Legoland is fucking amazing. Whoever designed the hotel amenities is brilliant.
We conveniently live a few minutes from the US border, so it is a no brainer to drive across and fly from the Bellingham airport half an hour away. Flights were short and cheap to San Diego through Allegiant Airlines. The only pain in travelling was hauling the double stroller, two littles, car seats, and four carry on pieces of luggage (free to carry on, fees to check) through the airport. There are no carts allowed past security so you must move what you can about 20 feet, stop, put that stuff down, and then go back for the rest. Do this over and over until you hit the gate. It is a process. You can rent the kid equipment down there for a daily fee but I am much to cheap for that nonsense.
We had the best travelling crew on this trip. Our rowdy bunch consisted of my cousins Jen and Rob, their spouses and three kids. We split a huge Ford Transit rental with Jen’s crew to get the eight of us and our luggage around town. It was a beast of a vehicle but luckily Matt is the world’s best driver, so we didn’t even hit anything. Rob’s family of three got a separate vehicle.
The hotel. A holy grail of children’s travel. I can not express how impressed I was. There are 2 resorts directly at the entrance of the Legoland theme park. We stayed at the Legoland Hotel, as I liked the classic Lego theme and it was more cost effective. For just over $1000 USD, we got a 4 weeknight stay and 4 two day park hopper passes. We chose the kingdom theme chamber with a balcony. Cool décor and Lego ornaments accessorize the space. Rooms have a king size bed and then a semiprivate section around the corner with a bunk bed and tv. The bunk had a trundle if you need an extra. There are loose Lego blocks for the kids to play with (we also “borrowed” some from the other pits around the hotel). I discovered some of this Lego seemed to make it into Jett’s luggage when I was unpacking at home. The safe gets restocked with a small Lego gift set each for the kids every morning. They get clues for a treasure hunt to figure out the new code to unlock it. My only criticism would be the money grabbing $28 nightly resort fee. I hate when hotels do this. It is such a shady practice in my opinion. If I’m going to get screwed please just be up front about it.
Now.. the lobby. We spent every evening here. This is the extra brilliant part that made me a young mom Legoland enthusiast. There is a huge play castle surrounded by pits of loose Lego for building. Tables and chairs are set up all around the perimeter for parents to lounge. THERE IS A BAR. It served various beverages and snacks. YOU CAN BRING IN YOUR OWN OUTSIDE FOOD AND DRINKS. They do not bat an eye. We ordered Italian and went to the beer store to save $$. Around bedtime they bring in a cast of fun characters to put on a story time play. The kiddos loved hanging out in their pajamas and watching. Cousin Alice hit up the youth nightclub down the hall for the dance competition and killed it, naturally. I loved mingling, sipping cocktails, and catching up with my cousins while the kids were entertained. I barely had to do anything other than order take out.
The hotel has a massive breakfast buffet at Bricks Family Restaurant that is included every morning. Tons of hot and cold options, juices, milks, pop, coffee etc. There is a shorter buffet counter section for kids to reach their own food which was cute. This is a step up from the typical continental where twelve people are all vying for the same waffle making machine. There are dozens of premade options that seemed mostly fresh. This is also a good opportunity to sneak a banana in your purse for when the toddler is fussing later. Also refill the kids to go cups for walking around the park.
Rob’s crew stayed at the neighboring Castle Hotel. Guests can use both resorts amenities. They had a Princess themed room with a similar layout to ours. The grounds and hotel were slightly nicer, definitely newer. There was a great playground in the Castle courtyard that had a toddler section with foam Lego blocks and smaller apparatuses. The whole play area was fenced to prevent runaway children. The outside food and drink rule seemed to be cool here too. We openly had a few wobbly pops and gave the kids some cut up fruit and crackers without getting scolded.
We hit unusually cool weather for May in California, but that did not stop the Dads and kids from using the pool. It was heated and no one complained until they had to get out. Towels and lifejackets were provided. The Skyline Café is on the pool deck and has waitstaff to bring you some hooch while you watch the family frolic and gossip with the other moms.
The hotel and park grounds are smoke free. If you want to have a sneaky cigarette after a few too many vodkas you have to go all the way out to the parking lot. If you try and smoke on your balcony the neighbors will call the hotel cops before you even get through a drag. If you try it again the next night they will be just as quick. Security has an excellent response time at the Legoland Hotel.
KIDS AGES: 1 and 3
MAY 2018
paRty of 4 