Knott's Merry Farm 2018

What better way to celebrate the winter holidays than with a trip to a theme park?  As many of my Disney-fan readers know, Disneyland is getting to be so expensive that it's hard to afford annual passes, or, in many cases, even a day pass, for a large family anymore.  Meanwhile, many other theme parks in the area are still comparatively very affordable.  In the past, we've had Legoland passes, but Carlsbad is a bit too far of a drive to make the passes worth it.  So, this year, since our kids are older now, we decided to give Knott's Berry Farm a shot.  For less than $100 per person, you can get an annual pass.  They also have options to add a year of parking, a meal plan, and more.  Though the fees look steep at first, when you calculate the cost of eating in the park and parking, some of these add-ons start looking very reasonable.  Most of the options would pay for themselves after 2-4 visits.

Ordering season passes for Knott's is so easy.  I love their online system, which allows you to upload your own pictures so that you don't have to waste time getting pictures taken at the park.  You simply take your vouchers straight to the turnstyle and the attendant will print out a card for each person with a voucher.  You can tell which pass is which by scanning your new passes into the Knott's app on your phone.  And with your pass, you get a few discounts, which especially are exciting when you're buying lunch or dinner for 6.

I went to Knott's regularly as a child as my family loved the classic fried chicken dinner and old western vibes.  Nowadays, the park is owned by Cedar Fair, which runs many amusement parks in the midwest, and the look and feel are quite a bit different with several roller coasters where berry fields once stood, but the old West is still alive and well in Ghost Town and kids can still enjoy fun rides built just for them in Camp Snoopy.  We took our kids a few years ago when my oldest was around 5 and my youngest were barely 2.  Back then, it still felt like it wasn't a good fit for our family.  Not enough to do for any of the little ones.  But, now, our oldest is 8 and the twins are turning 5 next month, so we thought we'd give it another go.  And we were not disappointed.  Our boys love roller coasters and our daughter finally enjoys slower spinning rides and shows, so overall, there was plenty to do for everyone.

First off, I took my oldest son to ride Ghost Rider.  He has been on wooden roller coasters before, but nothing quite as big as this one.  While he was terrified and cried a bit, afterwards he said he loved it and would be happy to go again. 

From there, we headed to Camp Snoopy, where I made the mistake of taking both of my boys on the Sierra Sidewinder.  My younger boy had never been on a roller coaster before and was begging to go on and my oldest was definitely up for it.  I noticed the cars were rotating, but I didn't think much of it.  Unfortunately for me, I didn't account for the fact that the weight distribution in our car would all be on me, so any time I reached the top, we started spinning like crazy.  The boys loved it, but I think I'll be taking dramamine before I ever take them on it again.  I'm all for a good roller coaster and it was that, but I think I'm getting too old for spinning and dropping simultaneously.

The kids really enjoyed Camp Snoopy and we had lunch at the Grizzly Creek Lodge, where there were plenty of kid-friendly choices including pizza, hamburgers, chicken strips, and more.  Food is a little pricier here than Disneyland for quick service, and for a family of 6, our meal came out to about $85 after our season pass discount.  But it was good quality for theme park food and satisfied everyone.

Fiesta Village was another favorite area with plenty to do between the carousel, the parasol chairs, an arcade, and a lively atmosphere.  Unfortunately, we didn't have time to explore too much in the Boardwalk area as we were running out of time.  We headed over to Ghost Town and made sure to hit the Calico Mine Ride and Calico Railroad before we had to go.  While we were waiting for the train, my son and my mom had a fake wedding at Judge Roy Bean's, located right next to the stagecoach.  For a nominal fee ($5 for the certificate), they'll run a fake wedding ceremony just as it would have been done back in the Wild West.

We spent a little time viewing some of the other shops in Ghost Town and even saw a woman make blown glass jewelry.  My daughter and I also had the opportunity to see A Christmas Carol performed live in the Bird Cage Theater.  The actors were magnificent and even my daughter, who I thought might be a little young for the show, really enjoyed it.

We finished off our day with an early dinner at Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant, enjoying a meal just as my grandmother had when she was a girl when it first opened in the 1930s.  The restaurant has updated its sides and atmosphere, but the chicken is still the same.  And don't forget a piece of boysenberry pie to end the day.

We can't wait to go back again and explore some of the stuff we didn't have time to see this time.  Having season passes is so worth it for the chance to experience everything and take our time.

The California Science Center and Los Angeles Public Transit Adventures

This past week, the celebrate the beginning of Winter Break, I took my 8-year-old son to the California Science Center, located in Exposition Park in Los Angeles, California, to see the space shuttle Endeavor.  He is extremely into astronomy and space exploration, so this was a big deal for him. 

As all southern California natives know, the drive from the northwestern-most reaches of Los Angeles to Expo Park is not ideal, especially if you are required to drive during rush hour on a weekday.  So, with that in mind, I decided after much deliberation that my son was old enough to take public transportation.  I will start by saying I do not recommend public transportation options in Los Angeles to anyone who is not from a big city and already comfortable with making connections and navigating schedules and train platforms.  If you're from a small town or don't go out much, the system can be intimidating.  But, if you're feeling adventurous or already have experience with public transportation in large cities, you should definitely do this.  It's so much better than dealing with driving in gridlock.

To get to Expo Park, we started off on the Metrolink, a commuter train that runs several lines throughout the greater Los Angeles area.  Our particular train was on the Ventura County Line.  Tickets on weekdays, roundtrip, are $20 for adults and $15 for kids, but these tickets allow you to also make free and unlimited connections on other transit providers, including the Metro system, meaning we didn't have to pay additional fees for the other lines we used to travel on for the day.  We arrived at Union Station around an hour after we boarded Metrolink and, after a quick bathroom break, made a very easy connection to the Red Line subway toward North Hollywood.  We rode a few stops and found ourselves at our next point of transfer at the 7th Street/Metro Center station, where we walked up the stairs to the upper level and connected directly with the Expo line.  The Expo line is a light rail line that travels between Expo Park and Santa Monica.  Again, the connection was easy and within about 30 more minutes, we had arrived at our destination at the USC/Expo Park stop. 

My son wanted to explore USC a bit since we had some extra time.  The architecture is absolutely beautiful and my son was so taken with the beauty that he now wants to go to college there. I told him he better do something amazing and get a really good scholarship.

Exposition Park is always a beautiful place to explore.  It's a fun piece of history and symbols from the 1984 Olympic Games remain, serving as a reminder of why this park exists.  While we were waiting for the Science Center to open, we took a walk around and checked out the rose garden, some of the aircraft on display, the entrance to the Coliseum, and some of the buildings in the area.  There are several museums within the park, including the Natural History Museum, which we visited last year, and you can read about here.

The California Science Center is a museum with interactive exhibits offering children, adults, and families fun and educational displays to explore.  The Science Center offers free admission to most of its permanent galleries, with small fees for timed entry exhibits ranging from a few dollars up to about $30 for the more impressive offerings such as the current King Tut exhibit.  An IMAX theater is also connected, offering educational films related to current exhibits for a fee for about $9 per person. 

There wasn't enough time to explore everything in a day, so my son and I stuck to the Space Shuttle exhibit, an IMAX show related to space exploration, and the free galleries.  The space shuttle was the whole reason for our trip and we were not disappointed.  We did expect there to be a little bit more to it, but a whole pavilion for the space shuttle is still in construction, so it's currently housed in a temporary location within the museum walls.  Though the exhibit was smaller than expected, it was amazing to see a shuttle that has traveled many times through space up close.  It's an experience any fan of astronomy and space exploration should have at least once.

Aside from the space shuttle and space-related exhibits, my son also enjoyed an exhibit on the science/psychology of fear.  Several classic psychological experiments are set up in order to challenge your perceptions and help you realize your fears.  It was a fun little area and one of my favorite hands-on exhibits.

Overall, it was a great trip.  The ride back home was a little tricky because we didn't time ourselves correctly and had to wait for a train at Union Station for a little over an hour, but overall, it wasn't bad.  We had a great day and I can confidently say I would take public transit down there again.