Knotts to Disneyland

agamble

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 17, 2011
So we have these travel passes we've never used that are good for two nights in selected cities. I finally turned one in months ago for Anaheim in hopes we could use it while we have our AP, and they called me today to book. I just got the email and they booked us for the Knott's Berry Farm hotel. LOL! That's barely even in Anaheim. So it looks like about a 15 minute drive. Is it best to take the freeway? Should we park in Mickey? We'll be going for rope drop.

Any input on Knott's Berry Farm? We've never been to the park. I do see that we could buy tickets for less than $50 a person. So the money we saved on our hotel room could get us a day at the park if we wanted. We're going to DL for my son's birthday, but we could go to Knott's the second day instead of DL. We have had AP since May and visited several times this year, and are going for a whole week in June, so it wouldn't be a big deal to only go to DL the one day.
 
How old is your son
He's turning 5 but we also have two daughters 7.5 and 2.5.

ETA: Our youngest is over 36", so except for roller coasters she can do a lot. And our son is over 44". Our oldest is about 52"
 
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They have camp Snoopy which is fun for the littles, a fun stage show , two types of trains one goes around the park and the other is a mine train that goes inside the mountain and is fun, not fast or scary . They have a carnival style game area , and an inside native America Indian show. We loved that . They have a boat ride like Grisly river run but doesn’t have the same depth of drop . It’s a nice park to wonder around , and you can exit the park to go eat and then come back . We have eaten at Mrs Knotts famous chicken restaurant, and there is also a take out area and you can have a picnic .They also have across the road a water park, not sure what time of year that opens . If you stay at Knotts there is an ART bus that runs Once from Disneyland in the am, and then comes back in the evening . Or you can get a cab for about $45. You can use bubblebum inflatable booster seats for the littles and they deflate to put in your bag while not in use . Also the times we have gone we have take Katella to Beach road and then head on down that way . Never used the freeway to get back and forth .
 


Personally I like Knotts, and I don't ride thrill rides at all. From the perspective of a frequent Disneyland visitor, sometimes it's nice to have a change of pace so since we go on several multi-day Disney trips per year we try to throw in some outside activities once in a while. I would say if you go to Knotts, that you just need to go in with the right mindset. Appreciate it for what it is; don't compare it to Disney constantly. We have been for one-day Knotts trips in 2014, 2015, and 2016. My boys are teenagers so there are no limitations on what they could ride. They did enjoy the ice show and other shows and the slower paced rides in addition to the roller coasters. They also like to eat, so we got a meal at the park each time. It was fun to try some different theme park treats. I like to wander through ghost town and take in the theming and browse through the marketplace and go to the shows. We ride the mine train, the railroad, and the iron reef (buzz lightyear type ride) all together, and the boys ride the thrill rides with their dad while I wander.
 
My daughter and I enjoy knotts berry. We use front of the line passes though because lines get a little long. It is an easy one day park and can be lots of fun.
 
They have camp Snoopy which is fun for the littles, a fun stage show , two types of trains one goes around the park and the other is a mine train that goes inside the mountain and is fun, not fast or scary . They have a carnival style game area , and an inside native America Indian show. We loved that . They have a boat ride like Grisly river run but doesn’t have the same depth of drop . It’s a nice park to wonder around , and you can exit the park to go eat and then come back . We have eaten at Mrs Knotts famous chicken restaurant, and there is also a take out area and you can have a picnic .They also have across the road a water park, not sure what time of year that opens . If you stay at Knotts there is an ART bus that runs Once from Disneyland in the am, and then comes back in the evening . Or you can get a cab for about $45. You can use bubblebum inflatable booster seats for the littles and they deflate to put in your bag while not in use . Also the times we have gone we have take Katella to Beach road and then head on down that way . Never used the freeway to get back and forth .

Thank you. That was very detailed. It is difficult to find the kind of information on other parks that is amply available for Disneyland. I was surprised they have tickets for so cheap if you pick your day. The Six Flags in NorCA is more expensive and not very well themed IMO. We live in North Central CA, so we'll be driving down. It's cheaper to pay the parking fee than deal with ART or cabs. I wonder if it is quicker to use the freeway or Beach road. I guess my phone will probably tell me on the morning of.


Personally I like Knotts, and I don't ride thrill rides at all. From the perspective of a frequent Disneyland visitor, sometimes it's nice to have a change of pace so since we go on several multi-day Disney trips per year we try to throw in some outside activities once in a while. I would say if you go to Knotts, that you just need to go in with the right mindset. Appreciate it for what it is; don't compare it to Disney constantly. We have been for one-day Knotts trips in 2014, 2015, and 2016. My boys are teenagers so there are no limitations on what they could ride. They did enjoy the ice show and other shows and the slower paced rides in addition to the roller coasters. They also like to eat, so we got a meal at the park each time. It was fun to try some different theme park treats. I like to wander through ghost town and take in the theming and browse through the marketplace and go to the shows. We ride the mine train, the railroad, and the iron reef (buzz lightyear type ride) all together, and the boys ride the thrill rides with their dad while I wander.

We've found that a one day trip to Disneyland is actually a nice sweet spot. We love our week long trips, but when it comes to going for a few days we have realized that one day is enough to scratch the itch since we've been some what frequent visitors over the last 7 years. I think it might be nice to go to Knott's since none of us have been. I noticed that their log flume ride is only a 36" requirement, so we could all ride together. We haven't gotten my son on Splash yet (he's done Space and loves BTMR). I think he's afraid because he can see the drop. The drop at Knott's looks less daunting and he saw the picture and said he'd like to ride. It'd be nice to do a "thrill" ride as a whole family. Thanks for your input.

My daughter and I enjoy knotts berry. We use front of the line passes though because lines get a little long. It is an easy one day park and can be lots of fun.

Thank you!
 


Knott's is a lot of fun and a great value. I love their restaurant in front of the park so you can go even if you don't want to go to the park. Get the chicken!!
 
Knott's is a lot of fun and a great value. I love their restaurant in front of the park so you can go even if you don't want to go to the park. Get the chicken!!
Do they have vegetarian chicken? LOL. We may need to eat there if we go. I've heard they have lots of yummy food. We probably wouldn't eat there if we only go to Disneyland as we'd end up eating in the parks.
 
Do they have vegetarian chicken? LOL. We may need to eat there if we go. I've heard they have lots of yummy food. We probably wouldn't eat there if we only go to Disneyland as we'd end up eating in the parks.

They do have soup and salads that look good but I have never tried them. The chicken and dumplings with boysenberry pie is what I get. Its the kind of place that you eat and eat and then take a nap afterwards. It is very good food.
 
We feel that Knotts is a much nicer experience overall for our family than Discovery Kingdom.

Good to know. We had season passes to DK a few years ago. The kids enjoyed going, but it was only ok. We enjoyed the one day we spent at Magic Mountain a lot more.
 
I just visited Knotts a few weekends ago with some friends with kids. I am a DL regular though. I would not recommend Knotts! It was extremely inefficient with many rides having one worker who would be in charge of loading, unloading (everyone had to be unlocked individually), running ride, etc. And many rides were either just kids (with maximum height limits), or just thrill. So even if there was only 20 or so people in line, it would still take 30 minutes. It was extremely frustrating.

Food in the park was also meh (expensive and mediocre park food). The fried chicken restaurant was good, but I prefer Plaza Inn.

It doesn’t cost much to enter (it was $42 for a day ticket), but it’s obvious that’s because Knotts doesn’t keep enough employees to run the park well.
 
not sure when you are going, but Splash Mountain is down for refurb at the moment . so the Knotts one may be the way to get your kiddo ready for the DL when you go back in the summer !
 
I would not recommend Knotts! It was extremely inefficient with many rides having one worker who would be in charge of loading, unloading (everyone had to be unlocked individually), running ride, etc..

This is how Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is in Vallejo. It can be frustrating for sure. Disney is soooo efficient in comparison.

not sure when you are going, but Splash Mountain is down for refurb at the moment . so the Knotts one may be the way to get your kiddo ready for the DL when you go back in the summer !

This particular trip is for the 26/27 of April. Splash might be open by then. He said he'd ride it after he was 5; then he said he'd ride it with Grandpa, which isn't until our June trip.

DH and I will be in the parks alone for a few hours Sunday afternoon/evening and Monday morning this coming week before we set sail on our first cruise. So excited to go to Disneyland without kids. LOL! I was just telling him how nice it will be to not have to take other people (the kids) to the bathroom. I know...it's the little things! :D
 
we have found that once the schools go back , Knotts is almost dead.. with very little wait times.. so if you are going late April you should be good to go.. we will be at Disneyland from April 17th to the 24th.. we are hoping that Splash will be back up too.. I paid my son $20. to go to TOT couple of years ago.. he did but said he will never do it again ! lol
 
we have found that once the schools go back , Knotts is almost dead.. with very little wait times.. so if you are going late April you should be good to go.. we will be at Disneyland from April 17th to the 24th.. we are hoping that Splash will be back up too.. I paid my son $20. to go to TOT couple of years ago.. he did but said he will never do it again ! lol
Guardians is waaay more fun than TOT. My 7 y/o loves it.
 
we have found that once the schools go back , Knotts is almost dead.. with very little wait times.. so if you are going late April you should be good to go.. we will be at Disneyland from April 17th to the 24th.. we are hoping that Splash will be back up too.. I paid my son $20. to go to TOT couple of years ago.. he did but said he will never do it again ! lol

Too funny! I did the same thing with my 7 year old last year for TOT at Hollywood Studios. By the time she went on, I owed her a princess dress, pack of lollipops, ice cream and a stuffed animal! Ha!
 

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