to go to actual enter the event. I saw a sort of laser graphic going on thru a doorway and of course had to go check it out. Do not walk through the doorway if a false moving tunnel is not your thing. We made our way through the tunnel only to find line after line with no real rhyme or reason. Lines were however filtered so that you hit one House after another. While the family stood in line I went up to the ticket booth just to inquire about the VIP option and was able to snag 4 VIP passes (at an additional $10 per ticket). We hopped in the first line which led to "The Passage" with the VIP we walked right up. I am not sure what this was supposed to be but I would not want to do it every again. No direction, just a bunch of black walls and strobes lights throughout and you had to walk through till you found your way out. It was pure mayhem, large groups of people (mainly teenagers running amuck screaming and pushing). Just as we were going to hop out one of the emergency exits one of the employees directed us to the actual exit. No scares here, just walked out with a headache. Once you exit you are dumped directly into the Hell-Billy Hootenanny que. There was no specified VIP entrance for this House but the wait was about 5-10 minutes. This House was better than the first for sure. The set dressing was nice but there was some confusion on the theme. About a quarter of the way in both my kids turned around and said there is so much going on what is the theme supposed to be? A few good scares and way more manageable and less nauseating than the first house. Scareators were on point and no matter what the theme was they did a good job of making you feel like part of the House. Last but not least and by far our favorite was the Haunted Hayride. There were two lines, one for general admission and another for VIP. The general admission line wait was around 45 minutes while the VIP was about 15 minutes. Everyone hopped up on the hay filled tractor bed. There were several scenes throughout the hayride (including everyone's favorite Circus/Clown theme). There was a good distraction of set dressing and items to help distract you so the scareators could actually scare multiple people. All in all the Haunted Hayride lasted about 20 minutes and was really fun. Lines were fairly backed up and those who had a timed entry of 7:30 ended up standing over and a half in line before even getting through the first House. I cannot say whether it is worth it or not to spend the extra on the VIP admission. I guess a better statement would be is how much you value your time. This was my first time to the live event (we had been previously during Covid where they set-up a full drive thru haunt experience). I went in with an open mind, I did not want to compare the Scare Zone to other Haunts we have been through. I am glad we experienced once and while this event might be scary and fun for some, but I doubt it will be on my Haunt visit list in the future.

Vibe: A Secret Time Machine in Our Backyard! If you think…read morehistory is just dusty books, you haven't been to the San Dieguito Heritage Museum yet! We spent the afternoon at Heritage Ranch, and it felt like we stepped right out of 2026 and back over 100 years into the past. Real-Life Time Machines: You can walk through the Teten Farm House from 1893. There were no iPads or Netflix back then--just cool old furniture and a lot of imagination. * The Tiny House: We checked out a worker's cabin from the old poinsettia and lima bean farms. It's smaller than most of our bedrooms today! * Artifact Scavenger Hunt: The museum is packed with real tools, photos, and treasures from the seven towns right around us (like Cardiff and Del Mar).

Encinitas is changing fast and it's cool to see a place that is preserving the history of the area…read more And wow what great and dedicated volunteers, very friendly and they love what they do. Lots of fun community events too. My favorite picture is in the main museum building, a group of cowboys on Hwy 101. I like how the property is set up in a timeline and some of the buildings were moved there to preserve, one from 1885! Definitely worth checking out.

Amazing time as always. A great chance to go back in time. Most people do dress up but come as you…read moreare. Tons of things to do like joisting demonstrations, archery, mock battles, food, drink, the Queens Quest for kids and older. Plenty of stands to check out too. You can visit different guilds and learn about the history. Come with little things to barter and an adventurous spirit. Parking can be rough and sometimes there is a line and some disorganization getting into the event but despite that, we will be back.

This was my second time coming to the Renaissance fair, the first time was many years ago…read morepre-covid. We came early so there was plenty of parking still, but it can be hard navigating with all of the people trying to get in and out. Next time I think I will park in the church and take the shuttle bus and see if that is better. I like that this Renaissance Fair is big but not too big. Sometimes too big can get overwhelming, and you don't get to see everything. This one is a really good size and there are a lot of things to see and do, and tons of vendors. I will say a lot of the booths were very expensive for their Wares. However I don't have much to compare it to, so this may be standard for Renaissance Fair merchants and goods. I will say I have seen some very beautiful items, some of which definitely look like they have put a lot of work into. There were several places inside for food, and surprisingly the prices weren't extremely terrible, and the food was pretty good. I had Carnitas fries, and fried zucchini, both of which were pretty good. I loved seeing everyone dressed up, and putting so much effort into these elaborate costumes. There are activities and entertainment as well. The actors really get into character, and we got to see the procession with the queen in tow. Since it was my first time I didn't do a lot of the activities, but they did have some games, archery, Etc. We did stop inside the Beer Garden, which had some entertainment that was very funny. It definitely was more adult-oriented in there, which makes sense. They had people singing funny songs, and they held two contests while we were there, one for the men and one for the women. We were there for several hours, and if you do a lot of the activities I could see you easily spending the whole day here. It's a lot of walking so we're comfortable shoes. I enjoyed myself, and think I would do this again, as be participate in more of the activities.

What a fun date night! Beetlejuice was a dark comedy. The lights, costumes and staging were…read moreamazing. The orchestra was phenomenal! Great performance! Love the seating excellent views no obstructed views.

AWESOME. I have no other words to describe this place. Doug and Randy are incredible at everything…read morethey do. The summer drama camps are awesome! They have won multiple awards, and its not hard to see why.

Seriously such a great activity for both kids and adults. It's located on the 1st floor of the…read moreNorth County mall next to See's Candy and Old Navy and right below the Cheesecake Factory. It's a VR play store where they have individual stalls (about 8) each equipped with a screen, one VR headset, and hand remotes. You can play by yourself or join someone else's game in the other stalls. There's a 100 different games to choose from. There are also 2 virtual driving stations. Due to the complexity of using the remotes, I'd say these activities are best suited for 7-8 year olds and above. They also do birthday packages which I'm sure are popular among the kids. The owner Jordan is awesome. He is super friendly and helpful. I don't know how he does it but he is able to manage all 8 individual stalls and troubleshoot for each person right away. You pay every 30 min. They offer happy hour which is half off Monday-Thursday from 5pm to close. So we paid $10 for 30 mins for each stall which was a good deal. They also have a punch card so the more you play, the more free play time you can earn. My kids are already asking to go back lol :p we shall return soon for more fun!

We've been to 2 birthday parties here. The kids had fun. Located at the entrance near Target and…read moreimmediately on the left when you first walk in. The meeting area is in front but there's only 1 small couch, a coffee table, and maybe 2 folding chairs. There was a party ahead of ours so they were finishing up cake/food on the couch/table while we stood around after our start time and also ate a bit. The host was able to put their food in the ledge but could be improved by separating the areas or having more tables/seating (that aren't counter height off to the side). I imagine they were cleaning off the equipment/controllers after the previous party, as they had cake, and before our party. There are plenty of different games to enjoy and switch off even for numerous kids. The staff were friendly and helpful. Another option for kids' birthday parties these days :)

5 years later, we returned for another show. Hands down, one of my favorite things to do with my…read morekids. Prices have slightly increased, but show me one place that hasn't raised prices...am I right? This time, we opted for the later show which was a 'full dome movie'. I'd never experienced one before and it was really cool. There are different themes each month so check the schedule. The movie was about extraterrestrial life. There are two powerful telescopes outside. You definitely don't want to miss it. Free parking right across from the planetarium. Mom approved! 5 stars!

Great place for a field trip! The show was very entertaining and educating for my kids. Everything…read moreseemed very organized and clean and I love that questions get answered by a scientist at the end. Parking was easy but costs a couple of $. Plan to be back sometime.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was fantastic!! Witty and fun adaptation. Choreography,…read morecharacters and dance ensemble was amazing! This was our first time here. Staff and fellow guests were friendly. Lots of people helped us with directions around the theater. We parked in South Lot. Short paved walk to entrance. Note: Fixed chair seats have numbers on the seat. Grass reserved seats have the numbers on the ground. Lots of folks were initially confused. Ask the staff if you lost, they are very helpful. Lots of people brought their own food (some with full on dinners and dessert). You can buy food there also. We had lots of fun. We'll definitely come back and see other shows. Fun, fun, fun, and laughs.

Food venue change is a step backwards. Great facility otherwise. Not sure why they got rid of so…read moremany great food options. Of course, we'll be back but we might bring our own food next time. No more ice cream? This place is for kids too. Willy Wonka was an excellent show. Great performances all around.