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Other Bay Area Parks The San Francisco Bay Area is home to two other popular parks: California's Great America (in Santa Clara) and Six Flags Dis- covery Kingdom (in Vallejo). Great America, next to the new Levi's Sta- dium, is all about rides. Diversions range from scream-inducing (Flight Deck, a roller coaster, has one 360-degree loop and a zero- gravity roll) to family-friendly (the Carousel Columbia is the world's tallest double- decker carousel). In 2015, the park expanded the Planet Snoopy kids area and added three new attractions, including two new racing rides. Patriot, the park's first floorless roller coaster, is expected to debut in 2017. The vibe at Discovery Kingdom is more eclectic. In addition to rides such as the Medusa roller coaster and SkyScreamer (a swing ride), the park also is home to a number of animals, including Jocko the walrus, who starred in the 2004 movie, 50 First Dates, and Brandon the reticulated giraffe, who was named after San Francisco Giants slugger, Brandon Belt. In 2015, park officials added the Dare Devil Chaos Coaster, a roller coaster that takes passengers upside- down in both forward and backward directions. In 2017, the park expects to add a Wonder Woman-themed swing ride. San Diego Area Parks San Diego and its surrounding suburbs also comprise a great region for theme parks; two family favorites are SeaWorld and Legoland California. Out near Mission Bay, in San Diego proper, SeaWorld is a sprawling homage to dozens of different species of marine life, including dolphins, sea lions, walruses, polar bears and beluga whales. It also is one of only two places in the world where emperor penguins are kept in captivity. In late 2016 SeaWorld reorganized its entertainment program to focus more squarely on education. This means no more animal shows, which has kept conservation groups happy. In the nearby community of Carlsbad, Legoland is dedicated to tiny plastic bricks (dubbed "Legos"), and boasts mind-bog- gling Lego replicas of famous architectural icons (the Statue of Liberty and the Taj Mahal among them) as well as dioramas of seven areas of the U.S. The park incorpo- rates rides and eateries, and is home to the Model Shop, the headquarters for the park's 10 master builders (a window allows guests to witness these professionals at work). In the summer of 2013, the park also opened a hotel; the lobby has a giant pit of Legos with which children can play. There also are two tremendous on-site water parks. CityPASS Once you've decided where to go, try City- PASS for saving some money: In Southern California, it knocks as much as one third off the price of admission to Disneyland, Disney California Adventure Park, Legoland and SeaWorld. The Southern California CityPASS includes back-and-forth admission to both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park for any three days during a 14-day period and allows you to skip the main-entrance ticket lines. The San Fran- cisco CityPASS includes a 3-Day Cable Car and Muni Bus Passport and saves 42 percent off admission for attractions such as the Cal- ifornia Academy of Sciences, Exploratorium, de Young Museum and Aquarium of the Bay. The pass is valid for nine days. Buy your CityPASS at any of the above attractions or online at citypass.com. 34 2 0 1 7 T R A V E L G U I D E T O C A L I F O R N I A RIDE at California's Great America, Santa Clara, right. NICOLA BARNETT/CREATIVE COMMONS/FLICKR ยป FIND YOUR FANTASY Universal Studios Hollywood universalstudioshollywood.com Children's Fairyland fairyland.org Disneyland disneyland.disney.go.com California's Great America cagreatamerica.com Six Flags Discovery Kingdom sixflags.com/discoverykingdom Legoland California california.legoland.com SeaWorld seaworldparks.com/en/ seaworld-sandiego Knott's Berry Farm kno>s.com CityPASS citypass.com THEME PARKS