MM vs. Knotts for young adults

[karylrocks]

I am having a hard time deciding which to do. DS13 and I do not like extreme rides so are planning to do some other fun stuff while DH takes DD23 and DS25 to ride some roller coasters. I realize MM has like 15 coasters, but considering the wait times I have been hearing about, how many can you actually go on in one day (10 hrs)? It looks like Knotts has about 5, and I am wondering if that would be good enough for a couple of roller coaster lovers. I am also considering the hassle getting there and back; we will have a car and are staying at DLH. This day is scheduled for the last Tuesday in August (DS13 and I have Angels tickets for that day).

 

[Magix]

Given the circumstances you've described, I think Knott's would be the best way to go. They have a few really great coasters that would do the trick for your coaster lovers. Ghost Rider is killer good and Xcellerator is great. I don't personally like Boomerang, but that's just problem I have with cobra roll coasters. They recently opened Silver Bullet, which I haven't been on, but it should be good. They've got some other good non-coaster rides, too. It's much, much easier to get to and the lines should be considerably shorter. It should also be a good bit cooler there than at Magic Mountain (temperature-wise), which tends to be blazing hot. Plus, on a Tuesday, heading up to MM or back could put them in the middle of a nasty rush-hour.

 

[Anewman]

Agree with Magix, Knotts it should be. The atmosphere at Knotts while not exactly "DIsney" it KOs six flags. MM doubles as a youth detention camp during the summer, riot police have been called out there a few times already this year. Plus Since you are going to the Angel game Knotts should give you an Extra 2 hours of park time. Mid week you should be able to cover most of knotts, it is very small IMO.

We try to do Knotts and Six Flags once a year each, and even though MM has more thrill rides that we do think are great. And even though kids and I complain about how small Knotts is, at the end of each day we ALL AGREE that the day at Knotts was just more enjoyable overall.

 

[2ndStar2TheRight]

Knott's is a much better choice - I've got to agree with everyone.

Six Flags just isn't as enjoyable to me, it has more of a carnival atmosphere than amusement park. And who doesn't love the Peanuts Gang??

 

[Barbday62]

We went to Magic Mountain and Knotts at the end of June in 2001 and I prefered Magic Mountain to Knotts. I went to Knotts as a kid and it is so much more run down than back in the 70's. I love roller coasters and MM had lots of them. We encountered some lines but I felt we got our time and moneys worth when we went. The coasters at Knotts were much smaller than the ones we rode at MM.

 

[raidermatt]

Its been awhile since we've been to Knott's, but we did go to MM last Thursday (23rd). Regardless of which park is more appropriate, I'd definitely pick Knott's, if only because of the logistical issues you will face trying to get to MM and back for the Angels game.

We got to MM at about Noon, then ate lunch and started riding around 1:15 or so. We stayed until closing (10pm) and were able to go on Goliath, Batman, Tidal Wave (a water ride) Riddler, Ninja, Psychlone, Scream, Colossus, Superman and Viper. We also took a dinner break of about an hour or so.

The lines were in the 20-45 minute range early in the day, then went down to pretty much walk-on's near the end.

So I could see being able to do all the coasters if you really wanted to.

But there really isn't much to do for non-coaster lovers, though some of the landscaping is nice, especially for a Six Flag's park. The employees were nice, though they are virtually non-existent unless they are operating a ride or working a register. There doesn't look to be much intra-day cleaning going on either. Several of the major rides were shut down all day, about a 1/3 of the "kiddie rides" were closed, and there were also abandoned retail shops and photo kiosks.

Still fun if you like the coasters, but really, that's about it.

So no matter how you slice it, Knott's sounds like your choice.

 

[karylrocks]

Thanks for all the responses. Just to clarify, DS and I would not be going to MM; we would be doing other things including the Angels game instead. There would be no time restraint on getting back from MM, which closes at 8 pm. This is really just for my older "kids", 23 and 25, and they would only be interested in roller coasters or similar rides.

 

[ralfrick]

I'm not a trip report person usually, but I wrote this after our trip to MM last year. In the case of your family, though, Knott's is much more convenient.

We arrived in the lot about 30 minutes prior to opening, and were within 15 feet of the season pass gate 10 minutes later (got to use our Marine World passes), but it really didn't seem to matter if you just had a regular ticket. Would've been about 30' away in the other lines.

Day 1:

Went to X but told it wouldn't open for 45 minutes. Went to Superman, and were probably the first ride of the day. Went to Goliath which was a long walk (son is 52" so were starting with things we could both ride), and got there about 10:45. Were running 2 trains, but one was stuck on the hill as we got to load. We would've been on within 4 trains if that hadn't happened, but it took at least 20 minutes to switch on another train.

Went to Colassos (sp) and they were switching a train as well-and only running one. It was about 11:30 when we finally rode, but 15 minutes was waiting for the switch. I went to Scream, which was a 1-3 train wait for the front (running 2), and a walkon anywhere else. Rode front and back.

Went to Batman, which had only one train, but still got on within a couple of cycles for the back. We then went back to X, which had at least 45-60+ of waiting, so we bailed to see if it was on Fast Lane-wasn't. Decided to wait til next day. Got on Viper (2 trains) after about 8 cycles, and the line was shorter later in the day. Got on Revolution (2 trains) within 4-5 cycles for the back.

After lunch I went to Riddler's Revenge, it was about 3 by now, they were only running one train, and the wait for the back was an hour. After this Ninja and Goldrusher were walkons. We also rode the log ride, about a 10-15 minute wait.

It was around 5 by now. We would have taken a break earlier and come back if our MW parking pass had been good there-no in and out, or if the hotel was close enough for walking. So we called it a day.

Next morning we went straight to X, but it was over 30 minutes before it opened. We were on the 4th ride of the day, and still didn't dispatch until 10:50. Another ride would've been 45-60 minutes. Went to Deja Vu, and got on after one cycle. Got to Riddler's Revenge, and waited about 15 minutes for the front. Batman was about a 4 cycle wait. It was about one when we subjected ourselves to Psychlone, and we waited about 4-6 cycles.
After that we drove home.

I'd only been once before in 1991, and remember enjoying Psychlone, but it hasn't aged well, and the other woodie is a lumbering snore. Many hate Viper, too, probably because on sharp turns, you can really bash your head against the restraint (Hey, 6 Flags, they sell padding, you know), but I think it's a fun coaster otherwise.

Goliath has a great drop, but doesn't sustain the excitement like Desperado outside of Vegas. Still a rush to be that high and fast, though. Scream is nearly identical to Medusa at MW, which is better in the back, but Scream gets a tiny edge in the front.

Superman is OK, but the launch doesn't compare to Xcellerator(sp) at KBF. Even though Superman reaches higher speeds, it takes longer to do so. However, if you have to wait a long time, this queue has great air conditioning. Ninja and Goldrusher are fun rides through the trees. Revolution has that as well, but has a few too many lulls to be more than historically interesting. Deja Vu is a great out and back with vertical hills as it's distinctive gimmick. Hard to choose between it and Invertigo at Great America, whose gimmick is facing seats.

IMO, the 3 best are X, Batman, and Riddler's revenge. The stand up near us at Great America has never been more than an afterthought, but RR is wonderfully ecstatic. It swoops and curls through the wind with only one set of brakes. Batman starts with 2 loops seperated by an in line twist. It's very intense, full of lateral G's, and the height requirements seem to be on the honor system, as my son was able to get on it while I was riding Scream.

X takes you up a hill on your back, then into a small (10') dip before spinning you face down into a sheer, perpendicular to gravity drop. About a minute later it stopped. I'm not really sure what happened in between, although I'd like to find out someday.

It never seemed crowded, although I often felt old. Most there were 12-25 years old. I had worries when someone cut into the entry line just before they opened, but other than a group of guys with limited vocabularies behind me for RR that were on the phone inviting their friend to just cut through and find them, I only had one person "excuse me" their way through at the log ride shortly after we got in line for some people not far ahead. It's a big place, but spread out for the most part, with a lot of shade, especially around Revolution.

They have souvineer bottles you can refill with soda for $.99, or Icee's for 1.99. They cost $7.99, but you can get them with a meal (well, burger and fries) for only about $1.50 more.
My last tip is if you like peanut brittle, check out the candy shop in the back near Deja Vu.

Cheers.

 

[Az Pirates]

Wow, seems like Knotts is winning hands down here.

Knotts has a few good rides and would be a much quicker option as far as travel time. It probably wins if you're considering atmosphere as well.

But if the objective is to ride coasters, I really think MM is the better choice.
My 17 yr. old coaster lover would agree. She loves MM! We do skip a couple of the older rides - but MM has some great coasters and more of them than at Knotts. Of course DD's new favorite is Thrill Shot (which you have to pay extra for)

MM can attract a pretty rough crowd... and in all fairness we have not been this year, so that may be getting worse, but I have had no problem taking my teens to MM in the past.