SFDK or CGA?

I’m sure this has been discussed a good bit, but I’ve got one day after a San Fran work trip, and am really torn between going to SFDK or CGA . Each has several coasters I’ve been yearning to go on— and I am willing to pay for Fast Lane / Flash Pass. Thoughts? Essentially RailBlazer/Gold Striker/Flight Deck vs Medusa/Joker/Superman/Batman..

Don’t forget the most unique Intamin Impulse is at SFDK; V2 (rumored to soon be rethemed The Flash)...

Shane, Good call- I meant to include that. Also, Batman won’t yet be open when I visit this month. Any suggestion if I have to choose one of the parks?

I'd choose Discovery Kingdom. If you're in the city, it is a shorter drive than Great America (101 = yuck). Depending on the day you visit, you can pretty much marathon all the rides. Lastly, I think Discovery Kingdom's coaster collection is superior.

So I am working + staying in Redwood City. Supposedly under 30 from CGA/1hr to DK with no traffic. Bought CGA tix before seeing your post, hope it’s still good. Going opening weekend in a few weeks, but will pay for shortest lines possible. Hopefully can do DK Sunday. Thank you for your help!

If you're solo and you can get there right at the crack of opening, you might able to do both. We live in East San Jose and when there's no traffic (which is definitely probably on a Sat.) it takes us just a hair over an hr. to get to SFDK. Neither park is that great on its own, Gold Striker and Rail Blazer are both solid 4's (out of 5), as are V2 and Medusa. Superman is a 3 for me, Joker is a low 5. I don't know that I could fill a full day at either park, especially CGA. But when you put them together, they have one heck of a collection...collectively. Alternatively, if you get bored of CGA, you can head down to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The Giant Dipper is for real.

ApolloAndy

Awesome, thanks so much! I was thinking both may be doable, though not sure how crazy a Saturday will be (will buy the fast pass stuff)— I am probably going solo, and will aim to knock out both! Thanks for the advice. I’m planning a lil PCH drive down Sunday to the boardwalk for a couple dipper laps. Thanks for the thorough help.

Something something Knoebels...

But yeah... if you do end up at CGA, Gilroy Gardens is less than an hour away. It's been a long time, but I remember enjoying it a lot. A unique experience and I'm 90% sure a Cedar Fair Platinum Pass will get you in.

Don't forget to eat at In N Out Burger. (Double Double with grilled onions.) The T-Shirt this year is a Ferris Wheel, so there's that too.

Gilroy Gardens is unique for sure and interesting if you're in the right mindset for it. It's definitely geared towards toddlers (my 7 and 9 have outgrown it) with the two rides being a nice Zierer Tivoli with and a nice custom Morgan mine train. Other than that, you're not going to get many thrills, but the circus trees are really interesting to look at and for a slow, chill afternoon, it's a pretty nice stop.

It would be a long day and I don't know if you would prefer to get all the credits or reride, but you probably couldn't do both, just because of the time to transition between the parks. That said, the thing about both parks is with the exception of the RMC's almost everything is a clone or near clone of something that's been done a million times: B&M floorless, B&M invert, GCI woodie, Intamin impulse, Premier Skyloop? All of these things have either been around for 15 years and/or are popping up everywhere. I don't need to ride any of them more than once and usually don't (it took me 2 full seasons to get my obligatory lap on Patriot because I just didn't really care).

Never been to CGA. When in the area years ago, SFDK had Roar and CGA had Grizzly. I love wood coasters so the choice was obvious. Now, CGA has two wood coasters and SFDK doesn't have any, so I'd pick the former. But that's just me. Not sure what you like to ride.

Having been to SFO twice now (which means both SFDK and CGA both times), it’s a toss-up which I like better honestly.

At SFDK… Joker & Medusa are a great duo. V2 was closed both times I went, bummer, as I really wanted to try out that tilted roll… Superman is always fun as well. They have the animal thing going on too, which is always nice. The park was smaller than I expected, though.

CGA is beautiful (especially in Spring when all is in bloom). Gold Striker is fun, but I found it a bit rough both trips which was a bummer. Flight Deck is awesome, as I’m a sucker for B&M inverts. Patriot is solid as well for what it is. RailBlazer wasn’t open just yet when we were there, opened shortly after, but honestly I know I probably wouldn’t love it to be honest… RMC is a bit overhyped for me, I just don’t dig them like so many others obviously do!

If I had to chose though, I’d probably go with SFDK. I think the Medusa and Joker combo is better than the Flight Deck / Gold Striker combo at CGA (excluding Rail Blazer, of course, as I didn't ride it).

I was in SFO for a couple of days in October and CGA was my choice. Rail Blazer and a free get-in with my Platinum Pass made it a no-brainer. The rest of my new credits were a bonus, with Gold Striker and Flight Deck being better than the others. There were some old flats left over from back in the day that also interested me. As far as the park in general goes, I thought it was kind of shabby, but maybe that was due to the time of year. I saw lots of rides and structures that were in desperate need of paint, though. It reminded me more of a neglected Six Flags, truth told, and not as pretty as the CF parks I’m used to. I’ve never been to SFDK so I’m no help there whatsoever, but still, given the choice between the two (as a first-timer) I’d make the same choice, due to the ride list alone. Btw, the Uber ride to the park (we were by the airport) wasn’t bad, cost wise, and drop off and pick up was convenient. And someone else handled the traffic for us. There was also an event at the stadium the same day, and that parking lot- oh my. Avoiding that made me glad we didn’t have our own car.

I agree with RCMAC. CGA seemed a little run down to me last June during my visit and left me thinking of a second-tier six flag park. I was surprised at the disparity between the up keep and general feel of CGA compared to even the smaller Cedar Fair parks. And, for being located near such large population centers i was surprised to discover that the rides were all also second tier rides too. I would not go out of my way to return, for whatever that's worth.

SFDK is open weekends, now and opens daily starting April 12th.

CGA doesn't open until March 23rd for weekends only. After that, their schedule is a little screwy.

zoug68 said:

SFDK is open weekends, now and opens daily starting April 12th.

CGA doesn't open until March 23rd for weekends only. After that, their schedule is a little screwy.

Disregard my question on your trip report why you skipped CGA... That’s a pretty good reason!

Thank you all so much for the help! I’m torn, but ill look to finish my work faster than expected and hope to do both (CGA sat + SFDK sun). I’m not crazy about all of the credits, and nowadays tend to sprinkle in a bit of a GC approach to visiting some parks (ie couple o flats etc). It sounds like the best plan may be for me to have a half-to-3/4 day at each park if I can make both days work.

thanks again!

RCMAC said:

I was in SFO for a couple of days in October...

Did you save the Dipper while you were there?

I tried. I had good ideas but no one would listen.