Florida or Cali ?

[DCDMarkyG]

We have been to florida a few times and are planning to go again next year in August, however what we enjoy most is the new and unseen rides and shows so we were thinking of trying California as the only new rides since we went last year to Florida will be the Simpsons and of course the whole of Aquatica.
Does anyone know if there is still hurricane possibility in August in Cali ?

Also anyone that has been to both, does Cali involve more driving and are the 'six flags' parks as awesome as they look on the internet - supermans escape !!!? (the three families going are all roller coaster junkies and love water parks !)

Thanks for any help to anyone that replies.

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Hi - I can't really help with the california theme parks (we've only been to Disneyland (before park no.2 arrived) and Universal - they didn't compare with their floridian counterparts). But I can say that you will not get a 'hurricane season' in California - they get the weather that florida wishes it got!! (except for the awful fires of late ).

I would also say that California is a wonderful state and when we didn't have kids, it would be my number one choice - San Francisco is fantastic and the drive down route 1 (the coastal highway) is amazing and Santa Barbara might possibly be my favourite US town. In fact, LA is the one place I would avoid - although I would go there for Disney of course!!! Plus as you say, its the place for all the thrill ride parks.

hope that helps a little - happy planning!!

 

[Chilly]

I did the 2 Disney LA parks plus Universal before I went to Florida. It is quite a different experience. You can walk between the 2 Disney parks and its version of Downtown Disney but everything else is a drive on the freeway and it is a very large state.

 

[wayneg]

Done 16 trips to Orlando and 2 to LA/Disneyland.
Totally different experiences. The west coast is more than theme parks to get a full holiday, How long would you go for? 1st time we went for 9 nights, to spend more than that then I think you need to either drive or fly somewhere else, SanFran or Vegas for example.
The parks are very spread out compared to Florida, we stayed outside Disney it was a 1 hour drive to Universal but 2 hours back with traffic(Florida never sees traffic like this), Seaworld about 1hr 15mins, same for San Diego zoo.
Sat nav was a big help, never needed it in Florida.
After so many visits to Florida we still want to go more and more, this year 3 trips, one of them for 24 nights and can't wait, no intentions to go back to Disneyland in near future, not the kind of place to draw you back time and time again. I think we will go back and do a driving holiday(maybe next Easter), possibly Vegas to San Fran but for us Florida does the parks a lot better.
As a Disney fan its somewhere we wanted to visit to see the original park and some things are better there. We have a lot of friends over near Disneyland, without them we probably would never have been but glad we did.

 

[DCDMarkyG]

We always go for the standard 14 nights. Usually 10 days in parks and 4 shopping days/exploring days.

In October when we were last in Kissimmee there seemed to be a lot of closed businesses and a feeling that the whole area was starting to get a bit run down. Probably due to the near recession the US is in. I don't picture LA as the same. Feel free to put me straight on this.

The kids that are going are now nearly all teenagers and seeking bigger and better thrills, the adults are just craving more of the same but new - if you know what I mean !

We are all very worried about the hurricane season as Octobers weather was pretty rubbish with drizzle most days, we want hot and dry this time around but are limited to August due to the kids exams. .

 

[amystevekai&bump]

We are all very worried about the hurricane season as Octobers weather was pretty rubbish with drizzle most days, we want hot and dry this time around but are limited to August due to the kids exams. .

August weather in California is terrific (NO Hurricanes!!!) - hot and dry - as I said the fires are their problem and no rain to combat them - this doesn't normally affect the tourist areas though as far as I'm aware!

 

[CustardTart]

We spent NYE 2005 at GCH and had a great time - once I got over the fact that Disneyland isn't the Magic Kingdom! It was fascinating to see the original park and loved the resort. We were only there for 5 days but managed to get out to Knotts Berry Farm which has some more extreme rides and was v popular with my family.

We're going again this August - tacking on 6 nights at the Disneyland Hotel after a DCL cruise and looking forward to packing in as much as possible! There's just so much to do - studio tours, sightseeing as well as Universal Studios, DL and CA theme parks. San Diego's an easy day trip and sounds fab. I'd definitely give it a go...

 

[wayneg]

We always go for the standard 14 nights. Usually 10 days in parks and 4 shopping days/exploring days.

In October when we were last in Kissimmee there seemed to be a lot of closed businesses and a feeling that the whole area was starting to get a bit run down. Probably due to the near recession the US is in. I don't picture LA as the same. Feel free to put me straight on this.

The kids that are going are now nearly all teenagers and seeking bigger and better thrills, the adults are just craving more of the same but new - if you know what I mean !

We are all very worried about the hurricane season as Octobers weather was pretty rubbish with drizzle most days, we want hot and dry this time around but are limited to August due to the kids exams. .

You could probably do 14 nights around LA area but that would be max.
Never been to Kissimmee, furthest west we go is The Old Town so don't know what its like but LA has some really bad areas, until recently places like Hollywood Blvd were run down but last few years they have spent a lot to attract the tourists again, Our friends who live there say there are still a lot of no go areas, Main tourist areas are fine.
Hurricanes have never bothered us, one hit south of Orlando October a couple of years ago while we were there, Americans went into complete panic, no maid service everywhere shut warning to stay inside, We have worse weather here thru a storm. Last August in 25 nights we had perfect weather 1 downpour all 25 nights, get a lot worse weather in Oct.

 

[wayneg]

August weather in California is terrific (NO Hurricanes!!!) - hot and dry - as I said the fires are their problem and no rain to combat them - this doesn't normally affect the tourist areas though as far as I'm aware!

Really bad fires last Oct while we were there, 1st few days in Disney the air quality was poor, Americans won't go out in it so Disney was dead, walk on anything, great for us.

 

[barry7767]

Just to add to the above, 14 nights is prob the max in LA. This was my first driving experience in USA (been to Florida loads of times before, but parents always drove as I was too young!) and it wasn't that bad. Sat Nav would made it easier, but not essential.

Plenty to do park wise though it is spread out. Magic Mountain is as good as it looks ride wise - but the queues can be huge - 3hrs for most big rides in peak season. Also, they have that many huge rides that they rotate which are closed - so its almost guaranteed that one of the rides you want to go on will be closed! Still good though, just get there early and be prepared to queue.

 

[DCDMarkyG]

........the trouble is, when we have exhausted Florida and Cali, where else can you get that disney buzz ?

I don't think I'd enjoy Japan as much - but I'd love to see the culture and country- and we have been to Eurodisney and it just doesn't compare - ideal for a quick weekend disney fix though !

 

[Claire L]

Love California and not just for Disney either! No hurricanes in California but may feel a slight tremble anytime!!! A mix of LA and another city is advisable especially San Francisco. We drove from SF to LA in 2003 and the scenery was lovely and really enjoyed all the little towns we passed through on the way.

As for Florida we have been twice in October now and the weather has been great for the majority of the days.

Claire

 

[DCDMarkyG]

I think we were really unlucky in October, we had three glorious days where we raced to the water parks, Blizzard Beach is by far my favourite park. We have been to Florida several times and Typhoon lagoon is always closed, we're starting to believe it doesn't really exist and that it's just an overflow carpark for Downtown Disney ! Wet n Wild is too 'concrete' The rest of the days there it was totally overcast with intermittant drizzle. Quite hot though, we never needed more than t-shirts and shorts but the amount of comments about our lack of tans when we got back really grated !

Mickeys NSSHalloween was brilliant fun, but you need to forget that you are an adult and join in with the kids grabbing fistfulls of candy ! (Crazy Brits !)

 

[Minniespal]

........the trouble is, when we have exhausted Florida and Cali, where else can you get that disney buzz ?

We've done Florida to death. This summer we are visiting the West Coast, taking in Vegas, California San Francisco and doing a Disney Cruise. For Christmas we are going to Toyko to see Mickey. There are lots of ways to get the Disney Magic

 

[CustardTart]

We done Florida to death. This summer we are visiting the West Coast, taking in Vegas, California San Francisco and doing a Disney Cruise. For Christmas we are going to Toyko to see Mickey. There are lots of ways to get the Disney Magic

Are you doing one of the Mexican Riviera cruises, Florence???

 

[Claire L]

I think we were really unlucky in October, we had three glorious days where we raced to the water parks, Blizzard Beach is by far my favourite park. We have been to Florida several times and Typhoon lagoon is always closed, we're starting to believe it doesn't really exist and that it's just an overflow carpark for Downtown Disney ! Wet n Wild is too 'concrete' The rest of the days there it was totally overcast with intermittant drizzle. Quite hot though, we never needed more than t-shirts and shorts but the amount of comments about our lack of tans when we got back really grated !

Mickeys NSSHalloween was brilliant fun, but you need to forget that you are an adult and join in with the kids grabbing fistfulls of candy ! (Crazy Brits !)

Neither of the water parks should be closed in October, unless you have been there for the last few days of the month, when one or other always closes for annual rehab. Earlier in the month weather and opening times have been much better

Claire

 

[Minniespal]

Are you doing one of the Mexican Riviera cruises, Florence???

We certainly are Karen followed by a stay at the Grand Californian Hotel

 

[DCDMarkyG]

Neither of the water parks should be closed in October, unless you have been there for the last few days of the month, when one or other always closes for annual rehab. Earlier in the month weather and opening times have been much better

Claire

We were there for the rehab. When we checked the disney websites it said that Blizzard Beach was due the rehab for the weeks we were there on October - we have been to Blizzard before so werent' too bothered - but they switched it to Typhoon lagoon. Previously we have been in February and it has been closed - again for refurbishment. If it does exist, it must be immaculate !!

Aquatica is a big draw for us, but I fear it may be like wet n' wild with no overriding theme and exposed stairways and lots of concrete. I read somewhere that there is an Australian themed waterpark in California ???

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

I would say go to California for a change. Whilst Florida still wins it for me all in all, we went to California for a change last year for a week and absolutely loved it!!! We spent 3 days in Disneyland park, 1 day in California Adventure park, and a day at Universal (which we preferred to the Florida version). Brillaint sun the whole time, and not a spot of rain.

 

[Frances999]

Lots of fun things to see and do in the LA area. We didn't enjoy Knotts Berry Farm at all (very run-down....) and left after an hour. Yuck.

There are lots of very cool movie-studio tours if you're interested in that kind of thing. There's great shopping, too. Disneyland Resort is wonderful - we can easily spend 5-7 days there. Universal Studios shouldn't be missed, it's much better than the Orlando version in my opinion. We also love San Diego, a very beautiful city with a wonderful climate and some great beaches and attractions, such as the world famous zoo, SeaWorld and Legoland (nearby). San Fran is also worth visiting too, going up along the coast to get here from LA is all part of the fun.