Knotts VS. Disneyland: A Tale of Two Cities

[pianojohn]

Just returned from a whirlwind trip to Knotts and Disneyland.

Now, I have been to both parks MANY times, but this was going to be different.
I have worked as a musician at Walt Disney World since 1999. Whenever I visited Disneyland, I would marvel at how they got everything right. As soon as I got back to Orlando, I would start planning my next trip to the West Coast.

But this time, I was visiting with a different perspective. Thanks to COVID, I was furloughed then terminated from WDW. 21 years as a professional musician taken away. I am still being told that I WILL return to work, but at almost 600 days of waiting, that phone call has not come.

So, I planned a trip out to Knotts for Scary Farm with one day at Disneyland.
Knotts was amazing like it always is. Knotts Scary Farm blew me away. On the first day (Saturday Oct 30th), my husband and I were able to do 7 of the 8 houses in the first HOUR.  Yes, we bought the Boo-Fet Dinner which got us in  1/2 hour early, but spending $45 for an all you can eat meal PLUS a souvenir bottle to get 30 minutes of access is a MUCH better deal than dropping $99-125 for Fear Lane. PLUS YOU GET FOOD!!

The houses were great. Each one was unique, and the level to detail just blew me away.

The overlay for Calico Mine Train is incredible. The park is NOT shy about really hitting the horror aspect!
The highlight was seeing Puppet Up, the Henson company show that features improv comedy and puppets. Each show was different and hilarious. And VERY adult. The F bomb was dropped multiple times per show, and the audience could not get enough!

On Sunday, we decided to hit the park for its day operation. The gates opened at 8am for Knotts Spooky Farm, and in the first hour, we got multiple rides on XCelerator, Jaguar, Motezooma's Revenge, Pony Express, the Timber Mountain Log Ride, and more. And they had trick or treating!

We had visited Sea World's Spooktacular in Orlando on Friday Oct 29th and found it ok. The candy they gave out was definitely 2nd tier (Smarties, gummies, etc) with M&Ms being the only chocolate. And they handed out maybe one or two pieces each time. At Knotts, we were blown away! HUGE amounts of candy (mostly chocolates like Snickers, M&Ms, Hershey's miniatures) were given out by the handful. AND this all started at 8!  I know Sea World's event didn't start til later.

Sunday night found us returning to KSF for night two. We waited with the hordes of people under Silver Bullet, and right at 7 were able to hit a few houses before the crowds descended. Again, tons of scareactors, fog everywhere, and live entertainment!

Monday morning and we were off to Disneyland resort before our red eye flight that evening. We lucked out and got Rise of the Resistance virtual queues. 

Parking in the parking garage and WALKING about a mile to the park is NOT a good first impression. Whether it's to save money or the excuse that they have to retrain the operators, it adds up to a really bad show. 

We got in Disneyland and hit the dark rides. Pinocchio and Mr. Toad were walk ons. Did the new and improved Snow White which was nice. Haunted Mansion Holiday was good, although the 20th Anniversary gingerbread house did not seem to be made from gingerbread. Maybe it is, but to me, it looked like plywood and paint.

Lunch time and I had to have one of the park's famous corn dogs from the Little Red Wagon. Got in a huge line and placed my order. Unfortunately, you can no longer get the corn dog a la carte. You MUST choose either chips or an orange.  Bad show. I didn't want to pay extra for something I was not going to eat, but they give you no choice.

Also, almost all food outlets are mobile order only. Even if there is NO ONE in the restaurant. At Red Rose Tavern, we were stopped at the door and told to place the order online. What could have been a quick order at the counter turned into a 10 minute waste of time placing the order and waiting. Why???

At noon, we were able to secure virtual queue for Spiderman. For FOUR HOURS from now. Is the ride really THAT good?

At 1pm, we were allowed to park hop and joined  HUGE crowd of people doing the same. I REALLY miss the old days of being able to come and go as we please.

Entered DCA and went to Philharmagic. What an awful theater. Definitely not made for this film as the screen is too small, and the "wraparound" effect consists of images shown on the side walls. Makes me really miss the far superior WDW version.

At this point, every ride in the park was about an hour wait. Crowd control? I didn't see it since the streets were packed.  Went to RSR only to find it down for maintenance. We spotted a lonely car crawling along the track. Hmmm......

Finally, our webslingers time came up. But it's not an instant ride. You enter the outdoor queue which still means at least a 15-20 minute wait. I thought the virtual queue took care of that?

The ride?  Eh. Very underwhelming. And short. And unless it's dropped from virtual queue, I probably won't ride it again.

My conclusion:
My days at Knotts were great. I could do whatever I wanted multiple times without having to pre-plan my entire day. I could walk back to my hotel, take a break, and still be back the park for more fun.  And the park was gorgeous with decorations everywhere and unique food items and merch as well. 
Disneyland just felt like a chore. You had to get up early to try and secure a virtual queue. Food had to be ordered on your iPhone. The walk to and from the parking garage was a complete waste of time. 
Maybe this was all due to the fact that I gave so much to this company for over 2 decades and then cast aside. I don't know.
I DO know I am already planning my next trip to Knotts. And I may just skip the aggravation and disappointment of Disneyland. 

[bert425]

while absolutely understandable that you are looking at Disneyland with a bias?   I still very much agree with some of your point on things not being up to Disney quality or acceptable (not being able to order a corn dog ala-carte?  WTF is that???).    

The mobile ordering thing is complete BS - but that happens across most parks these days.  I had the same thing at SFOG, where they would not let me get a drink unless I mobile ordered it (and Mobile ordering wasn't working for me that day).

but still a great report, and love seeing the pics.   the Knotts event sounds fantastic.   Really need to get back there.

[PKI Jizzman]

Thanks for the report! Scary Farm is right there with HHN for my haunt bucket list. I really hope they re-introduce the Paranormal haunt at another CF property, it looked awesome. Dark Ride looks so cool as well!

What's the food from Pym test kitchen? It just looks like normal Disney food and for the love of god can we stop hanging pretzels on a hanger, America?! 

[Nrthwnd]

Just curious, but how much did that (above) meal set you back? I know all about what's being offered at PYM, but just wondering, thanks.

By the way .... ordering food only on mobile is going to screw us, since we don't got phones. Hmmmph

[pianojohn]

11 minutes ago, PKI Jizzman said:

Thanks for the report! Scary Farm is right there with HHN for my haunt bucket list. I really hope they re-introduce the Paranormal haunt at another CF property, it looked awesome. Dark Ride looks so cool as well!

What's the food from Pym test kitchen? It just looks like normal Disney food and for the love of god can we stop hanging pretzels on a hanger, America?! 

It's basically park food but either HUGE or small in size. The pretzel was huge and big enough to share with 3 other people. There was also the PBJ and bacon sandwich with a tiny smoothie. Food was good but the gimmick is the outrageous sizes both big and small.

[pianojohn]

9 minutes ago, Nrthwnd said:

Just curious, but how much did that (above) meal set you back? I know all about what's being offered at PYM, but just wondering, thanks.

By the way .... ordering food only on mobile is going to screw us, since we don't got phones. Hmmmph

Quantum Pretzel with Sharp Cheddar Cheese-Beer Sauce  $12.99
PB3 Superb Sandwich, warm PB&J with Banana and Candied Bacon on Pym Particle Bread, served with Micro Banana Smoothie and crispy Potato Bites $12.99

Pretty standard to overpriced food. The dessert, a HUGE candy bar, was very good with Dark Chocolate, Peanuts, Caramel, Nougat and Chocolate Brownie.  $7.99 and definitely needed to be shared with at least 3 other people.

[Haymaker]

Curious as to your thoughts on Disney's current service reductions as someone who was inside the operation... do you think it lies with Chapek? Circumstantial evidence, Covid aside, would make it seem so. 

[pianojohn]

It just seems that the company has been successful with delivering a far inferior product (no shows, no FastPass, no atmosphere) and yet people still pay to come. It's sad, but once a show is cut, it's rare for it to be brought back since it costs money and the pencil pushers don't see the value in spending money if it's not to make money.

[Nrthwnd]

^ It seems to me, that the gp have been going nuts, not having their theme park fix, etc.

And once an opening schedule is offered, they buy it, in droves. i.e They go nuts.

And of course, the company offering it, can pare down what it's offering, to "just the basics."

Sad, but true. Eventually, the companies may have to pony up more perks as a lot of the theme park world, goes 'normal' (whatever that will be).

And Knott's thankfully decided to choose the other route. That being, offer a lot of stuff, decorations, events, entertainment, etc.