Retarded SOCal Park Schedules

So It looks like I may be in LA for Business the last week of September, Sun-Fri, and of course my mind went to figuring out what parks I could score while there. I was stunned at how lousy the fall schedules are!

SFMM, which I've never made it to in all my many trips to LA, is Weekends only already! Is this a new thing? I had no idea they had such limited fall hours. This means I've got to get there on Sunday, the only day out of my 6 there that it'll be open, on top of the normal hope beyond hope that X and DejaVu will actually be running.

I also figured I could get a Fantasmic! Fix and see the new Fireworks everyone's raving about at Dland. But guess what... Fantasmic is weekends only, and the Fireworks are Fri. and Sat. only!! Even if I go down to Dland after SFMM sunday night, I'll STILL miss the Fireworks. During the week they're not even doing the Aladdin show at DCA. On top of all that, say I decide to leave a day early and go to Dland on Saturday... every single Hotel and Resort bookable through Disney's system (which includes good neighbor hotels) is booked solid. Gee, I wonder if it'll be crowded Saturday?

My point isn't that parks owe us full schedules when the business doesn't support it, but it seems like in Disneyland's case they're forcing Big crowds on Saturdays and sellouts in the hotels so that people can see one of the few performances of the Fireworks, a show which I hear is hard to get a good spot for anyway due to its following and reputation. Why not a Sunday night show at least, for one of the few actual NEW offerings during the 50th Anniversary? Lame.

The only upside to all this is that my last night there I'll be able to be at the first night of Knott's Haunt. Sweeeet. *** Edited 9/17/2005 4:28:09 PM UTC by ThemeDesigner***

I think you could have used a more mature word than retarded.

^ Not only that, but that isn't even the right use for retarded. Retarded means slowed or delayed, not inconvenient or annoying.

SFMM is on weekend schedules now just like every other SF park this time of year.

Don't know why you are so surprised at this.

I hope you aren't visiting Ohio with those expectations anytime during Oct - May, unless you like to ski :)

If parks were open like this throughout the year with all the shows in place for a full crowd, they'd go out of business! We had a Super K that was a 24-hour Super K. They thought the idea of a 24 hour superstore would catch on. It only took them two years to figure it out and they shut it down completely!

~Rob Willi

***Edit:

So I looked at Themedesigner's profile and I just had to laugh. I'm always happy to see a fellow skiier on the boards. *** Edited 9/17/2005 6:46:50 PM UTC by HeyIsntThatRob?***

Give him a point for actually checking the schedules.

First of all, don't you guys understand sarcasm?

Second, I agree... those schedules are lame, but we can't expect them to be open all the time. Regardless, I would have assumed the same thing, Brian.

Don't cry though... You get to go to HW on the 1st. That's a lot of fun that you weren't expecting 6 weeks ago. :)

Why the heck would I go to Ohio to Ski?

As to the Politeness Police, I apologize for my insensitive use of the English Language

As to the English Police, retarded has become acceptable slang for anything " bad, of poor quality. Displeasing". I defend the grammatical if not ethical correctness of its use here.

As to the Six Flags police, SFMM is not a seasonal park "like every other Six Flags park". I was just surprised at how limited their off-season schedule is, given they're in an international tourism location with great year round weather, that's all. Knott's manages to do ACTUAL year round operation. My real surprise and frustration is directed at Disneyland for having such limited offerings of special entertainment when they're heavily advertising said entertainment and drawing capacity crowd when it's available. *** Edited 9/17/2005 7:17:46 PM UTC by ThemeDesigner***

Six Flags is not busy on the weekends and are more of a local park, not a destination park for the most park. So with all the kids in school, how would they make any money during the week?

And I went to Disneyland on Sunday, it wasn't that busy, so during the week it's empty. How would running Fantasmic be profitable?

How is these parks using logic "retarded?"

I happen to agree with themedesigner. Now i am no business major, but if Knotts can manage a year-round operation than why can't sfmm. This has always bewildered me. Does it have something to do with location, being that knotts is in orange county close to dl and many other resorts?

Have you guys ever been to Southern California? Knott's is right in the city area, SFMM is north in the hills. For many people Knott's is an easy day trip, MM is not.

I don't know about that... as I remember it, Knott's is about 1/2 hour from LA, Magic Mountain is about 45 minutes. Plus it's a much better drive to SFMM, scenic and less traffic.

Knotts might be half an hour from LA but it's still in a major city, SFMM on the other hand is close to LA but in the middle of pretty much nowhere that's the difference.

i have been to southern california and know that hollywood, beverly hills, burbank, and santa monica beach are in northern LA and are a lot closer to magic mountain than knotts. Those are the biggest tourist spots in all of LA. So therefore, tourists will go to hotels close to these locations, and also go to amusement parks close to these locations, such as sfmm

San Diego, the Inland Empire, and Coachella Valley are a lot further from SFMM than Knott's. Knott's is also close to Disney so it banks on the tourist from there, seem to be a lot of tourist from Asia. The only reason I say this is because it's true for me and many of my friends. Takes me almost 2 hours to get to Knott's, but just more than 3 to get to Magic. Three hours is just too far for a day trip, but 2 is tolerable.

i have been to southern california and know that hollywood, beverly hills, burbank, and santa monica beach are in northern LA and are a lot closer to magic mountain than knotts.

Your knowledge of So Cal is astounding:

Hollywood
30 miles to SFMM
26 miles to KBF

Beverly Hills
35 miles to SFMM
31 miles to KBF

Burbank
27 miles to SFMM
31 miles to KBF

Santa Monica
37 miles to SFMM
34 miles to KBF

Oh well...you did get 1 out of 4 correct.

mOOSH [40 yr native of Los Angeles]

Okay... and in your forty years in LA, isn't it faster to drive the extra 3 or 4 miles to SFMM, away from the city and away from the traffic? ;)

Also, to be fair, that was all in the response to:

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For many people Knott's is an easy day trip, MM is not.

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Which you seem to prove false by the 3-4 mile difference.

I was only in LA twice, I'll defer to you... but as I remember the way you people drive, four miles only takes an extra fifteen seconds.

...isn't it faster to drive the extra 3 or 4 miles to SFMM, away from the city and away from the traffic?

Nope, and if you looked at a map of our freeway system and saw the route to SFMM from anywhere in LA you'd see the bottleneck one must travel thru to get there.

...as I remember the way you people drive, four miles only takes an extra fifteen seconds.

I live five miles from my office. My commute is at least 30 mins. I don't know what Los Angeles you visited but if you were able to drive that distance in that short of time it had to be an LA in an alternate universe ;)

Or you got Lucky like Jamaal and I did and not hit any traffic for 5 days in L.A.

Course, when we were in the car with Moosh, it did take a while to get from USH to Hollywood (yeah, you shoulda took that other road ;) ).

It's funny how us Socalers agree, but the PA guys don't. ;)

...Not that I've been a Socal guy very long, but I've made the trips more than most teens make them in a lifetime.