want opinions

[jakoky]

hi there, we are in the final countdown to our trip, we leave in 6 days and fly into lax in 7 starting our 10 night stay at the HOJO...we are 2 families of 5..we are doing 5 days at disney, 1 day at knotts soak city, 1 day of shopping, 2 pool and whatever days, which leaves us 1 day for ?????...originally i promised my kids we would do knotts berry farm-my kids are 16, 14, and 12..but i have been reading a lot of not so good reviews about it and am now unsure we are going to do it...i saw something called the OC beach tours and am wondering if anyone has done it...it sounds like a lot of fun and is something kind of different to do...my 16 year old daughter really wants to, but my younger daughter and son dont want to go, they still want knotts...does anyone have any other suggestions or opinions for me...we will not have a vehicle...thanks so much for anything you guys can tell me....
sharon
me, dh, dd-16-, ds- 14-, dd-just turned 12 on the 4th-
WDW-Dec 04-first disney experience for my DH, DD, DS, DD and first time at WDW for us all
DL-MAY 06-first time at DL for DH and kids , and my 9th(but the first 8 were all by the time i was about 13) so it was all new to me
COUNTDOWN IS ON....WE ARE GOING BACK TO DL SEPT 15-25!!!!!-6more sleeps til we leave

 

[downunder]

My DH and I loved Knotts Berry Farm but we went almost 9 years ago I am not sure if it has changed or gone down hill though.

What about Six flags Magic Mountain? Have you been there? I think VIP tours and CHarters do day trips from Anaheim to there.

 

[DLR29]

Try Knotts. As a teenager, I'd go there too. Just don't go there with the thought that it will be Disney. Maybe go to KBF before DLR. It has a few very good roller coasters that thrill seekers would love. Xcelerator is really fun with an intense launch. Ghostrider is an intense woodie, but a little bumpy. Silve Bullet is an inverted coaster that's not intense, but very fun. Their log ride is well themed and one of the earlier ones. They also just added a spinning coaster this year. There's also some intense thrill rides like Riptide (flippy ride), Supreme Scream (drop tower), and Perilous Plunge (Super intense boat ride).

They also have a huge section of the park called Ghost Town where you can shop and stuff. They usually have some kind of ice show. And the chicken dinner at Mrs. Knott's Chicken Restaurant is incredible! Personally, KBF sounds much more exciting than a beach tour.

 

[Albort]

tsk tsk.... dont even hit any of the old school rides

la revolucion (newer ride) though its really fun... you site and it spins you while it launches you up in the air... very very fun ride... i rode that ride like a million tons... its sooo fun... then again, i did operate that ride when i used to work at Knotts.

Montazuma's revenge is a classic... still fun... my old office is actually stationed there we i ride that ride a lot too

 

[DisQueen]

For teenagers, I would suggest Knotts over a beach tour also. Knotts is lots of fun for thrill seeking riders. The negative comments have been primarily for younger visitors. Realize that Knotts isn't DL so you can't expect the same type of park . It's fun for coasters, but you won't find the same detail/theme as a Disney park. If your teens are interested in the beach, a day on the sand and swimming would be fun. We were at the beach yesterday and it was a truly gorgeous day - a little chilly with the breeze, but the kids loved it all.

 

[bearette]

Liek othes said Knotts is not like Disneylad so the themeing isn't as good and there isn't many non thrill rides for the non-roller coaster people. If you have different opinions why don't some of you go to the beach and the rest go to Knotts? That way everyone gets to do what they want to do. I also recommend doing Knotts before DL since anything after Disneyland will pale in comparision.

 

[DizneyMommy]

Just to throw out another random suggestion... Have you considered doing Long Beach harbour? About 30 minutes from the parks, and within a pretty short walking distance of each other, there is the Aquarium of the Pacific, Shoreline Village and and the Pike, short whale watching tours, and lots of restaurants.

The aquarium is very neat, we go there frequently, considering their ages your group would probably by done there within 2-4 hours. The Pike is a big outdoor area with shops, dining, a movie theater, a Gameworks (big scale video games and bowling), a huge ferris wheel and a carousel. Shoreline Village has more shops and dining, and is a neat little village on the water to explore. A good game plan would be hop on a whale watching tour in the morning, have lunch at a nearby restaurant (Chili's, Outback Steakhouse, Boston's, Gladstones, Bubba Gump, more) and then hit the Aquarium for a few hours and round out the day with ice cream from Coldstone's and some games at Gameworks that the family can play together.

You can almost always just walk up and get on a whale watching boat on the weekends with no problem, no reservations required. They don't always run during the week off-season, but a break from the park on the weekends when they are most busy is not a bad idea. Your only trick sounds like transportation...

 

[flyinshirer]

Have you thought about Universal Studios? It's a fun day and there is also City Walk that is right there next to Universal Studios. We took our girls there last year and they liked it. I think they would have enjoyed it more had they been your kids ages. It's not too far from Disney I don't think.

Also, something fun to do is Hollywood and go to the El Capitan Theatre. Get VIP seating and you get nice seats (although all the seats are good there from what I hear. We always do VIP) and it includes popcorn in a souvenir bucket and a soda! It's really cool. Look it up online. It's all Disney and of course they do things amazing. Next door to it is the Disney Soda Fountain. It's a old fashion ice cream shop with Disney shopping. Accross the street is where the Kodak theatre is and also the Chinese Mann theatre with all the footprints and handprints of celeberties. Of course, there are the stars on the sidewalk. They have a 2 or 3 story outside shopping mall.

Good luck on what you choose! There's a ton to do down there!

 

[jakoky]

wow, thanks for all the great replies, i am going to go through all of them again and try and figure out what we are going to do....we did universal studios last year and really enjoyed it, but the kids want to try something different this year...the only thing that had me concerned about knotts was the reviews about how dirty it is, and i have heard comments about possible ride safety which of course makes me nervous( and now thinking this isnt true), but listening to most of you i think it may be what we still choose, my kids really want to go to knotts...my dh and i may not go on all the "scary" rides, but i would be willing to try many of them...thanks again and keep all the ideas coming...we actually have 3 free days while we are there for the pool, shopping and whatever else we decide on top of a day at knotts ( or whatever we decide ) and knotts soak city and of course 5 happy disney days...you guys are great, thx again
sharon
me, dh, dd-16-, ds- 14-, dd-turning 12 5 days ago-
WDW-Dec 04-first disney experience for my DH, DD, DS, DD and first time at WDW for us all
DL-MAY 06-first time at DL for DH and kids , and my 9th(but the first 8 were all by the time i was about 13) so it was all new to me
COUNTDOWN IS ON....WE ARE GOING BACK TO DL SEPT 15-25!!!!!-5more sleeps til we leave

 

[DLR29]

the only thing that had me concerned about knotts was the reviews about how dirty it is, and i have heard comments about possible ride safety which of course makes me nervous( and now thinking this isnt true),

It's about as dirty as any other amusement park. It's not like you're walking on garbage. And in regards to safety, I wouldn't worry. KBF has had 1 death in its many years of operation. It's been open for just as long as DL. DL has had 4 or 5 (at least) deaths in the same period of time. I wouldn't worry about safety.

 

[CoolPool]

I'll say something totally off the wall for this board. With 3 kids those ages, I think you could cut a day or two off Disneyland. I love it (just got back today) but I think 5 days with kids who won't slow you down with nap breaks (etc) like little kids would...you could easily use the extra day for Knotts AND have the other day you are asking about for the beach. With two 5 year olds, I easily covered the parks in 3 days but we make a point of getting there within the first 15 minutes of opening to cover the popular stuff quickly.

 

[Lynne D.]

I agree with CoolPool - I spent 3 days at disney with a 16 yo, 13 yo and a 6 yo and found it enough. It was also 100 degrees and we took a pool break everyday for at least 2 hours and did not staying to closing.

Someone I know took the OC beach tours and loved it! They enjoyed seeing all the beaches that the teen shows are about and enjoyed the beach.

 

[bearette]

I have to second going down to LA and trying the theatre and soda fountain. It is a fun and easy day and then you can go over and shop at the Hollywood and Highland coomplex. As well you can hit the funny museums over there like the wax or ripley's. If you love movies you could also do another movie at grauman's chinese too just to say you have been there. Besides who doesn't want to try to see who's prints yours will fit!

 

[downunder]

I know it is a bit off topic, but i am wanting to go to the disney soda fountain store in holloywood aswell. DOes anyone have any suggestion on how to get to there from LA aiprort?