California trip

After just browsing around here it is clearly evident that asking people to predict the future is not exactly kosher, and rightfully so; hopefully the following isn't interpreted as such.

I will be heading to southern for three days in early July. They consist of a Wednesday, Thursday, and a Friday. The goal is to go to Disney Land, Magic Mountain, and Knotts Berry Farm. Now the question: based on previous attendance patterns at these Southern California Theme Parks, what parks would you recommend attending on what day?

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What's life if you never get to the PO!NT

I'd definitely hit SFMM first, earlier in the week the better. Plus there is so much more to do there that you'll want to be able to "overflow" into the next day if need be. KBF is a must also, and I'd sacrifice Disney if it came down to it to really enjoy the other parks. If you've never done Disney, got to Walt Disney World in FL first. Thats where its at. Disney Land is cool but it could ruin WDW for you in the future if you've never been.

All three parks will be crowded. In order to advise you better it would help us to know the following:

1] Are you travelling alone, or with family? Friends?

2] Have you been to any of those parks before?

3] Are you going mostly for the coasters or do you prefer to experience all a park has to offer?

4] Where are you staying? I want to be able to advise the best itinerary to avoid heavy traffic areas.

No disrespect to Shane but it makes no sense to advise someone to "skip Disney" is that's the one park he or his family are looking most forward to.

Moosh

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"I don't like poop singers." Peabody, discussing American Idol.

*** This post was edited by Mamoosh 5/19/2003 3:07:24 PM ***

If you have enough time dont forget to stop in California Adventure, even if it is for only half the day. California Screamin is in my opinion a great ride and deserves to be enjoyed by many.

Though since I have only been to those parks mentioned during Coaster Con XXV, I really cant comment further.

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Zero G Thrills - Moved and Improved

Here is some information, which might help:

-Will be traveling with a family (me-18, 16 year old, 6 year old, and two older folk....)

-We have been to all of the parks before, but never during the summer months.

-Disneyland will be primarily for the experience, but being there before we feel that one day is sufficient.

-Knotts and Magic Mountain will be visited primarily for the coasters

-We will be staying at the Holiday Inn on Beach Blvd. So logistics to Magic Mountain might be an issue. Is L.A traffic better any of the aforementioned days? (Wishful thinking)

Thanks in advance for your help.

Jake

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EDIT: Shane, we have been to WDW and feel that sacrificing Disney really isn't an option as we are traveling with a 6 year old that hasn't been to the original Magic Kingdom and feel it isn't fair to him to skip it in favor of the more "thrilling" parks.

: Being the main coaster lover in the family, and having already been to DCA, it probably won't be included due to time constraints.

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What's life if you never get to the PO!NT

*** This post was edited by CoasterMan- 5/19/2003 3:48:31 PM ***

Thanks for the additional info, Jake. Let me think about this some and I'll come up with what I feel would be a good plan for ya ;)

Moosh

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"I don't like poop singers." Peabody, discussing American Idol.

Hit Disneyland on Wednesday so you can run into minimal crowds and experience both parks. DO NOT go to SFMM on Wednesday since X no longer runs on Wednesday. Yes, it may sound absurd but it has been confirmed by several employees.

Its probably logical to go to Knotts on Thursday due to its close proximity to Disneyland, but if possible hit SFMM on Thursday so you run into few crowds. Knotts is very easy to do in several hours. Be sure to get the back row of Ghostrider!

Six Flags Magic Mountain... If you want to ride X and Deja Vu, listen to me very closely. Get to the park at 9:00 am, the earlier the better. As soon as the parking lot opens, park your car, and hop on the tram. Take the train to the entrance, go through security and wait by the entrance gate. The gate will open anytime from 9:30 - 10:10 and when it opens, be prepared to RUN LIKE HELL to X. Its not very far, but it is uphill at parts so its pretty difficult.

Wait until X opens even if it may not open for an hour or so. The line will just be longer later in the day. IF you want visuals, ride in the front and if you want sheer intensity, ride in the back. It doesnt matter which way you go when the line splits but most people just go straight, so you may experience shorter lines by taking a left.

After you have ridden X, move quickly over to Deja Vu. Once you have ridden Deja Vu and Psyclone, head over to Samauri Summit and ride Superman and Ninja! After that, go to Riddlers Revenge and then Goliath. Im not sure how to hit Scream since I havent been to the park since it opened.

Well, thats it! have fun and good luck!
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You're at a party and see a beautiful woman. She walks up to you and says, "I hear you're fantastic in bed." -- That's Brand Recognition.

Having just done this trip two weeks ago (albeit without SFMM), I would second Blitzjade's recommendation. We did Disney on a Thursday and Knott's on a Friday, which worked out great. Waits for Xcelerator were 10 minutes tops during mid-afternoon.

BTW, don't miss the log flume at Knott's (Thanks, Moosh!)

Later,
EV
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Remember that if you're one in a million, that means that there are 5000 other people on Earth just like you.

Eric - you hit those parks in the off-season, while Jake is going in the middle of summer. Crowds will be quite different when he comes out here.

That being said I agree that doing Knotts and Disney on consecutive days makes the most sense due to their proximity.

Moosh - still thinking about a plan for Jake...

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"I don't like poop singers." Peabody, discussing American Idol.

Hey Moosh, while you're thinking about a plan for Jake here is another question. I'm going to be in So. Cal. this weekend so I thought I might finally get to ride X. If you had to go this weekend which day would you go?

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In my CD player: Centaur - In Streams
Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
Fu Manchu - California Crossing

Sparky - since the weather will be good both days this weekend my gut instinct would be to recommend Sunday as the less-crowded of the two days. But I rarely, if ever, go to SFMM on a weekend so I'm not necessarily your best source.

Jake - since morning freeway traffic is usually lighter on Fridays I'd suggest Disney on Wed, Knotts on Thurs, and SFMM on Friday. Give yourself a *minimum* of three hours to get to Valencia from Anaheim. Better to be early and have to wait than be late. Also I'd suggest avoiding the I-5 bottleneck thru downtown. A better route [although longer in miles] would be to take I-5 North to I-605 North to I-210 West and hook back up with the I-5 North.

Another option would be to get a hotel room in Valencia and drive up there Thursday night.

Have fun ;)

mOOSH

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"I don't like poop singers." Peabody, discussing American Idol.

*** This post was edited by Mamoosh 5/20/2003 11:08:09 AM ***

I was in California May 16th(Friday) through May 20th(Tuesday). We went to Magic Mountain Friday evening after our plane landed and it was not crowded at all. Saturday we went to Disney's California Adventure and everything was essentially walk on, at the most a 15 minute wait for California Screamin. Saturday night we went to KBF and it was pretty crowded because they had a concert but X Celerator would only have been a 45 minute wait had it not broken down twice. Sunday morning we got like 12 rides on Xcelerator - an absolute walk on, and GhostRider was about 10, 15 minutes. Monday at Magic Mountain was soo dead. So, we had a pretty good trip as far as lines. Have fun!