which one is better and why

Knott's.
Mainly because they do Halloween Haunt each year and they do it well.

However, both DCA and Knott's have room for improvement.
:)

I agree.

And, Knott's is an all day park, if you don't just skim over it.
Sure, because it isn't usually as crowded {during the week} you can go through the rides quickly, there are a lot of other things to check out. Museums to go through {not Natural History type, but small store size}.

Oh, and the show 'Mystery Lodge' is a beautiful experience.

Kids love to run around in Camp Snoopy and there is a petting zoo.

The Indian Dancing and Western shows are great. Also, if you can catch the gunfighters in the street now and again, they are funny.

Some say it is not an all day park but I think it is.

Mousewife, did you notice that a lot of the things you listed are things DL USE to have?

I like both for different reasons, but DCA, DL, and Knott's are on the top of my list. Then Universal Hollywood, then Seaworld. I know that's quite the answere to the question, but that's how I feel.

And so you know, DCA had better attendance last year than Knott's.

DCA's attendance was better? Oh boy, and they say their attendance was terrible.

Even after all of the free tickets? Or are they only counting the paid admissions?

You are right. My kids loved the petting zoo at Disneyland, don't remember the museum but those things can be very much foundations for a family trip.

First off, to address the attendance issue, let me go back a few weeks to another thread here at MP and use on of my own posts....

Let's say that I talked David Copperfield into doing his biggest magic trick yet.....

Turn the current location of DCA back into a parking lot (Leave GCH and Downtown Disney where they are), then move the entire Knott's Southern California Resort to the land where the Third Park is supposed to be built. Then move DCA to the current location of Knott's.

What would this do the attendance to the parks... First off, all Disney AP's would remain the same, and Park Hoppers would also work at DL and DCA...

Knott's would "magically" own the land down the street from Disneyland, but would have no connections to Disney.

I think that Knott's attendance would INCREASE, they would still get the attendance that they have been receiving, plus additional guests staying in the Anaheim area would spend a day at Knott's, they wouldn't even have to hire a cab.....

On the other hand, it seems like a lot of DCA attendance is not people going for a full day, but as a break from Disneyland, grabbing a beer, or getting away from the midday crowds... If DCA had to stand on its own two feet, would it even get half the attendance it is getting now?????

OK, you don't want DCA in Buena Park, let's move it to the Valencia area, NEAR Six Flags Magic Mountain, which of these two parks would get more people thru the turnstyles in a year....

The point is, that a lot of DCA attendance is reliant on the fact that it feeds off the folks already at Disneyland. (Now, I know, the purpose of DCA and the new DLR was to increase the amount of days people stay in the Resort Area.)

My question/point was what if DCA was a "destination" by itself, where guests would have to go "specifically" to DCA, not as a side trip in the middle of the day from a DL visitor. What would the atttendance counts be like??? How many people would drive up the I-5 thru the entire LA area, to reach Valencia JUST to go to DCA????

OK, now let's look at the question originally asked, Knott's Berry Farm or DCA......

Let's go around the Knott's Theme Park, clockwise, Knott's has sooo much more to do!!!! You enter the park in an Old Town theme, much more recognizable theme than the mish-mash you see when you walk into DCA, then off to to the Ghostrider area, a couple of stores along the way, include the Geode store, which is worth going into, even if you are not going to buy anything, this place is much more interesting and has far more history than any bakery tour....

Some very valuable Geodes, and precious stones in the "museum" part of the store, plus the stuff for sale is neat also... I also like watching the Geodes getting cut, and finding out what the lucky purchaser has bought, nature has some nice beauty!!!! (EH!)

Ghostrider, the coaster that really brings back memories of seaside amusement parks... I was glad to see the Giant Dipper in Belmont Park, San Diego being featured on the Travel Channel best of the West specials... It is a classic... if Disney really wanted to bring back the "flavor" of the seaside park, they should have built a REAL woodie. Ghostrider is the BEST woodie on the west coast... I would rather ride Ghostrider ONCE than Screamin' five times (and Screamin' is a nice coaster..., just not in the same class as Ghostrider). Also, in this area is the Wild West Stunt Show, and very enjoyable, fun show, and as a secondary show (I will call the Ice Skating show the PRIMARY show), beats the heck off any other DCA show (well, thinking about it, you might want to compare this to WWTBAM, PI!)...Different shows, but while WWTBAM is more interactive, the Stunt Show is more entertaining as a "show".... Now we go thru two areas, the Indian area, with real Indians explaining their history and talking and spending time with kids of all ages... compare this to the DCA farm area, well, the water fountain is out front, on the other side of the Stunt Show Stage, but the interactivity of the Dances, and arts and crafts that the Native Americans share with the Knott's guests is impressive.

Now, we spend time thru Ghost Town, this was built as "something to do" while waiting for Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner, that's right, the Theme Park was built because of the Restaurant!!! The food was so good, that they needed something for folks to do while waiting to eat! The Knott's actually bought Calico, a real ghost town outside of Barstow, CA. Many of the buildings were brought from Calico to Buena Park, and then they rebuilt the building at Calico (interesting fact, the Knott's family actually donated Calico, after running it for many years, to become a state park)

I could make a Huell Howser comment, but he did a really good piece when he visited Calico. You also could still find the "Haunted Shack" here until the fire, hopefully they will rebuild it!

Here is some real history, blacksmiths, etc., authentic folks showing off real skills...

Plus, talking about history, the Timber Mountain Log Ride, and while not real "AA"'s, the logger's and sets prove this is the FIRST log ride with themeing in California...

The Calico Mine Ride is another CLASSIC, the ride that inspired Disney to make the Rainbow Caverns mine train, which led to the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Also, if you look at the Matterhorn as the first steel rollercoaster, the Calico Mine Ride is somewhat a rollercoaster on train tracks, the design of the ride was built so that the main lift hill was in the middle of the ride (hidden), but was a THEMED coaster-like ride built PRIOR to the Matterhorn.

Plus a couple of TRANSPORTATION rides, something seriously lacking at DCA... the Ghost Town Calico Railroad and the Butterfield Stagecoach (one of my "hidden" favorites, a taste of the old west)

Now, on our way to the Wild Water Wilderness area, we can enjoy more shops, the food, including fresh roasted Corn on the Cob, plus FUNNEL CAKES!!!! (Much better than Churros... especially with Boysenberry Jam!!!!). Also, the old School House is a neat memory flashback...

The Wild Water Wilderness area has two big attractions, the first is the Mystery Lodge... a very interesting live show that IMHO beats Golden Dreams in reality and getting the message across. Live actors, special effects, no wonder when I go, I see more people in the Mystery Lodge theater than the Golden Dreams theater....

The other major ride is Bigfoot Rapids, and in this case, while the rides are basically the same, DCA did a better job in themeing, but Knott's did a better job in adjusting the "wetness" of the ride. Too bad that DCA couldn't figure out a way to limit the wetness in the evening and winter hours...

Also, Knott's has a few minor attractions, a nature house and a flat ride....

Next, we enter the Boardwalk area, including the ever popular Bumper Cars, and the Charles M. Schultz Theater... home of the Snoopy Ice shows... and while it doesn't have as many members in the casts as BLAST, Ice Skating is a crowd favorite, and this show is well received by the crowds of all ages in the theater.

Now, the rides.... Xcelerator, the AWESOME new roller coaster, what a rush, Zero to 82 mph in just 2.3 seconds, then over 200 feet in the air over a top hat, and a queue and area that I feel is better themed than the Screamin' queue...

Kingdom of the Dinosaurs, about as popular as Superstar Limo, but at least you can ride KOD (I do miss Knott's Bear-y Tales!!!).. also Hammerhead, Perilous Plunge, Boomerang, Sky Cabin, and Supreme Scream (Beats Maliboomer big time!!!!) and no Face Guards.

Now off to Fiesta Village, home to two Rollercoasters, Montezooma's Revenge and Jaguar!, plus an over 100 year old carousel, and four flat rides (Gee, this has the more rides and attractions that Paradise Pier does!!! (Which has over half the rides of DCA), and it is only one of six areas of Knott's...plus this is the area that has the evening laser and fireworks show on Reflection Lake, and while not Believe, it is much better handled and matches the size of the lake, unlike Luminera...

Then, we are in the Camp Snoopy area, which has SOOO much to do for kids than DCA!!!

And finally back to the main gate...

There is SOOO much more to do, KIDS, adults, teens, DCA is Nice, but Knott's is sooo much better... More rides, more shows, more shops, more interaction, Knott's Chicken, Fresh Corn on the Cob, FUNNEL CAKES!!!!!

Aw, thanks!! You just reminded me of a lot of things that we have been skimming over. I have done alot of those things {forget the hairy scary rides and rollercoasters! I AM afraid!!}but just not in a while. The kids love the coasters, carnival games, and the water rides.

And, the Calico Mine Ride has won awards, as well as other attractions which I can't remember.

I want to take my son up there for an educational tour. They have a whole list of different programs for the kids, for different grades, etc.

I love all of the history they share.

Do you remember the Miniature Museum they had at one time? Is it the one that is now down somewhere by the Will Bill Adventure Show? Or at least down that street somewhere? I would love to see it again.

Originally posted by MouseWife
DCA's attendance was better? Oh boy, and they say their attendance was terrible.

Even after all of the free tickets? Or are they only counting the paid admissions?

They quote the head count entering the park, reguardless of how they get in (I'm not sure if that includes CM write-ins, but I think they count ALL visitors). And I agree with Darkbeer that DCA had those numbers because it was rideing on the coat tails of the Disney resort. If it had to stand on its own, the numbers would be much different. And keep in mind they say the numbers are bad because they didn't meet the expectations they had for a Disney park. Also, the revenue going through the gate was low because of all the discounts. This is why they let the APs and CMs through the gate, to get THOSE numbers up because they couldn't get the DOLLAR numbers up. So in reality those numbers can be missleading.

I will agree that Knott's, at this point, is a better theme park because it has more to offer. But my point was I like them both for different reasons. One of which is what Darkbeer said, to get a break from DL, to relax and get away from the crowds while I'm at the resort. But if I wasn't at the resort (or DCA wasn't there) I probably wouldn't go there as often, but I am a So. Cal. native, and I love CA. As a matter of fact CA history was my favorite subject in school. So I may be a different view than other Californians.

Originally posted by RStar


I am a So. Cal. native, and I love CA. As a matter of fact CA history was my favorite subject in school. So I may be a different view than other Californians.

Well, I have been here the majority of my life, say 34 out of 37 years.

I, too, love the California history.

That is why I hope I can slip my one son into one of those classes!! I am going to homeschool him and I am going to work on the history of California.

I only hope that he enjoys it as much as I do.

motts minutures is down the street at beach and ketella at the adventure city

Thanks!!

Ok, I really really don't like Knott's. Really. There are a few reasons:

1- It's not clean. DCA has at least been clean from what I've seen. The bathrooms at Knotts have been gross when I've been there.

2- The atmosphere- It's been mentioned on this forum before, but the other people at Knott's are rude and I just don't like being around them.

There are a few things at DCA that I do like:

The Animation building is cool. Blast is neat. Soarin' is a fun ride. Ok, that's a few.

What it gets down to is value for admission price. At Knott's there's a LOT more to do. But Knott's frequently offers ticket breaks, and they're much better prices than anything I've seen for DCA. Of course, see point 2 above...

If you like roller coasters I think Knott's is a better deal. But that doesn't mean I want to go there.

Adrienne K

Those are some of the points I feel strongly about as well. I had one worker there complain about her love life to me! And cleanliness is big on my list. I was apalled last time I was at Six Flags. But at least Knott's is rustic, so dirt fits the theme;) !

Originally posted by RStar
But at least Knott's is rustic, so dirt fits the theme;) !

That's funny!!