Q, Pooh, Lou & #2: The Happiest Place on Earth ... And Disneyland!

Perhaps one or both of those of you who read my blog have found yourselves in a similar situation as I do every year. My family loves Disneyland, myself included. However, it remains a difficult decision to go every year. Between the crowds and the cost, I am not convinced it's worth it. Here is my dilemma, Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm? It's an annual dilemma for me and I'm happy to have it. I realize this is a First World Problem and I'm grateful the dilemma is whether or not to go to Disneyland or Knott's rather than which child do I choose to feed. Nonetheless, the dilemma is real and it does exist.

Every February we visit Disneyland. I will not go to Disneyland any other time of the year due to the crowds. First off, I hate crowds and I deal with feelings of anxiety while among them. Secondly, for the outrageous price you pay to enter The Magic Kingdom, I'd rather not all that money go towards a day of standing in line. Therefore, January and February are the only days I will take my family there.

We usually visit the Disney parks 2-3 days each year, and fortunately, I have a friend employed by Mr. Walt that gets us in for one of those days. For this I am extremely grateful. However this year, we met my brother and sister-in-law there so our mutual friend gave two passes to us and two passes to Jim and Sam. We then bought a one day park hopper pass for each of the two kids at a cost of $300! Here is where the dilemma gets real. We then went to Knott's Berry Farm the following day and bought my entire family of four annual passes along with an annual parking pass for $320!

Let's compare our experiences at each park for roughly the same price...ignoring the fact that Sarah and I got into Disneyland for free.

Cost - Advantage Knott's Berry Farm. We plan on all four of us visiting Knott's Berry Farm 4 times for the cost of $320 which includes parking. It cost us $300 just to get Leah and Dax in for one day plus $15 for parking at the hotel.
Crowds - Advantage Knott's Berry Farm. Our average wait in line at Knott's Berry Farm was literally 45 seconds. In fact, that number could be shaved to nothing considering that, most of the time, we were able to ride the rides multiple times without even getting out of our seats! The average line at Disneyland in February is about 15 minutes. Not bad, but 0 minutes with multiple rides without going through the line again is hard to beat.
Fried Chicken Dinner - Advantage Knott's Berry Farm. We love the fried chicken at Mrs. Knott's but we really like the fried chicken at Plaza Inn on Disney's Main Street too. In spite of the fact that I give Plaza Inn's chicken a slight edge in flavor, as a Scot, cost is always figured in the calculation. A 3 piece dinner at Plaza Inn is $17.49. If you buy a drink, there are no refills. At Mrs. Knott's, for $24 we received the equivalent of 3 dinners at Plaza Inn. If money was no object, Plaza Inn would be given the advantage.
Characters - Push. This is where I would be outvoted I think. Disney has their plethora of characters and Knott's has The Peanuts Gang as well as the Western characters of America's history. For me, I prefer Knott's, but for Sarah and the kids (mostly Sarah), they prefer Disney.
Theme - Push. Again, this is probably more a matter of preference. I don't really go to either park for the theme. I do prefer the Old West theme of Knott's, in fact, my favorite part of Disneyland are the areas that are more historical or Western such as Main Street, Frontierland, Adventureland, Critter Country and New Orleans Square. That being said, my daughter loves the princesses and my nerdy wife is a Star Wars fan, so....

All in all, I am mostly grateful for the memories we get to make while we are at either place, but having put myself in a position where I need to budget more and value money more, I find Knott's to be a way more better bang for my buck. Plus, there's the free soda refills for the year at Knott's! Bonus!

Here are just a few of the many great memories we made at The Happiest Place on Earth...And Disneyland. ;)

Knott's Berry Farm

Knott's is truly a patriotic place. If you get there before they open the gates, just
prior to the park opening, they will direct your attention to the flag, everybody
turns and salutes while the National Anthem is sung. Great start to the day.

If Dax looks nervous, it's because he is worried he won't be tall enough to go on many of the rides.
Turns out he was nervous for a good reason.

Leah on the other hand could rest easy. She took good advantage and went on every ride.

We love palm Trees. Mostly for what they represent.

Sarah looks unsure if she's up for this.

Waiting in line.

They love The Peanuts Gang!

Watching the Blacksmith was more fascinating for me than for them, I'm sure.
They obliged me anyway.

One of my favorite things as a kid was talking to the cowpoke in jail. Even though
he clearly was a fake, I was always impressed that he knew my name.

I think Dax liked Knott's for the same reasons as I did when I was a kid. The
Western theme. What boy wouldn't love a theme park with trains and guns
and horses?!

Dax was a trooper. He couldn't go on many of the rides, so he had to wait and he did so
patiently and without complaint.

This was our favorite ride, The Pony Express. Leah and Sarah are out front.

My favorite ride, The Calico Mine Ride.

Actually, this is probably my favorite ride of all time. The Log Ride.

What goes up....

Must go down!

And down!

More waiting. Poor kid.

This little girl has no fear.

More waiting. At least there's water to play in.

Sarah took this pic of me and Leah on the Ferris Wheel in Camp Snoopy.

I wonder if these two realize just how freaking awesome their Mother really is.

....more waiting...

Riding, yet another train, this time in Camp Snoopy. Here is Dax making the sound of a train whistle.

Again, one of the benefits of an uncrowded amusement park, time to see the
steam engine and pose for a picture with the conductor.

Helping the band play music. They needed more cowbell!

More waiting

Calico Mine Co. at night.

Finished the day off with some fried chicken from Mrs. Knott's.

"Mom! What did you do with all the chicken?!"

"If Dax gets to be silly, then I do too!"

A long day.

Disneyland/CA Adventure

One of the benefits to Mom being a Disney nut is that everybody gets Disney souvenirs
BEFORE they go to Disneyland.

We had to wait a while for my brother, Jim and his wife, Samantha. Once they got here, we
had to wait a while for our friend Jeff. It was worth the wait both times. The kids were so
patient and polite as they waited.

Jim and Hailey got to walk alongside Mickey.

It was good for Leah and Dax to hang with Jim and Sam. They love them so much.

Samantha, Jimmy, Dax, Leah and Sarah.

Jim and Leah in the background. Samantha and Dax in the foreground.

They all went on Hyperspace Mountain (formerly Space Mountain), so Dax and I went to visit
the Marvel Superheros and Chewbacca. Who is that in the back row? Zack Galafinakis?