SFMM and DCA...any advice please!!

I know I had a similar post before but....I know more about what I am going to do now so....
I plan on going to SFMM on Tues, Dec 23rd and DCA the next day. I am more concern about SFMM since I hear more negatives about them and ride closures. The main coasters I would love to ride is X, Deja Vu, Scream, Superman:TE, Riddler's Revenge..those would be my top 5 there. I have ridden Batman:TR and SFOT and Goliaths bro, Titan also. Any thoughts on what might be opened closed during the time I go? The park is open from 10-6 that day, any advice on how to the get the best out of the day there?
THANKS alot. I really appreciate any and all responses I get. I mean it!! :)
COREY

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"I see black spots." -- Me after riding Titans second helix.

Corey - It's impossible to tell what will be closed/open this far out. I would bet on all of the B & M rides and Goliath being up. Superman is also a good bet. X is a probable, but make sure you get to the park early and you are first in line to get in...then RUN to X and wait for it to open. Deja has been down for some time, so it's anyone's guess when it will open again (if ever).

Be prepared for crowds that day, and you might want to buy Fastlane passes if waits are bad. Make sure you ride Gold Rusher and the two flumes if you can!

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Mike Miller

X also closes one day out of the week(Tuesdays I believe) for routine maintenance. Bass is right about running to X the minute the gates open. I ran to X and STILL had to wait two hours to get on the ride. Deja Vu hasnt been open lately, but it could be again by the time you go. From what I understand, however, they wont run X and Deja Vu on the same days. You get one or the other. I would figure on getting a max of 10 coasters when you go. Anything over that is gravy. If you go in with that attitude you might enjoy your day more.

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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

They usually try to have everything open for those few weeks of the winter break. I went the last 2 years at that time and I think Ninja and Psyclone were the only 2 coasters down. It's hard to speculate what they plan on this year.

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SCREAM with me... in 2003!

Why aren't you going to Disneyland?

Probably because DCA is a much better park than Disneyland!!! At least I thought it was.

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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

Kick The Sky said:
Probably because DCA is a much better park than Disneyland!!! At least I thought it was.
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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

Um, no.

Well I'll be the first to say that DCA does have its merits, but to say its better than Disneyland is a stretch.

Maybe right now, since Splash Mountain is in rehab, Big Thunder is closed until who knows when, Space Mountain is closed until 2005, Haunted Mansion is closed to get ready for Haunted Mansion Holiday next month. Seems like most of the E-Tickets are down for one reason or another.

Well without Splash, Big Thunder, Space, Haunted Mansion I guesss I'd agree that DCA is a better park. But on a normal day...

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The Trip: CP, SFWoA, PKI, KW, HW, IB, SFGAm, MiA and LeSourdsville too.
8 Days- 10 parks. May 2003

DL was so much busier than DCA. I felt so crowded and pushed inside that park. DCA was completely open and free. The lines were a lot shorter.

I also liked the feel of the place much more than DL. DL to me seemed like a cheap knockoff of the Magic Kingdom (even though it is really the other way around).

On top of that, I cant say enough good things about the Paradise Pier area. I love old parks and this place had a modernized approach to an old time park that made it a lot of fun.

I also found the employees at DCA about 10 times as friendly as the ones at DL.
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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

I think my job here on this board to to champion Knott's Berry Farm. I guess if you've never been to Tragic Mountain....

Just keep the idea of Knott's in the mix. Very cool park.

As for the DCA discussion, I think it's a really neat place. It'll be really nice to see it fleshed out a bit in the coming years.
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"I go out at 3 o' clock for a quart of milk and come home to my son treating his body like an amusement park!" - Estelle Costanza

janfrederick, If you are the champion of Knott's I would like to be co-champion. Easily the best park in Southern California.

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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

You're knot going to Knott's? That's knot cool!

-If you have the chance to reconsider making it to Knott's it is great; a non-Southern California style park in Southern California. I never took the time to visit the park until I moved to the area, and now it's my favorite park in the area.

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that that is is that that is not is not (Knott's is.)

I didn't realize all of those rides were closed at DL. Probably better to save that for another trip.

As for Knott's, here's a differing opinion:

Its good, but its not great. Ghostrider is a great ride but being in So Cal, it probably garners more praise that I think it really deserves because the rest of the woodies in the area are so lacking. If it was on the east coast or in the midwest, it would still be one of the best coasters in the world, but not exactly on the level it is considered now. Most of the rest of the park is kinda cluttered, almost like someone designed it using RCT. This was the year before Xcel so can't comment on that, I'm sure its great. The Log Flume was definately a high light. The area of the park around the rapids ride was practically devoid of attractions. I kept looking around and at my map thinking "Surely there's something here that I am missing." The shopping in Ghost Town was really nice, if you're into that. I waited a loooong time for average fried chicken (ok, that was obviously my fault.)

Its still a good park, and I enjoyed my time there a lot, but after a TERRIFFIC day at SFMM (no, I'm not joking, it was incredible) and probably the best day I've ever had at a park at DL, Knotts just left me wanting. Still a good park.

My first and only trip to CA last year included a visit to DCA and I loved it. I didn't go to Disneyland only because I didn't like the fact that you had to buy tickets seperately. From what I remeber there was no "park-hopper" ticket. They charged the same price for each park, and you had to buy seperate tickets.

Being that we were pressed for time and I wanted to see California Screamin', we opted for DCA. :-)

-Tina

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Gimme speed, height, airtime and plenty of LAUNCH!!!

I know that people love the pier in DCA and I think it's cool too. I also think there's an underrated coaster lurking there, but the thing that I can't get past is Disney's CALIFONIA Adventure.

I mean just imagine the board meeting for that...

"What should we theme our new park on?"
"How about a park representing Califonia inside Califonia?!"
*SLAP!*

I still always get a kick out of walking through the park and saying..."Wow, It feels like I'm really in Californa."

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"Adventure, Excitement. A Jedi Craves Not These Things."
*** This post was edited by lbwmobster 9/17/2003 7:44:04 AM ***

Matt, I think the 'cluttered' nature of the park is what gives it much of its charm. It's quirky.

Also, with Xcel, it's more well-rounded ride-wise.

And also, I think Ghostrider is well worthy of it'd praise...even if it stands out more for being in an area that lacks coasters.

Anyway, no need to argue because I wasn't there with you that day. I guess I've had not-so-fabulous days at Knotts and other parks for that matter.

Case in point: When we made our last coaster trip, we hit Indiana Beach first, the Cedar Point, Kennywood, the Kings Island. We enjoyed the parks in that order too. I think we should have reversed the order. Heck, I still kick myself for not driving past Kings Island and heading straight for Holiday World.

Then again, you need a trip like that to realize what you like in a park. For me, small and quirky. Santa Cruz, Indiana Beach, and Knott's are my favorite parks.
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"I go out at 3 o' clock for a quart of milk and come home to my son treating his body like an amusement park!" - Estelle Costanza

Thanks for all the tips ... I am not going to Disneyland cause I went there a few years back and want to go to Cali. Adv. now. I thought X was closed on Wednesdays??
Thanks alot .. and anymore tips??

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"I see black spots." -- Me after riding Titans second helix.

janfrederick said:
For me, small and quirky.

Actually, I have pretty much the same taste. One of the reasons that I loved DL so much was that it seemed so...intimate. I suppose that's the right word. I loved the nostalgic feel, the way that really seemed like being in several smaller parks within one big one (something that themed areas should do, but rarely acheive, IMO.)

Knotts really did appeal to me in that it offered something that was really different from anywhere I had ever been. Something that is all to rare thanks to the increased homoginization of parks around the country (Six Flags, I'm pointing the finger at you.) I just found myself with a full day at Knotts trying to find something to do besides ride Ghostrider over and over. Unfortunately, I didn't discover the killer log flume until well after most of my day was gone.

I really need to head back, perhaps when they put in a new coaster so I can check out that, and Xcel. As a side note, I was there a week BEFORE Ghostrider went through one of its major rehabs, and it definately felt like it needed it. I might try to aim for going just after one of those, because I'm sure it would track better then. Until then, though, I can think of plenty of CCI's that in my subjective opinion are just much better.

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