Summer Splash III : Making Plans for Summer Fun--Park It : Disneyland and Universal feature TV and movie themes while Snoopy celebrates U.S. entertainment at Knott’s Berry Farm

Though Southern California is a year-round playground, the fun moves into high gear during the summer season. Following is a roundup of what’s new--or almost new--at area amusement parks.

Disneyland is spotlighting its “Disney Afternoon Live” package in Fantasyland, which opened in March. The “Videopolis” and “It’s a Small World” areas have been transformed into Afternoon Avenue, Duck Burg and other appellations, with costumed characters and a pint-size playground. The special effects-filled musical show “Plane Crazy” performs five times daily.

Special events include appearances by U.S. Olympic Festival athletes June 22-23 and June 29-30, and pregame bashes Aug. 27-28 for the Disneyland Pigskin Classic, Aug. 29.

The park is open daily from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. from June 21 through early September. Admission is $27.50 for adults and $22.50 for children 3 to 11, with multiday and summer night passes also available. Information: (213) 626-8605 or (714) 999-4565.

At Universal Studios Hollywood’s newest attraction, “E.T.’s Adventure,” E.T. does not phone home, he goes there--and you go along.

The $40-million endeavor, which opens in mid-June, is based on the film “E.T.--The Extraterrestrial” and is a sort of three-dimensional sequel. The film’s director, Steven Spielberg, collaborated with the project’s designers.

At the beginning of the 15-minute attraction, guests discover E.T. in a forest, as did the movie’s young Elliott, being chased by FBI agents. E.T.’s teacher Botanicus approaches to take him home to the Green Planet, which is in danger of dying. In a clearing, guests mount bicycles and, with E.T. in a bike basket and the FBI in hot pursuit, find themselves soaring through the night sky.

E.T., et al. fly through star fields to the Green Planet. There they meet E.T.’s friends Orbidon, Magdol and Tickli Moot Moots and manage to revitalize the dying land, along the way encountering such creations as Horn Flowers and Water Imps.

“Our business is showing people how movies are made, and showing the excitement of what motion pictures are about,” said Phil Hettema, Universal’s Director of Shows. “With ‘E.T.’ being the number-one movie of all time, there’s nothing we could do better than to create an attraction to let people experience that adventure.”

The ride uses sophisticated “cinebotic” computer and hydraulic techniques to produce 50 realistically animated figures.

Universal Studios Hollywood is open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily from June 22 through Labor Day. Admission is $24.50 for adults and $19 for children 3 to 11, and for seniors 60 and older. There are also two-day passes at $44 for adults and $34 for children and seniors. Information (818) 777-3801.

Knott’s Berry Farm is offering Snoopy’s Great American Celebration, commemorating 100 years of American entertainment. Every 15 minutes a new live entertainment act occurs somewhere in the park. Making their debuts are four musical shows: the environmentally themed “Peril on the Prairie,” “At Twilight: An Evening Musicale,” “The Honeymoon Trailer Radio Hour” and “Saralinda’s Barnyard Circus.” The latter show kicks off a twice-daily Victorian circus parade with reproductions of 10 turn-of-the-century circus wagons.

The park is open Sunday through Friday from 9 a.m. to midnight, Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 a.m., from June 22 through Labor Day. Admission is $21.95 for adults, $9.95 for children 3 to 11 and $14.95 for seniors 60 and up. Information (714) 220-5200.

The Queen Mary and Spruce Goose Entertainment Center features its “Ghosts, Myths & Legends” package initiated in February. A one-hour “Haunted Passages” guided tour visits the sites where ghosts have been sighted since the Queen Mary’s 1967 conversion from seagoing ship to entertainment attraction. “Dark Secrets of the Queen Mary” interweaves historical footage with ghost stories and interviews with ship crew members. And the “Legendary Passages” tour takes visitors through the engine room and wheelhouse as well as stateroom and sun-deck exhibits.

Over on the Spruce Goose, last year’s show of vintage 1939 cars has been expanded to include such classics as a roadster and a “woody” and autos from the parent Walt Disney Co., among them Herbie the Love Bug.

Summer hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through July 3, and July 5, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. July 4, July 6-Aug. 31 and Labor Day weekend. Admission is $17.50 for adults, $9.50 for children 3 to 11 and $14 for seniors 55 and older. On June 29, the Spruce Goose Dome will host a June Dam Dance Party starring Tony! Toni! Tone!, with separate $18.50 admission available through Ticketmaster. Information (213) 435-3511.

San Diego Wild Animal Park is featuring “The Wild Woods,” a lush, 4-acre conifer forest where visitors can view and pose with two dozen robotic creatures representing animals of the past and future.

On various weekends through July 11, the park’s amphitheater presents “Mesozoic Musical,” a kid’s show about dinosaurs.

The park is open Sunday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., June 15 through Labor Day. Admission is $16.50 for adults and $9.50 for children 3 to 15. Information (619) 747-8702.

Sea World in San Diego is premiering its “Beach Blanket Ski Show” in the new Water Ski Lagoon. The half-hour show and ‘60s setting are reminiscent of beach party movies, but could Frankie and Annette do tricky maneuvers on water skis?

There is nightly entertainment and a new “Hot Summer Lights” laser and fireworks show in the Water Ski Lagoon.

The park is open June 15 through Labor Day from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Admission is $22.95 for adults and $16.95 for children 3 to 11. Information (619) 226-3901 or (714) 826-7213.

Six Flags Magic Mountain in March premiered its fourth new thrill ride in as many years: Psyclone, a replica of the Coney Island wooden roller coaster. The coaster’s Cyclone Bay area is a boardwalk with shops and eating facilities and the surfing-themed “Riptide Revue.”

New in the Magic Moments Theatre is “VHS: A Living Dance Video” (dark Wednesday), which mixes the latest videos with real-life performers. On June 14 and 23, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ “Coming Out of the Shell” tour arrives.

The park is open daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day, from 10 a.m. Closing hours vary. Admission is $24 for adults, $14 for children under 48 inches in height and $16 for seniors 55 and older. Information (805) 255-4111.

Monsoon Lagoon last month unveiled a new participatory experience for kids: a replica of a fire engine complete with giant water hoses, fountains and a slide.

The North Redondo Beach water park also offers three body slides and one inner-tube slide, and a large lagoon area with an island of slides, waterfalls and fountains.

The park is open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from June 22 through Labor Day. Admission is $9.50 for those more than 52 inches in height and $7.50 for those 36-52 inches tall, with a $1 discount after 3 p.m. Non-sliders are $4.50, and children under 36 inches are free when accompanied by a full-admission adult. A season pass is $49.95. Information (213) 643-6130.

The Oasis Water Resort in Palm Springs has added two slides geared for the younger set, bringing the resort’s total to nine slides.

The park is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily from June 15 through Labor Day. Admission is $14.95 for adults and $9.95 for children 40-60 inches in height, and for seniors 55 and older. From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., the price is two for $14.95. Information (619) 325-7873.

Raging Waters in San Dimas on June 8 will open Amazon Adventure, a quarter-mile-long loop-shaped river ride where up to four people can travel together. Encased in a rain-forest atmosphere complete with mist, waterfalls and bamboo, the ride can accommodate 600.

The park is open daily from June 10 through Labor Day. June 10-28, hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends. June 29-30, hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. From July 1 through Labor Day, hours are weekdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. except for July 4-5, when the hours are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Admission is $15.95 for adults and $8.95 for children 42-48 inches in height and seniors 55 and older. A season pass is $65.95. Information (714) 592-6453.

Wild Rivers Waterpark in Laguna Hills has more than 40 water rides, but none are new this year. The park does claim, though, to be the only one in the country with two side-by-side wave pools.

The park is open daily 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. from June 22 through Labor Day. Admission is $15.95 for ages 10 and older and $11.95 for children 3 to 9. A season pass is $60. Information (714) 768-WILD.