Impromptu Vallejo trip, need info please

[lorijohnhill]

Hi,
We are going to be in Vallejo July 20-24 and looking for ideas/advice.
We will be going to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (purchased discount season passes a while ago). I haven't been there since it was Marine World and my husband and daughter have never been. So, any tips or tricks would be appreciated.

I was thinking about doing the Jelly Belly factory tour.

Is the Budwiser tour worth the time?

How about the ferry to San Francisco? Is it a fun ride? Would it be worth it with an ECV or are we better off driving in? Where does it drop off?

Any other "must sees" in the area?

We live in Sacramento, but are only familiar with the Vacaville Outlets and the drive into SF. This is not an area we have really toured.

I appreciate any advice or ideas!

 

[bcla]

This is right up my alley. My kid loves the Jelly Belly Factory Tour. However, it used to be a guided tour, but now it's self-guided. That's a fun tour and you can take it now at your own pace. Not sure about the Anheuser-Busch tour.

Vallejo itself isn't so great these days, but I wouldn't worry about Six Flags. If you remember when it was Marine World, do you go all the way back to when they were in Redwood Shores?

I've never taken the ferry to San Francisco from Vallejo. Frankly Vallejo is getting more and more notorious for not being all that safe.

It's kind of a boring bedroom community all the way from Vacaville to Vallejo. Other than those two factory tours and the outlet mall, I'm not sure what else there is. Maybe cherry picking?

http://www.yelp.com/biz/99-cherry-orchards-fairfield?osq=Cherry+Picking

I guess the touristy area would be Napa Valley. I rather like the drive to Yountville.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Hi,
We are going to be in Vallejo July 20-24 and looking for ideas/advice.
We will be going to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (purchased discount season passes a while ago). I haven't been there since it was Marine World and my husband and daughter have never been. So, any tips or tricks would be appreciated.

I was thinking about doing the Jelly Belly factory tour.

Is the Budwiser tour worth the time?

How about the fairy to San Francisco? Is it a fun ride? Would it be worth it with an ECV or are we better off driving in? Where does it drop off?

Any other "must sees" in the area?

We live in Sacramento, but are only familiar with the Vacaville Outlets and the drive into SF. This is not an area we have really toured.

I appreciate any advice or ideas!

Hello neighbor, we live in Sac. I was there when it was called Marine World. You could call the ferry building for the ferry and see if they can accommodate the ECV. Lived her for many years and never took the jelly belly tour. Never took the Beer tour either. But I am looking forward to the fair….

 

[bcla]

https://sanfranciscobayferry.com/sfbf-rider-info

Are the ferries accessible to person with disabilities?
Disabled individuals are welcome on the SF Bay Ferry. All vessels offer a wheelchair accessible restroom and our friendly deck hands are happy to provide infiormation and provide boarding assistance.

I've taken the ferry from/to Alameda. All of San Francisco Bay Ferry's equipment is catamarans. Here's a photo of one of them. The loading pier can get crowded, but what I remember about the ramps was that it wasn't too bad for any kind of accessible vehicle. I wouldn't worry about the crowds. People will move for anyone who needs the space.

 

[lorijohnhill]

Thanks! I'll have to find out more clearly what we want to do in SF to decide if we take the ferry or drive in. Driving in gives us more flexibility there, but the parking can be tricky (last year someone parked right up against our lift, luckily the car in front of us had left so we could pull forward to load the ECV.)

We are staying at the Best Western just north of Six Flags. Is that area relatively safe?

If you remember when it was Marine World, do you go all the way back to when they were in Redwood Shores?

I don't think so. I think it was in Vallejo when we went. It was in the late 80's...

 

[lorijohnhill]

Hello neighbor, we live in Sac. I was there when it was called Marine World. You could call the ferry building for the ferry and see if they can accommodate the ECV. Lived her for many years and never took the jelly belly tour. Never took the Beer tour either. But I am looking forward to the fair….

I don't know why I'm always surprised when I "meet" a neighbor on the Disboards... LOL
My husband and daughter love the fair, I can take it or leave it. They usually go without me.

 

[bcla]

Thanks! I'll have to find out more clearly what we want to do in SF to decide if we take the ferry or drive in. Driving in gives us more flexibility there, but the parking can be tricky (last year someone parked right up against our lift, luckily the car in front of us had left so we could pull forward to load the ECV.)

We are staying at the Best Western just north of Six Flags. Is that area relatively safe?

I don't think so. I think it was in Vallejo when we went. It was in the late 80's...

Vallejo is kind of in the news for all the wrong reasons these days. The city went bankrupt under the pressure of growing pension obligations to police/fire. Certain neighborhoods aren't very safe due to gangs and overall poor police response. I don't think the area around Six Flags is too bad. I wouldn't worry about it. The city doesn't want their cash cow to suffer from the same problems as their poorer neighborhoods.

I mean - I went to the original Marine World/Africa USA back in Redwood Shores. They even had a water slide. Even after they moved in 1986 because the cost of the property taxes went up, the exit sign still said "Marine World Parkway" for years, although now it's just "Marine Parkway". I remember the move. They had a lot of animals to move over, and it wasn't exactly easy transporting a couple of orcas, dolphins, sea lions, etc. Strangely enough, I remember it was a non-profit educational organization even thought it was run as a theme park of sorts. The city financed them for the new location, but they defaulted and the city took up ownership (kind of reminds me of Great America in a way). They hired what eventually became Six Flags to run it and they eventually bought it. I remember back when it was just "Marine World" and they had no amusement rides. The closest thing to a thrill ride they had was a camel or elephant ride. Honestly - I haven't been there in at least 20 years. My wife was talking about maybe getting season passes so our kid has something to do in the summer.

 

[lorijohnhill]

We moved to Elk Grove, from NY, in 1987 so we went after the move, but it was still the educational park. There were no rides there the times we went. It was the animals and butterfly garden and such. My daughter has been seeing the ads on tv and has been begging to go. We are surprising her with this trip and the passes. Any visits after this will just be day trips.

 

[usnuzuloose]

I don't know why I'm always surprised when I "meet" a neighbor on the Disboards... LOL
My husband and daughter love the fair, I can take it or leave it. They usually go without me.

I live closer to the Natomas area. Can't wait to go to the fair.

 

[usnuzuloose]

We moved to Elk Grove, from NY, in 1987 so we went after the move, but it was still the educational park. There were no rides there the times we went. It was the animals and butterfly garden and such. My daughter has been seeing the ads on tv and has been begging to go. We are surprising her with this trip and the passes. Any visits after this will just be day trips.

We lived in Elk Grove

 

[bcla]

Like I said, the last time I was at Marine World there were no amusement park rides. Back then they had a water ski show. The water ski show was one of their highlights.

I looked up, and it looks like they discontinued having a water ski show, brought one back, and finally ended it for good. By now they must have filled in that area for rides.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

Hi,
We are going to be in Vallejo July 20-24 and looking for ideas/advice.
We will be going to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (purchased discount season passes a while ago). I haven't been there since it was Marine World and my husband and daughter have never been. So, any tips or tricks would be appreciated.

I was thinking about doing the Jelly Belly factory tour.

Is the Budwiser tour worth the time?

How about the ferry to San Francisco? Is it a fun ride? Would it be worth it with an ECV or are we better off driving in? Where does it drop off?

Any other "must sees" in the area?

We live in Sacramento, but are only familiar with the Vacaville Outlets and the drive into SF. This is not an area we have really toured.

I appreciate any advice or ideas!

It goes to the Ferry building. If you go on Saturday there will be a farmer's market there.

We just took the ferry from SF to Sausalito today. My kids really enjoy riding the Ferry, so we often go to the Farmer's market on Saturday at the Ferry building then take the 10:40 ferry. If the Vallejo ferry is anything like the Sausalito ferry, an ECV shouldn't be a problem. There are basically 2 large ramps that connect the boat to the dock. There are a large number of bicycles that go on to the ferry as well.

Edit: also consider getting Clipper cards, you get a discount on the fare (at least you do on the Sausalito ferry). Each person has to have their own though.

 

[bcla]

It goes to the Ferry building. If you go on Saturday there will be a farmer's market there.

We just took the ferry from SF to Sausalito today. My kids really enjoy riding the Ferry, so we often go to the Farmer's market on Saturday at the Ferry building then take the 10:40 ferry. If the Vallejo ferry is anything like the Sausalito ferry, an ECV shouldn't be a problem. There are basically 2 large ramps that connect the boat to the dock. There are a large number of bicycles that go on to the ferry as well.

Edit: also consider getting Clipper cards, you get a discount on the fare (at least you do on the Sausalito ferry). Each person has to have their own though.

The Sausalito ferry is run by Golden Gate Ferry, and they operate out of their own landing with ticket machines and their own covered waiting area (with bathroom). All other ferries use gates with locked doors that open when a ferry arrives. San Francisco Bay Ferry has smaller discounts for using Clipper. However, they sell tickets on board, which GGF doesn't do. San Francisco Bay Ferry also doesn't operate any Clipper fare machines. You'll need to find some other way to load value onto a Clipper card.

As far as the bicycles go, that's one of the main reasons why the discount for the Sausalito ferry is so high for using Clipper. Possibly most of their ridership is tourists taking rented bikes back to San Francisco after going across the Golden Gate Bridge. They charge a lot more cash fares compared to using Clipper. They also don't have commuter parking lot in Sausalito. The Larkspur ferry is their big commuter ferry. We took a company group outing fromSan Francisco to Sausalito by rented bike. We took too long (except two of us) and didn't make the ferry. Well - I and a colleague made it. The rest took taxis back to SF. They're waiting after the last ferry of the day, and those taxis have bike racks.

 

[sasywtch]

I live closer to the Natomas area. Can't wait to go to the fair.

I work by channel 6 and the River City Bank building

 

[usnuzuloose]

I work by channel 6 and the River City Bank building

gottcha