6 replies to this topic

[Danny Miller]

Hey all,

I'm planning a 6 day, 6 park trip to California that will include both Disney parks, Knotts, SFMM, CGA, and SFDK. As of right now the plan is to fly into Oakland on Monday 5/28 (Memorial Day) and arrive late in the evening. Tuesday would be SFDK (will Flash Pass be needed?). Wednesday we would do Great America (not expecting to need anything special for that). Thursday and Friday would be Magic Mountain (I would likely need and get Flash Pass just to be safe and be sure to get on everything). My big question for SFMM is do they still keep a few coasters closed every day, or is that mainly during off season times? Lastly, Disney would probably on Saturday (as much as I hate to say that), and Sunday would be Knott's. The reason it is not switched for Saturday and Sunday is because we would fly out Sunday evening and I know if we get Fast Lane then we could easily do everything at Knott's in a reasonable amount of time which would allow us to still catch an evening flight out of LAX.

Does this all sound reasonable? What tips do I need since this is the first Cali trip I've taken for coasters? What are some quirks about each park and what rides should I be hitting first at each?

I also plan on blogging about this too once I get back or even while I'm there!

Thanks!

[Ryan Shrout]

The plan sounds solid. I've done SFMM and both Disneys. Given that you're spending two days at SFMM, you shouldn't need a Flash Pass there. Inevitably some rides (coasters) will be closed, even in mid summer. It almost seems as if there are too many to keep them all working at the same time. The also have a few downtime nightmare coasters, namely X2, Superman, and Green Lantern. X2 and Superman will usually open later than the park and always have long lines, so just be aware of that, oh and run to Tatsu first thing as capacity is kinda low on that and the line backs up quickly. Same with Green Lantern.

Doing Disney in a single day is bold, especially on a weekend. Its doable if all you're looking for is coaster credits, but IMO, you miss so much of the park just sprinting from thrill ride to thrill ride. IMO, I would get a Flash Pass and try to get SFMM done in a single day and then have 2 to spend at Disney.

[Danny Miller]

Ok we had thrown around different ideas including swapping the order and doing Disney Tuesday, getting Fast Lane for Knott's and then heading to SFMM on Wednesday afternoon to knock out so rides and then spend ALL day Thursday doing SFMM probably with Flash Pass just to be safe. Obviously if that doesn't work it would be Knott's Wed, SFMM Thursday/Friday, Sat @ CGA and Sun @ SFDK.

As far as Disney, Matterhorn will still be closed AND from what I've read Goofy's Sky School will be closed and Cars Land at DCA will still be under construction, so all things considered there is only Screamin', Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain and Gadget in terms of credits, so I think since we HAVE to leave Sunday, the logical thing to plan for is only one day at Disney as much as I'd like to spend two days there.

[The BeastFan]

While the first half of the trip sounds solid, I for one wouldn't have added CGA and SFDK. Well, maybe SFDK as its a very unique park. However, with the distance between the SFMM/Knotts/Disney portion and the other two, I'd just stick with the better park. There isn't really anything that notable at CGA.

[Danny Miller]

Yea I had debated about adding those two or not, but since I work at Dorney and get into CGA free I might as well go and then SFDK is there and it's only 10 bucks more for a SF Pass and I can do SFA and SFGAdv and maybe SFNE back towards home too so I'm basically adding another 15 or so credits for $10 admission and the drive which I'm willing to do since I won't get back out there anytime soon.

[Ryan Shrout]

Makes sense I guess. Its just that Disney just isn't about the credits. They have roller coasters there, but if that's what you're going for you'll be disappointed. Not to mention its not worth the money for those credits. Disney is about everything else though. The attention to detail and the atmosphere. IMO you can't really soak those in as much when you're in a rush trying to do everything you can in a single day at two parks.

[Danny Miller]

Oh I absolutely agree with you. I guess I worded my previous statement wrong. I'm not just going for the credits because if that were the case we wouldn't be going at all. We are really crunched for time in terms of how many days we have out there, so it makes the most sense to make Disney one day as opposed to SFMM. Plus I figured once Cars Land is open we are going to head out again in a few years so I'm willing to give up a second day there to be able to do all the other parks as well.