california theme parks, which one to visit?

[dtothed]

going to visit Irvine/Orange County in a few weeks.  5days/4nights.  planned on checking out some kid friendly theme parks, but there seems to be several and unsure which ones to go to.
disneyland for sure.  other recommendations were knots berry farm, sea world, and california adventure.  universal studios was an option but due to young kids ppl suggest not going.  any suggestions?  pricing per theme park?
 

 

[stickinkicks]

california theme park prices are mad expensive. it depends how old the kids are. six flags has the best rides, but is more for teenagers than kids. knotts might not be worth it imo. it's a decent park with some attractions, but nothing worth spending a day for. take in either sea world or the san diego zoo.

 

[jsnazz]

disneyland and cali adventure is all you need

me and my girl got here often and it never gets old.

 

[lb510]

Originally Posted by jSnazz

disneyland and cali adventure is all you need

me and my girl got here often and it never gets old.

Magic Mountain�

But Disney Land is better for younger kids. Space Mountain and Indiana Jones are nice. But peep the Video

 

[i2endmc]

^lol at "i don't like this part."

 

[Deleted member 37754]

with your kids thee Best way to go is Disneyland and California adventure. They have everything a kid could need plus the 3 day passes for both. [color= rgb(255, 0, 0)]Taking my son in a couple months.[/color]

also since it's a 5 day trip knotts berry farm is great for a family time.

whenever they grow up a bit, Magic Mountain is mad fun, if you like roller coasters.

 

[dtothed]

thanks for the info. kids are definitely too young to ride any roller coasters. 4 and 3 are the youngest of the group. wanted something more kid friendly rather than for the teenagers in the group.
any idea on the pricing for the 3 day passes for a group? also, can you actually spend 3 days at 2 parks? i can barely do half a day at sea world or six flags before throwing in the towel

 

[babyjs23]

Legoland. It's perfect for kids!

 

[kidufc]

knotts if youre taking kids.. they have everything from adult rides to camp snoopy, they even have water park next door.. and a block away you can go to medieval times for dinner and watch a reenactment battle from the olden days.

 

[Deleted member 37754]

Originally Posted by DtotheD

thanks for the info. kids are definitely too young to ride any roller coasters. 4 and 3 are the youngest of the group. wanted something more kid friendly rather than for the teenagers in the group.
any idea on the pricing for the 3 day passes for a group? also, can you actually spend 3 days at 2 parks? i can barely do half a day at sea world or six flags before throwing in the towel

3 and 4, best bet it those two and knotts for sure. imo. a lot of family + kid things to do.

You'll spend about 1 day in a half, maybe two, at disneyland and then the rest of the time at Cal Adventure. It happens easy. with ALL the kid attractions, shows, and rides it's easy for the day to just blow by. especially with kids (at least mine) who was wide eyed and wanted to see everything he could. the night shows are pretty fun with them.

3 day pass if i remember i got for 110.... not sure about now tho. amazon may be your best bet but you could always check the disney website.

 

[nubuckgees]

Disneyland and cali adv for sure! Take them to watch "world of color" and " fantasmic" that'd be super fun.

 

[solesavage]

Originally Posted by kidUFC

knotts if youre taking kids.. they have everything from adult rides to camp snoopy, they even have water park next door.. and a block away you can go to medieval times for dinner and watch a reenactment battle from the olden days.

Yep......I dont know why a lot of people hate on Knotts. For starters I went there a few years ago with my girl and I had  fun. Went there for Christmas with my company and again it was nothing but good times. I love that its ALWAYS empty, the rides are decent, and the FOOD is delicious and not too expensive, when compared to Disneyland prices.

 

[xtianp]

I'm from SoCal and for you trip I'd probably suggest Disneyland/California Adventure and either Knotts or Seaworld.

Disneyland/California adventure I count as one because you really need to go to both and they offer tickets that allow for visits to both parks. Since you're going to be in town for 5 days, I was thinking a trip down south would be nice to hit up Seaworld. Knott's however is like 15 minutes from Disneyland so if the drive doesn't sound too appealing stick with that.

Anyways, here's how I'd plan it...

Day 1 - get acclimated to the hotel and surrounding areas. (I don't know if you're here visiting family or whatever but that's always a filler too)
Day 2 - leave early morning to head down to SD and head to Seaworld/Zoos. (from Irvine it's about an hour-hour and a half drive)
Day 3 - Disneyland/Downtown Disney dinner.
Day 4 - California Adventure/"World of Color" dinner package. (A lot of people will tell you otherwise, but it's really the only way to watch WoC. They have different packages at Ariel's Grotto and the Winery Restaurant. Pretty much have dinner and get reserved seating for the show.)
Day 5 - Probably do some shopping of some sort. The Block of Orange is a nice outdoor mall.

As far as pricing goes...

Another thing...if the young ones (3 & 4) look really young they can still get in the park free. They stop it free admission by 3...just saying.
Disneyland is currently having a 3 Days both parks for $169. That could work...just go to whatever things you missed on Day 5.
2-Day 1 Park Per Day is about $151 for adults $136 for kids.
The 2-Day Park Hoppers are $10 more.

San Diego/SeaWorld is offering 3-for-1 at $99 and $129 which includes SeaWorld/San Diego Zoo/San Diego Wild Park.


If you got any other questions or anything feel free to hit me up. Enjoy your trip!

 

[dtothed]

xtianp, dang appreciate the break down.
we have a sea world around here so that is why i was thinking of not even going. someone mentioned lego land and i googled it and its about an hour drive. thinking about doing that b/c my son loves legos. i was looking at the passes after im that one mentioned it. doesnt seem too bad. the younger one is ALMOST 3. birthday in april so technically can save there. visiting family so seeing how to chop it up and soak it all in
thanks for all that info

 

[kwh3]

For young kids, San Diego Zoo and Disneyland.

 

[frank mucus]

Save some money and head to Boomers. You'll be in Irvine? Perfect, they got one off the 405 at Jamboree or past it I think.

 

[doin90onthefreeway]

California