Today's Burning Question - SoCal or Central Florida?

[PikaPika]

If it's summer SoCal, the rest of the year FL hands down.

 

I'm also not a fan of summer in Florida, so if it's summer then I would choose SoCal. SoCal's beaches are more accessible as well, which is good for those theme-park rest days when you need to chill out and veg away from the barrage of stimulation.

 

Otherwise I would choose Florida.

[XYZ]

I'm proud of the parks that I have here in Southern California, though I prefer Central Florida. Heck, I think the entire WDW resort is better than all of the So Cal parks combined.

[cmullin]

Definitely Central Florida, maybe that's just because I've never been there though.

[SingleRiderCam]

If you can look at my top 3 parks in my signature, you know what I would choose.

Edited October 29, 2013 by SingleRiderCam

[azza29]

I'm yet to try Florida, but it seems like a better vacation destination than SoCal. Any trip I take to the US inevitably involves arriving in and departing from LAX, so it's always been easy to grab a couple of days at Disneyland/Knotts/SFMM on the way in or out, but for a two-week vacation I'd definitely choose Florida. Hopefully it'll happen around this time next year!

[adeuce02]

I live in central Florida and have been to SoCal but I would still choose to live here in Central Florida. The only thing SoCal has better is Disneyland IMO.

[RideTheEdge]

My personal preference would be SoCal.

[CoasterExpert13]

Central Florida... I need Busch Gardens, Universal / Islands of Adventure & Sea World!

[jokey]

Central Florida, hands down

[Rollercoaster Rider]

Southern California.

 

LA Seems to have more park diversity than Orlando:

 

LA

Six Flags

Cedar Fair (Knott's)

Universal

Disney (2)

SeaWorld

Lego

 

Orlando

Disney (4)

SeaWorld

Universal (2)

Lego

 

Plus while Orlando Universal has been expanding heavily, West Coast Disneyland has expanded more than Disney World. You can argue that Six Flags and Knott's are not equal with (Insert Orlando Park here) but they offer alternatives like Fun Spot/Fun Spot Orlando/Old Town for people that can't afford Disney.

[larrygator]

Florida - alligators and Waffle House. (Also, generally speaking, the locals tend to be less dick-ish.)

 

AGREED!

[moviemansig]

I would pick Southern California. Knott's is an excellent theme park and might just be my all-time favorite. I've never been to Magic Mountain, but have always wanted to go. From what I've read, it's one of the best in the country.

[dylanreich]

I haven't been to central Florida, but it'd be hard for me to imagine SoCal parks beating Central Florida just by what's on the table. BUT... I'd probably still want to live here in SoCal for the weather, sports, and amazing Mexican food. Oh, and the lack of traffic!

Can someone acknowledge something being better than something else but not have it as their favorite? I don't see my favorite rides changing much after visiting Central Florida (we'll see), so SoCal would be my favorite with more weak spots.

I just love having X2, Tatsu, and Indiana Jones(best ride ever!) all within 45 minutes of me...

[Jhcbiinoc]

For right now, I am going to have to say So Cal, for three reasons: Knott's, Magic Mountain and the fact that I called it home for 20+ years. My top 2 steel coasters-X2 and Tatsu-are both out there, as are a ton of friends and memories. Plus you cannot beat So Cal weather.

 

Now-that being said: in all fairness, I need to make a new trip TO Central Florida before being able to effectively answer this. I have never been to Universal Orlando or Islands Of Adventure, and have not been to Sea World or Busch Gardens Tampa since they added all of the big coasters (Kraken, Manta, Kumba, Montu, Sheikra, and so on.)

[DirkFunk]

Central Florida is much easier for me to transit to/from and will be much more likely to get my money first over Southern California for that reason. Money and time being irrelevant in the equation, I'd spend more time in Southern California because outside of the theme parks it offers far, far more to do. I even like the weather much more.

[Squid]

A bit of a difficult choice for me. I've hit all of the Central Florida parks (except for Legoland) but I haven't been to SoCal. If it was a on-off trip, SoCal because I've never been there, but a regular trip I'll take Orlando every time.

[grinch1313]

Central Florida, no question. I have been to Orlando many, many times, but I'll go in a heartbeat anytime. I was in SoCal once in 2009 and don't really feel the need to go back. Maybe someday, but no rush.

[Xcoaster]

If we're just talking theme parks, then Central Florida. That's the focus of the area, and they do it well.

 

* WDW > Disneyland/DCA - Mostly because of Epcot. Going individually park against park (ie. Mk < Disneyland), I'd rank the California parks higher in my ratings, but overall WDW wins out.

* IOA + USF >> USH - If we were just talking USF versus USH then USH might almost have a chance, but with IOA there's no contest.

* Sea World Orlando > Sea World San Diego - This one is close, since I prefer the atmosphere and location of San Diego, but Orlando has better attractions.

* BGT < KBF + SFMM - This is tough, since BGT is one of my favorite parks, but I'd probably take KBF and SFMM over just BGT. Otherwise, one on one, I'd definitely give the nod to BGT.

* Legoland - I haven't been to Florida's, so I can't really judge. From what I've seen, Florida's looks to have more rides, but CA's might have better atmosphere.

* Florida Small Parks (Fun Spot, etc) > SoCal Small Parks (Belmont Park, Castle Park, Scandia, etc) - I haven't been to the new Fun Spot, but White Lightning looks like it'd tip the small park scale in Florida's favor. Belmont Park and Pacific Park have great locations though.

* Top Three Central Florida Parks (Epcot, BGT, IOA) >> Top Three SoCal Parks (DL, KBF, SFMM) - Even ignoring the parks I don't really care about (Sea World, Legoland, etc), Florida still comes out ahead for me. It might just be because I can go to the CA parks whenever I want, but I'd much rather visit any of my favorite Florida parks instead.

 

I think the two biggest advantages SoCal has over Central Florida are non-theme park sightseeing attractions (unlike with Florida, I think theme parks are a secondary concern for most SoCal tourists) and weather. I think we might also have an advantage with Haunt events, but that's another debate, and I'm not really qualified to judge since I've done none in Florida and only the big events in SoCal.

[Spencer3000]

I dave to say Florida, coz all of their parks are just bigger and better versions of their cousins in California.

[Mrlittle]

Well I've been to SoCal area twice and Central Florida area six times. I think its safe to say I prefer Central Florida. I mean WDW, Universal Resort and BGT are awesome. Then you get to add in Legoland, Seaworld, Fun Spot and other attractions near by. It's like a theme park Heaven.

[Ozcoasterbabe]

Hello,

 

FLORIDA is my answer. Lots of theme parks/coaster rides all within close proximity.

 

Cheers

Dianne (Ozcoasterbabe) from Aussieland.

[Double0Kevin]

I'm going with Florida. I love Disneyland, but it's the only SoCal park(s) that I can't go more than a few months without visiting. I haven't been to Knott's in 4 years, SFMM in almost 5 and Sea World in 4. Only USH has drawn my attention lately (outside of DL).

 

Central Florida on the other hand has Epcot, and that alone wins. But they also have all the great parks of WDW, both USO parks, the best Sea World, and the little guys like Fun Spot. If I lived closer I would be visiting Orlando much more often. If we consider BGT in the Central Florida group then thats even better seeing how Montu, SheiKra and Cheetah Hunt are all in my top 15 coasters.

 

Also, I've never been happier since I left California and it's citizens who as a majority are pretty much d*cks. Florida has some d*cks too, but those tend to be the tourists, not the locals.

[Condor]

I can't fathom how anyone that has been to both could objectively pick SoCal. That said, I am surprised that hardly anyone hasn't!

 

Central Florida has them beat whether you're talking coasters, dark rides, family rides, shows, theming, atmosphere, service, crowds, food, or transportation.

[rcdude]

I've never visited Florida (it is high on my "to do" list), but based on what I know Central Florida seems better for a vacation but SoCal seems better for a place to live, at least when it comes to theme parks. Central Florida has more parks and all of them are of a high quality, but there isn't the variety present in SoCal (Florida lacks a true coaster park and unlike in California, USF is completely artificial). In terms of everything else, there are certainly pros and cons to both locations: SoCal has almost every activity you can imagine and the weather is typically very good, but traffic is terrible and there's a high percentage of not-so-nice people. Florida is probably a better run state and the cost of living may be lower (not sure), but there doesn't seem to be much to do in Central Florida other than tourist attractions.

 

I've lived in SoCal my whole life and while I can't say it is the perfect place it is somewhere I wouldn't mind staying. However, I also wouldn't mind moving somewhere else, although Central Florida wouldn't be my first choice (I'd like somewhere in the North East). However, if I were given unlimited funds to go on a vacation to somewhere in the US, it would probably be Central Florida.

[stickerybush]

I'll say central Florida because it's easier for me to get to because I live here. Don't get me wrong I miss SoCal because I'm from there and I'd like to visit sometime in the future and go to the parks that I went to while growing up.