Giant pandas make their public debut at the San Diego Zoo

Today, people around the world have been waiting for complete pandemania at the San Diego Zoo. Now, excuse the puns. Welcome to The 4. I'm Heather Myers. I'm Carlo Cecchetto. After months of these painful panda puns, we can finally get to see our new pandas, and so can you. They're on lease from China. We have team coverage for you. Yeah, CBS 8's Abby Black has the traffic alert as fans rush to see them, but we begin with our Jenny Day, apparently who had to fight for this assignment and joins us live with our first look at the pandas. Jenny. Yes, I did want to share this special San Diego Day with you. We have been on panda patrol for months now, and today they are officially here. Governor Gavin Newsom was even here and declared it Panda Day. These beautiful black and white bears are uniting people from around the world and bringing a whole lot of joy back to the San Diego Zoo. It's truly one for the record books. They're so cute. They're so fluffy. It's the best day of my life. Welcome to San Diego. I wish the opening of Panda Ridge a great success and may Yinchuan and Xinbao have a wonderful time in the United States. Roly-poly, calm, cute, and cuddly bamboo-loving giant panda bears. Now in their new home at the San Diego Zoo. Our San Diego Zoo will care for these animals. I know they are so cherished in China and I extend my appreciation to President Xi. After a nearly 7,000 mile journey from China and a six-week quarantine here, the newly remodeled enclosure Panda Ridge is now four times larger and mimics the lush landscape of their hometown in the Sichuan Province. Your dream has come true even without giving us grizzly bears. We got a boy and a girl, Yinchuan and Xinbao. Yinchuan is the son and grandson of some of our previous pandas, providing this next generation of panda diplomacy. It's a symbol of peace, politics, friendship, and conservation. It's about celebrating our common humanity. It's about celebrating the things that bind us together. Our zoo's efforts have helped improve their status going from endangered to vulnerable. Six cubs have been born here. The goal is also for these two to mate, but because they typically like to be alone, they will be housed separately until breeding season. I got to just, like, go down that place first, very first person, and I'm just so happy to be here. Xinbao here is an excellent climber. The three-year-old female's name means precious treasure of prosperity and abundance. Yinchuan is our laid-back four-year-old boy whose name means big river of clouds. We hope she will bring you good luck to California, to San Diego. San Diego hasn't had giant pandas since 2019, and this is the first time in two decades new bears entered the U.S. The governor says he's appreciated our coverage. There's nothing I enjoy more than watching the press report on pandas. The pandamania. That's right, Bob. It's pandamania here in San Diego. And all that. Yeah, it's a real zoo inside with the crowds. So there are three ways to see them. Timed reservations that are free once you enter the zoo, the free standby line like it was before, and then a paid 60-minute early morning walking tour that you can reserve online. That'll cost another hundred bucks on top of the $74 admission fee. A panda a day keeps the sorrow away. Yeah, just a true anchorman moment because this indeed is a big deal. So no surprise, you can certainly expect a lot more traffic in this area over the next month or so. So with that, I'll send things over to my colleague, Abby Black, who is patrolling Panda Parking. You stay classy, San Diego, reporting on this historic day. Jenny Day, CBS 8. Well, Jenny, you saw the crowds inside the zoo. There were crowds out here in the parking lot. This is what it looked like all day, completely full. Now, we got here just before noon today, and there were only about three rows of parking left, and they quickly filled up in less than 15 minutes. How far are we from the entrance? I didn't even know. Visitors like Alex Vila from all over the world to see the pandas debut. So parking far away wasn't a bother. Free overflow parking is available in nearby parking lots at Inspirational Point and President's Way. Peak days like this, the zoo has a free shuttle that takes people to and from their car, all for free. You usually don't see ace parking crews directing traffic and parking, but on days like this, it's been helpful to keep traffic moving. We also noticed the main traffic entrance on Zoo Place is closed to incoming traffic. It's for exit only. You will need to enter on Zoo Place to park in the main lot. There are more than 3,000 spots in the San Diego Z parking lot. It's owned by the city, so it is free. We were here when the last car parked in the main lot. It reminded me when I was a kid. My parents would see a spot, send me out to save it until they could drive around to it. Ames Mayfield is visiting from Austin, Texas, and took it in stride. Got it, so good thing we got it in time. Traffic getting here wasn't bad, and we've kept an eye on it all day. It's just finding a spot. If you do want to fork out any money, you can also park valet for $40 to $60. But again, there is plenty of free parking in the main lot and also in the nearby area around Balboa Park that will give you a shuttle. Now, the city is encouraging you. If you don't even want to deal with this parking issue, you can take rideshare, also public transit or a taxi. They also have dedicated bike lanes on park, so you can ride here as well. We do have a map on our website at cbs8.com. Just remember to pack your patience.