Disneyland is the iconic park you think about when thinking about theme parks; it is a huge park with a wide variety of rides and attractions, from Disney characters to classic movies. 

Knott’s Berry Farm offers a traditional theme park experience, thrilling rides, exciting shows, and an Old West Ghost Town. 

Knott’s Berry Farm offers big thrilling rides while providing a unique experience for visitors of all ages.

Disneyland, one of the planet’s most-visited theme parks, is known for its creativity and attention to detail in smaller rides and attractions.

While Disneyland focuses on child-friendly rides and experiences, Knott’s Berry Farm offers more adrenaline-fueled rides to get your pulse racing. 

Both parks offer a range of exciting experiences for all to enjoy, with each park catering to different preferences and interests.

Knott’s, the smaller of the two, packs a whopping 50 attractions in a small area, while Disneyland, with its two theme parks, offers around 100 attractions.

Regarding affordability and crowd levels, Knott’s Berry Farm is a cheaper and less crowded park compared to Disneyland. 

Ultimately, it depends on your preference – whether you want a Disney-themed adventure or a more thrilling experience.

Let’s dive deep into the various factors of the parks and help you decide between Knott’s Berry Farm and Disneyland California.

Rides and Attractions

With its diverse attractions, Knott’s Berry Farm is a popular destination for thrill-seekers and families.

On the other hand, Disneyland is known for its children-focused attractions with few options for thrill-seekers.

Knott’s Berry Farm

HangTime
Image: Wikipedia.org

Knott’s Berry Farm, known for its thrilling rides, houses several roller coasters, drop towers, spinning rides and other family-friendly attractions. 

Some of the popular Knott’s Berry Farm rides include 

  • Xcelerator – a high-speed launch coaster reaching speeds up to 82 miles per hour in just over two seconds.
  • Hangtime – a steel dive roller coaster with a 96-degree drop
  • Silver Bullet – a suspended coaster featuring six inversions.
  • GhostRider – longest and tallest wooden coaster on the West Coast with many twists and turns

It also boasts a real 3-foot 1900s steam train offering a scenic journey around the park and a dark train ride, Calico Mine Ride, that takes you through a recreated mine with lots of animatronics.

Camp Snoopy is the area of Knott’s specially designed to house children’s rides, like bumper cars, miniature trains, small drop towers, and other smaller versions of other popular Knott’s rides.

In addition to all the rides, the attractions at Knott’s are unique and fascinating. 

Be it the 1900s actual Kansas City Old Schoolhouse, the artifacts at Western Trails Museum or Indian Trails, the park’s area featuring Native American dances, music, art and culture.

Disneyland California

Disneyland California
Image: Timeout.com

In contrast to Knott’s, Disneyland features a lot of slow but innovative family-friendly rides.

It features a wide range of rides and attractions that offer a unique and immersive experience appealing to families and individuals alike.

From fantasy track rides like Alice In Wonderland and a haunted house, Haunted Mansion, to tame roller coasters with special effects, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Other attractions include Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, the flight simulator ride and Peter Pan’s Flight, the indoor fantasy adventure ride.

The indoor space-themed roller coaster, Space Mountain, featuring speeds up to 35 mph, is one of the top thrill rides at Disneyland.

Based inside a temple, Indiana Jones Adventure is another dark ride that allows you to experience the thrill of being a famous archaeologist.

The Sleeping Beauty Castle walk-through exhibit takes you through a miniature 3-D series narrating the story of Sleeping Beauty, arranged along a narrow passage inside the castle.

Entertainment 

Entertainment Helloween season
Image: Ktla.com

Knott’s Berry Farm is more than just a theme park full of thrilling rides and attractions; it’s also a live entertainment hub. 

It features a variety of live shows throughout the year, catering to various interests and tastes. 

The live shows include Native American dance performances, comedy shows, western bands, seasonal musical theater, melodramas and other acts. 

Some meet-and-greet opportunities are also available with characters of the Peanuts gang, including Snoopy, Charlie Brown and Woodstock.   

In addition, the special events at Knott’s offer their own live entertainment set with delicious food and themed decorations.

One such ‘Seasons of Fun’ include Ghost Town Alive, a unique interactive experience with activities associated with an old western city. 

During Knott’s Summer Nights, you can enjoy live music, DJ performance, and other entertainment after the sun goes down. 

Knott’s Scary Farm takes over the park during the Halloween season, offering haunted mazes, scare zones and other spooky attractions for those seeking a fright. 

On the other hand, during the holiday season, Knott’s Merry Farm transforms the park into a festive wonderland with holiday-themed shows, decorations and attractions.

Disneyland also features a ton of live entertainment in addition to parades.

The Sleeping Beauty Castle serves as an iconic landmark and doubles as a stage for shows and special events. 

The daily shows at Disneyland include musicals, storytelling, live music performances, projections, piano shows and evening fireworks on stage. 

The California Adventure Park hosts a fountain show with stunning special effects, a kids’ dance party, a behind-the-scenes animation experience, an interactive animated show and many more. 

Throughout the parks, you meet Disney characters like Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald.

Food

Food Disneyland Celifornia
Image: Wdwnt.com

Starting as a berry farm, Knott’s boasts an intriguing history and is still known for its unique and varied food options. 

The Knott’s Boysenberry Festival in spring honors the park’s food legacy by featuring classic plus innovative boysenberry-inspired dishes and drinks.

Disneyland also takes its food seriously and offers smoked meats, sandwiches, wraps, barbeques, turkey legs, fried chicken and more. 

You can also indulge in sweet treats, including chocolate popcorn, churros, shakes and donuts at Disneyland.

Learn more about dining at Knott’s Berry Farm, from Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Restaurant to various quick-service food outlets.

Water park

Water park Disneyland
Image: Latimes.com

Knott’s Berry Farm features a separate waterpark, Knott’s Soak City, with over 20 rides and attractions.

The waterpark offers something for all ages and interests, from thrilling water slides, a wave pool and a lazy river to play areas for kids and adults.

Disneyland does not offer a water park but does feature some cool water rides, including

  • Splash Mountain – the popular adventure boat ride that is a roller coaster featuring unexpected turns and slight drops.
  • Pirates of the Caribbean – a long dark boat ride offering a pirate adventure with gunshots, cannon blasts and burning buildings.
  • Jungle Cruise – a fun outdoor riverboat ride through a jungle waterway featuring various animals and a few thrills.
  • Storybook Land Canal Boats – a scenic boat ride showcasing impressive landscape gardening, including scenes from Disney classics and recent features like Frozen’s Arendelle.

Opening Hours

Opening Hours Disneyland
Image: Theatlantic.com

Knott’s Berry Farm opens daily at 10 am, Christmas Day being the only day the park remains closed.

However, the closing time varies depending on the season and crowd expectations. 

During peak summer, the park opens until 10 pm, while at other times of the year, it can close between 6 pm and 10 pm.

Disneyland California hours also vary from season to season, but it usually opens around 8 am or 10 am and closes around 10 pm or 12 am.

Location 

Both parks in Southern California are within seven miles of each other. 

Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park is about a 30-minute ride from Los Angeles and a one-and-a-half-hour ride from San Diego. 

Knott’s is accessible via Metrolink, with the nearest station being Buena Park at a distance of 5 miles.

Located in Anaheim, you can reach Disneyland California by car, public bus, Metrolink or the Anaheim Regional Transportation (ART) shuttle.

Anaheim ARTIC station on the orange line is the nearest Metrolink station to Disneyland, from where you can get a free ART shuttle service to the park.

Both theme parks also offer parking on-site for a fee.

Knott’s Berry Farm address: 8039 Beach Blvd, Buena Park, CA 9062

Knott’s Berry Farm address
Image: Visitanaheim.org

Disneyland California address: 1313 Disneyland Dr, Anaheim, CA 92802

Disneyland California address
Image: Ktla.com

Learn more about how to reach Knott’s Berry Farm by public transport or car.

Size and Time Commitment

Knotts Berry Farm covers around 57 acres and consists of four main themed areas.

You can easily cover all the rides and attractions at Knott’s in a day. 

On the other hand, you will need at least three days to cover everything at over 100 acres of Disneyland. 

It consists of two parks—Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park—with nine and eight themed areas, respectively.

So, if you are looking for a one-day theme park visit, Knott’s Berry Farm is the better option.

If you want a more extended vacation, Disneyland California is your best bet.

Tickets

In general, Knott’s Berry Farm tickets cost less than Disneyland tickets.

The general one-day admission is the most popular of all Knott’s Berry Farm tickets. The ticket costs around $75 per person. 

However, Knott’s Soak City Waterpark requires a separate entrance ticket.

Disneyland one-day tickets cost around $100 per person. If you want to purchase add-ons, the ticket price goes even higher.

Both parks have a dynamic pricing system; ticket prices usually depend on the expected crowd on a particular day.

If you wish to visit both parks, the way to save money is to purchase combination tickets.

The Go City Los Angeles Pass, which includes access to over 40 top Los Angeles attractions, helps you save up to 40% on admission to the included attractions.

You can choose a 3-, 5- or 7-day pass and enjoy free entry to all attractions, from theme parks, museums and landmarks to cruises.

Featured Image: Blooloop.com, En.wikipedia.org

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