Kids Go Free October San Diego: 30 Best Deals 2026

October is the best month of the year to be a San Diego mom because kids get FREE admission all month long nearly everywhere in San Diego. Kids Free San Diego runs October 1-31, 2026. This is meant for San Diego residents and visitors to San Diego who can both take advantage of our world-class family attractions. 

All month long, kids 12 and under get in free with a paying adult at more than 60 San Diego County museums, historic sites, aquariums and gardens, and some are free for the whole family. New for 2026, eight Tijuana museums are participating too, which brings it to over 70. On top of that there are dozens of hotel, restaurant and attraction deals. Click here for the full list from Visit San Diego, and here for the museum side, which is run by the San Diego Museum Council (the same folks behind Museum Month in February).

Updated September 15, 2026: the museum coupons are live. They posted this morning, which means every piece of Kids Free is now bookable. The Zoo, Safari Park, SeaWorld, Sesame Place, Belmont Park, LEGOLAND and the hotel deals have been selling since August. Each spot sets its own age limit and its own number of free kids, and those terms do shift year to year, so click through to the coupon or the attraction’s own page before you drive out there. I update this post as anything changes.

Start Here: What You Can Book Today, No Coupon Needed

• Balboa Park: San Diego Zoo. Kids 11 and under free, up to 6 per adult, no ticket needed for them. Your membership counts as the adult entry, and HalGLOWeen is included. October 1-31 only.
• Escondido: Safari Park. Exactly the same deal as the Zoo. October only.
• Carlsbad: LEGOLAND. One free child ticket, ages 2 to 12, with each gate-price adult ticket. On sale now and good to use now, so you don’t have to wait for October.
• Mission Bay: SeaWorld. One free kid ages 3 to 9 with a paid adult ticket, good any day through October 31. Spooktacular is Fridays to Sundays.
• Chula Vista: Sesame Place. One free kid ages 3 to 9 per paid adult. Weekends only in October.
• Mission Beach: Belmont Park. Buy an adult wristband and one kid 12 and under gets a free wristband.
• Everywhere else: the 70+ museums need a coupon, and those are live now. Here is how they work.

How the Museum Coupons Work

• One signup unlocks all of them. Enter your email and zip on the Museum Council’s coupon page and you get access to the whole set. You do not fill out a new form for every museum.
• There is a donation ask in the form. It is optional. Click “No thanks” and keep going.
• The standard deal is two kids 12 and under free per full-price paid adult, but it varies. The Fleet Science Center is one kid per adult. The Nat, Air & Space and the Midway are two. Read the coupon for the place you’re going.
• Show it on your phone or print it. Either works at the admissions desk.
• What will trip you up: Balboa Park Explorer Passes, Go San Diego Passes and City Passes do not count as your paid adult admission. Coupons can’t be combined with other discounts. Special exhibitions, films and ticketed events usually cost extra. Some museums limit you to once per month.

And GUESS WHAT! You know all those Halloween parties I’ve been posting about? Those are included in the Kids Go Free October promotion as well so it’s the perfect time to check them out!

First I will list my top 30 places to check out with kids during Kids Free October. Then I will list the best deals (most expensive tickets, so most money saved). Finally, I will list every Kids Go Free October attraction, hotel, or restaurant in San Diego organized by region.

Scroll to the bottom to find the full list of participating sites.

30 Best Things To Do During Kids Go Free October in San Diego County

1. San Diego Zoo
2. San Diego Zoo Safari Park
3. SeaWorld San Diego
4. LEGOLAND California Resort
5. Sesame Place San Diego
6. Belmont Park
7. Birch Aquarium at Scripps
8. Fleet Science Center
9. USS Midway Museum
10. Maritime Museum of San Diego
11. New Children’s Museum
12. San Diego Natural History Museum
13. San Diego Museum of Art
14. San Diego Air & Space Museum
15. San Diego Automotive Museum
16. Old Town San Diego
17. Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
18. Mingei International Museum
19. Museum of Making Music
20. Living Coast Discovery Center
21. San Diego Botanic Garden
22. Water Conservation Garden
23. California Surf Museum
24. Comic-Con Museum
25. Japanese Friendship Garden & Museum
26. Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum
27. Warner-Carrillo Ranch House
28. Museum of Us (Balboa Park)
29. Children’s Museum of Discovery (Escondido)
30. Pacific Southwest Railway Museum (Campo)

Best Deals During Kids Go Free October San Diego

LEGOLAND California

The Deal: LEGOLAND’s Kids Go Free ticket is live now. You get one free one-day child ticket (ages 2 to 12) with each full-price adult ticket bought at gate price: $139 for LEGOLAND with SEA LIFE Aquarium included, or $169 if you upgrade to the Resort Hopper that adds the Water Park. It’s online only, up to three per transaction, and it can’t be combined with any other discount. Click here to grab tickets. One thing to run the numbers on first: LEGOLAND’s regular online sale has adult tickets from $69 and kids from $39 through November 1, so for one adult and one kid that’s about $108 versus $139 with Kids Go Free. Kids Go Free is the better deal when you’re bringing more than one kid per adult.

About LEGOLAND: LEGOLAND is the best amusement park in San Diego! 

Here is why Legoland is awesome. It’s less focused on the rides and more on the creative play stations and stuff built out of Legos. When it first opened, it had a few rides built around it’s miniature LEGO city. Slowly the park has built up around the original display to include more rides, movie theaters, and now a water park and aquarium. They are constantly adding to and improving LEGOLAND with brand new playgrounds, Dino Valley, a Ferrari Build and Test area, the new LEGO Galaxy land, and their seasonal Halloween festival Brick or Treat!

Brick or Treat runs September 19 and 26, then October 3-4, 10-11, 17-18, 24-25, 31 and November 1. It is included with regular admission on those dates, no separate ticket. If your dates do not line up, the park is still decorated for Halloween Season from September 20 through October 30 with meet and greets and themed treats.

The San Diego Zoo

The Deal: During the month of October only, kids 11 years old and younger are free, and each supervising adult can bring up to 6 of them. No ticket needed for the kids, they walk in with you, and your own entry can be a paid ticket, an annual pass or membership, or a military ID. Get tickets here.

About the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park: One of the main draws for San Diego is The San Diego Zoo! Everyone knows America’s Finest City has one of the best zoos in the world. If you’re wondering if this zoo is worth the hype, it is. With 3500 animals representing 650 species, this zoo has the most variety of any zoo in North America! They recently opened a new exhibit called Adventure Basecamp. It’s a portion of the zoo just for kids with an interactive play structure and splash pad. We also love the Skyfari Tram and bus tour here. Don’t miss the Skyfari aerial tram as it’s included with admission!

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park

The Deal: Same as the Zoo. Kids 11 and younger go free, no ticket required, up to 6 kids per adult with valid entry. See more here.

The San Diego Safari Park: The San Diego Zoo has the Safari Park beat for variety of animals and plants. They are both owned by the same company and an annual pass will get you into both. However if you are buying day tickets make sure you buy for the right park!

I prefer The Safari Park because:

1. The nature! The San Diego Zoo is in Balboa Park which is in the middle of the city. The Safari Park is located in the Escondido hills and the remote setting is absolutely gorgeous.
2. The animal experiences! The Safari Park has tons of up close animal experiences. My favorite is the kangaroo exhibit.
3. The crowds. The SD Zoo is always more crowded because it’s more famous. Every time I’ve visited the Safari Park I feel like we get the animals all to ourselves especially when we get there in the morning.
4. The rides! The Safari Park Africa Tram is AMAZING. It’s included with admission and you get to drive right by the animal enclosures. 

The USS Midway

The Deal: Up to two kids ages 4 to 12 get in free with one full-price adult ticket. Use promo code KidsFree in your cart online, or redeem at the ticket booth. Kids 3 and under are free all year if that helps for my larger families! The 2026 coupon is live now. See offer here.

About The USS Midway: I highly recommend taking kids to this aircraft carrier turned museum. Here’s what you need to know when visiting with kids.

1. There is an audio guide specifically for children. It was a big hit with our kids.
2. This is a touch everything museum meaning kids can sit in the control chairs and press all the buttons to their heart’s content.
3. All boat exits to the water are very well covered by thick glass and secure fences.
4. There are elevators for strollers but you will have to park your stroller to explore the tunnels of the ships. There is an attendant to watch it.
5. Our favorite room was the miniature helicopter room with small scale helicopter models right at toddler level. We had a few incidents where one child tried to break free and run back to that room.
6. We also loved the anchor room where our kids had tons of fun climbing on the giant anchor chains.
7. The docents were very kind and answered my children’s very specific questions about plane machinery.
8. We spent two hours there but we could have easily spent three.

Belmont Park

The Deal: Buy one adult wristband and one kid 12 and under gets a free wristband. The child has to be present to redeem it and it can’t be combined with another discount. Check the current terms on their promotions page before you go, because the redemption method has changed from year to year.

About Belmont Park: Belmont Park is such a fun seaside amusement park! It’s less crowded than the other theme parks and more budget friendly as it is free to enter. You have the option to pay per ride or get their unlimited wristband.

The combo wristband covers over 20 rides and attractions including the historic Giant Dipper, plus Tiki Mini Golf, the Sky Ropes course, the zipline, the rock wall and the Coconut Climb. You can easily spend a whole day here. Pair it with a visit to the nearby Bonita Cove Park and a sunset on the beach!

During this promotion they will be running their Beachside Fall Festival which includes Trick or Treating and a pumpkin patch! See the full schedule of activities here. We love the Beach House restaurant nearby for kid-friendly dining.

The San Diego Natural History Museum

The Deal: Up to two kids 12 and under get in free with one paid adult. Films are not included, but you can add the giant-screen theater for $5 per child, and the coupon does not cover special exhibitions or Nat at Night. Show the coupon on your phone or bring a printout to the admissions desk. Grab yours here.

About The Natural History Museum or The NAT: The NAT covers the history of San Diego starting in prehistoric times. Kids will love the dinosaurs, the maps, and the animal exhibits! They have a cute children’s area at the back with toys and space for crawlers. In the back left corner as you enter there’s an exhibit with reptiles and spiders right at kid level! On Saturdays they run Nature Studio from 10 am to 2 pm.

The Fleet Science Center

The Deal: One free kid 12 and under with a paying adult and a valid Kids Free coupon. This is one of the few that is one kid per adult instead of two, so bring a second grown-up if you have more than one child. Redeem offer here.

The Fleet Science Center: This science museum is a favorite in our family! We love Kid City upstairs, their new Survival exhibit, and their IMAX theater. There’s a push button science area where you can touch a tornado or experiment with electricity! Don’t forget to make it back to Studio X where they have different science experiments for kids almost every day of the week. They also have a huge ball pit in the top level that opens an hour after the museum opening. People are usually lined up and they only let in a few kids at a time so make sure you’re there at opening if you want to go!

The New Children’s Museum

The Deal: One free child per paid adult, and this one is generous on age: last year it covered kids up to 17. The big catch is that it is not valid every day. In 2025 it was Wednesdays and Thursdays only, about 10 days total, so check the dates on the coupon before you plan your visit. Redeem coupon here.

About The New Children’s Museum: You will love visiting The New Children’s Museum! Nestled in the heart of downtown San Diego, it’s a place that everybody who comes to the area loves. It has a unique blend of experiences that combine art, play, and just being a kid and moving their bodies! They also offer many fun events throughout the year. The downtown location allows for lots of opportunities to expand on the outing before or after visiting.

I actually have a blog all about the museum, you can read that here: 7 Things To Know Before Visiting The New Children’s Museum in Downtown San Diego

Children’s Museum of Discovery (Escondido)

The Deal: Up to two children 12 and under free with one full-price paid adult. Present the coupon at the ticket counter. Redeem offer here.

The SDCDM: The San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum (SDCDM) in Escondido is a hidden gem. It’s amazing for babies, crawlers, toddlers, preschoolers, early elementary school age kids AND parents. It offers space for children to play and learn yet it’s small enough that it’s easy to supervise your children as they explore freely. I love that I can interact with my children as they learn through OR sit back and chat with a friend as we both observe our kids.

I have a blog about this museum as well, read that here: 7 Tips for Visiting The San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum in Escondido

Sesame Place San Diego

The Deal: One free child (ages 3 to 9) per full-price paid adult. Redeem offer here. This includes The Count’s Halloween Spooktacular, which runs September 12 through November 1.

Plan around this one: Sesame Place switches to its fall schedule and is only open weekends in October, so make it a Saturday or Sunday.

Sesame Place: Sesame Place is essentially a waterpark with some rides. During the month of October they have a really cute Halloween party called The Count’s Spooktacular, and it is included with admission on the days the park is open.

Check the water rides before you pack for them. Sesame Place moved to a seasonal schedule this year and the water attractions only run in the warmer months, so call or check their site for your date. If they are open, you (the adult) are going to want your swimsuit. Flip flops are fine instead of tennis shoes; it’s not that big. They’ve slapped a Sesame Street overlay on a lot of the Aquatica (water park that used to be here) rides meaning there are big slides for older kids too!

Life jacket rentals are free. Some rides require life jackets for kids of certain heights. You can also bring your own floatie but it MUST be marine approved. They check to make sure at security.

The food was subpar and overpriced ($16 for a mediocre hamburger). Bring snacks in for the kids and go eat somewhere else afterward.

The character meet and greets were great! Don’t miss Elmo in the room near the merry-go-round at the entrance. I recommend starting with the dry rides (they are all little kid carnival-type rides) and then changing everyone into swimsuits.

The Maritime Museum

The Deal: One free kid under 12 per paid adult admission with a Museum Council coupon. The coupons are live now. Grab yours here. 

The Museum: Waterfront Park and The Maritime Museum are right next to each other and make a great combo visit. The park has a splash pad and great views of the boats if you don’t want to tour the actual museum. We found metered street parking pretty easily.

Don’t miss the B-39 Submarine, the HMS Surprise (used for filming Master and Commander!), the San Salvador, and of course The Star of India! You can climb all around the ships, touch everything, and even use the periscope in the submarine. Open 10-5 every day. Last entry at 4 pm. I would expect to spend 2 plus hours there, more if you have a kid that is into boats.

They do participate in Kids Go Free October. There are options for add-on pirate boat rides too!

SeaWorld San Diego

The Deal: One free kid (ages 3 to 9) with the $99.99 full-price adult ticket, good any day through October 31. The free child ticket gets added to your cart when you buy the adult ticket. Sightseeing passes do not count as the paid adult ticket. Redeem offer here. 

About SeaWorld: SeaWorld is wonderful because it works for a range of ages. Older kids will love the giant roller coasters. Younger kids will love the Rescue Jr area. All ages will love the animal shows and learning more about animals!

Our favorite area for kids here is the Rescue Jr. area to the right of the entrance. They have some playgrounds and cute shows and kid rides! We also love the feeder fish at the front and the manta ray touch tank by the manta roller coaster.

Spooktacular, their daytime Halloween event with trick or treat trails, runs Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from September 11 through November 1, and the Kids Free ticket works for it. New this year is a Baby Shark Halloween show. Since it is not running every day, check the calendar against your dates before you buy.

Other deals to check out:

Kayak rentals to see the sea lions in La Jolla, The Air & Space museum in Balboa Park, the Living Coast Discovery Center in Chula Vista, kids eat free at Casa Guadalajara in Old Town San Diego, California Surf Museum, and special deal at San Diego Mission Bay Resort! New on my list for this year: the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum out in Campo, the San Diego Police Museum, and taking the kids down to CECUT in Tijuana.

Full List of Activities and Deals By Region for Kids Go Free October San Diego

(scroll for restaurants and hotels as well)

The museums below are the confirmed 2026 list and all of them have coupons available now. A few of the tours, cruises and restaurants are last year’s offers that Visit San Diego has not re-posted yet, so click through before you build a day around one.

Coastal / La Jolla

1. Birch Aquarium at Scripps
2. Museum of History and Culture La Jolla
3. Kids Cruise Free San Diego Whale Watch
4. Mt. Soledad National Veteran’s Memorial
5. Museum of Contemporary Art (kids are free here year round, not just in October)

North County Coastal / Carlsbad / Encinitas

1. Museum of Making Music
2. California Surf Museum
3. Encinitas Historical Society and 1883 Schoolhouse
4. LEGOLAND® California Resort
5. San Diego Botanic Garden
6. Mission San Luis Rey
7. Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum
8. Kids Ride Free at Dynamite Electric Bike Tours
9. Whale Watching at Oceanside Adventures

North County / Escondido / Inland North

9. California Center for the Arts, Escondido Museum
10. Mission San Luis Rey Museum (Oceanside / North County)
11. Heritage of the Americas Museum (El Cajon / inland-north)
12. Deer Park Winery & Auto Museum (Escondido)
13. ICA San Diego North (Encinitas)
14. Children’s Museum of Discovery (Escondido / North County)

Balboa Park

14. Fleet Science Center
15. San Diego Natural History Museum (The Nat)
16. San Diego Museum of Art
17. Museum of Us
18. San Diego Air & Space Museum
19. San Diego Automotive Museum
20. MOPA @ SDMA (Museum of Photographic Arts)
21. Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
22. Mingei International Museum
23. San Diego History Center / Junípero Serra Museum / Marston House Museum
24. Japanese Friendship Garden & Museum
25. Comic-Con Museum
26. Centro Cultural de la Raza
27. WorldBeat Cultural Center
28. Balboa Park Botanical Building and Gardens

Downtown San Diego

30. USS Midway Museum
31. New Children’s Museum
32. Maritime Museum of San Diego
33. Gaslamp Museum at the Davis-Horton House
34. Nautical History Gallery & Museum
35. Navy SEAL Museum San Diego
36. San Diego International Airport
37. J.A. Cooley Museum
38. Marston House
39. San Diego Chinese Historical Museum
40. Chicano Park Museum & Cultural Center
41. New Americans Museum
42. Old Town San Diego

Coronado / Point Loma

1. Coronado Historical Association
2. Kids Ride Free at The Gondola Company
3. Kids Fish Free at H&M Landing in Point Loma
4. Kids Free at Cabrillo National Monument
5. Visions Museum of Textile Art
6. San Diego Watercolor Society (Liberty Station)
7. MCRD Command Museum
8. Kids Ride Free at San Diego Speed Boat Adventures

Mission Bay / Mission Beach

1. Free Helicopter Tours at Corporate Helicopters of San Diego
2. Kids Cruise Free City Cruises and Flagship Cruises
3. Belmont Park
4. SeaWorld San Diego

South Bay / Chula Vista / Border Region

1. Bonita Museum & Cultural Center
2. Tijuana Estuary Visitor Center
3. Living Coast Discovery Center (Chula Vista)

Inland / East County

1. Kids Fish Free at Lake Jennings
2. Barona Cultural Center and Museum
3. Warner-Carrillo Ranch House
4. La Mesa Depot Museum
5. Heritage of the Americas Museum
6. Water Conservation Garden
7. Olaf Wieghorst Museum
8. Pacific Southwest Railway Museum (Campo)
9. Ilan-Lael Foundation (Julian)
10. Green Dragon Tavern & Museum (Carlsbad)
11. Lemon Grove Parsonage Museum

New to the List for 2026

These are the museums that were not part of Kids Free last October, so they are worth a look if you feel like you have already done all the usual ones:

1. Deer Park Winery & Auto Museum
2. Green Dragon Tavern & Museum
3. ICA San Diego North
4. Ilan-Lael Foundation
5. Lambda Archives of San Diego
6. MCRD Command Museum
7. New Americans Museum
8. Pacific Southwest Railway Museum
9. RUTH: Remember Us The Holocaust
10. San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art
11. San Diego Police Museum
12. San Diego Watercolor Society
13. We The People Virtual Museum

Tijuana (New for 2026)

This is the big change this year: Kids Free went international, and eight Tijuana locations are participating. Everyone in the car needs a passport or passport card to come back across, so plan ahead if that is not already sorted.

1. CECUT, Tijuana Cultural Center
2. Acuario Centro Cultural Tijuana (Tijuana Aquarium)
3. Archivo Historico de Tijuana
4. Domo IMAX at Centro Cultural Tijuana
5. El Cubo
6. IMAC, Instituto Municipal de Arte y Cultura
7. MUHTI, Museo de Historia de Tijuana
8. Museo de las Californias

Tours, Cruises and Activities: the 2026 Offers

Where Kids Eat Free in October in San Diego / Participating Restaurants Kids Go Free

Most of the 2026 dining deals sit inside hotels, which I list below. These are the spots on this year’s list that serve walk-in diners too. Mention Kids Free or show the listing to your server, and note that each one sets its own terms.

1. Crab Hut, Downtown and Mira Mesa: one free kids’ meal per child 12 and under with each dining adult, dine in, with a $25 minimum adult purchase
2. Osteria Panevino, Downtown: a free kids’ meal with the purchase of an adult meal
3. The Café and Lobby Bar at Alma San Diego, Downtown: free dessert for kids 12 and under with each entrée, up to two kids per check
4. SHOR at Hyatt Regency La Jolla: one free child breakfast buffet with each adult breakfast buffet
5. Studio at Sheraton La Jolla: one free kids’ entrée per adult entrée, up to two, with the coupon shown on arrival
6. Bay Club Bar & Grill, Point Loma: one free kids’ meal with the purchase of an adult entrée
7. The Waffle Spot at Kings Inn, Mission Valley: kids 10 and under eat free with an adult meal, two kids’ meals per paying adult, dine in only

Where Kids Stay Free in October in San Diego / Participating Hotels Kids Go Free October San Diego

These 2026 hotel offers are already live:

1. Kids stay, eat and play free at Bahia Resort Hotel, plus up to 25% off when you book direct (one of my top picks)
2. Kids stay, eat and play free at Catamaran Resort Hotel & Spa, plus up to 25% off when you book direct
3. Town and Country Resort, rates starting at $222 (my other top pick, they have waterslides and a great location by public transit and SeaWorld)
4. Kids stay free plus a swag bag at check in at San Diego Mission Bay Resort
5. Kids 12 and under eat free at Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina restaurants (except Strada Italian Market)
6. Kids eat free at Kings Inn at the Waffle Spot and Amigo Spot, promo code KIDSFREE
7. Kids free at Embassy Suites La Jolla
8. One free kids meal per adult meal (up to 4 kids) at Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Bayside

Nearly all of these are for kids 12 and under with an adult purchase, and most are for overnight guests. Each hotel sets its own terms, so check the listing on Visit San Diego before you book.