Knott’s Berry Farm vs. Six Flags Magic Mountain L.A. is a popular debate and are two of the most popular travel destinations.
Both parks offer many rides and attractions, but each has unique features that set it apart.
Often referred to as the ‘thrill capital of the world,’ Six Flags Magic Mountain boasts around 100 attractions on its nearly 300-acre space.
Knott’s Berry Farm is known for its thrill rides but offers a more well-rounded experience with several entertainment and food options.
Oriented more towards adrenaline seekers, Magic Mountain is the way for those strictly seeking rides.
On the other hand, Knott’s Berry Farm is a better fit for those looking for a complete theme park experience that the whole family can enjoy.
In this article, we will note all the similarities and differences between the two Californian theme parks: Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain.
Size and Opening hours
Knotts Berry Farm, spread over 57 acres, features rides, restaurants, stores and other attractions in four main areas:
- Ghost Town
- Fiesta Village
- The Boardwalk
- Camp Snoopy
While the 260-acre area of Six Flags Magic Mountain is more than four times bigger and features eleven separately themed areas.
Knott’s Berry Farm operates daily, starting at 10 am, but the closing hours change depending on the season.
Magic Mountain usually opens around 10.30 am, and its closing time varies between 6 pm and 10 pm, depending on the season. The park closes on certain weekdays in November and December.
Location
Knott’s Berry Farm, situated in Buena Park, is about a 30-minute ride from Los Angeles and a one-and-a-half-hour ride from San Diego.
Located close to Disneyland, at a distance of only 5.9 miles, Knott’s is just a 15-minute drive.
Six Flags Magic Mountain is in Valencia, about a 50-minute drive from Los Angeles and a one-and-a-half-hour ride from Santa Barbara.
Both theme parks are accessible via Metrolink, with the nearest stations being Buena Park (Knott’s Berry Farm) and Santa Clarita (Six Flags Magic Mountain) at a distance of 5 miles.
The theme parks also offer parking on-site for a fee.
Knott’s Berry Farm address: 8039 Beach Blvd, Buena Park, CA 9062
Six Flags Magic Mountain address: 26101 Magic Mountain Parkway, Valencia, CA 91355
Find more about Knott’s Berry Farm location and how to reach it using various modes of transport—car, public bus or Metrolink.
For a more convenient mode of travel, pre-book a private transfer from Los Angeles to Anaheim or Buena Park.
Rides
If you’re looking for thrills and excitement, Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain are two of the best theme parks in the country.
Both parks are known for their heart-pumping rides, including drop towers, spinning rides and looping coasters that will leave you breathless.
Knott’s boasts a real 3-feet 1900s train, while Magic Mountain has a 2-feet narrow gauge train, both offering a scenic journey around the park.
Both parks also have carousels, bumper cars, miniature trains and character meet-and-greets for the little visitors.
Coming to water rides, Knott’s Calico River Rapids is a splashing and spinning downriver ride in big round boats, while the Timber Mountain Log Ride offers a guaranteed soak with its 42-foot free fall finale
The two water rides at Magic Mountain are Roaring Rapids and Jet Stream log flume.
Knott’s has a great selection of classic rides for visitors of all ages, while Magic Mountain features more adrenal-pumping rides.
Knott’s Berry Farm
Knott’s popular thrill rides include Xcelerator, a high-speed launch coaster reaching 82 miles per hour in just over two seconds, and Silver Bullet, a suspended coaster featuring six inversions.
GhostRider, a wooden coaster with many twists and turns, is another well-liked ride.
Besides the thrill rides, Knott’s also houses an area specially designed for kids, Camp Snoopy.
Based on the PEANUTS characters, the area contains engaging rides, shows, meet-and-greets and play areas.
Magic Mountain
With 20 coasters, Six Flags Magic Mountain holds the record for the theme park with the most roller coasters in the world.
It is doubtful that any theme park can beat it when it comes to thrill rides.
Some popular rides at Magic Mountain include
- Superman: Escape from Krypton – Reaching a top speed of 104 miles per hour, this roller coaster has the second-longest drop of any ride in the world.
- X2 – This one-of-a-kind 4D coaster features spinning seats, steep drops and high speeds.
- Twisted Colossus – A dual-tracked roller coaster with inversions and a 180-degree stall spanning almost 5,000 feet.
- Tatsu – Featuring a zero-gravity roll, Tatsu is a flying coaster reaching speeds upto 62 miles per hour that take riders on a 263-foot drop.
- The Riddler’s Revenge – This standing steel roller coaster features six inversions, including a vertical loop, two dive loops, an inclined loop and two corkscrews
Entertainment
Both parks offer live entertainment such as comedy shows, dances, music and more at Magic Mountains’ Golden Bear Theater and Knott’s Calico Saloon, Camp Snoopy Theatre and Bird Cage Theater.
Knott’s special events are another unique feature of the theme park.
The various celebrations include the summer event, Ghost Town Alive, a unique interactive experience of a traditional western town.
The summer fun continues into the night with Knott’s Summer Nights, which features live music, DJs, and other performances.
Knott’s Scary Farm during the Halloween season and Knott’s Merry Farm in the holidays are two other of the various ‘Seasons of Fun’ at Knott’s.
Magic Mountain also has extensive events, including Fright Fest, Viva La Fiesta and Oktoberfest.
Food
As it started as a berry farm, Knott’s offers a diverse range of food options.
Its signature boysenberry-themed food includes boysenberry pie, boysenberry BBQ sauce and boysenberry drinks.
Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant is another iconic Knott’s dining spot that still attracts tourists and locals alike. The restaurant serves classic fried chicken, a favorite since the 1930s.
Knott’s also hosts a spring event honoring its food legacy, the Boysenberry Festival, which features unique food items you’ll only find at the event.
Food plays a massive role in the Knott’s Berry Farm experience, and you will find something you love.
While Magic Mountain also features classic and unique food options; such as meatless sandwiches, funnel cakes, sushi, turkey legs and more; it lacks the food heritage that Knott’s boasts.
Water park
Apart from the theme park water slides, both parks have separately ticketed water parks open from May to September.
Knott’s Soak City Waterpark has more than 20 water rides and attractions for adults and small children.
The park features a wave pool, a lazy river, an interactive playhouse, a one-foot lagoon for kids, and several thrilling water-slides, making it a perfect family vacation destination.
Magic Mountain’s water park, Hurricane Harbor, offers six rides and a lazy river.
Tickets
The general one-day admission is the most popular of all Knott’s Berry Farm tickets. The ticket costs around $75 per person. Knott’s Soak City Waterpark requires a separate entrance ticket.
The one-day Six Flags Magic Mountain ticket at around $80 also costs in the same range.
If you wish to visit both parks, you can buy the Go City Los Angeles Pass, which includes access to over 40 top Los Angeles attractions, including Six Flags Magic Mountain, Knott’s Berry Farm (and Soak City), Universal Studios Hollywood and Legoland California.
You can choose a 3-, 5- or 7-day pass and save up to 40% on admission to the included attractions.
Contents
Expected crowd
Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain are two of America’s most popular amusement parks.
Knott’s and Magic Mountain host around the same number of visitors yearly.
For instance, in 2021, about 3.7 million people visited Knott’s, while around 3.1 million visited Magic Mountain.
The number of visitors is vast during peak seasons, including the summer holidays, weekends and other holidays like Christmas and New Year.
While Knott’s Berry Farm attracts a mix of families and thrill-seekers, the crowd at Six Flags Magic Mountain tends to be more teenagers and young adults due to its many high-speed roller coasters and thrill rides.
You will expect a massive crowd with long wait times if you visit any of the two during the peak. You can avoid the long lines by visiting on a weekday or during the non-holiday season.
Featured Image: VisitAnaheim.org, Pinterest.com
