California Theme Parks

[Brookes]

Next year I'm going to California and we are going for 2 weeks and I just want to make sure I'm not going to miss out on anything by where I'm choosing to go. I'm only allowed to go so many and this is pretty much the maximum as family want to see sights etc. The plan at the moment is to go to San Francisco for 4 days and LA for 10. So I have chosen:

From San Francisco:

California's Great America
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

From LA:

Disneyland Park
Disneyland's California Adventure
Knott's Berry Farm
Six Flags Magic Mountain (2 days)

I don't want to go any small parks as family need to enjoy aswell. But is there any other parks that people think would be really worth considering?

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

You won't be missing much if you do Great America...

Knott's is an alright park, the atmosphere in Ghost Town is good but everywhere else is dodgy, but it has Xcelerator and Silver Bullet, which I think are rather under-rated rides...

Disney is Disney, but considering the mess California Adventure is going to be, may not be the best time to go...

Magic Mountain is a park of two halves for me, although that was in 2007 before X got redone, so it's not apparently good, but it was meh last time...
Also MM has Goliath and the Helix of Death, which is awesome...

 

[Snoo]

(Titan at SFOG)

They moved Titan?

 

[CreditCrazy]

You have the main parks there. If you wanted to go to another park, I would suggest Sea World or Universal, but imo they aren't "must visit" parks.

I've been to all of the parks listed multiple times and can give any other advice, just ask!

 

[divvie_dave]

^ I disagree, Universal is a must!

I think the back lot tour alone, for a tourist, its worth it. And water world...

 

[Snoo]

Damn the proximity of those keys .

Thanks though, edited.

<3




My opinion on the matter.. if you hit SFMM on a light day on that one day.. roll to L.A. to enjoy the site seeing tour. Not always in L.A.

As far as everything else.. I agree. If you're just looking for coasters, do work.

 

[Brookes]

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

Credit Crazy thanks, that's what I needed to know that I am doing the main parks.

I'm not that bothered about Sea World and Universal. Done both in Florida and Sea World in California doesn't seem to have anything which is really drawing me there. I know people say the Mummy is better that Florida's but it seems a bit of a way to go for that one ride.

Snoo we will have like another 4/5 days in LA aswell as the theme parks to do sight seeing, and there's no point in just going to get credits when on a holiday with family, as I'm not that bothered to be honest. Just want to do main parks.

Thanks everyone!

 

[marc]

Try and get to Universal as well.

Yes there are no big coasters there but its a good park that the family will enjoy, I thought it was much better than the one in Orlando.

But next year a lot of the mess at California Adventure should be cleared up so you might be ok. I personally enjoyed half the park, the Paradise Pier part but hated the studio part. The main park is the best as far as I am concerned so many rides that are in no other park.

I hated Knotts, the rides lack and the park is just run down and has no atmosphere at all. We got round the park in 3 hours.

I liked Magic Mountain, you will need a whole day there maybe 2 to fully enjoy it.

 

[Ali]

Try using the 'Park Finder' from www.coastercounter.com for information on how far the parks are from each other and how many coasters they have. It is VERY useful when planning a trip :--D.

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

I know people say the Mummy is better that Florida's but it seems a bit of a way to go for that one ride.

Who says that? Hollywood's Mummy is rubbish in comparison to Florida...

Universal is worth going for the staircase challenge alone :lol: God that was bloody tiring I tell you...

 

[marc]

Hollywoods Mummy is not as good as Orlando's it just leaves you wanting more. I think its better themed but to short.

Jarrasic Park is better though.

 

[Brookes]

Ok I might consider Universal but it doesn't really appeal too much to me. And yes Ali thanks I do use that, but I wanted to get people personal experiences on parks and not necessarily just the coasters.

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

Universal is only a half day park, there's not much to keep you in, but of course it is right in Hollywood, which is the epitome of tourist trap :lol:

marc, I didn't see much difference from the Jurrasic's bar the car (which didn't work), and whilst Mummy has a better backwards section (i.e. longer) it doesn't have fire and the fake station... Also the launch is miles better in Florida, both endings could be incredibly better... As well as the dark ride portion of Hollywood's, as it was effectively 2 seconds :lol:

 

[marc]

Yes I agree about the Mummy, the fire room etc which I was expecting etc which is what I meant by left wanting more.

We spent all day at Universal the studio tour was really good back then, this was before it burnt down. We done all the shows etc, and we had the fast pass thing. Mind you we did the backstage Terminator show which meant we had to wait around for it.

Jurrasic Park the car part and all the extra bits like more animals I thought made it better, plus we actually got wet on it.

 

[Ben]

Get.

A.

Gold.

Q-Bot.

At.

Six.

Flags.

That way, you only need one day, freeing a day for Universal Plus, I think, one day at SFMM with a Q-Bot would be better than two!

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

Yes I agree about the Mummy, the fire room etc which I was expecting etc which is what I meant by left wanting more.

We spent all day at Universal the studio tour was really good back then, this was before it burnt down. We done all the shows etc, and we had the fast pass thing. Mind you we did the backstage Terminator show which meant we had to wait around for it.

Jurrasic Park the car part and all the extra bits like more animals I thought made it better, plus we actually got wet on it.

We also did the fass-pass dealie, but we were never told about the special backstage extras... Ah well...

Jurassic Park was indeed wet, but I don't mind getting wet in such countries where you spend only 30-60 minutes drying out, so I didn't mind that much...

I still think Universal is a half day park, especially if you get the fast-passes, and with good timing for all the shows (only show we didn't do was Terminator) but we were still finished by just after midday or sommat, can't remember fully...

 

[marc]

Here is an update on Disney for you so you can see what will and will not be open.

I would personally delay the trip for a year or 2 for Cars Land, but I know if it is a family holiday it is not always possible.

http://micechat.com/forums/blogs/dateli ... -more.html

 

[Brookes]

^Thanks for that marc. I don't think any of the major attractions will be closed when I go so I should be ok, and I'm not that really bothered about Cars land, and no-one in my family will be either. Plus, I don't think we can put it off as mum and dad are set on going next year, as they most want to see sights etc.

Thanks for the link!

 

[ECG]

Since you'll be doing plenty of sightseeing in LA might I suggest you head from Hollywood through Beverly Hills to Santa Monica. There you can do the world famous pier and get an extra credit without dragging the family to another 'park'.

 

[bezzzzzer]

I'm loving Ben's idea. We had one day at SFMM (without a Q thingy). We got everything done (JUST), and it's the most exhausting day I've ever had at a theme park. No time to stop and buy food or anything, it was intense! I didn't feel too well afterwards ha! Also, my Mum didn't enjoy it much, because the 'shedule' to get everything done was too intense. However, I'd much rather have a day like that at SFMM and open up for another day at Disneyland. One day is not enough, this place is a theme park like no other and if you have a passion for this thing you will realise that as soon as you get to the turnstile. However, you could easily use the DCA day and go into Disneyland again in the evening. To be honest, once you start getting round DCA nowadays it's surpirsing how long you can actually spend at that park (don't forget your free bread and tortillas!) but once late afternoon/ evening comes you'll be craving to get back to Disneyland because you would have well and truely done DCA. I've just got back from DCA and we expected it to be a construction site, but it's not that bad really. Just the East side of Paradie Pier is heavily affected. The pictures make it look much worse than it is to be fair. Ey, it's intersting to see construction anyway!

Personally, I'd do Ben's idea, creating just a 1 day at SFMM, then have another day at Disneyland, then persude the family to have a half day Universal/ half day sight-seeing around Hollywood. Universal is a half day park, and if you've been to Florida, all you need to do is ROTM (which has the most anticlimatic ending EVER on a coaster) the Tram Tour and.....Backdraft? Waterworld is good too. It was awesome to get on the original Jurrasic Park (because I am a big fan). It's worth half a day to see what it's like. It's pretty unique, and much better than Universal Studios Orlando since it actually is a proper film studio.

Anyhoo, to sum up, one day at SFMM whith what Ben said, another Disney day and scrounge a half Universal day. However, I am a huge Disney fan, so this post could be considered fairly biased. But a single day does not sufice the park. I wouldn't want a rushed experience like I had at SFMM at Disneyland due to a shortage of time. There's so much heritage and history to soak in as you walk around. I was just at LA for a week and spent 5 days at Disney (as a whole) and could've spent so much longer there.