Originally Posted By skellinton Hello, I will be visiting DL with my mother and 2 teen boys this December and although I would merrily spend all 5 full days we have in DL- I am thinking my mother and boys might enjoy visiting a neighboring theme park. My mother will not ride scary rides and hasn't been to DL/LA in 30 years. Do you think Universal would be a good choice? Thanks!
Originally Posted By hlbtimes2 I think, since you are looking for a place with something to do other then thrill rides Universal would be a good choice. They do have rides, but they also have the backlot tour which is always sort of fun. They also have a few little shows and things. I havent been there is a few years so I dont know what they are currently offering for shows. I dont think she would enjoy magic mountain at all- its all about the thrill rides. Knotts might be ok, but probably not as much to offer as Universal. Legoland probably would be a little to low key and geared for little kids for your teen boys to enjoy.
Originally Posted By mickeynewe We once went to Universal on an "extended" family trip. We enjoyed it and everyone had a really good time. Now for my "immediate" family, we would chose another day at Disney over Universal, however, it is a good solid choice to add to your itinerary. I do heartily agree about taking the back lot tour. We all really enjoyed that! As far as magic mountain goes, if it is anything like the park near us, I wouldn't waste my time. I will drive the 6-8 hours (depending on traffic) to Disneyland before I would go to the Six Flags park by us. I have also heard from others, don't know if it is true or not so take this with a grain of salt, is that they have a lot of gang problems at Magic Mountain?! Maybe someone else can confirm this on the boards who live in Southern CA. Knotts Berry Farm is okay I guess. We went here also when we went with our "extended" family. What I didn't like about Knotts is the kind of lack of "family atmosphere". I don't know how to explain it; Disney just "feels like a good place to be" with family. Over at Knotts we ran into a bunch of rude teens kind of acting up and being obnoxious. Hope the info helps.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss While I used to love Knott's, why go to another theme park at all? Southern California has so much to see and do beyond Disneyland (and other theme parks.) Since your mom hasn't been to LA in 30 years, I'd take a day to sightsee.
Originally Posted By skellinton Thanks for all the suggestions- she has been to LA- just not to DL or any of the other parks. Thanks for all your input! Molly
Originally Posted By ImNotAllThereMyself Having been to both the Six Flags Southern California and the Six Flags in Northern california, there is no comparison. So Cal is the classic non stop all day faster, harder, biggger, longer, thrill rides adn rollercoasters. It is a blast for rollercoaster enthusiasts, adn alnost anyone under 35. Here are the caviats. 1, unless you like pushy, loud, obnoxious, gang color wearing crowds and lots of them Do not go on a weekend. 2 Six Flags Southern California is called Magic Mountain, for a reason. It is built into the side of a mountain. As of two years ago they did not have electric wheelchairs to rent, Only the push kind. So don't go if you are on crutches, or have a limited walking ability, it is almost all uphill. This would be a great place to go with your boys, not with your mom. Knotts Berry Farm on the other hand has a nice combination of slow, easy peesy rides, shows, and rollercoasters. Love Cheshire
Originally Posted By Dabob2 I think Universal would probably be the best choice for the crowd you describe, among LA-area parks. Knott's used to have a great atmosphere, but it's morphed into more of a thrill park (though it does still have slower-paced things). Another choice - which I'd recommend over Univesal - would be Sea World. It's about 90 minutes from DL, not much more than Universal (and possibly less, as there's a considerably greater chance of bad traffic going in Universal's direction from Anaheim than to San Diego). Both your mom and boys would probably enjoy that, and it's got a different vibe from a theme park per se, which might be a nice break. There's also the San Diego Zoo, of course, if your family enjoys that. You might also consider taking a break from parks entirely for a day, and going to some place more laid back like San Juan Capistrano.
