Anaheim/SoCal with Teen Boys--need park advice

Ellenwein

Earning My Ears
Joined
May 16, 2017
We are taking an extended Memorial Day weekend trip to Anaheim/SoCal to celebrate our middle son's 16th birthday. His favorite MLB team is the Angels and we are going to fufill his dream of going to a game! He has an 18 y.o. brother and a 10 y.o. brother, and, along with their dad and myself, will all be traveling out there. While we are there, we also plan to hit Disneyland and possibly Universal Studios. As a family, we have been to WDW multiple times and have visited both Universal parks in Orlando. I have been to Disneyland quite a few times and went to Universal Studios as a kid--many moons ago when E.T. was all the rage! Here are my questions: California Adventure--is it worth it? I haven't been to this park and have seen mixed reviews. Although, I know Cars Land is in this park and they did love Lightning McQueen when they were younger. And should we make the trek back across town to go to Universal? I've heard that if you've been to Orlando, that the Universal in LA is small potatoes in comparison. My oldest son is a huge Harry Potter fan though!! We are staying in Anaheim, but will have a rental car. We are planning to do Hollywood/Beverly Hills the day we arrive before traveling down to Anaheim. I know there are so many things to do in LA and we can't do them all--just trying to figure out what would be best for our family. Thanks in advance!
 
When you say extended Memorial Day, when do you arrive, when do you leave and when is the game? You could easily do USH for 3/4 of a day and still make a night game. The main thing that's different at USH is the backlot tour. On the other hand, if you want to do a studio tour, look at the WB tour. Depending on how long your trip is and when the game falls, you might also want to consider staying in LA or near LAX for 1 night at the beginning or end of the trip to add on USH or WB.
 
Universal Studios has a real working movie studio backlot. The King Kong 360 part of the backlot tour is really good, although it's pretty short. And Waterworld is pretty fun.

California Adventure has a stellar roller coaster in California Screamin'. I liked the new Frozen show, but that might not appeal to teen boys. I think there's enough for teens, but they might have a different opinion.
 
I would say generally speaking, based on what friends/co-workers say with older kids who are not particularly Disney fans, is that older kids/adults tend to prefer California Adventure over Disneyland and also Universal Studios over Disneyland. Obviously, that's a pretty broad generalization, and your kids may be different. I know when I was in high school, we went to Disneyland for Grad Night, and I wasn't all that interested in it. I would have been more interested in going to the art and science museums probably. It's been years since I've been to Universal studios, so I'm not the one to ask about Universal.

In terms of California Adventure, I think rides like Soarin', Grizzly River Run, California Screamin would probably hold up pretty well for teenagers, as well as whatever the new GotG/Tower of Terror ride is called. I think overall it feels less "kiddish" because there are no castles/fairy tale characters, etc, and for teenage boys that tends to matter. I guess "is it worth it?" depends on what your alternative plans would be.
 


If you've been to the Wizarding Worlds in Universal Orlando, the only big thing Hollywood has that Orlando doesn't is the backlot tram tour.

California Adventure is definitely good for teens. The new Guardians of the Galaxy ride and Marvel meets will have just opened, plus Radiator Springs, Screamin', World of Color, etc.

Or consider Knott's Berry Farm if they want another theme park. It's much closer and pretty cool for a 3/4 day before a close-by Angels game.

PHXscuba
 
I would say generally speaking, based on what friends/co-workers say with older kids who are not particularly Disney fans, is that older kids/adults tend to prefer California Adventure over Disneyland and also Universal Studios over Disneyland. Obviously, that's a pretty broad generalization, and your kids may be different. I know when I was in high school, we went to Disneyland for Grad Night, and I wasn't all that interested in it. I would have been more interested in going to the art and science museums probably. It's been years since I've been to Universal studios, so I'm not the one to ask about Universal.

When I was at Grad Nite we mostly went for the entertainment. I'd already been on it before, but Star Tours had a huge line. I was with a group but a friend and I got lost from the rest of the group and we basically went together for one performance and Star Tours before they closed up. We certainly went on a few rides, but it was mostly about the entertainment.

We came from Northern California, so our Grad Nite trip was a whirlwind trip of big Southern California theme parks. We actually started off with Knott's Berry Farm after arriving and checking into our motel rooms. Then we did Disneyland for Grad Nite from about 9 PM to 6 AM. After maybe 3 hours of sleep we headed off to Magic Mountain before heading home. We had hit all three in less than 24 hours and this was before I drank coffee. And we also had an issue because our group chartered four Greyhound buses and a few of the drivers (who also had motel rooms) were threatening to not transport us because of some issue with the on duty-off duty hours. In the end all the buses came home, but it was close.
 
If they like roller coasters, they will probably enjoy Knott's Berry Farm. My young adult kids do like California Adventure, but quickly get bored and want to head over to Disneyland.
 


CA Adventure is fun for teens, with Screamin, Soarin and GOG/TOT, and many in my family think Radiator Springs Racers is the best ride in both parks. For Universal, as everyone has said if you have done US/IOA in Orlando almost everything is duplicative, but my 10 yo loves the backlot tour and is a huge Harry Potter fan so we do the park all the time and he is never bored! Honestly Hollywood/BH will probably be the most boring part for your youngest. My boys love hiking in the Hollywood hills but sightseeing/tourist areas don't do anything for them.
 

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