1 Week. LA. Spring 2011.

[KBrylczyk]

Hiya, peoples!

 

Let me get right down to business. I work on a cruise ship and, as such, have limited time on land to go out and have fun. Right now, I am contracted through February 27th, 2011, where I will have a two-month vacation. I sign on to my next ship on May 1st, 2011. In those two months, I am planning a week long trip to LA for myself and a few friends. I've never been to the fabled SoCal and am looking to make the most of it.

 

Right now, the way I see it, there are 5 parks to hit; SFMM, KBF, DL, DCA, and USH. The easiest way would be to fly into LA on a Sunday, hit the parks, one per day, monday through friday, fly home Saturday. Then again, I am unaware of the parks' schedules and have no clue if they'll be open during the week in March or April. I remember someone mentioning that SFMM is only open on weekends in the off season, but I'm not sure when they reopen on the weekdays. Same goes for every other park.

 

As mentioned, I work on a cruise ship and have extremely limited internet access. To get online from the ship I have to pay 10 cents per minute for a connection that is slower than dial-up. Right now I am sitting in Margaritaville mooching their connection and enjoying a quesadilla. The point is, unless I want to spend my vacation budget on internet time planning the vacation, I'm going to need some help.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions in terms of scheduling, what crowds are like that time of year, etc.? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, this is in early development, so things can easily be moved around as per your suggestions.

 

Thanks a bunch, guys!

 

- Kyle

 

P.S. - I know its going to be asked, so here you go. I work for Carnival (yeah, booooo, I know) onboard the Carnival Valor. I'm the stage automation technician, meaning I control all of the scenic drops, the lifts, the massive turntable, etc. Basically, anything on the stage that can kill someone is my responsibility, haha.

[robbalvey]

I'm pretty sure that when you are planning on going, SFMM will NOT be open mid-week, so you'll need to either visit that park on a weekend or give it a miss.

 

--Robb

[The Bebes]

actually, SFMM opens daily march 29, but that is for spring break and crowds will overall be greater. If you can plan your trip for late april, crowds should be pretty thin all around and you shouldnt have any trouble getting through the parks.

[robbalvey]

Sorry, I read that as you were out here the week of Feb 27th. That's what I get for being too busy and skimming posts. To be honest, I think the best thing would be for you to just check the parks website. One of the days when you're in port, just go to one of those cheap internet cafe's with a list of things to look up, and you can probably have all the park hours you need in about 20 minutes.

 

--Robb

Edited November 10, 2010 by robbalvey

[KBrylczyk]

I think the best thing would be for you to just check the parks website. One of the days when you're in port, just go to one of those cheap internet cafe's with a list of things to look up, and you can probably have all the park hours you need in about 20 minutes.

 

--Robb

 

Haha, that's the thing. When I was in Margaritaville earlier (I'm on the ship now), the SFMM website would just redirect me to the Park Info page instead of loading the calendar. It's a glitch, I guess, and I didn't have the time to figure it out. KBF's calendar shows it will be open, as will Universal. The two Disney parks, though, their schedules only go from now thru January, so it looks like I'll be waiting on those to update.

 

Thanks, by the way, The Bebes (Justin Bieber?!), for the info about going late April. That's not a bad idea...sort of a farewell trip before I go onto another 6-month contract.

[Sidra]

SFMM is open February 21st (Monday) but other than that, its all weekends for 2011 until March 27th, then its back to daily with varying hours (Mostly 10:30-6 on weekdays). Good luck planning your trip, if you can avoid the spring break crowds, I've had a lot of luck with going to all those parks in April, even Disneyland on a Saturday (April 4th) last year wasn't insanely crowded.

[ginzo]

Have you considered Legoland? It's a bit out of the way, but very worthwhile.

[KBrylczyk]

Have you considered Legoland? It's a bit out of the way, but very worthwhile.

 

Not really in the time allowance. 5 parks in 5 days, plus 2 days for travel (flying from NJ to LA), we're full up, haha.

 

As for spring break, does anybody in the area know a time frame for when the schools have time off? If it's mid-April, I could do this trip at the end of March when SFMM opens daily again (thanks, Sidra).

[SharkTums]

^LA has a ton of school districts with millions of kids. Basically from Mid March to Mid April there will always be some districts in break. If you look at the SFMM Schedule you can usually tell when the biggest break is based on their operating hours. This year will be a bit wonky due to Easter being super late.

[jray21]

^That is definitely the best way to see when they are guessing the busy days will be. Are flash/front of the line passes in your budget? If so, I would get one for USH and SFMM on the busier days, and on the least busy days head to KBF and the Disney Parks since they don't have them.

[KBrylczyk]

^That is definitely the best way to see when they are guessing the busy days will be. Are flash/front of the line passes in your budget? If so, I would get one for USH and SFMM on the busier days, and on the least busy days head to KBF and the Disney Parks since they don't have them.

 

Nah, flash passes and the like are a thing of hatred for me, namely for the prices they charge. When six flags decides to double your ticket price just to jump a line, I feel that I'd rather wait. The only time I ever use front of the line passes is when I'm as Disney World, where it's still free, or when USF still offered it for free.

 

Thanks, though, for the information about scouting hours. I'll definitely look into it as the time draws closer.

[KBrylczyk]

Alrighty, I've got this vacation booked (with one hell of a deal, I might add). We're going to be in LA from March 9th through the 15th and staying at the Days Inn Suites Anaheim.

 

I figure we'll do Disney on Thursday and Friday, Magic Mountain over the weekend, and Knott's on either the second weekend day or Monday. Universal is out of the plan due to cost ($75 for one day? Really?!), so we have 4 parks in 5 days. Would it be smarter to do Knott's on Monday and do some sightseeing over the weekend?

 

Also, I'd like to mention that Priceline.com is amazing. Flight, hotel, and car for the week was less than $550 per person.

[DBJ]

That is one great deal! Yeah, I think that Knott's is more likely to be a good option for a Monday. The operating hours difference is only 1 hour. Traffic is a consideration as well when going to Knotts on a Monday vs. a Sunday. If your'e interested in sight seeing, I would do that on a Sunday, as the traffic is likely to be lighter on the freeways than say during the rush hours on Monday.

[Sir Clinksalot]

^ Traffic is bad any day of the weekend, Sunday is no less gridlocked than a Saturday. In fact, Sunday's can typically be worse due to everybody coming back from out of town.

 

Your schedule looks good, I would honestly recommend doing SFMM on Sunday rather than Saturday, especially since you won't consider Flash Pass (which you really should consider). Do some sightseeing stuff on Saturday. Just make sure you give yourself about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to get from Anaheim to Six Flags. There shouldn't be too much traffic early on a Saturday/Sunday morning, but you never know. If the park opens at 10:30 I would leave Anaheim no later than 8:30.

[KBrylczyk]

Thanks for the help, guys. I'm not really concerned with traffic getting to Knott's as it is only 3 miles from the hotel. Going from Anaheim to Valencia, though, I figured only an hour, but I'll take the advice and shoot for 8:30.

 

As for flash pass, I've never had a problem with lines at a Six Flags park. I live 15 minutes from Great Adventure and have never waited more than 30 minutes, even for Kingda Ka. Then again, I rarely went on weekends. I guess we'll go to Magic Mountain, get a feel for it and the crowds, then make the decision that day.

[DBJ]

Here's a great website for traffic info.

 

http://www.sigalert.com/Map.asp?Region=Greater+Los+Angeles#lat=33.98417&lon=-118.22335&z=2

 

That will help on the day(s) when you have to hit the freeways.

[KBrylczyk]

Hey guys, checking in at the last minute here. We're flying out tomorrow and I was wondering if anyone had any restaurant suggestions for the area.

 

As stated earlier, we'll be staying right across the street from Disneyland, so restaurants in that general vicinity would be preferred. However, if you think it's incredibly amazingly awesome and all, maybe we can make the trip.

 

What I'm looking for is a unique dining setting. I'm not in the mood for something like Applebee's and whatnot (I can go there whenever I want at home). If there is some gimmicky restaurant (not Rainforest Cafe gimmick, either) that you know of, please let me know. I'm talking the really funky places. Think of the restaurant from Pulp Fiction, haha.

 

Any help would be great. Thanks!

[gforce532]

Well if you are open to fast food. For someone visiting California, In-and-Out Burger is a must. They are pretty much all over the place in southern california, so there should be a couple around disneyland somewhere.

Edited March 13, 2011 by gforce532

[Top Thrill Dragster]

Medieval Times is just down the street from Knotts as is Pirates Dinner and Adventure.

[WFChris]

Shhhh, don't tell anyone, but if you have not had a fried chicken and waffle sandwich at Bruxie, you haven't lived. It's in Orange.

[KBrylczyk]

Shhhh, don't tell anyone, but if you have not had a fried chicken and waffle sandwich at Bruxie, you haven't lived. It's in Orange.

 

Now THAT is a winner! Thanks for the suggestions, guys! In N Out was already a must-do (it'll be dinner after Knott's on Monday, since it's pretty much halfway between the park and hotel). Medieval Times, etc, I've already done in other locations, so no need for those. Thank you, though! The Bruxie suggestion, however, definitely wins. I'll be looking that place up for tomorrow (Sunday) night. Thanks again!

[Perilous Chris]

If you like pizza, you can try John's Incredible Pizza.

 

It's a pizza buffet/small family fun center located at the Buena Park Mall, very close to KBF. They have five themed dining rooms, and a large selection of pizza including spicy peanut butter.