The Legoland theme park is like a mini Disney for kids ages toddler to 12ish. There are the most impressive and amazing Lego displays. I am not even a huge Lego fan and my jaw dropped on a few of them. There are rides, shows, character meet and greets, junk food stands and gift shops. Our kids were a little young for the coasters and scary rides, but we could drive our own Lego cars on a track, ride in Lego helicopters and the Lego train, climbing wall, and fire the water cannons in the pirate reef. We saw a gigantic Lego Death Star. The kids stopped at all of the Lego building attractions to screw around and fight over brick colours. There were a few large outdoor playgrounds where you could stop and chill for a minute. A lot of points of interest and shows are themed such as Ninjago and Lego Friends. Everything is bright, clean, and kid friendly. The BBQ joint has a beer garden.
My very favourite ride was a boat cruise through the Miniland and nursey rhyme Lego displays. It was a leisurely water expedition that showcased dozens of unbelievable Lego exhibits that were expertly built with millions of pieces. I was so impressed. Also it was nice to sit down and have the kids contained on a boat. There were stunning cities like Egypt and New York. Spectacular story book characters. I was in awe with the artistry. And it’s Lego.
We easily spent a whole day without getting bored and saw most of the things we were tall enough for. We pushed around the double stroller and places were accessible or there was a stroller parking lot. Katie only fell out onto her face once. I rarely strapped her in and she was always trying to get out while we were moving. If the kids were older and could ride all the things, you could easily spend 2 – 3 days here. We didn’t bother with the shows due to our parties short attention span. Lines and crowds were not bad, but I did schedule this trip during the week and during the school year on purpose. I do not remember waiting more than 10/15 minutes on even the most popular rides. Many we basically walked onto. I imagine a weekend or school break would be a different story.
The next day we hit the Sea Life aquarium which was included in our park hopper tickets. It is an interactive marine museum with lots of cool fish to spot and things to touch. You will see sharks, seahorses, jellyfish, and scuba divers in the tanks. It has an interesting bioluminescent tide display on the floor that you can jump and “splash” in. Overall pretty average for a marine exhibit. Matt is an aquarium super fan and a lover of fishes, so he enjoyed it.
We got some lunch in the Legoland theme park at a pizza place and did a few more rides. I snuck my to go coffee cup filled adult liquids into the park this afternoon. This helps takes the edge off all the screaming children that come with the theme park experience. The kids ate churros and granny smith apple fries with cinnamon sugar. I had read the Garden Deli and Café was good and had a great patio, but it was closed when we tried to visit.
We visited too early in the season for the neighboring Legoland Chima Waterpark. It is another huge funfair with slides, banana boats and water games. Our kids were a little young this time anyways, but I would hit it up next time for sheezy.
We went off campus a couple times to eat. As Canadian tourists in California, we had to try the In-N-Out Burger. It was copasetic. We were using What’s App to text and communicate with each other as our Canadian phone plans charged us extra otherwise. One night we were headed to a local Mexican joint, but it had moved locations, and we mislaid Rob’s car in traffic. We had no wi-fi and ended up at the Red Lobster close by. We ate guiltily as Rob’s car never showed. Later at the hotel we finally ran into them. Turns out their kid had gotten car sick and puked all over the rental. They had to stop to hire a steam cleaner. Poor bastards. Rob and Clare missed out of some good seafood that evening. We even stayed at the restaurant for dessert to stress eat because we felt so bad we lost them.
Legoland is a great destination for kids. The hotel is amaze balls. It was nice to be on site and not have to worry about parking and screwing around in the car a bunch. I was a tyrannical nap dictator with my babies and this worked out perfectly with little one needing a mid day break. I picked this place as an alternative to Disney because the kids are still newbie travelers. Legoland is geared towards the younger crowd and probably half the fucking price. You really should check out that lobby bar. I mean the Lego play castle.. 😉
KIDS AGES: 1 and 3
MAY 2018
paRty of 4 