DH has a meeting in Orange County the first week of May and I plan on flying out there with our 2 children to meet him for a little vacation. I'm trying to decide on Knotts Berry Farm vs. Disneyland. We went to Disneyworld in Orlando in December and the kids (age 4 and 2) loved it! We went to the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and MGM Studios. We've heard that Disneyland isn't as good, so I'm trying to decide if we should bother. It would cost us $188 for a day at Disney and $106 at Knotts Berry. My kids don't really know Snoopy and his gang, so they wouldn't be as impressed seeing them as seeing Mickey and the Princesses again. I've also heard that Disneyland is more crowded than Disneyworld. We went in December, supoosedly a slow time and were surprised with how crowded it was. Any advice?
Also, we're flying into LAX and depending on DH's meeting, I may have to get the rental car with the kids. Does anyone know if the rental desks and cars are right at the terminal, or do you have to take a shuttle bus to get to them? I don't know if I could do the shuttle with all our luggage and 2 small kids.
Thanks!

I would say that Knott's Berry Farm is better for older children. There are a lot more roller coaster type rides outside the Camp Snoopy area (which is the only area specifically aimed at the children your age). Knott's does put on a pretty good fried chicken dinner, though.

I haven't been to Disneyworld, so I can't compare crowds, but I was at Disneyland last week and the crowds were quite manageable. It may seem more crowded because everything is closer together. I don't know if I'd have felt the same way if I was waiting in line with a two year old and four year old.

You do have to take a shuttle from the airport to the car rental pickup at LAX.

I've never been to Knott's so can't compare. I have been to Disneyland though. At your kids ages I doubt they will think Disneyland is not as good as Disney World. At that age if they see characters and can go on rides that are appropriate to their ages they will have fun. However, someone of adult age may not find it as much fun. I do find Disneyland to be more crowded than Disney World-- in fact the last time we were there about 2/3 ys ago in early May, the crowds were horrendous. In fact, I overheard a cast member say they hadn't seen it so crowded since Christmas/New Years. Not sure if that was just an unusually crowded weekend though-- might have just been bad luck, but there were no special events going on that would explain a surge in crowds, so it was odd. While Disneyland has it's place, I do find it is not as well done as Disney World-- seems more "concretey" less well landscaped and of course much smaller/tighter.

Miramar: "2/3 years ago" sounds about the time of the 50th anniversary of Disneyland, so yes, they were much more crowded than at any other point in the last 10 to 15 years, so take that with a grain of salt.

I'd stick with Disneyland -- it's classic, timeless, and not just for little kids...

Miramar and thepeters -- how many days would you say would be appropriate for Disneyland. It looks a little smaller than Disneyworld (maybe because it doesn't include Epcot?).

Disneyland has 2 parks: Magic Kingdom and California Adventure. They are right across from one another, so it is relatively easy to go between them, but I seem to recall it costs more if you want to hop between the parks. 1 or 2 days should be plenty, especially if it will be just you and the kids, as with kids that young you will be slightly limited as to what rides they can go on so you won't be trying to get on every ride in the parks.
Even with the inclusion of California Adventure it is definitely a lot smaller than DW.

Our last trip to Disneyland was not much fun. It was jam packed with people, and especially Fantasyland was a gridlock with people. Wait lines were long, and it was stressful and tiring. At Knotts the crowds aren't there, and much more enjoyable with younger kids. We were able to do all the rides in Camp Snoopy, do pony rides, play arcade games, and had a pleasant time.

If your children are familiar with the Disney characters I would go to Disneyland. They're at the perfect age to enjoy the characters et al. If you can avoid going on a Saturday, I would think early May has no reason to be extra crowded. I think the smaller footprint of the California parks makes it easier to manage than Disney World.

There are parts of Disneyland that are better than Disney World...Fantasyland, Main Street, and New Orleans Square. They're more "imagineered".

The California Adventure side is not as good for smaller children, but they have just added some Pixar themed attractions (I haven't been over to that side in a while so I'm not sure). If you're planning on going for two days you usually don't pay that much more for the second day at the park. If you're just going for one day, just go to the Disneyland side, you don't need a parkhopper (2 parks in one day). What I might do on the second day is to go to a character breakfast at one of the Disney hotels. The one at the Paradise Pier Hotel is fun, with lots of interaction (I remember a limbo contest with Lilo and Stitch).

There's a scheduled Disneyland bus that go to the hotels direct from LAX. Maybe that would be easier than the shuttle to the airport, since the bus operators will load up and unload your luggage.

Thank you all so much. Has anyone been to the Princess Faire? Is there a lot of interaction with the princesses? My daughter is of course a huge princess fan, with Ariel as her favorite. I see that they have a princess character breakfast in the Adventure Park, but I don't think there's enough else there for little ones, so I don't think we'll do that. I'm hoping the Princess Faire would be comprable as far as personal interaction.

There is a car rental/return right off the main street of the airport (ask the gal at the front desk of the flight desk) it's right down the street and a taxi could get you there, for 10.00. Regarding Disneyland vs Knotts, I think children that are young would enjoy ether park? However with that said... Disneyland in more pricey. However, Disneyland has it's a small world and other rides for children, there is much to see there, knotts you could do the whole park in 3 hours, where Disneyland you could spend the day. Also there is downtown disney, and you the disneyland hotel has a great pool for kids... You might want to look into that as well.
http://www.disney-vacation-hotels.com

Enjoy your stay... your kids are going to have a blast!!!

I've been to both as an adult, and Knott's more for small kids, like pre-school age, more compact, shorter lines.

Yes, the princess faire has a lot of interaction. They have a craft area, and then a place where you can wait in line to take a picture with a princess, and regular little shows that feature the princesses and are interactive. It's a nice way to break up waiting in lines. They've also redone Tom Sawyer's island with a lot more playground-type features so be sure to go over there to let your kids run off some steam.

Don't bother with the Knott's chicken dinner. We made a trip because my husband remembered it so fondly and it was full of old people, and the food was pretty much awful. Only the chicken was good, but so is the chicken at KFC. Safeway even has better pies!

They've also redone Tom Sawyer's island with a lot more playground-type features so be sure to go over there to let your kids run off some steam.

Many years ago, we wanted to go back to the hotel mid-day for swimtime and naps, but we ended up on Tom Sawyer's island for hours instead. It was a very nice respite from the frenzy of the rest of the park. We stayed (literally) for hours. Kids were 7 and 5 at the time.