My son has a Albino, Striped California King
That is about six or seven years old, named Peety. Now, I don't mean to put down Kingsnakes--Well, yes I do--but Peety has got to be the dumbest thing I've ever met. It seems to be much dumber than my big corn, Spot. Why, one day, after Peety finished eating his mouse, he smelled another mouse somewhere. I watched him flick his tongue here and there, searching every inch of his cage for that morsel. Sniffing his side, and finally realizing he had found that which he sought, he struck himself right where the mouse was he had swallowed and he preceeded to roll himself up in coils. Stupid snake!
But Wait! There's more! 19 times out of ten, Peety will take twice as long to find his food than Spot, who is roughly his equal in size. Then he will inevitably grab the mouse as if it were alive and roll it up to kill it when it is dead already. Spot somehow knows the mouse is dead and will seek out its head and begin swallowing. Of course, I can get Spot to act the same by dangling the dead mouse in front of him and wiggling it. Spot will be almost finished swallowing his mouse before Peety gives up strangling his. Then, Peety will almost always eat the mouse Butt First! Why I do not know.
And why don't I like Kingsnakes? Because they will fart [parden the word] faster than an old man after a good meal. Man, I hate that!
My son likes Peety, though, I think he likes him better than his corns because, unlike his corn snakes who are always in "gotta get away mode," peety will lay around my son's neck like a rope and just hang there. It looks sort of funny to me to see my son with Peety around his neck. The snake doesn't give a flip what James does, Peety's out for the ride and lovin' it. If my son is holding him on the couch, then Peety is content to simply lay there with him. Whereas, I'm hesitant to sit down with any of the corns because they want off and away. Also, If one of the corns gets really nice and quiet, and very still, while I'm holding it, then I know it's fixin' to let me have a little thank you gift. Since Peety is almost always still when James holds it, I get a perverted sense of enjoyment out of watching my son jump up and scream when Peety "thanks" him.
As far as care, the two snake types follow the same needs. The Kingsnake likes it a little cooler, I've noticed, since he is almost always in his water. Also, the Kingsnake is more active, or so I've noticed. He's out lot! Temperaments are about the same between the two snake types. I have noticed, however, that Peety doesn't like for me to reach in and get him. He tends to kick and hiss. Whereas, I can reach in and get the corns, though they may prefer to run and hide. Rather, Peety would like for me to let him come out on his own and then I can pick him up, once he has crested over the top of the cage. This may only be one of Peety's silly personality traits, however, and not normal Kingsnake behavior.
Personally, I prefer Corn Snakes. My son says his beginning to prefer Kingsnakes. I think it is because he can hold Peety and Peety will be like a rag doll. So, if your daughter doesn't mind being hissed at, pissed and farted on, and shat upon {past tense of ...well I think you know.}, then the Kingsnake is the way to go for her, because they are more willing to simply hang around. But, if you want a realitively more clean snake, then a corn is better. Hey, why not get both?