August Trip to include Legoland - Qs

[dgdisney]

Hi! My youngest is finally tall enough to enjoy most of the offerings at Legoland - so off we go in August. Has anyone been recently? Any suggestions on tour strategies - I have a 5' 8 year old and a 3' 4 year old - both Harry Potter lego fanatics. I will also have my parents! Are the best discount tickets at Costco?

Thanks in advance - love this board!

 

[TBLaube]

Legoland is "Disney on Prozac"

Legoland is a very mellow park even when crowded. It is fairly easy to manuever and your kids are the perfect age to enjoy it.

We live about 30 minutes from there and go a couple of times a year. Like I said, it is pretty sedate for the adults(which is a nice thing).

I find that the best way to take on the land is to enter the park and travel to your left and circle your way around. That way you end with miniland and the area where you can build legos and play on computers. I figure my kids can build legos for free at home, but they really like it. It is fine later in the afternoon after we have hit most of the rides.

Food-wise---You must try the granny apple fries when you go to the castle area. They are granny apple pieces fried with a whipped vanilla cream for dipping!!!! Delicious and inexpensive....

 

[year2late]

Costco and credit unions are your best bet.

I would like to put in my plug for their AP. We only went one day (and are not likely to go back) I got my son the AP (it cost's less for him) and it gave ME (alleged adult) a free ticket on the spot. Refunded my parking costs on the spot! We saved a mint on meals and legos with super discounts!

Especially with a decent size group, I would really suggest one of you get it. (It was totally easy to get at guest services prior to entrance.

Membership plus

 

[dgdisney]

Disney on Prozac - I love it!!!!

Thanks for the suggestions! We will check out annual memberships before we leave (great idea) and touring to our left once we arrive. I love these boards - thanks a bunch!

 

[sters]

What a great tip! I would never have thought to inquire about an AP for a one-time-only trip.

Also, during July and August 2004, LEGOLAND gives a 10% admission discount and the second day free! But, it can't be combined with the Membeship Plus.

 

[hookedup]

How does the Entertainment Book coupon compare to the Costco deal?

We have Legoland passes so we go a lot, but one of my friends was telling me she thought the Entertainment book had a good deal and so did AAA.

Legoland is fun if you have small kids and especially if they like Legos! Miniland is my favorite.

 

[dgdisney]

Just thought I would pass on one more discount....amazing that there are this many in August!

If you are a customer of Sparkletts water delivery service in CA you are eligible for $10 off park admissions for your first six guests. That matches Costco and you purchase your tickets at the gate! (My parents receive water delivery and just noticed this offer tucked into their bill!).

My girls are getting excited...two more weeks

 

[challada]

Frankly, we were just there last week and I found it to be much worse than "Disney on Prozac"....the admission price is horrible (and we used the coupons from the Lego Club Magazine which made it half price), there is not nearly enough for the kids to do there (there are definitely not 50 attractions as they list....12 of them are just the lego minatures to look at which was too boring for my kids after 1 minute). The "rides" are small kid carnival stuff (car on a track, cat and mouse small coaster, etc). There seems to be stores and food every two feet so I felt like we were only there to shop for more Lego stuff. We ended up spending only half a day there and dropped hundreds of dollars on merchandise/food, etc.

In hindsight, I would opt to do only the San Diego Zoo and Wildlife Park w/that money...you can do a membership there cheaper than at Legoland and get in to both parks and see some educational stuff....my kids loved the zoos as much as legoland.

 

[dgdisney]

Challada - how old were your children? It is starting to sound like a little amusement park a few blocks from my parents house in Anaheim called Hobby City - little rides. My girls still love it!

 

[challada]

My kids are 4 and 9 years old....the 9 yo is the lego nut but expects more "rides" out of an amusement park....the 4 yo could not go on most of the coaster type rides b/c of height requirements. It did remind me of the little place in Anaheim around the corner from Disneyland (I can't remember the name, but I know it was WAY cheaper than the Lego place).

If your kids are WAY into Legos, they probably would enjoy it, but I would not say it's a place to visit more than once. IMHO

 

[mobetsy]

My kids are 6 and 9 and love LL. Ds9 goes on the fastest thrill rides at other parks, but he still enjoys the relatively tamer rides at LL (I'd rate a couple of the coasters as medium, not kiddie rides). It's not a place for anyone who really wants only lots of fast rides. But there is lots to do and lots to see, and much of it is unique to Legoland. My boys really enjoy spending a long time wandering around Miniland; there are loads of surprises to be discovered there once you start looking. Can't recall the name of it, but the ride in the boats, and Driving School...fun because unlike Autopia type rides, you really are in charge, with no tracks that keep you on the path even if you do nothing. There are areas with loads and loads of Legos for building, way more than we'll ever have at home and we have lots, and one part where you can try building all kinds of cars and racing them against other builders. The whole water play area is very engaging. Yes, there are lots of shopping opportunities, but they don't have to rule the day. I guess it all depends on you and your kids; on a hot summer day, my kids have more fun at LL than at a zoo watching sleeping animals (yes, even the SD Zoo!), and it definitely is much more than Hobby City!

 

[challada]

Let me try to explain my point of view a little better....

My kids LOVE Legos and we have at least 100 sets in my house. They could spend hours building and playing w/the stuff and I can remember my Lego-days fondly.

However, I have a problem w/ paying $50/person for a day of building Legos in the heat w/tons of other kids. And, no offense to anyone here, but lots of these kids (and some of the adults too) don't exactly know how to "play nice" (I watched one "princess" run around the building/waiting area take pieces out of other kids hands and then throw them at people while her father just watched...I ended up being the one to tell her to stop).

I guess what I was trying to express is that I don't think Legoland is a good VALUE for your entertainment dollar. There was absolutely nothing in that park that was worth the amount they were charging at the door. For less than half the cost, you can have just as much entertainment at Hobby City or whatever it's called. Then the cost of food was terrible and, as I said, the stores were parked every 10 feet to squeeze some more $$$ out of you.

I'm glad we went once...my kids have now seen it and had some fun....but we won't be going back!

 

[MrShiny]

We've been to Legoland twice, and our kids never touched any actual Legos! I know that that was there, but I never thought it was a big thing to do at the park. We loved it. If you have kids the right ages, it is great. Driving school is a big hit. Young kids will probably love the "Big Test" show. Miniland is pretty amazing. Even the safari and storybook rides are fun for the little ones.

 

[year2late]

They also have special weekend happenings.

We went on "Space Weekend"

Free t shirts and buttons.

A rocket club helped us build a small launchable rocket to keep.

Major lego activity building a shuttle.

Meet a real astronaut.

We picked a great time to go.

 

[mobetsy]

Here's a tip for you: we were just at Legoland today, and from 5:30-7:30 PM, back in the Knight's Kingdom area, there's a restaurant that has a family feast platter that is an incredible deal if you have at least several adults/big eaters. For $29.99 (actually less for us as we have AP's) we got: half a chicken, a huge turkey leg, 2 beef hot dogs, 4 large chicken tenders (5"x2"), a large serving of onion rings, large serving of french fries, 6" round loaf of bread with delicious garlic butter, bowl of garlic mashed potatoes, 2 beef ribs, a pork chop, a chef's style salad (bowl maybe 6" in diameter and 4" deep), and 2 ears of roasted corn! Dh and I had no clue how big it would be, and we and our two sons ate until stuffed and brought home enough for tomorrow night's dinner. The food in that restaurant is usually one of the better deals in the park, but this was phenomenal.

 

[CarolynK]

Originally posted by challada
Let me try to explain my point of view a little better....

My kids LOVE Legos and we have at least 100 sets in my house. They could spend hours building and playing w/the stuff and I can remember my Lego-days fondly.

However, I have a problem w/ paying $50/person for a day of building Legos in the heat w/tons of other kids. And, no offense to anyone here, but lots of these kids (and some of the adults too) don't exactly know how to "play nice" (I watched one "princess" run around the building/waiting area take pieces out of other kids hands and then throw them at people while her father just watched...I ended up being the one to tell her to stop).

I guess what I was trying to express is that I don't think Legoland is a good VALUE for your entertainment dollar. There was absolutely nothing in that park that was worth the amount they were charging at the door. For less than half the cost, you can have just as much entertainment at Hobby City or whatever it's called. Then the cost of food was terrible and, as I said, the stores were parked every 10 feet to squeeze some more $$$ out of you.

I'm glad we went once...my kids have now seen it and had some fun....but we won't be going back!

I totally agree. We also had to tell a kid (whose father had wandered off) to stop shooting water at other people, after he got my husband pretty good. No employees around.
The kicker for me was that one area you can build your own project out of DIRTY, used Legos then PAY to take that home!?! I saw a toddler drooling into one of the tubs!!! Unbelievable.

The Lego Store at Downtown Disney is better than that whole park, in my opinion.
I'm glad we did it once - my son liked it - but we won't be back.

 

[dgdisney]

Well - it was about 96 degrees when we were at Legoland so my Seattle girls wilted a bit but they loved the park! My parents (one of whom was at the opening day of Disneyland) was pleasantly surprised at how the park was put together (interest for all ages, the mature landscaping etc...).

Thanks for all the tips - the girls loved the interactive rides (although some children seemed to get in a bit above their ability levels - the boat ride and driving backwards comes to mind!). We didn't play with any legos (the children in those "waiting areas" were a bit aggressive about defending their creations) and we didn't stay all day but just long enough!

I would have to agree with CarolynK - I am glad we went but I do not think we would be back. It is a long drive from Anaheim and if given the choice my kids would rather have a day at Soak City!

By the way - we did our lego shopping at Downtown Disney too!

 

[zipDdoodah]

I totally agree with challada. My DS is an absolute Lego fanatic, so we were really excited to go, but once we got there we were pretty disappointed. The line waits were very long and moved sooo slow, and the rides were pretty boring. Plus, as other posters said, you didn't really get a lot of Lego interaction. It was like playing with dirty legos. One thing we did enjoy was miniland, but that was mostly my DH and I. The kids just wanted to go to the store, which really paled in comparison to the one at Downtown Disney at DL. All in all, I'm glad we tried it once, but next time we will opt for the zoo instead.

If your kids love Legos, just go spend some time at the Lego store at Downtown Disney. We had more fun there than we did at Legoland.