I was disappointed before leaving for Legoland. I felt like I couldn't find a lot of information out there about the park or photos. I always want to know the ins and outs of where I am going. I like to be prepared. Here's a quick overview of my visit with Lucie
this summer and things I wish I had known.
FIRST IMPRESSION:
The entrance was impressive and
exciting. The entrance was organized and made for a smooth entrance. The hotel is to the right of Lucie, above, (amazing location) However
my first reaction, "Wow, that's small." It was a really tiny building. I
didn't go in though. You can make reservations on line and they have
themed rooms. If you plan to do the park for a few days, it might be worth
it. Downtown San Diego is about 30-40 minutes from Legoland.
https://bookings.ihotelier.com/LEGOLAND-Hotel-at-LEGOLAND-California-Resort/bookings.jsp?hotelId=77376&themeId=3637
PRICE:
I found the prices to be confusing on line. It's about $75 a piece for one park. $89 for two (Amusement Park, Waterpark or Aquarium) Prices are listed, but they only talk about the Waterpark and Aquarium on the left hand side of site. I wish they listed the Amusement Park along with those. For quite a while I didn't even understand/know that there was an amusement park. Not very clear.
My biggest piece of advice...THERE ARE COUPONS in the Legoland Magazine; Buy one adult ticket get one child's ticket free. However, I didn't read the fine print....it was only good for a hopper. We didn't bring our suits or I would have chosen the waterpark. We pick the aquarium and never went. Tickets were still cheaper for the day with the coupon. Saved quite a bit. $100.00 for the both of us. Sign up for the magazine now. It's free.
https://club.lego.com/en-us/join/magazinesubscription/
PARKING:
You WILL pay for parking. $15 for regular. I paid extra to have priority parking. $25 and we were three rows from the entrance. There was an easy exit as well. I am glad I paid extra for this.
FOOD:
A couple (not sure why they wanted to come without kids?) in front of me at one of the restaurants got two chicken meals, a salad and two drinks. $67. I could tell she was surprise, but I wasn't. I was reading the prices. I got a quartered chicken, beans and fries. That was $15. My plan: Lucie gets the fries, I get the beans we share the large portion of chicken. It was perfect. Kids meals were about the same price. OUR drink? A large plastic water bottle with a straw...I had Diet Coke. It was $9. I could have it filled throughout the park for $1 anywhere. I would recommend this with a large group. They sold apple pie "fries" with whip cream that looked delicious. As far s I know there are no sit down and be waited on restaurants. It's all cafeteria style.
SIZE:
The park is actually bigger than I expected. We needed the WHOLE day for just the amusement park. We were there from open to close. We never went to the aquarium or waterpark.
THINGS TO DO:
I WOULD not go back with Lucas (11). I DO NOT think kids 10 or older would enjoy the park like younger kids. Legoland is wonderful for babies, toddlers and kids around the age of 5-7. The rides are all mild. There is one fast roller-coaster, but it would not be enough for older kids. There are several rides that have Lego stations for kids to play in while parents waited in line. The lines were long in the morning and by late afternoon they were non-existent.
The Star Wars area is just a row of character statues and a couple models of the Star War's landscapes.
The mini cities was nice. Both young and old could appreciate this. However...the OCD me was a bit disappointed. Here I have brightened up the photos a bit. Throughout the park, many of the lego sculptures are faded. :( I even noticed a decapitated woman on bench in the mini cities. :( The up keep was lacking. Faded Legos, some broken pieces, chipping paint, etc. could be spotted throughout the park.
There were fun displays throughout. Some with sound and movement.
Some fun details...like the pigeons. Nice little touches. But, again, if it's not kept up with you notice that sometimes AND not the little touches.
Cool sculptures....however many (like the mini cities) catered to adults. A kid might not appreciate this. There re shops throughout the park as well. They sell everything from T-shirts to Lego building kits.
One thing I love throughout the park; the trees, plants and flowers. Very pretty and well kept.
RIDES:
The rides... This ride was for 6-13 year old kids. Honestly A 13 year old would look (and feel) ridiculous riding this. Lucie is 9. She is a VERY small 9. She's about the size of an average 6-7 year old. This was her favorite ride, because you could "earn" a driver's license. BEWARE: That "driver's License" is self-made at a kiosk and they print it out and put it in a plastic lanyard for...$8.
And....how can you say no? Lucie was very excited about her license. She's still very young at heart. Not sure most 9 year olds would be as impressed :) She sure LOVED it.
Like Disneyland, there are different sections or lands to the park. There is a Pirate section, a Kingdom, a Jungle, etc. The map makes it easy to get around. There is a nice variety of rides. All very mild. Wear a swimsuit. There are many water features Even a small park with slides, etc. in the amusement park. There was on kind of scary log ride. We got soaked. That was fun. There are walk in dried for a whole family to dry off. $5 to use. MANY areas for babies and toddlers to play in water. There is a laser ride, like the Toy Story ride at Disneyland. It lacked ambiance and was not exciting.
Here kids could control the steering on a small slow boat. However, I did see a few kids get stuck. There's a guy that goes out in rubber pants to move the boats. Peaceful, quiet and again.....mild. There are some healthy inter-active rides as well...one you peddle and one you and partner pull yourselves up and then you have the drop. Fun...kids were enjoy themselves with their parents.
This sums up the rides at Legoland...cute, but MILD. Have I already mentioned that? Visit Legoland while your kids are Little!
You won't see too many characters around the park. We spotted ONE, near the entrance. They do have shows....some characters were dancing at the entrance towards the end of the day, and there were a couple stages throughout the park for fun shows. There are people taking your picture throughout the park and on cameras on most of the roller-coasters.
I would recommend Legoland for families with toddlers. I would not go back with a 9 and 11 year old. I was glad I hadn't paid for Lucas to go. Great memories with Lucie. She had a blast.
Thanks for visiting!
Bisous!
Karen
I am linking up with:
Life in a Break Down
