Page 36 - 2017 Travel Guide to California

THEME PARKS
RIDE at California’s Great America, Santa
Clara, right.
Other Bay Area Parks
The San Francisco Bay Area is home to two
other popular parks: California’s Great
America (in Santa Clara) and Six Flags Dis-
covery Kingdom (in Vallejo).
Great America, next to the new Levi’s Sta-
dium, is all about rides. Diversions range
from scream-inducing (Flight Deck, a roller
coaster, has one 360-degree loop and a zero-
gravity roll) to family-friendly (the Carousel
Columbia is the world’s tallest double-
decker carousel). In 2015, the park expanded
the Planet Snoopy kids area and added three
new attractions, including two new racing
rides. Patriot, the park’s first floorless roller
coaster, is expected to debut in 2017.
The vibe at Discovery Kingdom is more
eclectic. In addition to rides such as the
Medusa roller coaster and SkyScreamer (a
swing ride), the park also is home to a
number of animals, including Jocko the
walrus, who starred in the 2004 movie, 50
First Dates, and Brandon the reticulated
giraffe, who was named after San Francisco
Giants slugger, Brandon Belt. In 2015, park
officials added the Dare Devil Chaos Coaster,
a roller coaster that takes passengers upside-
down in both forward and backward
directions. In 2017, the park expects to add a
Wonder Woman-themed swing ride.
San Diego Area Parks
San Diego and its surrounding suburbs also
comprise a great region for theme parks;
two family favorites are SeaWorld and
Legoland California.
Out near Mission Bay, in San Diego proper,
SeaWorld is a sprawling homage to dozens of
different species of marine life, including
dolphins, sea lions, walruses, polar bears and
beluga whales. It also is one of only two
places in the world where emperor penguins
34 2017 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A
are kept in captivity. In late 2016 SeaWorld
reorganized its entertainment program to
focus more squarely on education. This
means no more animal shows, which has
kept conservation groups happy.
In the nearby community of Carlsbad,
Legoland is dedicated to tiny plastic bricks
(dubbed “Legos”), and boasts mind-bog-
gling Lego replicas of famous architectural
icons (the Statue of Liberty and the Taj
Mahal among them) as well as dioramas of
seven areas of the U.S. The park incorpo-
rates rides and eateries, and is home to the
Model Shop, the headquarters for the park’s
10 master builders (a window allows guests
to witness these professionals at work). In
the summer of 2013, the park also opened a
hotel; the lobby has a giant pit of Legos with
which children can play. There also are two
tremendous on-site water parks.
CityPASS
Once you’ve decided where to go, try City-
PASS for saving some money: In Southern
California, it knocks as much as one third off
the price of admission to Disneyland, Disney
California Adventure Park, Legoland and
SeaWorld. The Southern California CityPASS
includes back-and-forth admission to both
Disneyland Park and Disney California
Adventure Park for any three days during a
14-day period and allows you to skip the
main-entrance ticket lines. The San Fran-
cisco CityPASS includes a 3-Day Cable Car
and Muni Bus Passport and saves 42 percent
off admission for attractions such as the Cal-
ifornia Academy of Sciences, Exploratorium,
de Young Museum and Aquarium of the Bay.
The pass is valid for nine days. Buy your
CityPASS at any of the above attractions or
online at citypass.com.
» FIND YOUR
FANTASY
Universal Studios Hollywood
universalstudioshollywood.com
Children’s Fairyland
fairyland.org
Disneyland
disneyland.disney.go.com
California’s Great America
cagreatamerica.com
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
sixflags.com/discoverykingdom
Legoland California
california.legoland.com
SeaWorld
seaworldparks.com/en/
seaworld-sandiego
Knott’s Berry Farm
knotts.com
CityPASS
citypass.com
NICOLA BARNETT/CREATIVE COMMONS/FLICKR