SoCal Trip Indecision

[aCoasterStory]

So I'm going to be in the LA area in a few weeks for work and plan to take a couple of days at the tail end of the trip to just have fun, but I cannot for the life of me decide on what I want to do with myself.

 

We'll be getting to LA probably Sunday night the 14th and working Mon-Thurs. I'll have to drive my coworker (from our hotel near Irvine) to the airport either Friday morning at the buttcrack of dawn to catch a ~6AM flight or midday for a later one, but then I'll have the rest of Friday, all day Saturday, all day Sunday, and about half of Monday if I want it. (Alternately, I could cut it short and come back Sunday night.)

 

I've been to LA twice before. The first time in Spring 2012 I did Knotts, Disneyland/DCA, USH, and SFMM. The second time was last year and just Knotts & SFMM.

 

 

 

Option 1--The Cheap Route:

I have a Six Flags Gold Season Pass and a Cedar Fair Platinum Pass, so I could get into Magic Mountain & Knotts for free. Apocalypse and Xcelerator were closed the last time I was in town, so I could stand to get some rides on those. Plus it wouldn't hurt to get a few rides in on Tatsu to try to see if I can figure out why everybody seems to prefer it so much over SFOG's SUF. That being said, I don't HAVE to visit either park on this trip; I'll for sure come back to SFMM at some point in the future to ride TC, and I can live without Knotts (or rush through it and hit all the highlights in a couple hours and be done).

 

Pros: Cheap, Good Coasters

Cons: Nothing really new

 

 

 

Option 2--The Inner Child:

My only trip to Disneyland/DCA was in spring of 2012, which was before Cars Land opened, and Matterhorn Bobsleds were closed for renovations. I also didn't get to ride Toy Story Midway Mania, and I think I only got one ride in on California Screamin'. I was at the parks from 8AM to midnight, but it still felt like I rushed through and missed some stuff, so that plus the new additions would mean I would have some new experiences for sure. That being said, even a 1-day parkhopper is $150 plus parking, so it certainly wouldn't be cheap.

 

Pros: New Rides

Cons: Cost, Rides are more mild, Being a single guy at Disney is always kind of weird

 

 

 

Option 3--The One With All the Animals:

I've been to Sea World Orlando, but Sea World San Diego's Manta coaster looks intriguing for sure. SWSD doesn't have really any other rides that interest me, but I do generally enjoy animal exhibits, and Sea World's shows tend to be pretty cool. I have a BGT annual pass, so admission for me would be half price. I could also hit up the San Diego Zoo (and Safari Park?). Not sure if it'd be worthwhile to visit Belmont Park since I was just at SCBB a few months ago and from what I understand, their Giant Dippers are supposed to be very similar.

 

Pros: Lots of cool animals (and options for animal encounters)

Cons: Cost (the animal encounters can add up quick), Not much in the way of thrills

 

 

 

Option 4--Outside the Box:

Maybe it's time I did something other than theme parks (gasp!). Are there other things in SoCal I should consider doing? I do enjoy visiting cool and/or historically significant sites for sure (as an example, earlier this year I visited the Golden Gate Bridge and the Hoover Dam), but I'm not really *that* into a lot of the "Hollywood" stuff.

 

Pros: Learn/see something new

Cons: No coasters

 

 

 

Option 5--All (or more realistically some) of the Above:

Should I try for some combination of the above? Take bits and pieces from each? They do have that Southern California CityPASS, though I wouldn't really want to re-visit USH (not my favorite park by any means).

 

Pros: May be the best of several worlds

Cons: Could get pricey, May require lots of driving, May still miss a bunch of stuff

 

 

 

I'm functionally looking at Friday Dec 19th (the morning may or may not be in play, depending on my coworker's flight) through Monday Dec 22nd (up till around lunchtime or so, depending on my flight).

 

In case you can't tell, I have no idea what to do at this point. I am open to any suggestions you all may have.

 

Thanks!

[dippindotsguy8]

I would do Disney on the weekend, and take a couple hours at Knott's on Monday morning. Cars land is amazing, and you should definitely hit Xcelerator at Knott's even if that's all you have time for (since you have a platinum pass).

 

If you're gonna come back for Twisted Colossus, don't bother with SFMM. If you do end up going to SWSD, I think it's worth hitting Belmont Park. The two coasters are different enough to justify riding, and the park is really close by.

[OrlandoGuy]

Im gonna go ahead and advise you to rule out Disneyland. 1 day isn't enough to fully appreciate the experience, which it sounds like you're considering. Even more important is that the 20th is considered "peak season"...Im assuming the 19th will also be very crowded there. Save your Disney trip for when you have more time or will be there at a slower period.

 

My choice would be your "outside the box" option. It sounds like you'll be at Magic Mountain within the next year anyway, so take this time to explore the area and do something different. Irvine is a great area and there are several smaller attractions nearby that can occupy you for a weekend. California has too much variety to limit all your trips there to only roller coasters...just my two cents. Whatever you choose to do, have fun!

[StuckInSD]

Good timing. Some kids will still be in school when you go.

 

Well, here's my opinion on your ideas (which by the way, good ideas):

 

Option 1- Out of all the parks, it seems like you've been to these two most often. Which isn't a bad thing; both arguably have the best coaster selections in SoCal. So if thrills are your big thing, I'd totally choose this option. Plus, you'll save money, and SoCal ain't cheap. But, if you're going to come back later anyways, then I think you can afford to skip this option in favor of something new.

 

Option 2- Gotta agree on the single guy part, but at least that means you can use single-rider lines! It's nearly impossible to hit up every ride in one day (especially during holiday season), so don't plan on going with that agenda. Toy Story Mania is great, Cars Land is cool (be prepared for the worst lines ever for Racers, though), and Matterhorn is... well, it looks nicer than it did before. You'll probably have to spend 1 day at each park to get a decent experience, especially since you're going on a weekend, and it won't be cheap. If you really want to get serious about going, I'd check out the thread pertaining to the parks. Otherwise, don't even bother; there's always another time.

 

Option 3- Lemme clear things up: Giant Dipper at SCBB and Giant Dipper at Belmont, despite both being designed by the same guy, have different layouts. SCBB's is like a "West Coast" Cyclone, with a more traditional layout. Belmont's is more compacted and (imo) more twisty, but shorter. So, there's that. Now, Manta is a great ride, and Atlantis is pretty good too, but I also find Wild Arctic and Shipwreck Rapids to be decent as well. If not for the thrill of it, at least for the theming. I'd treat SeaWorld like a smaller, Elmo-fied Disneyland, with lighter crowds and shorter hours. Speaking of which, all zoos/animal parks down here close earlier during the winter months, so if you want to go, you'd have to get down to SD early. The SD Zoo is more like a traditional zoo... with a ridiculous budget to make all the exhibits look awesome. Safari Park sorta mixes things up, and gives you plenty of "safaris" to choose from, which include an extensive rope course, zip lines, safari vehicles that go into the large, open exhibits, and cheetah encounters. They also got a new tiger exhibit worth checking out, too. But be warned: you'll have to walk. A lot. Uphill.

 

Option 4- As OrlandoGuy said, California literally has too much variety to just limit yourself to coasters. But if coasters are a must, you could go "credit whoring" all over LA and Orange County. There's lots of little parks all over (Scandia, Castle Park, Pacific Park, etc.) that have a credit or two you could check off your list. There's tons of museums and historical sites all over (especially at Balboa Park and Miracle Mile), and waaay too many malls, restaurants, theaters and public parks you can go and check out. This is a solid option if all the others don't work out.

 

Option 5- Pick your poison. Everywhere is going to be holiday'd out, and each place offers its own twist. It all depends on how much cash you're willing to shell out at whichever parks you end up going to.

 

Whatever you end up doing, I hope you have a great time on your trip!

[rcdude]

It's difficult to tell you what you should do, so I'm going to give you some advice that will hopefully help to build your plan.

 

First off, Disneyland. Before considering Disneyland, answer the following questions:

 

1. Are you prepared to visit with the expectation that you'll likely only be able to do a small number of attractions (likely 10-15) in a day?

2. Are you unlikely to get another chance to visit within the next three years?

3. Are there more than 1 or 2 must ride attractions that you have not done at the park (or at WDW if clones exist)?

4. Are you willing to only do one park or visit multiple days?

5. Is Cars Land worth $100 to you?

 

The reason I ask is because that weekend will be the kickoff of winter break and Disneyland will be insanely packed (think sell-out potential). Therefore, if the answer to any of the above is no, I would immediately rule out Disneyland. If you do want to include Disneyland, either buy a one day, one park ticket and pick one of the two parks to visit on either Saturday or Sunday (it probably won't make much difference which you choose), or buy a three day ticket (I wouldn't pay for hopping, but it's your choice) and spend any time on Friday as well as all day Saturday and Sunday at the resort. Even though you've visited before, I would recommend against a one day park hopper at this time of year as if the park does fill to capacity you may be stuck outside if attempting to hop.

 

Now for Knott's and SFMM. Knott's is going to be very busy at that time as well, so if you want to visit I'd use whatever time you have on Friday for it. If all you care about is Xcelerator you could stop by on Monday before heading to the airport but it's unlikely you'll get more than a couple rides in before you have to leave. SFMM hasn't been as strongly affected by crowds before, but Holiday in the Park may change that this year. If you want to go, go Sunday and be prepared for some lines. If Apocalypse and Tatsu are your main goals, do those first and then work around the park clockwise.

 

Next up is San Diego. There's easily enough stuff in the San Diego area to fill a weekend. You could spend one day at the San Diego Zoo and other Balboa Park attractions (there's a lot of museums around there) and another at SeaWorld and Belmont Park. You could also spend part of a day just exploring the city if that's your thing. Personally, I would advise against the Safari Park as it's out of the way and it has become difficult to see the whole park without purchasing one of their upcharge safaris (the current tram only covers about half of what the old monorail did). If you only wanted to spend one day in San Diego, you could theoretically do the Zoo, SeaWorld, and Belmont Park in one day, though it would require only spending 3-4 hours each at the Zoo and SeaWorld (San Diego Zoo opening (usually 9 A.M.) to 1 P.M., grab a quick lunch, SeaWorld until closing (probably 6 P.M.), evening at Belmont Park). The decision is up to you, but personally SeaWorld is not worth admission just for Manta (though it's worth it if you'll be doing other rides or seeing shows and exhibits) and I wouldn't skip Belmont Park if you visit SeaWorld as it's only 5 minutes away and Giant Dipper is somewhat similar to but still significantly different from the Santa Cruz version.

 

Lastly, sightseeing. If you don't like Hollywood stuff and have an itch to ride roller coasters it may be difficult to spend your whole trip doing this (depending on what does interest you), but there's definitely plenty of interesting stuff in the area for you to go see. For example, if you're looking for museums you've got the Getty Center, California Science Center, and La Brea Tar Pits in the area (among others) and if you want something historical you could always visit one of the California Missions or check the National Register of Historic Places. I'd recommend a search on trip advisor to find stuff that may be of interest to you.

 

Given the above, I'd recommend you either go for an all Disney trip (Disneyland Resort Friday/Saturday/Sunday with possible Knott's or sightseeing on Monday) or mix it up and throw in a variety of stuff. If I were you, I'd probably do sightseeing Friday (or possibly swing by Knott's), San Diego Saturday (either the Zoo or SeaWorld + Belmont Park), SFMM Sunday, and maybe a little more sightseeing on Monday, but the choice is really up to you. Hopefully this will help and you'll have a great trip.

[Xcoaster]

Since you've done Knott's, Six Flags, and Disney all fairly recently (and at least two of those will be pretty busy), I'd suggest going to San Diego if you've never been. Everything is pretty close together (except LEGOLAND and the Safari Park; they're about 45 minutes from downtown) and not as crowded, and you can easily squeeze in some culture/sightseeing on top. I'd suggest one day of the Zoo and Balboa Park (the zoo is basically inside Balboa Park) and another day of Sea World and Belmont Park (again, very close together). On top of that you could probably manage some time in Old Town, Gaslamp, Coronado, or Mission Beach/Pacific Beach, even if just for dinner. There's also the ship museums near downtown and there are a few missions nearby.

[gisco]

Since you've done Knott's, Six Flags, and Disney all fairly recently (and at least two of those will be pretty busy), I'd suggest going to San Diego if you've never been. Everything is pretty close together (except LEGOLAND and the Safari Park; they're about 45 minutes from downtown) and not as crowded, and you can easily squeeze in some culture/sightseeing on top. I'd suggest one day of the Zoo and Balboa Park (the zoo is basically inside Balboa Park) and another day of Sea World and Belmont Park (again, very close together). On top of that you could probably manage some time in Old Town, Gaslamp, Coronado, or Mission Beach/Pacific Beach, even if just for dinner. There's also the ship museums near downtown and there are a few missions nearby.

 

This would be my choice too. Not the big coaster thrill trip but lots to do.

[MisterP]

I'm running into a similar dilemma, although I think I have it figured out.

 

We're driving next summer out to San Diego, with Legoland as the main attraction (yes, my wife and son are Lego freaks). But also because we are meeting in-laws out there. And hitting sights along the way, Griswold-style.

 

I am the lone adult male, so I have managed to work in some baseball excursions, and am looking to do a solo roller coaster trip. Originally it was between Magic Mountain & Knott's (I've been to DLR & USH before), but I want to see Angels Stadium, so I will probably be taking a solo side-trip up to OC to catch an Angels' game, followed by a full day at KBF. I love dark rides almost as much as coasters, so it makes a ton of sense to go that route.

 

But I still have to come back to hit the coasters at MM...

[WFChris]

If you go down to San Diego, there are also 3 credits in Tijuana. They aren't anything special, but you would be going to another country and...well...getting 3 credits Let me know if you need info on how to accomplish this.

[Wingwright]

- Avoid Hollywood - It's nasty. I imagine most tourists are disappointed when they visit.

- Both San Diego Zoos are fantastic and worth every penny.

- Eat lots of tacos/burritos.

[StuckInSD]

- Avoid Hollywood - It's nasty. I imagine most tourists are disappointed when they visit.

- Both San Diego Zoos are fantastic and worth every penny.

- Eat lots of tacos/burritos.

 

If you manage to catch yourself in those last two, make sure you get a California burrito. Totally worth it.

[Xcoaster]

Yes, on the whole, San Diego has the best Mexican food in Southern California (probably Northern too, by my experience is limited). Personally I prefer the regular Carne Asada burrito (Carne Asada, Pico de Gallo, Guacamole) to the California Burrito (Carne Asada burrito + fries, sour cream, cheese) but you really can't go wrong with any cheap little hole-in-the-wall Mexican place down there.

[WFChris]

^Or you can get some REAL Mexican food (aka not burritos!)

 

Mole, chile verde, tacos, pozole. . . . .

 

Call me weird, but I've never been impressed with San Diego Mexican food. I think it's wonderful here in LA if you know where to find it, and its also all kinds of awesome in Tijuana, but San Diego has always been kind of meh for me. It may very well be because they call taquitos 'rolled tacos.' Yeah, that's probably it.

 

Ok I just made myself hungry

[larrygator]

It may very well be because they call taquitos 'rolled tacos.' Yeah, that's probably it.

 

So I should feel good when I reheat the frozen ones from the supermarket if they are called taquitos

 

I remember on the one trip to Belmont Park the best thing was the taco place right next to the park.

[WFChris]

On Alaskan Airlines they give you one taquito on international flights to Mexico I know this does not answer your question, but yes.

[aCoasterStory]

So,

 

Much thanks to everyone who offered their suggestions and advice. (And a warning that this is a fairly longwinded post)

 

After thinking about it, I'm fairly confident I want to focus mostly on San Diego (sorry, no Tijuana), but I do still want to find a way to get some good coastering in. At one point, I was thinking of trying to find a way to swing up to Magic Mountain on the Sunday, but I just don't think that's feasible. 150+miles of LA traffic (and that's just 1-way!) doesn't seem like fun.

 

So, that being said, I do think I might like to try to swing up to Knott's Sunday evening so I'll be back up nearer to SNA for my flight Monday.

 

 

Friday morning, I'll probably have to drop my coworker off at the airport around 6AMish, so following that I'd probably start heading down towards San Diego. Since that's only about a 90-ish minute drive and Sea World doesn't open till 11:00, I'll be looking for something interesting to spend my morning doing. Are there any cool attractions/stops/photo ops/etc. on the way down to San Diego? Any popular/cool/unique/awesome breakfast joints to check out? I'm open to other suggestions as well.

 

 

So Sea World San Diego will be Friday 11-6. Being the coaster junkie, my first priority will be as many rides on Manta as possible. I wasn't the biggest fan of Wild Arctic at SWO (don't generally love motion simulators), and I don't know that I'd really want to get soaked on Journey to Atlantis, so I'm thinking most of the rest of my day will be spent looking at animals & seeing shows. I'm considering either the Animal Spotlight Tour or the Penguins Up-Close Tour. I might could have been convinced to spring for both, but their times make them mutually exclusive. Thoughts?

 

Assuming they keep their show schedule roughly the same, I figure I'll end my day with Clyde & Seamore's Christmas Special and then Shamu Christmas Miracles.

 

After that, I could head over to Belmont Park. I don't know that they really have anything that interests me beyond the Giant Dipper (not really a fan of spinning rides), but I'll go check it out since they're open till 10PM. Anything I don't know about that I should make sure to check out while I'm there? It doesn't really look like there's much there. I'm also open to dinner recommendations.

 

 

 

Right now, I'm thinking of spending all day Saturday at the San Diego Zoo (open 9-8). It looks to me that there's enough walking around that I could probably fill most if not all of a day just trying to go around and see everything (and I'm the sort of guy that likes to see all the exhibits and things). I'm also toying with the idea of doing the Early Morning with Pandas tour. Not sure if anything else is really jumping out at me.

 

 

I could theoretically swap Friday and Saturday's itineraries, but while that would give me something to do Friday morning, I would imagine Sea World would be more unpleasant on Saturday than the zoo, no?

 

 

Sunday, I'm thinking of hitting up the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. It looks interesting, but it also looks like upcharge attraction after upcharge attraction. For anyone who has been there/done them, what's worth it? And what's worth skipping? I don't necessarily feel like I'd have to do everything because I'm a Busch Gardens Tampa passholder and get to see their safari animal attractions (and I'll probably be back down at BGT again before the end of the year), but I'm sure there are new/different/interesting things that the SDZFP has beyond BGT, right?

 

Right now I'm looking at the Caravan Adventure (or Deluxe Adventure) Safaris, but I have by no means made up my mind and am still looking for suggestions. As cool as the Flightline Safari looks, I don't know that it'd be worth $75. If I did a Behind-the-Scenes Safari, I think I'd do the Tiger & Friends one, but I don't know that I'd want to spend my entire day on upcharge safaris and not get to see/experience all the stuff that's included in the base ticket price.

 

Since they're open 9-5, I think I'd be there open to close, and then at 5ish, I could head out and drive towards Knotts. That looks to be about a ~90min drive, so I figure the earliest I'd likely get into Knotts would be 7ish. Here's where I have a big decision to make. The last time I visited Knotts, I did not have a chicken dinner. If I decide to go that route, I'd probably lose a full hour or so of coastering time. The park is open till 10, but Mrs. Knotts is only open till 9.

 

My priority of rides is roughly Xcelerator, Montezooma's Revenge, Calico Mine Ride, Silver Bullet, then whatever of Pony Express/Coast Rider/Log Ride my time/mood permit. (Would probably want to get an early ride in on XCelerator and then close out the night on it to maximize my ride opportunities.)

 

 

Then Monday morning, I'd want to find somewhere for a really nice, big breakfast (preferably something I wouldn't be able to find back home) before heading to the airport (Orange County/John Wayne, not LAX), so if anyone has any good suggestions for that, I'd be grateful.

 

 

 

If I do the above, I think this would end up being one of my slower-paced trips I've ever done (for comparison, on my first LA trip, I flew in on Wednesday, did Knotts, Disneyland/DCA, USH, SFMM, and went to a NASCAR race before flying back home on Sunday; I also had a stretch last summer where in an 11-day span, I drove from Atlanta to Orlando, did Fun Spot Orlando, all 4 Disney parks, both Disney waterparks, USO/IOA, Wet'n'Wild, SWO, Aquatica, drove to Tampa for BGT & back, spent 2.5 days at an industry tradeshow, drove back from Orlando to Atlanta, and also read all 7 Harry Potter books cover-to-cover). It looks like it'd be a lot of walking and a lot of animals, but I wonder if I'm over-budgeting time at some of these places and taking it too slow. Would I be better off trying to do like rcdude suggested and squeeze the zoo into Friday morning, SWSD in the afternoon, and Belmont that night? That would free up an entire day in my schedule, either to see some of the historic stuff in San Diego or try to squeeze in Sunday at SFMM. It'd also mean skipping some of the add-on encounters and saving some money, but at the expense of potentially awesome experiences.

 

 

If I'm honest, though, my biggest worry is that I'm going to end up spending an arm and a leg on this thing. My BGT annual pass will get me into SWSD half off, but that's still $43. The Zoo/Safari Park combo ticket is another $86, plus $12 parking at the Safari park. Belmont is $6/ride or ~$30 for an unlimited pass. Knotts and SFMM would be free parking & admission with my season passes. So that's $171 before gas, hotels, food, or any of the add-ons.

 

The Sea World add-ons I'm considering are either $45 or $50. The Zoo Panda add-on would be $89. The Safari Park Caravan add-ons are $105 or $155, and the Tiger one is another $80. If I did all of that, I'm potentially up to over $500 in just park admissions and animal encounter add-ons. That's crazy to me. But my FOMO is making it hard to try to trim that back.

 

 

 

I'm usually very decisive with my trip planning, but this one has been hard for me to weigh all the pros and cons of all my different options. I just don't think I've hit the optimal point of cool experiences for the right price without missing out on essentials, and I need help to finish figuring this all out.

 

Thanks again for all the help & suggestions!

[WFChris]

When you're commuting from the Safari Park to Knotts, it would be very possible to hit up the credit at Scandia in Riverside. Other than that, your plan seems pretty solid...as long as you're really into animals!

[coasterlvr]

i don't think the traffic will be that bad on sunday. saturday's suck. but if you get out early enough, i think you'll be fine.

 

knott's chicken dinner...i refreshed my memory that it about the same to me as a hometown buffet. if you do knott's and don't have time, i wouldn't sweat it.

 

just my 2 cents.

[rcdude]

Okay, let's break this down...

 

After thinking about it, I'm fairly confident I want to focus mostly on San Diego (sorry, no Tijuana), but I do still want to find a way to get some good coastering in. At one point, I was thinking of trying to find a way to swing up to Magic Mountain on the Sunday, but I just don't think that's feasible. 150+miles of LA traffic (and that's just 1-way!) doesn't seem like fun.

 

Sunday isn't usually a bad day for traffic, but you are still looking at a 2.5 to 3 hour drive. If you're going to be relocating near Knott's anyway and you want to ride some thrill coasters it would be a good option, but otherwise it's not worth the drive.

 

Friday morning, I'll probably have to drop my coworker off at the airport around 6AMish, so following that I'd probably start heading down towards San Diego. Since that's only about a 90-ish minute drive and Sea World doesn't open till 11:00, I'll be looking for something interesting to spend my morning doing. Are there any cool attractions/stops/photo ops/etc. on the way down to San Diego? Any popular/cool/unique/awesome breakfast joints to check out? I'm open to other suggestions as well.

 

If you want to kill time and have a scenic drive, head to the coast and take State Route 1 (commonly called Pacific Coast Highway) down through Laguna Beach and to Dana Point before getting on I-5. It will only add about 30 minutes to your drive. Alternatively, you could find another route to San Diego. Not sure of any specific restaurants so it might be worth doing a yelp search for the areas you're passing through.

 

So Sea World San Diego will be Friday 11-6. Being the coaster junkie, my first priority will be as many rides on Manta as possible. I wasn't the biggest fan of Wild Arctic at SWO (don't generally love motion simulators), and I don't know that I'd really want to get soaked on Journey to Atlantis, so I'm thinking most of the rest of my day will be spent looking at animals & seeing shows. I'm considering either the Animal Spotlight Tour or the Penguins Up-Close Tour. I might could have been convinced to spring for both, but their times make them mutually exclusive. Thoughts?

 

Manta has a pretty good capacity so getting several rides shouldn't be an issue. If you've done Wild Arctic in Florida you can skip it here, but I wouldn't skip Journey to Atlantis. It's not that wet if you don't sit in the front row (you could always find a WalMart and grab a cheap poncho before visiting as well). Don't forget to ride the Bayside Skyride and the Skytower for some good views of San Diego and the surrounding area. I can't comment on the tours as I've never done them, but if you haven't done similar tours in Florida and you're into that type of thing it might be worth it.

 

After that, I could head over to Belmont Park. I don't know that they really have anything that interests me beyond the Giant Dipper (not really a fan of spinning rides), but I'll go check it out since they're open till 10PM. Anything I don't know about that I should make sure to check out while I'm there? It doesn't really look like there's much there. I'm also open to dinner recommendations.

 

Other than Giant Dipper, Belmont Park just has a few spinner rides. There's not a whole lot to do there other than rides, the beach, or hanging out at a bar. If you're only going to ride the coaster you won't need much time here.

 

Right now, I'm thinking of spending all day Saturday at the San Diego Zoo (open 9-8). It looks to me that there's enough walking around that I could probably fill most if not all of a day just trying to go around and see everything (and I'm the sort of guy that likes to see all the exhibits and things). I'm also toying with the idea of doing the Early Morning with Pandas tour. Not sure if anything else is really jumping out at me.

 

The zoo can take anywhere from about three hours to a full day to see everything depending on how fast you go. For my speed of travel (moderate to fast) it usually takes about five hours to see everything. The zoo is pretty big but not enormous. The entire place is hilly, so I find it is best to work your way downward into the canyon (the Pandas are at the bottom), then take one of the moving walkways to the top and repeat. If you want to cross the park, use the Skyfari...I'm pretty sure it's now included in park admission. If you have free time after visiting the Zoo, I'd recommend checking out some of the other attractions in Balboa Park or sightseeing in the San Diego area.

 

I could theoretically swap Friday and Saturday's itineraries, but while that would give me something to do Friday morning, I would imagine Sea World would be more unpleasant on Saturday than the zoo, no?

 

Correct. The zoo may be busy on Saturday but there aren't many attractions that involve lines.

 

Sunday, I'm thinking of hitting up the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. It looks interesting, but it also looks like upcharge attraction after upcharge attraction. For anyone who has been there/done them, what's worth it? And what's worth skipping? I don't necessarily feel like I'd have to do everything because I'm a Busch Gardens Tampa passholder and get to see their safari animal attractions (and I'll probably be back down at BGT again before the end of the year), but I'm sure there are new/different/interesting things that the SDZFP has beyond BGT, right?

 

Right now I'm looking at the Caravan Adventure (or Deluxe Adventure) Safaris, but I have by no means made up my mind and am still looking for suggestions. As cool as the Flightline Safari looks, I don't know that it'd be worth $75. If I did a Behind-the-Scenes Safari, I think I'd do the Tiger & Friends one, but I don't know that I'd want to spend my entire day on upcharge safaris and not get to see/experience all the stuff that's included in the base ticket price.

 

Since they're open 9-5, I think I'd be there open to close, and then at 5ish, I could head out and drive towards Knotts. That looks to be about a ~90min drive, so I figure the earliest I'd likely get into Knotts would be 7ish. Here's where I have a big decision to make. The last time I visited Knotts, I did not have a chicken dinner. If I decide to go that route, I'd probably lose a full hour or so of coastering time. The park is open till 10, but Mrs. Knotts is only open till 9.

 

My priority of rides is roughly Xcelerator, Montezooma's Revenge, Calico Mine Ride, Silver Bullet, then whatever of Pony Express/Coast Rider/Log Ride my time/mood permit. (Would probably want to get an early ride in on XCelerator and then close out the night on it to maximize my ride opportunities.)

 

To be honest, if you regularly visit Busch Gardens Tampa and you'll be visiting the San Diego Zoo I'd probably skip the Safari Park. While I haven't visited BGT myself, it seems to be more like a safari and less like a zoo but without an excessive amount of upcharges. The animals you'll see at the Safari park are the same as what they've got at the zoo. If you do decide to go, you'll need to purchase at least one of the upcharges to see the entire park, as the whole Asian section is only visible from a distance on walkways. If you don't purchase an upcharge safari, there's not a whole lot to do here...just the tram tour (which is pretty mediocre in my opinion), some exhibits, and one or two shows. You could probably see the whole general admission area (excluding the shows) in about three hours (personally, I don't think I've ever spent more than about six hours here).

 

As far as Knott's goes, I'd either devote the full day to the park or just skip it completely. Knott's will be very busy that weekend, so expect lines of 60 minutes for headliners. Leave San Diego by 8 A.M. to ensure you make it to the park by opening. Once at the park, start at the Boardwalk and then go around the park in a logical manner (given your priority list, I'd probably go clockwise). Note that if you arrive at 7 P.M. on Sunday evening, it is likely that you will not be able to complete all rides in your priority list before closing. Also note that the Chicken Dinner Restaurant will take at least two hours (possibly more depending on the wait), so doing that and the park after would not be an option (IMO the chicken is good but not great...it's worth dining there once but not something worth stressing over if you miss it).

 

If I do the above, I think this would end up being one of my slower-paced trips I've ever done. It looks like it'd be a lot of walking and a lot of animals, but I wonder if I'm over-budgeting time at some of these places and taking it too slow. Would I be better off trying to do like rcdude suggested and squeeze the zoo into Friday morning, SWSD in the afternoon, and Belmont that night? That would free up an entire day in my schedule, either to see some of the historic stuff in San Diego or try to squeeze in Sunday at SFMM. It'd also mean skipping some of the add-on encounters and saving some money, but at the expense of potentially awesome experiences.

 

What I suggested I would only recommend for a one day San Diego trip. If you have two days, I'd absolutely recommend SeaWorld & Belmont Park on Friday and the San Diego Zoo & San Diego sightseeing on Saturday. I highly doubt you'll need 11 hours at the zoo...animals are cool but just looking at them, especially when you've seen them before or see them frequently does get boring after a few hours. Like I said above, if you're visiting the zoo and you would like to ride some thrill coasters on your trip I would absolutely pick either SFMM or Knott's on Sunday instead of the Safari Park.

 

If I'm honest, though, my biggest worry is that I'm going to end up spending an arm and a leg on this thing. My BGT annual pass will get me into SWSD half off, but that's still $43. The Zoo/Safari Park combo ticket is another $86, plus $12 parking at the Safari park. Belmont is $6/ride or ~$30 for an unlimited pass. Knotts and SFMM would be free parking & admission with my season passes. So that's $171 before gas, hotels, food, or any of the add-ons.

 

The Sea World add-ons I'm considering are either $45 or $50. The Zoo Panda add-on would be $89. The Safari Park Caravan add-ons are $105 or $155, and the Tiger one is another $80. If I did all of that, I'm potentially up to over $500 in just park admissions and animal encounter add-ons. That's crazy to me. But my FOMO is making it hard to try to trim that back.

 

If you're worried about money, I'd pick one add-on between whatever parks you're visiting for this trip and save the others for future trips. I'd also look to see if BGT or SWO offer similar experiences, as you may be better off just doing them on one of your trips to those parks. Other than that, if you really want to cut down on money then look at the most expensive option and ask yourself "Am I really going to regret missing this? Do I feel like it is worth that amount of money?" If yes, move to the next most expensive option until you reach a budget you're okay with. Other than that, the only advice I can really give you is buy individual ride tickets at Belmont Park if you're only riding Giant Dipper (two rides will probably be satisfactory, though buy them one at a time in case you don't like it) and look for whatever deals you can find on hotels.

 

Overall, your plan sounds pretty good. It seems that you've got a pretty good idea of what you want to do on Friday and Saturday and are only debating Sunday. Look at your budget, look at what you really want to do, look at the information you've been given, and decide what the best fit is. No matter what, you're going to miss something, so just decide what you're most willing to leave for a future trip. Lastly, have a good time!

[805Andrew]

I would do Sea World and the Belmont Park beach area on Friday and San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park on Saturday during the day and downtown SD and the Gaslamp district on Saturday night. If your going to the Zoo at 9AM you'll probably be done with it by 5 or 6PM. I second the idea of driving down south OC beaches on PCH (Hwy 1) on Friday morning. Sunday you may want to skip the Wild Safari Park and maybe sightsee around SD instead (the La Jolla beaches are really nice) or just see the general admission area of the Wild Safari Park for about 4 hours before heading up to Knott's for the rest of the day. Don't worry about missing Knotts Chicken Dinner, it's overrated, Roscoe's is better. On Monday you're not going to have much time depending on what time your flight is, so do something in the OC area if that's where your flying out of, like seeing Newport Beach or South Coast Plaza or maybe some morning rides at Knotts. If your looking for an authentic California breakfast, try a breakfast burrito from a reputable burrito place or Mexican restaurant. Use Yelp to find good, local restaurants. For other meals, there's a lot of good Mexican, Japanese, Thai, Chinese, Asian Fusion, Farm to Table, and Seafood restaurants in SoCal. For a good, cheap, fast food meal try a burger/fries/shake from In-N-Out or grilled chicken from El Pollo Loco.

[StuckInSD]

I'll just add on some suggestions to what rcdude covered.

 

- There's not too much on the stretch between Orange County and Downtown SD, unless beaches and state parks are your thing. In Carlsbad, there's the Museum of Making Music ($8), which is a nice, albeit small, place you could spend a little time in (45 minutes- 1 hour, tops). There's also the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum in Miramar (FREE) if you decide to take a small detour on the 805; you'll end up a little east of the 5. As for food, there's a few breakfast places you could hit up. One of my favorites is Studio Diner; it sits on an active studio lot in a modified Airstream trailer, and the food is really good. There's also Du-par's and Perry's Cafe just south of SeaWorld on Sports Arena that are pretty good as well. Any of those places would probably keep your occupied long enough.

 

- Belmont Park also opens at 11:00 AM, so if you really want to get the credit out of the way, you could head there first and then head over to SeaWorld. It's only a short drive across Mission Bay.

 

- Manta's ops are pretty good at sending out trains in a timely manner. The convenient, temporary locks at the ride's entrance are pretty good as well. Prioritize Manta as your first stop; there's literally no line for the first hour or two and you could easily get re-rides. I don't imagine the tours here are much different from Orlando (maybe with an added bonus of Blackfish angst or something). Our Journey to Atlantis is like a meeting point between the other two; it has some enclosed elements like Orlando's, but also some coaster elements like San Antonio's. As long as you don't get the front row, you shouldn't be getting too wet (personally, I'd aim for the middle if you wanna stay dry). Don't miss out on the Shipwreck Rapids part of the park, just for the really good theming and turtle exhibits if not for the ride. Our Bay of Play has been Elmo-afied, so proceed with caution. Oh, and bring bottled water and a hat/sunscreen; you'll thank me later.

 

- A bus tour and one cheesy photo op is included with admission, so feel free to use it. The Skyfari is free all day, and lands you next to the polar bears in one direction, the reptiles in the other. It also offers great views of all the exhibits. There's lots of hills and stairs, so be prepared for a workout if you want to go fast. Definitely hit up the pandas and koalas; the koalas' exhibit got renovated and the pandas... well, it's quite amusing to see the locals obsess over them, let alone wait in a line akin to Disneyland . I think you'll be fine without any add-ons, unless you really wanna see the pandas before the human spectacle starts.

 

- Well, there is one major difference: if you were to take BGT's and Animal Kingdom's safari exhibits and put them together, they equal to about the same size as the one at Safari Park, if not a little smaller. The free tram only covers half of it; the Deluxe covers the other half and then some. And unlike both of those parks, they let you got close, and I mean close. On the Deluxe Adventure, you literally drive off the paved roads and straight into the exhibit, with a good amount of time to experience it all. Most other "safaris" give you opportunities to be right next to the animals. Even without the add-ons, you can get really close; open aviaries, a walk-through lemur exhibit, and an overall lack of dividing glass/plastic really gives you a sense of being within reaching distance of everything. Most of the exhibits are open and you could stick an arm out into them if you're really risky (which btw, don't; I pissed off a gorilla last time I did that). The way I see it, BGT and Animal Kingdom are, in the end, theme parks, with zoological attractions and big e-ticket rides; Safari Park is a zoo at its core, focusing more on the animals themselves and how park guests interact with them. And, being operated by the San Diego Zoo, I wouldn't expect nothing less than the best.

 

- All of the additional "safaris" are just that: additional. You'll be able to see, and experience a bit of, everything with general admission. They're not mandatory for a full experience, but they are pretty creative diversions from the norm. The park is literally on the side of a mountain, so again, you're gonna get a workout if you want to cover most of it. The balloon is unfortunately down at the moment, but there's still a carousel (if you're really that desperate). Even with the tours, if you get there early, you'll probably be done with the park well before closing time. I usually just take 2-3 hours to cover everything outside of the safari exhibit, which should give you even more time for Knott's. My personal choice of add-on would be the Tiger tour, since the exhibit got an upgrade and the tigers themselves are extremely rare, even in the wild.

 

- My favorite Mexican food is actually from a food truck that comes up from Tijuana called El Pescador; best mariscos EVER. But San Diego, to me, is blessed with tons of options. All matter of diners, cafes, taquerias, ramen/pho shops, steakhouses, breakfast/lunch/dinner-only joints, burger joints, fine dining, fusion- anything you can think up, and 95% of the time, it's somewhere in San Diego. As for rolled tacos vs taquitos... taquito sounds like a Tex-Mex word. It's like teacup chihuahua to me; too cutesy to be taken seriously. You get your tortilla and meat then just roll it up and fry it, topping it with garnish. It's literally a rolled taco.

 

And remember, you're enjoying yourself. If price is an option, just cut back; San Diego isn't going anywhere, and there's lots to do outside of the parks. Whatever you end up doing, I hope you have a blast!

[aCoasterStory]

So I ended up spending an hour at Knott's tonight and managed to ride Montie, Xcelerator 4 times without having to leave the station, Coast Rider, Calico Mine Ride, and Silver Bullet. Not too shabby, IMHO.

 

Here's my current plan for the weekend. There are still a few holes, but I feel much better about it now than I did at my last iteration:

 

FRIDAY:

Get up early to take my coworker to the airport at 6

Drive down to San Diego (1.5-2 hrs)

Eat breakfast (currently considering the R-Gang Eatery & Snooze)

Get to the Zoo for opening at 9; stay till around 11:30 or so

Drive over to Sea World

Stay at Sea World from around noonish till close at 6 (I'll probably still try to hit Manta first & end the day with the aforementioned shows)

Once I'm done there, I'll head back to the Zoo till they close at 8

Afterwards, I'll head over to Belmont Park to get a couple rides in on the Giant Dipper since they're open till 10.

Still trying to figure out what I want to do for dinner.

My hotel for the night is fairly close by.

 

SATURDAY:

Get up & eat breakfast at the hotel

Drive the 45min or so to the Safari Park to get there for opening at 9

I still haven't decided if I'd be better off doing the Tiger & Friends Safari or the Deluxe Caravan Safari. I'll probably wait till I get there to decide.

Since I was at Knott's today, I don't feel too much pressure to allot a ton of time to it Saturday, so I'll probably just play things by ear as far as when to head that direction.

The drive to Knott's should take 1.5-2 hrs, depending on traffic

I know I'll be having a Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner; I'll also want to hit up a few rides while I'm there (may as well, right?); exact timing/order is still very much up in the air

Drive to hotel (exact location TBD)

 

SUNDAY:

Get up & eat breakfast at the hotel

Drive to SFMM to get there by 10 for opening at 10:30. (will depend on where I end up staying Saturday night)

Spend all day at SFMM (10:30-8), likely with a flash pass to really maximize my time

Drive to hotel (exact location TBD, but likely much nearer SNA than SFMM--don't want to deal with too much AM rush hour traffic)

 

MONDAY:

Get up early & head to the airport by 6ish to make my 8:30 flight

[rcdude]

Sounds like a mostly good plan, and you'll be doing quite a bit for just three days. I don't know if you'll see this, but just in case here are a few other tips.

 

Friday: Depending on how many shows you want to see at SeaWorld, you may be better off staying at the zoo an extra hour and getting to SeaWorld a bit later. Count the number of shows you want to see at SeaWorld San Diego, add two, and that's about how many hours you need for the park. Given your time restriction, I'd skip One Ocean and Blue Horizons if you've seen them in Florida, the others are up to you. If you do decide to do the zoo in two parts, I'd recommend doing the back in the morning as they used to close sectionally over the last hour to make sure everyone was off grounds by closing (not sure if that is still the case since the website doesn't mention it).

 

Saturday: If you're going to Mrs. Knott's for dinner allow three hours for it (if you just want chicken and don't care about the restaurant experience you can save time with Chicken To Go). The park will probably be really busy so unless you've got rides you're willing to wait an hour for I'd probably skip it for more time at the Safari Park (if desired).

 

Sunday: I've had mixed experiences with this day, with everything ranging from maximum 4 train wait to minimum 60 minute wait. Don't buy a Flash Pass ahead, but be prepared for it if the park is busy. I'm hoping it's not too bad, as I'll be there on Sunday as well.

 

Given that you'll be near Knott's on Saturday night, you might want to look for a hotel around there for Saturday and Sunday nights. You'll be a little over an hour from SFMM (8:30 A.M. departure should get you there in plenty of time) and only 20 minutes from SNA.

 

Have a good time! If I happen to run into you at SFMM I'll be sure to say hi.

[aCoasterStory]

So I ended up mostly following my last plan.

 

After spending Thursday evening at Knott's, I drove down to San Diego Friday morning. Had a delicious breakfast at Snooze before heading to the zoo. It wasn't really crowded at all, and I was able to see everything I wanted to by 1:00. I really enjoyed the zoo. It was a lot of walking, but the animals were super cool.

 

(I don't have time to re-post all of my pictures, but if you want to see them, they're all on my twitter:

)

 

After that, I headed over to Sea World, and got a couple rides in on Manta (it was a walk-on basically all day). I never thought a 30ft tall coaster could be so much fun, but I loved it. Easily the best 30ft tall coaster ever. Infinitely re-rideable. I managed to fit 6 or 7 rides in on the day. I skipped Wild Arctic because I really didn't like the one in Orlando, but I did do Journey to Atlantis, despite one of my fundamental rules of coastering being "no water rides in street clothes". It was a cool and not-crowded day, so I ended up with a boat to myself. I managed to only get minimally splashed from the big drop (which was fine by me), only to get immediately drenched by some jackwagon with a water cannon. You know, the 25-cent water cannons they put right outside of water rides so spectators can try to hit the riders. Well, I was the only person on my boat, and some random dude decided he wanted to soak me. I'll admit, he had impeccable aim. But then I had to float/ride through the entire rest of the ride before I could get off and make some sort of an attempt at drying myself.

 

As for the animal exhibits, I did feed the manta rays. They were bigger than the ones they have in Orlando, and the larger ones were really aggressive, but it was still cool. I ended up at the dolphin exhibit right when they were doing the interaction program, and getting to watch that was really cool as well. I saw the Pets Rule Christmas show at the suggestion of the girl at the ticket counter. It was alright, but I didn't think it was terribly spectacular. Shamu's Christmas Miracles seemed to be a bit heavy-handed with the "having kids is the best thing ever" message; I would have hated to be someone in that crowd who was struggling (or couldn't) have kids. No trigger warnings, either. I kept waiting for the whale action to go somewhere, but it stayed at a really slow, drawn-out pace. It also was only okay. My favorite of the shows was actually Clyde & Seamore's Christmas Special. It was silly but actually really well-done and engaging.

 

After I left Sea World, I went over to Belmont park for a couple laps on the Giant Dipper. I don't think Giant Dipper South holds a candle to its northern brother. Belmont park was a ghost town, and I was really surprised at how tiny of a little park it was. (At one point I had thought about trying to go back to the zoo, but I felt like I was able to see everything I wanted to that morning, so I just went to the hotel and called it a night.)

 

Saturday, I spent the whole day at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. It was amazing. I highly highly highly recommend it. It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it. I ended up doing the Tigers & Friends Behind-the-Scenes Safari, as well as the Caravan Safari. I got to meet a porcupine & victorian crown pigeon (and watch the [male] pigeon give its mating call to its [male] keeper, which embarrassed the crap out of him to the delight of everyone else). I got to feed Okapi, Giraffes, and a family of Rhinos. I got to see a tiger dig through a cardboard box for a giant cow bone to gnaw on. I learned so much about a ton of really cool animals, and this paragraph doesn't do it justice. The whole safari park is huge. They have so much space for these animals that it puts every other park I've ever visited to shame. All-in-all, it was a really cool day at a really cool park, and I would do it again.

 

I had at one thought about doing a shorter amount of time at the Safari Park and trying to cram a Knott's visit into the evening. I did end up going to get a Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner, but I was so stuffed afterwards that I decided trying to ride any coasters would be a terrible idea. From there, I got back in my car and drove up towards Magic Mountain.

 

Sunday was spent at Magic Mountain. Apparently they had a gold passholder early entry event at 10:00 that I didn't know about (didn't get through the gate till around 10:10) for Full Throttle. By the time I got off, the GP was starting to enter, so I headed for the ride I really really really wanted to ride: X2. Which was closed. Due to wind. Oh, and LL:DoD, Scream, Riddler's, and Ninja were also closed for wind; none of them would end up opening all day. This was unfortunate because X2 is such a unique coaster, Ninja is my favorite surviving Arrow suspended coaster, Riddler's is tied with GA Scorcher for my favorite stand-up coaster, and LL:DoD while not the best drop ride ever is still really fun. So I would just have to make do.

 

I headed for Tatsu next, and after about a 20 min wait, rode it in the front. I still don't get what people like about this coaster. It doesn't do anything for me. I strongly prefer SFOG's S:UF because its pretzel loop actually transitions from positive to negative g's (the best part of any flying coaster, imho) and actually interacts really well with the ground. Tatsu is just a bunch of flips and turns up above the trees. Maybe that works for some people, but it's not my cup of tea. I did also ride it in the back later in the day to make sure that didn't change my opinion; it didn't. Would I ride it again? Yes. Would I wait more than 20 min for it? No.

 

I (mistakenly) believed Superman was closed due to wind, so I headed to Apocalypse. I really enjoy Apocalypse. I can see how it's in need of some track work, but I never found it to be painful, either in the front or the back. I love the relentless speed; I can't think of another wooden coaster that has that kind of pacing with no real lulls until it's over. Really fun ride.

 

After that, I saw Superman operating, so I walked up Samuri Summit to get there (holy crap, that's steep). I then noticed it was an hour wait and decided I wasn't going to deal with that for the rest of the day, so I went down to the front of the park and bought a flash pass. I then headed back up and rode Superman 3x nearly back-to-back before the flash pass updated with a longer wait time. Superman is definitely a fun ride (especially if you don't have to wait very long). Because I was able to re-ride it so much (6 or 7 times total on the day), I 'd say it was my favorite of the rides that were operating Sunday.

 

Next was Goldrusher (2 min w/ flash pass). I didn't remember it being as much fun as it was, so that was a pleasant surprise. Followed that up with Green Lantern. Every time I ride it, I swear I'll never do it again, but every time I'm there, I end up riding it. I never saw a single car flip all the way around; the closest anything got was a half-flip coming into the breaks (saw it twice). My car did not flip at all.

 

I skipped Batman because I've ridden all of the North America Batman clones (except SWSA) and didn't feel like the wait. So Goliath was next. In the back, you get some air going down the first drop, and then again on the lone airtime hill, but other than that it's all positive G's. In the front, you lose the air going down the first drop, but the airtime hill is much stronger. Throughout the day, I had several completely different experiences with the MCBR. One time I was barely slowed; another brought the train to a complete stop. Go figure. I think I ended up riding Goliath 4 or 5 times total throughout the day. (In between my first and 2nd rides, I went and credit-whored on the 3 of the 4 kiddie coasters I was allowed to ride.)

 

After that was lunch at the Full Throttle sports bar thingy. The wings were actually halfway decent, but the service was terrible.

 

I headed up the Orient Express and rode Superman again before coming back down, hitting Revoution (RESTORE REVOLUTION!!) and Viper (which was having problems with some of the OTSR's coming open ). After that, it was back up the hill to Tatsu, then 2x on Apocalypse, and another 2x on Goliath. I bought 2 FP reservations for FT for 7 and 7:30, and when I got off after the 2nd one I ran into a security guard that I had talked to earlier; she asked me how it was, and I told her I enjoyed it, but I had a FP reservation to hit Superman one more time and I didn't know if I was going to be able to make it back down to the FT line before they closed at 8. She told me if I managed to make it up to Superman & back by 8, she would personally walk me to the front of the line. So I booked it. OE up the hill, sprinted to Superman, rode it, sprinted back, OE down, sprinted back to FT & made it before 8....but she was gone. Somehow the ride op at the line believed my story and when the guard didn't show, had one of the other ops walk me up to the station. And to top it all off, somehow my night ended with half the station (and the op over the loudspeaker) chanting my name. Don't ask me how, but it ended up being a really cool way to cap off the trip. I want to say I ended with 26 coaster rides on the day. Not too shabby, if I say so myself.

 

All-in-all, a good trip. Thanks to you all for your help and suggestions!