LEGOLAND - Tips From A Mom

LEGOLAND!!!!! This is what I always hear when I mention a potential "family trip" to a fun adventure during a school break. Now most of the time we never go because after I think about the drive (we live a few hours away), the chaos and crowds (especially during a school break), and the idea of the final costs....it just doesn't make sense! Especially in this current economy. I mean lets face it, just the entry fee for one kid would buy quite a few other things. BUT, kids grow up really fast and although we have been to Legoland quite a few times (including the one in England which was great), I decided that it would be a good time to go since my son will be 12 later this year. Last time we went, my little one was a bit too young to appreciate everything there. But this time I feel they were both the perfect age to enjoy all the rides or atleast most of them. My youngest one will be 9 in September. My son was worried that he would be a bit old for the rides now, but he still enjoyed them especially the rollercoasters. The highlight for him was the new mini Star Wars exhibit that opened at the beginning of April. He was in awe. We took loads of photos of all the ships that he had built during his lifetime. I tell you...I have spent so much on those building kits, I could have bought stock in the company!!!!

I have been to the California location quite a few times and I have to say that this time I finally did it right! So, I thought I would share a few tips to make your adventure "smoother." I promise you that this is the only way to visit there if you have kids that have a bit of an age difference. A MUST is to order your tickets on the web and print them out. They offer a special 5 day ticket for the same price as a one day ticket at the gate. I think it is even a bit cheaper and it saves time and you avoid the ticket line. THIS made a huge difference when we arrived cause we went right in!!! They also offer a good price on a two day ticket on the web also. I decided to get the 5 days for one tickets and that made it possible for us to go to either Legoland, The Water Park, and the Sea Life adventure. I knew I was not staying 5 days, but incase it rained I would have the option to come back. You need to check the rules on the web incase they change. Legoland is usually closed on Tuesday and Wednesdays except for holidays and in our case Spring break. The man at the gate said that they were not closing for a few weeks.

There are a few rides that have all the long lines when the park opens and they are the rollercoasters and the The Lost Kingdom laser shooting adventure. The lines seemed to simmer down around lunchtime and I think it is because a lot of kids head for the Water Park after the morning. So we were able to go right on these rides with hardly any lines around 1pm. I do feel that going to Legoland for two days is "key" especially if your kids are different ages and want to do different rides. WE could not have covered everything they wanted to do in one day. Infact when I look back, one of them was always disappointed that they missed something. Now I know why they were fighting a bit more on our last visit a few years ago. This time it was easy to say, "Well we can hit that one tomorrow" or "You can do that one again when we come back." I know if you stay for more then one day, you will need a hotel room but I feel it is worth it. After going to Legoland now about 5 times, I finally got it right! We really had a blast!

Because I booked our trip last minute, this hotel room rate was a bit more. But the best thing about it is if you book it in advance and get a good rate, it is really worth it. It has it's own entrance near the back of Legoland so I was able to keep my car there instead of paying another parking fee at the main parking. This was helpful on the day we were leaving cause we could just leave out of the private entrance at the end of the day, get the car and head home. There are also no crowds to deal with and it's easier to get out if you leave near closing time when everyone else does. For a small fee, I was able to get food for us in the lounge in the morning hours and the evening hours. This was right downstairs from our room so we did not have to leave or order room service during our stay. Not only can room service be expensive, but it is a pain when kids do not want to wait and they are really hungry. If you book your room online they offer this food in the lounge for a small extra fee. The evening food was not that great and was more of a snacking set up, but perfect for kids who just want to go to sleep from an exhausting day. They did have plenty of quesadillas, salsa and cheese and crackers the night we were there. They also had lots of wine, coffee and really good hot chocolate too. The breakfast was really tasty and made it easier for us to get to the park right afterwards. The kids really liked what they had and there was a good selection for them too. The kids really loved the pool there after our day at Legoland and it is a really nice place to stay. I would definitely stay there again.

Well we all know that food at these places gets expensive. Everytime we had a meal it costs about $7-$10 per person ($3.00 for a drink and about $5.00 for a hot dog). A single scoop of ice cream in a cone was almost $4.00. I always bring snacks for the kids but ofcourse they always want MORE FOOD!!! So, it seemed that the french fries were the best value as far as filling the kids up when they wanted a snack in the middle of the day. The fries cost around $3.00. My son did not like the hot dog there but I did. They have a hamburger stand and offer meals with different things in it. I really did not bother with the other food places there because it just seemed like a waste of time. Since the kids were hungry at different times and there is not much healthy food there (they do have one stand with fruit in it), I decided to spread out the meal times. I did bring bottled water with me and I also rented a locker for the day with extra snacks in it. When we left the park we stopped at the final food stand and ordered 2 churros, a pretzel with light salt and 2 ice teas and it cost me almost $20.00.

I think the best thing about Legoland was that we ventured to The Water Park and Sea Life on the second day. Sea Life is great for all ages and I feel it is especially great for little ones. Even my older one loved seeing the fishes and sharks at Sea Life. My younger one really loved the Water Park and there is a few different pools for different ages and a fun raft ride for older kids too. The younger ones can go down water slides or hang out on floating hoops while they go around the park in a shallow water stream. Or they can just swim around in the shallow pools. 

I did not expect my kids to be so excited about the Mini Star Wars Exhibit. My son was really happy that he saw it especially since he had built smaller versions of the models displayed. After we went around the park and I took lots of photos, I realized that my kids were wearing the perfect colors for photos in Legoland!!! I always tell them to wear bright colors at an amusement park so I can see them easier in a crowd incase we get separated. Let me tell you why since these photos of your kids will be forever in your memory when they get older. Since the color scheme at the park has a lot of yellow and greens and blues, all of our photos came out really great. I had both kids in bright blue t-shirts. One was a sort of vibrant lighter blue aqua shirt and my little girl had a bright royal blue shirt on. It really made a difference in the pics!!! I think any bright color would work but these were the best pics yet.

Anyway, I hope this helps you if you decide to take your kids to Legoland. I do know that the best time to go is on a Monday because places seem to get more busy near the end of the week. I think this will probably be our last time there and it really was special.