I’ve gone almost every year, or at least every other year, since I’ve been in San Diego. On Saturdays it starts at noon now. Years ago it was 5 to 9 both days. I got there at 11:30. Not a problem finding parking and no traffic.
By 5 o’clock, good luck. We left around 8:30. Beat the traffic out, too.
I think every year it gets more commercial and it’s sad. Before, when it was Christmas on the Prado, you got to see the lighting of the tree and hear the Christmas songs at the organ pavillion. You got to go to the museums for free and the St. Lucia procession. Visit the international cottages and sample their foods for minimal cost.
Then it became December Nights. They added the carnival and the junk food. That was the “attraction.” It just made more people come to the park and more gridlock and parking problems.
This year they added “Taste of December Nights” and restaurants have you buy overpriced tickets to sample their food. They also have booths that sell trinkets, jewelry and junk like a street fair.
I think it’s a sad deterioration of a holiday celebration. Regardless of whether you wanted it called Christmas on the Prado or December Nights, it’s meant to celebrate the holidays, whether Christmas, Hanukka or Kwanzaa, whatever.
Having a carnival or street fair takes away the whole purpose of the festivities at Balboa Park. We have enough street fairs all over San Diego all year long. Why ruin Balboa Park w/that crap.
It was disappointing. On the bright side, if you get there early, you can enjoy the food at the cottages, check out the Scotts play bagpipes and walk around the park, sip on hot chocolate or apple cider, visit the Spanish village and check out the arts and crafts of local artists (I like watching them blow glass).
Then at 5, pick and choose which museum you want to check out. Lines are not as long b/c people are at the carnival.
Unfortunately, the museums are free only from 5 to 9 on Friday and Saturday and it’s not enough time to see them all. They should extend the hours to all day on Saturday.
Even that, the special exhibits usually are not accessible, The Human Body, the Ferrari at Automotive and the Star Trek at Air and Space.
