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Brit going to California - What is a MUST-DO?


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Hi everyone. I've only ever been to Florida, and all it's theme parks in the USA. We are going to California on 28th May for 2 weeks - and to be honest I didn't realize how many parks were there.

 

So far we've got tickets for:

 

- Disneyland + California Adventure

- Sea World San Diego

- Six Flags Magic Mountain

- Knotts Berry Farm

 

Is there something else I should be looking at maybe booking tickets for? Is California's Great America worth a visit? I've never heard of it to be honest, but Railblazer looks great. I know I could look at a list of California parks, but there's a lot - I want to go to the more notable ones/the most thrilling rides.

 

Just wanting to make sure I don't visit and forget anything!

 

Thanks all.

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If you are only doing Southern California, you have everything covered, unless you’d like to do Universal (if you’re into a bunch of simulator rides or Harry Potter) or touristy stuff in Los Angeles.

 

If you are also considering Northern California (about a 5-6 hour drive roughly from SoCal), of course I would recommend Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, California’s Great America, and Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. So it all depends if you’re doing both NorCal and SoCal, because there is diddly squat in between, and they are pretty far apart.

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If you are only doing Southern California, you have everything covered, unless you’d like to do Universal (if you’re into a bunch of simulator rides or Harry Potter) or touristy stuff in Los Angeles.

 

If you are also considering Northern California (about a 5-6 hour drive roughly from SoCal), of course I would recommend Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, California’s Great America, and Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. So it all depends if you’re doing both NorCal and SoCal, because there is diddly squat in between, and they are pretty far apart.

 

Haha, i'm not used to how big the USA is, didn't come into my mind that it would be a 5-6 hour drive. Not sure if it's worth it for those parks really - that RMC Monorail Coaster looks cool though. Thanks!

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if you're going to be near LA, and you've never been to California before?

 

I'd *absolutely* make a stop at the La Brea Tar Pits for a few hours.

 

https://tarpits.org/

 

yeah, it's bascially a museum, but for those of us that love this kind of "culture" stuff, it's absolutely fascinating and worth a few hours of your time.

 

Excavator%20Tour.jpg

 

 

LBTP_LakePit_T2_L2_Circuit_FINAL_NO_icons_1200.png

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^ I was also going to suggest the Farmer's Market nearby, for eating.

Massive, and tons of choices for eats. They used to do massive beautiful

food displays there, too.

 

I'm curious. If most of your trip is for theme park visits, when you travel to other places, what do you enjoy

doing, when you're a "tourist"? Museums, architecture, other culture interests? Maybe having a non-tourist

day, being at your accomodation, enjoying where you're staying?

 

Just thought I would ask you about other interests, besides the parks.

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That sounds like a great time. California is huge; it's roughly the same size as England. Your plan looks awesome for southern California, but I'd look into the SoCalPass. It gives you 3 day park hopper to Disney, plus Legoland and SeaWorld San Diego. That's about an hour and a half south of L.A., and Legoland is about halfway between Disney and Sea World.

 

When I go abroad, I find the food to be an essential part of the experience. So if you want some essential American food, try Portillo's near Knott's Berry Farm. They specialise in Chicago-style hot dogs and beef sandwiches. Cannot recommend highly enough. I always hit up this chain whenever I'm in Chicago, and I've been to the Buena Park, CA, location. It's excellent.

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....Just wanting to make sure I don't visit and forget anything!...

 

After all of the above suggestions...forget it. You'll need to come back, after this trip's done.

Seconded. I live in the middle of the USA, and I've been all over the country, from coast to coast. It's taken me dozens of trips over many years, and I still have only seen a fraction of it. There's so much to see, and such variety to the landscape and the people, it's impossible to see all of it in one go. You'll want to see Washington D.C. and Florida too, but those are both about 3000 miles from L.A. This is an incredible continent, and it may become an addiction for you.

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And don't forget Canada, please?

 

And in Vancouver BC, we have this kickass wooden coaster?

 

We're not just polite. We post it that way!

 

AND WE'RE ONLY A 19 HOURS' DRIVE, FROM SAN FRANCISCO!

CdnCheeseSoup_186.jpg.8f114aef4676ab087730fb8a11ccb2ae.jpg

Canada loves cheese soup, hockey, beer and BACON! Have a great trip, whatever you decide to do.

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^While that may be true, Canada and SoCal are not exactly close to each other.

 

I personally enjoy Universal, so I'd recommend that. And while we locals often skip the Studio Tour, it really is amazing as a tourist. The sets they show you are genuine, and once you spot them live, you find you see them all over TV and movies once you know what to look for.

 

There's a lot of great places to eat, and that can be part of the experience. Even better if they're already nearby the parks: Knott's is founded on it's Chicken, so be sure to eat at the restaurant. The food at Disney is improving, but overall not much to write home about. If you must eat in the parks, I'd suggest Blue Bayou (if you can afford it and/or manage to get a reservation) or Storyteller's Cafe in the Grand Californian Hotel. Across the street at Gardenwalk (walkable, though long) is Fire & Ice, a fun Mongolian place with unique options. Near SFMM, nothing's walkable, but there's a lot of food options a short drive away: Claim Jumper, Islands, Pei Wei (an alternative to Panda Express), The Habit, Presto Pasta--just off the top of my head. Universal has a lot of great food at Citywalk, but a short drive away is also Don Cuco, a divey but good Mexican place. All depends on your price point and whether you want sit down dining or fast casual.

 

If you manage to get near downtown LA, the newly remodeled Clifton's Cafeteria cannot be missed. Trust me, you have never seen anything like it. Away from theme parks, I would dissuade you from Hollywood--it's a lot more gritty and trashy than you movies would lead you to believe. Skip that, and try Huntington Gardens, Old Town Pasadena, Farmer's Market, or see a show at the Ahmanson or Dorthy Chandler Theater... there's a lot!

 

In terms of mapping, keep in mind distances. Knott's and Disneyland are very close together (not walkable, but a short drive). Using that as a central location, Sea World is in San Deigo, which is about 2 hours south (can be more with traffic). Universal is just over an hour north of Disney/Knott's, and SFMM is another 30 minutes past Universal. Los Angeles is very spread out, and our public transportation is still pretty much a joke, so you really will need to rent and drive your own car. Using Uber/Lyft with these distances will get very, very expensive. If time/distance/money is an issue, I'd skip Sea World for another time, and focus on the big three/four: Disney, Knott's, Universal, and SFMM.

Edited by edgeboy
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^While that may be true, Canada and SoCal are not exactly close to each other.....

 

I know! And it's another 400 miles of I-5 driving, from San Francisco to Los Angeles, too!

 

 

Pardon my joking post, but I DO know they aren't gonna hit Canada on this trip.

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^While that may be true, Canada and SoCal are not exactly close to each other.

 

I personally enjoy Universal, so I'd recommend that. And while we locals often skip the Studio Tour, it really is amazing as a tourist. The sets they show you are genuine, and once you spot them live, you find you see them all over TV and movies once you know what to look for.

 

There's a lot of great places to eat, and that can be part of the experience. Even better if they're already nearby the parks: Knott's is founded on it's Chicken, so be sure to eat at the restaurant. The food at Disney is improving, but overall not much to write home about. If you must eat in the parks, I'd suggest Blue Bayou (if you can afford it and/or manage to get a reservation) or Storyteller's Cafe in the Grand Californian Hotel. Across the street at Gardenwalk (walkable, though long) is Fire & Ice, a fun Mongolian place with unique options. Near SFMM, nothing's walkable, but there's a lot of food options a short drive away: Claim Jumper, Islands, Pei Wei (an alternative to Panda Express), The Habit, Presto Pasta--just off the top of my head. Universal has a lot of great food at Citywalk, but a short drive away is also Don Cuco, a divey but good Mexican place. All depends on your price point and whether you want sit down dining or fast casual.

 

If you manage to get near downtown LA, the newly remodeled Clifton's Cafeteria cannot be missed. Trust me, you have never seen anything like it. Away from theme parks, I would dissuade you from Hollywood--it's a lot more gritty and trashy than you movies would lead you to believe. Skip that, and try Huntington Gardens, Old Town Pasadena, Farmer's Market, or see a show at the Ahmanson or Dorthy Chandler Theater... there's a lot!

 

In terms of mapping, keep in mind distances. Knott's and Disneyland are very close together (not walkable, but a short drive). Using that as a central location, Sea World is in San Deigo, which is about 2 hours south (can be more with traffic). Universal is just over an hour north of Disney/Knott's, and SFMM is another 30 minutes past Universal. Los Angeles is very spread out, and our public transportation is still pretty much a joke, so you really will need to rent and drive your own car. Using Uber/Lyft with these distances will get very, very expensive. If time/distance/money is an issue, I'd skip Sea World for another time, and focus on the big three/four: Disney, Knott's, Universal, and SFMM.

 

 

Thanks for the info everybody, really appreciate it. I will be hiring a car (maybe something cool through Turo) so transport shouldn't be a problem. In Tokyo last month we set off at 5:30am one morning to make it to DisneySea with plenty of time, should be all good!

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If you're a kid at heart at all, I think the Legoland near San Diego is the second best in the whole chain and much better than the UK version.

I for sure second this recommendation. Unless you're for some reason certain you won't be into it, you'd probably have a great time as it's a quality theme park in the truest sense of the term. Even if you're not super into Lego, or the characters/stories/franchises, you have a good chance of coming away impressed!

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If you're coming all the way out here.....you gotta go to the beach. Venice Beach is a sight to see, just stay out of trouble, Huntington Beach is Surf City, USA, but the BEST beaches are in South OC on your way to Sea World. Laguna Beach is an artist's dream.

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There's lots of culture and museums in the San Francisco Bay area (although theme park wise, I would only strongly recommend Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk). However, as others have mentioned, it's a monster drive to get from SoCal to San Francisco. In fact, strictly speaking, Las Vegas is a significantly shorter drive if you want to consider that.

 

Edit: Theme park wise, the only "major" one that you were missing was Universal Studios Hollywood, and if you've already done Florida, there will be a lot of overlap there.

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