We are turning my husband's business trip into a little vacation and taking our 14-year-old son to the Los Angeles area for spring break. Although I'm not looking forward to the spring break crowds he wants to make the amusement/theme park rounds. He has requested Universal Studios so we will spend a day there. He's been to Disneyland before, but it's been awhile and he doesn't fully remember it (and my husband and I usually love it--TBD if we feel that way during spring break) so we plan on spending a day there. We are going to the Aquarium of the Pacific. That leaves us probably one full day and another half day for a park. We do not plan on leaving the LA area and we've been to San Diego and Carlsbad several times before so we won't be driving down there. So it seems like we need to choose between Disney's CA Adventure and Knott's Berry Farm. I've asked three friends who are either from LA originally or live there now and the vote was 2-1 in favor of CA Adventure. I've checked out the archives here for this question and the responses are also mixed. I haven't been to Knott's for probably 40 years. So which one do you recommend? FYI, our son will still be 14 and he both looks and acts younger than that. So any recommendations? What do you like and dislike about each? Depending on how the park hopper passes work I suppose it might be possible to spend a 1/2 day at one of the Disney parks. And I assume we will invest in fast passes.
Also, the business part of the trip will be in Marina Del Rey. My son and I will have a day to ourselves while my husband is in meetings. We might visit a relative 90 minutes away, but if we don't do that any recommendations for things to do in the Marina Del Rey area? We are going to the Aquarium when my husband can join us.
Thanks!
We were in California in approximately 2007 and didn't feel "up" for a Disney visit because we go to WDW so much here in FL. We went to Knott's Berry thinking that we might get something different. It was extremely disappointing. Rough, rude crowds, long lines and just not pleasant. We left early.
I'd go with Disney CA.
Knots is a dump now. You can do the whole park in about 3 hours. There is a whole lot to do in ca adventure n if u get bored u can always upgrade n go to dland. Ca adventure will probably be busier than knots but one day at ca adventure costs more than a YEAR at knots so there is a quality thing.
If your son loves thrill rides - big roller coasters with huge drops, upside down loops, etc - then go to Knott's. Otherwise, you'll have more fun at CA Adventure. Knott's doesn't have a ton of fun rides that aren't big roller coasters and it's pretty much the only reason to go there. CA Adventure has a wider range of rides and things to do.
If you know you're doing Disney, you can probably get a better deal on a 2 or 3-day park hopper ticket than you would on a single day one park + separate Knott's tickets. Fast Passes don't cost money, but you can only have one at a time so choose wisely when deciding which rides you want to get them for.
There isn't really a whole lot to do in Marina del Rey itself, unless maybe you did some kind of boating trip. You'd probably have more fun driving 15 minutes up the coast and walking around Venice Beach, or a bit farther than that and hitting up Santa Monica and the 3rd Street Promenade.
If your son is into it, you might want to consider heading towards downtown LA and going to the CA Science Center. It's a free museum and they have one of the space shuttles there now, which is really cool to see. There are lots of other neat exhibits there too. Right next door is the Natural History Museum (not free, but fairly inexpensive) and you could easily do both in one day.
At his age CA adventure for sure!
The Queen Mary in Long Beach is pretty cool too, if you have the time :-)
I have heard that the crowds at Knotts are less than desirable, so I'd go with CA Adventure. (We'll be there in February).
I would also highly suggest the Front of the Line passes at Universal. We went ahead and paid the extra amount for those last spring and it was well worth it so that we could enjoy all the rides with just one day at the park.
Have fun!!
M
I moved away from So. Cali 18 yrs ago but I always prefered Knotts to Disneyland.
Exactly what Jaycee said, Knotts has become a total dump. It is the butt of every joke. It's become a bit dangerous in that it's had gang problems to boot. I've only been to Knotts once when my husband and I were dating and even then I wasn't all that impressed and have not made any effort to go back.
I am biased to Disneyland, we have had annual passes since 2005 as a family and have made numerous trips before that as day or 2 trips.
DCA had a lot to offer. There is also Downtown Disney if you don't get a 2 park pass. They have all sorts of things to offer outside of just shopping.
Fast Passes are 100% free. They do not cost anything to get. Just put your valid ticket in the machine and it will give you a pass with a window of time to return to the attraction. You may still have a little bit of a line but it is not as long as the stand-by line and can sometimes be a walk on depending on the attraction. They really can help make the most of your trip and get you on more attractions while you are there. If you want to watch the big water show "World of Color" at DCA you need to get a fastpass, again totally free, but there is limited viewing areas so they have to limit access with the tickets. There are some places you can view it without the tickets that are first come first serve basis and not a straight on view.
Disneyland is a much larger park, so if time and the budget permits, Disneyland is always a blast.
We went to Knott's Berry Farm twice last summer. We took my daughter and then she won a reading contest and we took her back again. We still had a fun filled day.
Disney is so big, I think you need a couple of days to enjoy it. If you only have 1 day, I feel it is very rushed even with the hopper passes.
Go with Disney over Knott's. California Adventure is SO much nicer - cleaner, better security, more to do.
Disney's Adventure Park is my vote. Clean. Lots to see/do.
Def get the fast passes. We did not get them before our trip. We got them the day we were at the park. We'd see a ride, check the time, get a pass, go ride another ride & come back.
Also, in Marina Del Rey, I would go on a sailboat tour. You can just google Marina Del Rey & it will give you some tour choices for sailing. You could do a 2 hr little tour.
I would google some fun things so your 14 year old is kept intereted.
If you find yourself w/down time, you can always go for some old standby's like bowling, parks, skateboard parks if he skates etc.
