Visiting all the theme parks? Is is too much to see all? Which ones are the best?

[~ButterflyKisses~]

We are planning a trip to Disneyland in September and since researching it a bit I have found there are lots of other theme parks also in close vicinity.

Disneyland
California Adventure
Knotts Berry Farm
Universal Studios
San Diego Zoo
Seaworld
Lego Land

I am thinking that visiting all these theme parks in the same holiday would be too much at once? This trip will most likely be our only one to America for a very long time. We are from Australia so we don't want to miss out on the good ones.

We will be travelling with adults only no kids so which ones are better for us to see?

We'll go to Disneyland and California Adventure obviously but what others would you recommend. We're also thinking about spending 2 days in LA and do 1 day at Universal studios and then 1 day touring around Hollywood. Is a LA tour worth it?

Then we were thinking of going down to San Diego to see Seaworld and the zoo. Don't think we'll do Legoland as it's more aimed at little kids than adults am I right?

Is Knotts Berry Farm any good? I'm not sure if we'll be up for another theme park after doing Disneyland, California Adventure and then Universal studios? Is Knotts similiar to Disneyland without the disney aspect?

 

[Stacerita]

Of those, I would cut out Legoland, and Knott's. Universal would be the next on the list to go. DL and DCA are a must for me. Sea World and the San Diego Zoo are great, and you should get to them if you can. Universal can take it or leave it. Its fun, but not a must for me. If you are doing two days in LA/Hollywood, take one to do Universal. Don't bother with Legoland if you don't have small kids. And Knott's is not what it used to be.

 

[Sherwin]

Knotts is something you can leave out. It's not a theme park and it's been going downhill since the Knotts family sold the park. It may be better than the average amusement park in America, but it won't be up to par with the others.

How many days do you intend on spending for your whole vacation? If time is constricted to a week or less, then maybe spend 4-5 days in the LA area, doing DLR, Universal, and Hollywood. Then journey on down to San Diego for the remaining days.

You don't need as many days with Universal as it's smaller, but it's still a great park. It's themed, like Disney, so you'll probably be familiar with many of the rides. It's more a cinematic park.

 

[mechurchlady]

Skip Legoland as it is for primarily younger kids.
Skip Knotts as I still remember the Cinco de Mayo fiasco. shutters at the thought.

Magic Mountain has thrill rides and Universal is a good choice also as they have added the Simpsons and Mummy which are fun.

There are excellent tours of the southland if you are into museums, architecture, art, etc. it depends on what you like and there is the shopping at the Garment District. Skip it if you are not interested in shopping or arts and other stuff. Oh, yawn, famous star died here and yawn oh that is a famous person's home. For me I skip those tours but for others like my aunt she would love a tour of Graceland and my other aunt used to take tours. There is lots to do in Los Angeles like that beautiful libary.

SeaWorld is great and I would add the Wild Animal Park while staying in a motel half way between or stay in SD and do the Zoo also. There are tours on Grey Line down to Mexico, also.

 

[DLR29]

Sounds like you need the So. Cal City Pass which allows:
From Mousesavers: http://www.mousesavers.com/socalpasses.html#citypass

2009 Southern California CityPass

The 2009 Southern California CityPass costs $259 for adults, $219 for kids (ages 3-9). This pass bundles admission to Disneyland plus three other major attractions, and is valid for 14 days. First day of use must occur between 10/3/08 and 1/4/10. It includes:

3-Day Disneyland Resort Park Hopper Bonus Ticket (includes one Early Entry to Disneyland)

1-day admission to Universal Hollywood

1-day admission to SeaWorld San Diego

1-day admission to the San Diego Zoo OR San Diego Wild Animal Park

It saves a TON of money if you plan on going to all of them

 

[brocklesnar69]

DL, DCA, and Universal Studio's are all MUSTS. The others are just sorta "eehh" IMO.

 

[SnowWhite09]

Hi Butterflykisses - we are also from Australia and have been planning our trip for a long time although my partner has been many times it will be my first. We will be visiting DL and DCA as well as Universal Studios, San Diego Zoo and Seaworld. We were also thinking of going to Knott's Soak Park (we are going in the summer time). Not that I have been to Knott's Berry Farm but from what I can see on their website etc there are a lot of the bigger roller coaster and thrill rides at Knott's. There is also Magic Mountain if you like the thrill rides but that is not what I like.

We are going to get the Southern California City Pass as DLR29 has suggested because it is a great saving and you can upgrade it DL to add more days at an additional cost of course.

I hope you have a great trip!

 

[~ButterflyKisses~]

Thank you for your replies. My DF won a trip to New York and Las Vegas and we thought being so close to LA we might as well spend another week or so there and see Disneyland aswell!

I'm thinking we'll stay between 7-10 days in the california area. Just trying to work out how much time we'll need at each place. The Southern California city pass sounds great! Will 3 days be enough to see DL & DCA? Or should we add on an extra day. We want to see the fireworks and fantasmic show so will most likely need to be there over a weekend when it is busier. Will we need an extra day if it is more crowded?

So if we do 3 or 4 days at DL, then 2 days in LA does that sound reasonable? Is there much to do and see in Anaheim besides DL & DCA?

We'll have 1 day at Universal studios. Will that be enough? What do you recommend we see & do on our 1 day to LA/Hollywood?

I'm thinking we'll also do 4 days in San Diego. 1 day for Seaworld, 1 day for the zoo, and 2 days to explore San Diego itself. Any recommendations as what else to see & do in San Diego?

 

[~ButterflyKisses~]

Can you also tell me the best way to get from;

Vegas to Anaheim

Anaheim to LA

Anaheim to San Diego

San Diego to Vegas

 

[phisigprincess]

Thank you for your replies. My DF won a trip to New York and Las Vegas and we thought being so close to LA we might as well spend another week or so there and see Disneyland aswell!

I'm thinking we'll stay between 7-10 days in the california area. Just trying to work out how much time we'll need at each place. The Southern California city pass sounds great! Will 3 days be enough to see DL & DCA? Or should we add on an extra day. We want to see the fireworks and fantasmic show so will most likely need to be there over a weekend when it is busier. Will we need an extra day if it is more crowded?

So if we do 3 or 4 days at DL, then 2 days in LA does that sound reasonable? Is there much to do and see in Anaheim besides DL & DCA?

We'll have 1 day at Universal studios. Will that be enough? What do you recommend we see & do on our 1 day to LA/Hollywood?

I'm thinking we'll also do 4 days in San Diego. 1 day for Seaworld, 1 day for the zoo, and 2 days to explore San Diego itself. Any recommendations as what else to see & do in San Diego?

We used the SoCal City Pass last year and LOVED it. We're from the east coast, so we wanted to see as much as we could in a week and found that was the best way to do it.

We flew into San Diego and started with the SD Zoo. The City Pass allowed us to take the bus tour, which was a big help to get the lay of the land. The next day we went to Sea World. It was pretty uncrowded, so we took our time and got the park done with plenty of time to spare.

From there we drove down to Hollywood to Universal Studios. Universal was alright, but definitely a half day park when we were there in May.

That same day we left Universal and drove to Anaheim.

We spent 3 days in DL and DCA and that was perfect. It was very uncrowded (we were there mid week), so we got to ride mostly everything we wanted, plus got to experience some of the Food and Wine Festival events.

If you have any more questions, drop me a PM. It was a fantastic option for the two of us.

 

[perlster]

Knotts is something you can leave out. It's not a theme park

You're entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts.

Knott's Berry Farm is most certainly a theme park - the only question is whether it was the first to open in the U.S.

Nothing in any Disney theme park can match Ghost Town at Knott's because it is real.
Independence Hall is a replica, but again, unsurpassed in what it represents.

To the OP: Check out my photo thread, which has pictures of most of the non-Disney parks you've listed.

 

[MichaelColey]

How much time do you plan to spend in the LA and San Diego area? That'll determine what is too much.

I really consider Disneyland and Disney California Adventure as a single park. I know it's technically two, but they're virtually attached and any multi-day passes include park hopping. Out of all of the parks you mentioned, Disney is hands down the best. You'll be very happy to spend most of your time there. I would recommend a minimum of 3 days and a maximum of 7.

My next choice would be Universal, and 1-3 days would cover that.

Legoland was one of our favorites, but we had our kids (3 and 5) with us. Without the kids, it's still a pretty neat place but probably much lower on the list (unless you're a big fan of Legos). Mini Land (1/20th scale replicas of several major cities, built out of millions of Legos) is impressive. There are a few roller small roller coasters. It's not as crowded. Definitely worth a stop, even without kids. Figure 1-2 days without kids (or more with them).

San Diego Zoo is great. One day is enough, especially if you take the bus tour (included with the CityPass).

SeaWorld is great. One day is fine there, too. Once you get there, pick the times for the shows you want to see and do the rides and other attractions between the shows.

Six Flags Magic Mountain (one you didn't mention) might be good for you. We didn't like it because out of about 30-40 rides and attractions, there were only six things that were appropriate for our kids and weren't water rides and half of those were broken. It's run down. There are some rough characters (gang members?) there. If you like really intense roller coasters, though, you may like it. A day or two would be enough there.

We haven't been to Knotts Berry Farm, but will probably try that out on a future trip.

If you do some portion of this, keep in mind that some of it is in the LA area and some of it is in the San Diego area (about 90 miles south). It's probably best to switch hotels when you do the San Diego items.

I agree with the recommendation of getting the CityPass. It's an incredible deal. Also, if you want more than 3 days in Disney (the number of days that comes with the CityPass), you can upgrade to include more days (or a Season's Pass) for very little. We upgraded to the Deluxe Season's Pass for $90 each.