By Robert Niles: Planning a visit to the Los Angeles area? You should at least consider it — this is a great destination for theme park fans. Southern California is the birthplace of the modern theme park industry, with Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm leading the way, Universal Studios establishing the model for movie-themed parks, and Six Flags Magic Mountain now claiming the title as Roller Coaster Capital of the World. But Southern California's theme parks and other attractions are spread over an immense metro area, separated by miles and miles of often-traffic-clogged freeways and even a few mountain ranges. There's no relatively compact theme park district in Southern California, as there is in Orlando. Planning your LA-area vacation is essential, not just to get the best deals on tickets, hotels, and airfare, but to ensure that you don't waste your get-away time stuck in a car on the highway.Let's start with Southern California's top attraction — the Disneyland Resort. Located in Orange County's city of Anaheim, Disneyland is just located just six miles from Knott's Berry Farm, in Buena Park. But Disneyland lies 35 miles south of Universal Studios Hollywood, which is located north of downtown Los Angeles, at the edge of the San Fernando Valley. And you would have to drive another 26 miles north up the 5 from Universal to Six Flags Magic Mountain, which is located over Newhall Pass in the Santa Clarita Valley's city of Valencia, in northern Los Angeles County.You might think that drives of 35 and 26 miles aren't too bad. But forget about driving a mile-a-minute in LA. Freeway traffic means that these drives can take more than an hour each... and that's if traffic isn't too bad.So there's no one hotel or AirBnB you can book to get to all four of these theme park destinations, without wasting hours of your time in traffic driving between them. If you want to visit all of the Los Angeles area's top theme parks, you will want to break your trip into segments, staying in different hotels for each one. If you are wondering what would be the best time to visit Disneyland, there isn't much of an "offseason" there anymore. Your best bet is to find a day when its popular Southern California Select annual passes are blocked out and that's also convenient for you. Rainy days are the best for low crowds, which means visiting during the (relatively) rainy season in January through March and taking your chances. But that's also "refurbishment season" in the parks, when some rides and areas will be closed for repair. So... go whenever you want. For tickets and vacation packages including nearby hotels, please visit our Disneyland tickets page. Disneyland has three on-site hotels, but some of its Good Neighbor hotels are located just as close to the parks' front gates as the official hotels and are often quite a bit cheaper.You can save on nightly parking costs at local hotels by taking the Disneyland Resort Express shuttle bus directly from or to Los Angeles International Airport or Orange County's John Wayne Airport in nearby Santa Ana, then just walking or using Anaheim Resort Transit to get around. But if you want to venture beyond the Disneyland Resort in Southern California, you will need a car. Our tip is to wait to rent a car until after the Disneyland portion of your trip. That will save you overnight parking costs and days of rental costs when you really won't use the car at the very walkable Disneyland Resort.For tickets to other attractions throughout Southern California, we recommend the Go Los Angeles Card. That ticket includes admission to dozens of local attractions, including Six Flags Magic Mountain, Knott's Berry Farm and Soak City, Legoland California, and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour. If you get the three-, five-, or seven-day version of the Card, it also includes a one-day admission to Universal Studios Hollywood as well.The adult price is $82 for one day, $126 for two days, $213 for three, $273 for five, and $319 for seven days. All days must be used within 14 days of the ticket's first use. Here is the list of attraction that you can get into with the Go Los Angeles Card, with their one-time ticket costs listed for reference. (All participating locations and prices are from the time of publication.)Universal Studios Hollywood: from $95Legoland California: from $95Six Flags Magic Mountain: from $68Warner Bros. VIP Studio Tour: from $67Celebrity Homes Tours by Starline Tours: from $55Malibu Celebrity Homes Tour: $55, or Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour: $49Knott's Berry Farm: from $52 ($50 when you buy three or more)Sony Pictures Studio Tour: $50Self-Guided GPS Bike Tour by Bikes & Hikes, $45Knott's Soak City Water Park: from $42Whale Watching by Harbor Breeze Cruises: $35Mountain Bike or Roller Skates All-Day Rental from Perry’s Beach Cafe and Rentals: $35Pacific Park Santa Monica Pier: $31.45Queen Mary: $30Behind-the-Scenes Hollywood Tour by Red Line: $27Huntington Library and Gardens: $25/$29 on weekendsDolby Theater Guided Tour: $25Madame Tussaud's Hollywood: from $25Aquarium of the Pacific: from $22.50K1 Speed Indoor Karting: $22LA Zoo and Botanical Gardens: $21OEU SkySpace Los Angeles: from $21TCL Chinese Theatre: $18, or Hollywood Museum: $15Battleship Iowa Museum: from $16Grammy Museum: $15Whale Watch by Newport Landing: from $15Natural History Museum: $14La Brea Tar Pits: $13California Science Center IMAX: from $9Santa Monica Pier Aquarium: $5Cabrillo Marine Aquarium: $5Use the three-day card just to visit Magic Mountain, Universal, and then Warner Bros. and the nearby LA Zoo on your third day, and you've saved $38 over the already-discounted prices linked above. You can extend your savings with more creative itineraries. But keep those freeways in mind!To help you minimize your travel time across Southern California, I've grouped the participating attractions by their locations. Excepting Magic Mountain and Legoland, you comfortably can hit up your choice of attractions from any two adjacent areas from the lists below in one day, but I wouldn't try anything more aggressive than that. For each area, I've also included nearby popular attractions not included on the Card, in italics.Up north: [Hotels]Six Flags Magic Mountain: 26101 Magic Mountain Pkwy, ValenciaAlso: Zombie real estate agentsUniversal area: [Hotels]Universal Studios Hollywood: 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal CityWarner Bros. VIP Studio Tour: 3400 Warner Blvd, BurbankLA Zoo and Botanical Gardens: 5333 Zoo Dr, Los AngelesAlso: Griffith Park and Observatory, Hollywood signHollywood: [Hotels]TCL Chinese Theatre: 6925 Hollywood Blvd, HollywoodHollywood Museum: 1660 N Highland Ave, HollywoodMadame Tussaud's Hollywood: 6933 Hollywood Blvd, HollywoodDolby Theater Guided Tour: 6801 Hollywood Blvd, HollywoodCelebrity Homes Tours by Starline Tours: 6801 Hollywood Blvd, HollywoodBehind-the-Scenes Hollywood Tour by Red Line: 6708 Hollywood Blvd, HollywoodAlso: El Capitan TheaterDowntown(ish): [Hotels]Grammy Museum: 800 W Olympic Blvd, Los AngelesOEU SkySpace Los Angeles: 633 W 5th St, Los AngelesCalifornia Science Center IMAX: 700 Exposition Park Dr, Los AngelesNatural History Museum: 900 W Exposition Blvd, Los AngelesAlso: Walt Disney Concert Hall, Staples Center, Convention CenterBetween Downtown and Westside:Self-Guided GPS Bike Tour by Bikes & Hikes: 8250 Santa Monica Blvd, West HollywoodLa Brea Tar Pits: 5801 Wilshire Blvd, Los AngelesWestside: [Hotels]Pacific Park Santa Monica Pier: 380 Santa Monica Pier, Santa MonicaMalibu Celebrity Homes Tour or Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour: 322 Santa Monica Pier, Santa MonicaSanta Monica Pier Aquarium: 1600 Ocean Front Walk, Santa MonicaPerry's Beach Cafe and Rentals: 2400 Ocean Front Walk, Santa Monica (not the Pier location)Sony Pictures Studio Tour: 10202 Washington Blvd, Culver CityAlso: Getty Center and the beachBetween the Westside and South Bay:K1 Speed Indoor Karting: 19038 S Vermont Ave, GardenaSouth Bay: [Hotels]Queen Mary: 1126 Queens Hwy, Long BeachAquarium of the Pacific: 100 Aquarium Way, Long BeachWhale Watching by Harbor Breeze Cruises: 100 Aquarium Way Dock #2, Long BeachCabrillo Marine Aquarium: 3720 Stephen M White Dr, San PedroBattleship Iowa Museum, 250 S Harbor Blvd, Los AngelesAlso: More beachOrange County: [Hotels]Knott's Berry Farm and Knott's Soak City Water Park: 8039 Beach Blvd, Buena ParkWhale Watch by Newport Landing: 309 Palm Street, Newport BeachAlso: Disneyland... and more beachesFarther down the 5: [Hotels] Legoland California: 1 Legoland Dr, CarlsbadThat leaves the Huntington Library and Gardens at 1151 Oxford Road in San Marino, which is located conveniently within walking distance of Theme Park Insider world headquarters, but is a 25-minute drive from Universal in good traffic. It's a wonderful destination, but perhaps not the best use of an entire day on the Go Los Angeles Card, since it'd be tough to pair it with something else on the Card on the same day, and you can just buy a ticket to it for less than the per-day cost of the Card.Obviously, there's far more to do in Southern California that anyone could fit in a single vacation, but we hope that these links and advice help you to plan an affordable and enjoyable you to the Los Angeles area. And if you need more help with making reservations, please don't hesitate to call our travel partner at +1-800-680-1272 for assistance.Have a great trip!How to save money with theme park ticket deals and discounts […]

A bar and lounge based on “Beauty and the Beast” will open at Disney’s Grand Floridian resort this fall, Walt Disney World has announced. The establishment will take over space on the second floor of the longtime Walt Disney World hotel. It will be where Mizner’s Bar and Lounge operated as well... […]

The opening of Disney’s first ride starring Mickey Mouse is getting delayed by several months. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway was scheduled to open tentatively this fall but will now debut in spring 2020. Disney slipped the changed date into its parks blog Friday that also announced Disneyland... […]

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway trackless dark ride will debut in 2022 in Mickey’s Toontown. […]

By Robert Niles: Disney dropped a couple pieces of news this morning about its first Mickey Mouse-themed ride, Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway.First, its opening date at Disney's Hollywood Studios officially has been pushed back. At last fall's D23 Destination D event at Walt Disney World, Disney Parks Chairman Bob Chapek said that the ride would open in about one year from then, which would have put its debut this fall. However, Disney announced this morning that Runaway Railway will open instead in spring 2020.But that's probably not the biggest news about this ride. Disney also confirmed that it will add the ride in Mickey's Toontown at Disneyland in Anaheim.Disneyland officials have been coy about this one, but have made clear during their Project Stardust presentations to local media that Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge isn't the only big new attraction coming to the park that they need to prepare for. Changes that Disneyland has been preparing backstage around Mickey's Toontown suggested that something new was coming to that area, and now Disneyland is confirming it. View this post on Instagram Something exciting is coming to Mickey’s Toontown at @disneyland Park. Check out the @disneyparksblog today at 10 a.m. PT to learn about the news! A post shared by Josh D'Amaro (@joshdamaro) on Apr 19, 2019 at 9:02am PDTMickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway is schedule to open at Disneyland in 2022. Taking its inspiration from the Paul Rudish/Joseph Holt series now running on The Disney Channel and Disney.com, the ride will follow Mickey and Minnie as they head out into the countryside for a picnic.So how will we follow Disney's biggest stars? In a train driven by Goofy! What could possibly go wrong with that?Plenty, of course. The misadventures on our "Runaway Railway" will include [spoiler alert] a stampede and scenes entitled "Carnival Chaos," "Tropical Torrent," and "Factory Frenzy" before we finally get to that picnic.For tickets to Disney's theme parks, please visit our new Disneyland and Walt Disney World tickets pages.Reviews and planning tips for all Disney theme parks […]

The key factor in the California Theme Park Index wasn’t admission ticket prices. […]

Universal Orlando capped off its week of roller coaster revelations in a fiery way. Coming soon to Islands of Adventure theme park will be the blast-ended skrewt, the latest unveiled element of its upcoming thrill ride called Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. The blast-ended skrewt... […]

Disneyland is expecting massive crowds for the grand opening of Galaxy’s Edge on May 31 and the weeks and months to follow. […]

Tigris, Busch Gardens’ new roller coaster, is one deceptive attraction. The ride looks like a kitten, one that might run playfully after a red laser beam. In reality, it’s a big cat on prowl, madly chasing its tail, causing a frenzy. The thrill ride, which officially opens at the Tampa theme park... […]

The sun beat down Thursday on another picturesque day worthy of a Sunshine State postcard. That’s excellent news for the new giant solar farm at Walt Disney World Resort, a facility on 270 sprawling acres that’s roughly the same size as two Magic Kingdoms put together. “It goes straight into powering... […]

By Robert Niles: Busch Gardens Tampa this morning showed off its new roller coaster to the media — Tigris. Standing 150 feet above the park, the triple-launched Premier Rides model is now Florida's tallest launch coaster.I wasn't at the park for this morning's event, but I invite you to check out our on-site reviews of SeaWorld's two previous installations of this Sky Rocket II model: the original installation of Tempesto at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, by Russell Meyer, and my review of Electric Eel last year at SeaWorld San Diego.We start with a forward launch out of the station, stalling on the track as gravity drops us back into the station, through which the ride accelerates us with a faster, backward launch. That one drives us up higher, but we stall again for gravity to pull us again into the station, where a third launch finally gets us up to that 62 mph top speed, propelling us all the way to the top of the 150-foot structure.A relatively slow inline twist follows... before gravity pulls us down and into the ride's final element, a non-inverting loop. Then we drop back into the station, overshooting it by just a bit, before gravity gently rolls us backward to unload.For tickets to Busch Gardens Tampa, please visit our new Busch Gardens Tampa Bay tickets page.Reader ratings and reviews for Busch Gardens Tampa […]

A water park set to open this summer in Kissimmee will give visitors a chance to get social. Officials behind Island H2O Live!, which will be set on the sprawling Margaritaville Resort Orlando, have revealed plans to give different areas around the park social media-themed monikers. For instance,... […]

An International Drive business – built with bones -- retooled its strategy and has attracted an increasing number of curious customers. Skeletons: Museum of Osteology, despite its location in the heart of Orlando’s tourism corridor, morphed from its initial intent as an attraction to an educational... […]

We have something new to chew on for the 30th anniversary of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Plus, fresh sipping options accompany those food items when the theme park’s celebration begins on May 1. Anniversary menu items fall into three categories: “Star Wars,” Pixar and Mickey and Minnie. Culinary... […]

“If you think about it, it's only been Han Solo, Chewie, Lando, Rey and now me,” says Disneyland ride operator Mark Diwas. […]