We recently took a trip to southern California, and the highlight of the trip (and primary reason for going) was LEGOLAND. We know people that have visited, and they raved about how family friendly it is, and I have to concur. While I love Disneyland, and will be visiting there again, this was a much more relaxed day than any I have had there. Without all the teenagers, it creates a completely different atmosphere. Because the rides are scaled more towards younger kids, you also don't see a lot of adults by themselves. Legoland is truly a family theme park.
We went on a Monday and Tuesday, and while I'm sure that was a factor in the more comfortable crowd size, it was summer break, so it wasn't "dead". There were a lot of people, but not so many that you felt you had to fight the crowd to get from one spot to the next. Lines, although sometimes appearing long, moved fast. They also have some LEGO play areas located near some of the lines, which is a blessing when the lines do take longer. The kids don't seem to notice how long it takes, and you don't have to worry so much about meltdowns.
LEGOLAND consists of 3 separate parks:LEGOLAND California, LEGOLAND Water Park and Sea Life Aquarium. You have the option of going to only one per day or buying combo tickets so you can move around. Since there are three areas, and we were only going for two days, we opted to get combo tickets so we could go back and forth between all three.
We spent the first day doing rides. But before we could even get started on our way, the kids wanted to make a quick run through the store near the entrance. They saved money for the trip, and couldn't wait to pick something out. Thankfully they understood that we would need to come back to make the purchases because we didn't want to carry stuff around. We purchased the digital photo pass for one day, so we wanted to get all the ride photos in. We made our way around the park. going on all the rides the kids wanted, while checking out the different themed areas along the way. They had fun driving their own cars (and getting a "drivers license"), riding the Countersaurus, using kidpower to ride up the tower (and falling back down), and our youngest experienced his first roller coaster ride. The overall favorite ride was the LEGO NINJAGO, but there weren't any that they didn't enjoy.
Along the way, we took time to let them play in the sand at Dig Those Dunes, build at the Duplo Playtown, climb Cole's Rock Climb, and explore Miniland, which was absolutely stunning. I can't even imagine the amount of time, and number of LEGOS it must have taken to create everything. There are cities, historical figures and Star Wars scenes.
At around Five o'clock we went over to the Sea Life Aquarium. The kids loved seeing all of the exhibits. There's the Jellyfish Discovery, the Kingdom of the Seahorse Exhibit, a Shipwreck Exhibit and so much more. The colors of some of the sea life are so vibrant. The kids were fascinated.
Our second day we saw the shows! There was just enough time to leave one show, and get to the next one, without down time. It worked out perfectly. The 4D is crazy! After the shows we decided it was time to get wet. We spent a little time over there, and would have loved to spend more time, but it was a bit chilly that day, so we decided to go back and ride our favorite rides! Of course we made sure the kids got to spend their money before we left, and no trip is complete for us without getting one of those "smashed pennies". I think I like them as much, if not more, than the kids!
Some other things to know before you go:
- There are character meet and greets throughout the park, plus many photo ops with all of the LEGO creations that are built.
- If you bring minifigures with you, you can trade them with park employees. How cool is that?
- You can't bring food inside the park (unless there are special dietary restrictions), but you can bring water. There are various food places throughout the park. We tried the Ramen and it was yummy.
- Download the mobile app to help you with your day.
- You can reserve rides, but there is a fee involved.
You can rent lockers, strollers and wheelchairs
If you like to buy the photos that are taken on the rides, buying the digital photo pass is a good deal
There is the LEGOLAND Hotel right next door (although we didn't stay there), and it looks pretty spectacular! I did some checking, and they have themed rooms, like Pirate, NINJAGO, and more. How fun would that be?
This is a really great trip for the family. I highly recommend it. Go have fun and create some family memories with your kids!
LEGOLAND is located at 1 Legoland Dr Carlsbad, CA 92008
