oc Archives - SoCal with Kids

Cool Off This Summer At Knott’s Soak City OC!

May 9, 2013 By socalwithkids

There’s lots of things to do in southern california with kids! One thing we’re most looking forward to this summer is checking out Knott’s Soak City OC! Surprisingly, we have yet to visit this Water Park, but have been invited to visit it as part of a media event on opening weekend 2013. We can’t wait!

Knott’s Soak City OC Water Slides and Splashable Attractions

Knott’s Soak City OC Water Park has something for everyone! Since we’ll be visiting with our baby, we look forward to splashing and playing at Gremmie Lagoon, a play area for kids 54″ and below. I know our 8 year old daughter is looking forward to floating down Sunset River, a 1/3 mile long lazy river! Some of the other features of the 13 acre Water Park are as follows:
• Banzai Falls
• Laguna Storm Water Tower
• Malibu Run
• Old Man Falls
• Pacific Spin
• Tidal Wave Bay
• Toyota Beach House
• Toyota Beach House Slides

As mentioned above, this will be our first visit to Knott’s Soak City OC. We look forward to sharing pics from our visit, as well as insider tips in a separate post once we experience it ourselves. Visit this LINK for further details about the attractions within Knott’s Soak City OC.

2013 Season Pass Offer

Knott’s Soak City OC is offering a 2013 Season Pass Special Offer which includes members only benefits and unlimited visits throughout the season. One such benefit is that Season Passholders may bring a friend between June 3-6th, 2013 for just $25 for the day! Passes start as low as just six payments of $9.49 for a Junior/Senior Pass, but this Special Offer is only valid until May 27th, 2013. Season Pass details can be found HERE.

Knott’s Soak City OC is adjacent to Knott’s Berry Farm Theme Park, located in the Buena Park area of Orange County. Opening day is May 18th, 2013. Perhaps we’ll see you there!

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We will be provided with tickets to experience Knott’s Soak City OC as part of a media event. We believe many of our readers would be interested in learning more about the Water Park, and we look forward to sharing our experience with them. Our opinions are our own. GigaSavvy contributed to this post.

Filed Under: Knott's Soak City OC Tagged With: family, fun, knott's soak city, oc, orange county, water park

Knotts Merry Farm Sparkles During the Holiday Season!

December 12, 2012 By socalwithkids

During the holiday season Knott’s Berry Farm is transformed into Knott’s Merry Farm with beautiful holiday decor, delicious treats, special seasonal shows, and and much more! We went to Knott’s to check it out ourselves, and had a great time! Some of the fun of Merry Farm includes is as follows:

“It’s Christmas, Snoopy” Ice Show
This ice skating show is spectacular! The kids, my husband, and I were all impressed by the performance. The skaters were incredible, and just as good as those you’d see in a professional ice skating performance at a large ice arena. We highly recommend you see it! The show is running December 1-2, 8-9, 15-18, 20-24, 26-31, and January 1, 3-6, 2013.

“A Peanuts Holiday Parade”
The Peanuts Holiday Parade includes seven themed floats featuring the Peanuts Gang. We missed the parade during our visit, but plan to see it on our next visit, later this month. I’m a huge Peanuts fan!

Knott’s Christmas Craft Village
Here you”ll find strolling carolers, dozens of artisans selling unique treasures, and beautiful Victorian decor. The kids loved some of the wooden toys, knitted hats, and other potential holiday gifts we saw in this area. The Christmas Craft Village is where we saw Santa, who’s available for pictures daily (additional fee), until December 24th.

Bird Cage Theatre Productions
If you enjoy live theatre, or want to introduce your kids to it, head over to the Bird Cage Theatre to see a live performance of Charges Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”, or O’Henry’s “A Gift of Magi”. We enjoyed “A Gift of Magi”, which ran approximately 25 minutes.

Elf Mountain
Get a peek at Santa’s Elves getting ready for the big day when you go on Timber Mountain Log Ride!

Snoopy’s Magical Nights of Lights
Be sure to walk through Camp Snoopy after dark to experience hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights set to a festive holiday soundtrack. We spent a few hours here, and loved it!

Winter Wonderland
Catch Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, and JT perform on a wintery wonderland stage at Camp Snoopy!

Calico Christmas Tree Lighting
The Peanuts gang deck the halls in a fun-filled musical show as part of the nightly Christmas Tree Lighting. If you miss the show, be sure to check out the beautiful 45′ tree once it’s lit. It’s beautiful!

While we were at Knott’s we sampled a few of the stuffed churros, Canadian Maple Syrup Lollipops, decorated gingerbread cookies, and ate a delicious meal at Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant. The churros were absolutely delicious, the lollipops (which are a holiday treat there for Merry Farm), the kids gobbled up their gingerbread, and our meals at the restaurant were all delicious! My personal favorite were the biscuits from Mrs. Knott’s restaurant. Melt in your mouth delicious!

We also enjoyed going on many rides, strolling through the shops decorated in beautiful holiday decor, seeing Snoopy Santa in the park, and all that makes Knott’s so much fun. Merry Farm is happening now through January 6th, 2013.

Right now, through January 13th, 2013, Knott’s 2013 Season Passes are just $66.99, with NO blackout dates, and include one visit in 2012! This is an awesome deal, and could make great holiday gifts. You can find more info about Merry Farm HERE, and more about the Season Passes HERE. Perhaps we’ll see you there!

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Disclosure: We were invited to attend a Media Day at Knott’s to experience Merry Farm. We were not asked to write a formal review, but we had a wonderful time, and wanted to share info about it with our readers, as we believe many would also enjoy Merry Farm with their families. Our opinions are our own. Many thanks to Knott’s, LaLa Castro, and Giga Savvy.

Filed Under: Knott's Berry Farm, Knott's Merry Farm Tagged With: buena park, christmas, family, festive, fun, holidays, kids, knotts merry farm, oc, orange county

Scooter’s Jungle ~ Fun Indoor Private Party & Pop-In Play Destination!

September 10, 2012 By socalwithkids

Scooter’s Jungle is a fun, safe, clean, and active tropical-themed indoor play setting offering worry-free kids birthday parties, open play, fundraisers, team events and children’s and family activities. The kids and I visited the Aliso Viejo location during one of their All Ages playtimes, and had a blast!

The kids ran, made friends, and played the entire two hours we were there. They enjoyed playing on the huge inflated slide, taking turns on the zip-line, and playing on the inflated obstacle course. They burned off tons of energy, and got lots of exercise.

While we were there, one of the nice employees showed me around the facility and explained about the parties they offer. She gave me a tour of the two large rooms they have with inflatables suitable for different ages. They have one area called the Junior Jungle Arena, which is best for ages 1-5, and the Ultimate Jungle Arena, which is geared toward ages 6+. Both areas have incredible activities for kids, as well as designated dining areas for party-goers.

Pop-in-playtime includes a 1 1/2 hour Toddler Play Time, 2 hour All Ages Play, and 3 hour Family Fun option. The Toddler Play happens weekly, All Ages is offered a handful of times each month, and the Family Fun Play can be enjoyed once a month. Contact Scooter’s Jungle for specific pop-in play dates & time, plus pop-in play and party pricing. Perhaps we’ll see you there!

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Disclaimer: We received complimentary admission to Scooter’s Jungle, so that we could share our experience with our readers. We were not compensated by any other means, and our opinions are our own.

Filed Under: Scooter's Jungle Tagged With: aliso viejo, fun, indoor play, kids, oc, orange county, scooters jungle, socal

Museums Free-For-All in OC & LA 1/28 &1/29!

January 27, 2012 By socalwithkids

A handful of great museums, located from OC to LA, are participating in Museums Free-For-All this coming weekend, January 28th & 29th! Participating museums include the following:

• The Annenberg Space for Photography ~ Participating 1/28/12 & 1/29/12

• Autry National Center ~ Participating 1/28/12 & 1/29/12

• California African American Museum ~ Participating 1/28/12 & 1/29/12

• California Science Center ~ Participating 1/28/12 & 1/29/12

• Chinese American Museum of Los Angeles ~ Participating 1/28/12 & 1/29/12

• Fowler Museum at UCLA ~ Participating 1/28/12 & 1/29/12

• The Hammer Museum ~ Participating 1/28/12 & 1/29/12

• The Getty Center ~ Participating 1/28/12 & 1/29/12

• The Getty Villa ~ Participating 1/28/12 & 1/29/12 (Timed tickets are required. Visit www.getty.edu.)

• Laguna Art Museum ~ Participating 1/28/12 & 1/29/12
• Los Angeles Fire Department Museum and Memorial ~ Participating Saturday, 1/28/12 ONLY
(Both Hollywood and San Pedro locations)

• The Museum of Tolerance Zimmer Children’s Museum ~ Participating Sunday, 1/29/12 ONLY

• The Museum of Contemporary Art ~ Participating Saturday, 1/28/12 ONLY

• Museum of Latin American Art ~ Participating 1/28/12 & 1/29/12

• Pasadena Museum of California Art ~ Participating 1/28/12 & 1/29/12

• Santa Monica Museum of Art ~ Participating Saturday, 1/28/12 ONLY

• Skirball Cultural Center (Our favorite!) ~ Participating Saturday, 1/28/12 ONLY
(Timed entry to the Noah’s Ark exhibit at the Skirball will be on a walk-up, 1st-come, 1st-serve basis on this date.)

• Zimmer Children’s Museum ~ Participating Sunday, 1/29/12 ONLY

Regular museum parking fees apply, and admission is only good toward general museum admission. Free admission may not apply to museum ticketed exhibitions. Click HERE for direct links to the participating museums. Perhaps we’ll see you there!

Filed Under: Museums Free-For-All! Tagged With: arts, culture, family, fun, kids, los angeles, museums free for all, oc

Zoomars Petting Zoo in San Juan Capistrano ~ Great fun!

September 23, 2011 By socalwithkids

Zoomars Petting Zoo, located in beautiful San Juan Capistrano, in Orange County, is one of our family’s favorite destinations! They have a large, walk-in bunny & guinea pig petting area, goat and sheep petting area, pony rides, a little train for kids to ride, gem panning area, playground, corn box, hay bale maze, lots of other assorted animals including cows, chickens, mule zebras, and much more! Check out their website for further details. Perhaps we’ll see you there!

Website: Zoomar’s Petting Zoo
Twitter: @zoomars
Facebook: Zoomars on Facebook

Filed Under: Zoomars Petting Zoo Tagged With: animals, family, fun, kids, oc, orange county, petting zoo, socal, zoomars

Bowers Kidseum

May 15, 2011 By socalwithkids

The Bowers Kidseum is located down the street from the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California. This unique children’s museum educates kids about different cultures through hands-on play. Check the link to their website for more info. Perhaps we’ll see you there.

Website: Kidseum
Twitter: @bowersmuseum

Get a FREE full-color guidebook with the purchase of a Go City Card or Explorer Pass

Go Los Angeles Card - 37 Los Angeles Attractions

Filed Under: Bowers Kidseum Tagged With: children's museum, kids, kidseum, oc, socal

Discovery Science Center

May 15, 2011 By socalwithkids

The Discovery Science Center, located in the Santa Ana area of Orange County, California, is a very child-friendly, hands-on science center. Make sure you check out the dinosaur exhibit outside. Perhaps we’ll see you there!

Website: Discovery Science Center
Twitter: @discoverycube

Get a FREE full-color guidebook with the purchase of a Go City Card or Explorer Pass

Filed Under: Discovery Science Center Tagged With: discovery science center, kids, oc, orange county, socal

Orange County Zoo

May 14, 2011 By socalwithkids

The Orange County Zoo is located within the beautiful Irvine Regional Park.

Website: Orange County Zoo + HERE as well.
Twitter: @OCParks

Filed Under: Orange County Zoo Tagged With: family, kids, oc, zoo

“Museums On Us” by Bank of America

March 4, 2011 By socalwithkids

The 1st full weekend of each month is Bank of America’s “Museums On Us” weekend! Bank of America cardholders (credit or debit) receive FREE admission to a handful of great museums, zoos, science centers, and botanical gardens on the first full weekend of each month. Show your ID + your Bank of America card, and receive 1 free general admission per cardholder to many fun places in SoCal including but not limited to the museums and attractions below. More info HERE as well. Perhaps we’ll see you at one more!

• LACMA
• MUZEO
• The Living Desert
• Birch Aquarium at Scripps
• The New Children’s Museum (NCM)
• The Autry
• Museum of Photographic Arts (MoPA)
• Hammer Museum
• Palm Springs Art Museum
• Museum of Latin American Art
• Discovery Science Center (No Sunday admission)
• Skirball Cultural Center (Noah’s Ark is awesome for kids! Call days ahead to reserve a time slot.)