Going to LegoLand for the first time with my DH and DS (5)

[mmlover74]

Tips please as we haven't been there before. Good hotels, must do rides for lego land and water park; also the sea life aquarium Good palces to eat: Thanks for your help

 

[mmlover74]

Any tips out there?

 

[MateasMom]

Hotel depends on your wishes and your price range. We like staying at the Sheraton next door. It's nice, it's convenient, you don't have to drive over to the park, and it has a beautiful pool/resort area. We've booked pretty inexpensively through Hotwire. We've also stayed at the Courtyard in the area VERY inexpensively (like $50 a night) through Priceline.

I think the best advice is to slow down and enjoy everything. Yes there are plenty of rides, but the best part about LL are the little details. I could spend hours looking at the mini cities (check out the mens restroom in Grand Central LOL). There are a lot of rides that are geared toward very young children, but plenty that my older kids enjoy, too. I would start in the back and work your way forward (another perk of the Sheraton, you'll come in at the back). It seems to be that the front attractions are super busy early in the day. -- Food....I think it's all pretty over priced and terrible, sorry

Haven't been to the aquarium, but I've been told it's worth a visit if you can get a killer deal (like the add on tickets), but it isn't really an attraction in and of itself.

HTH

 

[mmlover74]

It does help. Thank you so much for talking to me. I did not grow up near CA, so I am not familiar with the area. ITA on slowing down to enjoy everything. How many days are good to go to LL?

 

[Mama Who]

We did LL in one day and that was plenty, but we went when the water park wasn't open. I might budget two days for that. Second on the food. We went in the middle of a Disney trip and the LL food was awful by comparison. If your hotel has a coffee shop, I'd eat there for both breakfast and dinner.

 

[gatorette97]

My first and only visit (so far) to Disneyland also included a trip to Legoland. My ex and I are huge lego fans and had a great time even though we don't have children. We stayed at Grand California, so unfortunately I can't help you with hotels.

There are some activities that Legoland offers that are "extra" and require you to sign up to do. It was a lot of fun and we saw whole families involved. We spent one day and had plenty of time of see everything, though the park wasn't crowded at all.

Have a great trip!

 

[mmlover74]

Did it cost extra to sign up for those extra things? I am a HUGE Disney fan and believe it is no contest of where I would like to go, but I am thinking of my family members. Thanks for the warning on the food. May have to go to Disney after all. Now, to decide when we can go.

 

[wendydarling33]

That's interesting about the food - I'm an Legoland AP and I find it to be the best theme park food around (comparing to Disneyland, Sea World, and the San Diego zoo). It's fresh and not super overpriced (especially with my 20% discount). I love the pasta stations where they cook what you want in front of you - so yummy (Ocean Journey Cafe and Ristorante Brickilini have them)! The Garden restaurant is nice because it has healthy sandwiches and the outdoor seating overlooks miniland. Granny's Apple fries are an interesting snack.

As far as what to do, it depends on the height of your kids. The park has a circular layout (with a couple cut throughs). If you have smaller kids, start to the left (clockwise), bigger kids then start to the right (counter- clockwise). Some of the rides good to hit very first thing are Safari Trek (jeep ride) and Sky Cruiser - if you don't get them when the line is less than 15 minutes, don't bother - they are such slow loaders. My son is 2 and we love it - we go every other week. Sea life really only takes less than an hour to go through but it's a nice small aquarium designed especially for little ones. The waterpark is also fun for smaller kids but small. Bring a swimsuit even if you decide not to do the waterpark because the Pirate area has a lot of fun water features that will get kids soaked.

I think 2 days is plenty if you are going to do all three parks. One day might be enough if you pick a not too crowded day and just do LL.

Have fun!

 

[mmlover74]

Thank you for the suggestions Wendi. I realize everyone has different taste in food, why would this be an exception. What are some of less busier days to go. I assume mid week, but I haven't been there yet.

 

[wendydarling33]

Summer and holiday days are always pretty busy. It can be dead midweek during the off season. Thursday is their lowest day I think since they are closed Tues and Weds (in off season).