Wally World or Knott's

I am trying to convince my spouse to be that we should go to California for 2 of the 7 days that we will be in Vegas in November for our second honeymoon (going to the Dells in 2 weeks for our first honeymoon). I have already looked at the websites for what days would be open for both parks when we go so that isn't a big deal.

My problem is that my spouse to be is not sold on taking 2 days out of the 7 to go to the Los Angeles area. We still might go but only get to spend one day there if we do decide to take the trip.

Which park would be better to go to? Granted, I know that some of the coasters at SFMM will not be running, so would I be wasting my time going there and just go to Knott's instead?

Also, I know that Mapquest says 4-5 hours but I have seen on here it takes 6 hours to Knott's. Is that true as that might wipe out our trip to California then?

Thanks again.

6 hours to Knott's? KBF isn't any farther from Vegas than downtown L.A. is. Your drive from Vegas to the L.A. basin depends on a lot of variables. I live about 20 minutes from Knott's, and I once made the drive to Vegas in about 3 hours and 10 minutes. Of course, I was also traveleing a constant 85mph the whole way.

The biggest factor is weekend/weekday. If it's a holiday, tack on A LOT more time. But, as a rule of thumb, 4 hours is a good estimate for Knott's, maybe 5 hours to get to MM since it is further west.

As for MM or Knott's, for me it's a toss up. MM has a lot more coasters, but I seem to have more fun at Knott's for some reason. Plus, maybe you can convince your wife if you throw in a day at Disneyland too, which is the next town over from Knott's.

5 days in Vegas will be more than enough. Where are you staying, anyway? (just curious).

It took us about 5 hours to drive from Vegas to the the LA area.

While we had a good day at SFMM, I think I would choose to go back to Knott's if I were in the area. There's just a better atmosphere at Knott's than MM. Although X was really cool, but so was Xcelerator. Ghostrider kicks MM's woodies by a long shot. Knott's has some unique rides and theming while MM utilizes the mountain really well for some of their rides. I guess it all depends on what kind of a day you are looking for and what would appeal more to your wife.

Oh, if you go to Knott's, Adventure City is 5 minutes down the road and they have a really neat ride in Tree Top Racers.

To elaborate on Danimales' excellent pointers, just avoid going from LA to Vegas on Fridays and Saturdays -- and avoid going from Vegas back into California on Sundays.

Actually this should probably be your plan anyway as the parks may be only open during the weekends in November. So you'll be out of Vegas during the weekend and then back, which is good on many different levels.

So, if you want to sell it to your then-wife, tell her that Vegas hotel rates are roughly double the weekday rates on Fridays and Saturdays. Sell it to her as a cost-saving move. You can stay somewhere nice on the Strip like MGM or Mirage for less during the week than what it would cost you during the weekend to stay at a dive like on the north end of the Strip (or off the strip).

If we went to LA it would be on Wednesday and Thursday. We will be in Vegas on a Sunday and leave the following Sunday.

As far as hotels, we were thinking of staying in Primm on Friday and Saturday (cheaper rates by far) and hit Desperado.

Thanks for the inside tip on the Tree Top Racers too.

Assuming your spouse isn't a *hardcore thrillseeker*, I'd suggest she'll prbably have a MUCH better time at Knott's. Tragic Mountain does have great rides (well, coasters and water rides anyway, LOL), but the *atmosphere* is....depressing.

I hate to say that, but SFMM has to hear it as much as, if not moreso, than you do. The truly sad part, as far as I'm concerned, is how easy it would be for SFMM to turn things around....IF they actually could SEE how bad things have gotten.

The Scandia Screamer is pretty much right on the path Between Vegas and Knott's on I15 between the I10 and CA60. You will see it on the side of the interstate if you drive that way.

Depending on the dates in November you are going to be there, you may not have a choice. Knott's is open every day whereas SFMM is mostly only open on the weekends except the week of Thanksgiving.

I'm with everyone. Knotts is also my choice. It was our first visit to S. Cal. last month and went to both parks. I was psyched to go to MM to ride X but MM showed its true face very quickly. Long slow lines because of very slow load times, one train running on several rides, or rides not running at all. It seemed a little depressing.
I didn't expect much at Knotts with only a few coasters but had a great time. It was spotless. Very friendly employees and fast at loading rides. Very nice place.

Not sure if I'd call Tree Top Racers a neat ride.

Scary ride yes though. Scary because I thought it was going to fall over. And it had a head chopper effect which was a bit too close for my comfort.

I'd only suggest going to Adventure City if you like going to the small crappy parks for those scary credits.

I had alot of fun on the ride. Although I doubt I would do it again. ;) *** Edited 8/18/2004 12:33:52 AM UTC by Carnage***

loriu said:
Depending on the dates in November you are going to be there, you may not have a choice. Knott's is open every day whereas SFMM is mostly only open on the weekends except the week of Thanksgiving.

It is actually open on the Thursday that we would go, I did my homework, hehehe

I went to SFMM and KBF last November, and I had a MUCH better time at Knotts. The atmosphere is awesome, there were no crowds (it was a Friday), we got to ride every coaster as a walk-on (all day), etc.

The food at Knotts is awesome too (make sure you go to Mrs. Knotts Restaurant!)

SFMM was fun for the first hour (we rode X first thing). Then we realized that every ride was one-train operation (on a Saturday!), so we got fed up with the 4-hour waits for Goliath, RR, and B:TR. It was rediculous. And the food was disgusting...

I'd take Knotts over SFMM (and most other SF parks IMO) anyday.

With Silver Bullet construction rolling like it is, is there any chance of an opening as early as you'll be going? I thought they were considering opening it before the original Christmas Eve date, and that ride is looking pretty good so far and would be the final blow for MM's defeat in this debate if it's running. *** Edited 8/18/2004 8:36:22 PM UTC by mantis man***

That would be sweet Mantis Man but we are going the 2nd week of November so chances are not likely but maybe they would be testing it.

Got another question, we are now thinking about moving the date to October.

I know that SFMM is open only on the weekends when we are planning on going but how does the Fright Fest work? Is that open after 10:00 so we would be able to ride all the rides before then or is there a set time that would start on the Saturday we would be going?

Compromise...

Go to Disneyland and CA Adventure. You get two parks that way and they are right next to each other.

Shaggy

Thanks for the idea Shaggy but I would rather ride more rollercoasters than do the Disney thing, have done the one in Florida though and wasn't impressed at all.

After reading your last comment, I think you should definately go to Magic Mountain.

Ok, I am trying to convince my wife to go to both parks as I think we will be going to Knott's on the weekend we fly to Vegas. I checked the the 6 Flags website and the deals that they have right now (the Scream deal and Print and Go) end at the end of October. Does anyone know what specials they may have for November or if they are going to continue any specials going on right now? We would be going Saturday the 6th if we do go to SFMM.

Thanks again.

I'm going out to Knott's this weekend. I went and did all the SoCal parks last year and really, Knotts was the only one I felt worthy of returning to.

One of the specials that Shannon and I are doing is the romance package at the Radisson, which is right next to the park. For about 200 bucks a night, you get a nice room, tix to the park (which we will be selling as we are both Cedar Fair passholders), hot breakfast buffet, and dinner at the hotel restaurant (which is really nice dining, not crap food). You also get a bottle of champagne each night of your stay along with chocolate truffles. It's a bit pricey, but when you add up all you get, along with the quality of the hotel and the restuarant, it really is not a bad deal at all. That and the Radisson is a great place to stay because all you have to do to get to the park is go out the back door of the hotel and you are in the Marketplace area before the entry to the park. You also don't have to pay for parking, which is another nice perk.