Leave Disney for a day to go to Legoland?

[nutshell]

We're thinking about heading to Legoland for a day. Ever been there? What's it like? Good or bad? There will be me, DW, DD10, and DS7.

 

[mystic_path]

How many days are you going to be at Disneyland park for? Just cause I would say if your really into the Disney thing... It is going to take you about 4 days to see the entire park fully. If you were only going for 3 days I would say stick with Disneyland. If you have a 4-5+ day hopper for Disneyland and need a Disney break Legoland might be a good plan for you. Some are saying its a great place for kids under the age of 9. Here is a link to Trip Advisor to folks who have been to Legoland and give their honest opinions.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...-Legoland_California-Carlsbad_California.html

 

[cruise cruise cruise]

last year we stayed 8 nights at Hojo Anaheim. we did 6 days at DLR, 1 day seaworld, 1 day Lego Land.
My kids (4 and 6) LOVED legoland. I however , thought it was a one time, been there done that, kind of place.
If your kids or you are really into Legos, the place is amazing in terms of theming and displays. There are a few clases, that looked intersting that my kids were too young for- again great if your kids are into legos. In terms of rides, it really is geared towards the younger crowd, with only one or two thrill type rides that might entertain the more adventurous rider
I'm glad we went, glad we experienced it. However, this year, even with DS begging to to again, we are choosing to just do disney

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

We have done what you are proposing. I agree with the other people though who say whether or not to do this depends on how many Disney days you have planned. DS8 and DS10 still really enjoy the Legoland experience even though it hasn't done much for me since the first time we went. I only allow myself to be convinced to go if we are getting 4 or 5 Disney days. Also, we always sandwich Legoland somewhere in the middle; it would be a let-down to me to finish a trip that way.

That being said though, DS8 and DS10 still ask to go to Legoland. They are the kind of kids who still like "little kid" rides even though they also ride thrill-type rides. They also just love to take things in and can easily spend their afternoon going through Miniland, taking the Mindstorms class (age 10 and up OR 3rd grade & up, so we got DS8 into this over the summer since he was entering 3rd grade the coming fall), and checking out all the cool Lego theming throughout the park. If you've never been and your kids enjoy Lego, it's definitely worth at least one visit.

Couple tips: Get up and go early to beat the traffic. You might want to plan on eating breakfast somewhere in Carlsbad while waiting for the park to open. Lines seem to build quickly and move slowly. We have had better luck heading straight to the back of the park and working our way forward. Scale is more like a Six Flags park than a Disney park, but the atmosphere is far calmer than a Six Flags since this park doesn't attract hoards of teenagers. The theming is also very neat. We've had great success bringing in our own snacks and water, so if you're not that into regular theme park fair, you might want to keep that in mind. Don't pay full price to get in; it's not worth it. There are lots of discounts available out there; coupons in LEGO magazines, AAA, Entertainment book, promotions at LEGO stores, and so on.

 

[nutshell]

Thanks for the info. so far. Here's more about us.

Right now the plan is to drive down Monday and drive back Friday. We'll have three solid days in DL (Tues - Thurs). It seems the only legit way to add Legoland is to add another day to our trip. Also, my kids like the thrills. DS6 has been riding Space Mountain since he was three and he can't wait to hit Indy (he just missed the height requirement two years ago).

 

[mystic_path]

If your kids really like thrill rides, then personally I would say stick with Disneyland. But if Legoland is something they really desperately wanna see then consider a day there, or add on another day to your trip if you can. I just think if you had 3 days you would be shorting yourself some time. I would really hate for anyone to miss getting in as much as they can. All of Disney is worth it. But that's is just my opinion. But even if you just had 3 days at Disneyland... then you definitely got your moneys worth.

 

[Dizneydaz]

My DD10's girl scout troop went to LL a few weeks ago. I have a TR mostly done, inc. pix. but haven't posted it yet.

It will probably be our last trip-DD is really getting too old to enjoy it much in another year or so. She did have a good time this trip, though she too still enjoys some of the kiddie rides.

I like the atmosphere at LL and it's a beautifully landscaped park. We were there on a low crowd day so that was nice (A Sunday in late April).

Park was only open 10-5. Some rides don't open until 30 min. later.

If you don't have coupons, LL is really expensive.

Here's the admission sign. $67 for adults and $57 for kids. $12 to park.

You know your kids best. If you think our DD10 and DS7 would enjoy the slower pace of LL and all the Lego buildings, then go for it. It they are more into thrill type rides, I would add another day to DLR.

For us, there weren't any rides I felt we needed to ride more than once. Even their Indy type ride (some compare it to TSM-NO COMPARISON) was too tame, and pretty lame.

Have fun whichever way you choose to go. Personally if I was going to SD area for the day, I would go to Sea World.

LL does have good food. Prices are comparable to Disney.

 

[jacs1234]

I think it's worth it, my kids loved it, 9, 7, 5, and 3. We did have 10 days at disney though.

 

[aussietravellers]

We did a day trip from Disneyland to Legoland in December and it was well worth it. My son absolutely loved Legoland.

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

My kids loved Legoland. But I whole-heartedly agree with the previous poster who said not to end your trip with a day at Legoland. Either do it first, or in the middle. If you don't do it this year, then your kids would probably be too old to do it for future trips.

Another tip - we left the park when it closed (at 4 or 5), and ate dinner nearby. We didn't want to waste ride time by eating dinner in the park, and we didn't want to drive back to Anaheim right away and hit traffic....and then have dinner kind of late when we got back to our hotel. There are many restaurants nearby (just south of LL), or up in Oceanside (just north of LL). When we go again, we'll probably eat at the Macaroni Grilll in Oceanside.

Have a great trip!

 

[Brancaneve]

Thanks DisneyDaz for the pricing. Wow! Those prices just don't make it worth it for us, although my son has been begging to go. He even watches clips of it on youtube constantly!!!! We might just give in.......


Somewhere on the Dis, someone mentioned Buy one get one coupons for Legoland. Does anyone know about these?

 

[specialks]

Somewhere on the Dis, someone mentioned Buy one get one coupons for Legoland. Does anyone know about these?

I think I saw a posting that they could be found in the May Lego magazine. Not sure what that is. It looks like you can buy them off eBay too. Another idea is checking the Legoland website for promos.

 

[mommyof2boys1girl]

There is something called the Brickmaster Club on Lego.com - apparently if you sign up for it you get a BOGO free cupon for LL. Check the "other theme park" link at the top of the page of the Disboards Disneyland California page, then do a search for Brickmaster.
I don't know all the details, because as Canadians, we weren't eligible, or I would have signed up my lego fans.
We are taking a side trip to LL during our DL trip, but we're going Greyline (bus tour - don't have to drive), and we've got 11 days total (1 at LL, 7 at parks, one for break, 2 for travel), so we won't be missing out on anything at DL.
I'd definitely add a day - everything I have heard about LL says that your kids will enjoy it (especially your DS) but it's not worth giving up a DL day.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

There is something called the Brickmaster Club on Lego.com - apparently if you sign up for it you get a BOGO free cupon for LL. Check the "other theme park" link at the top of the page of the Disboards Disneyland California page, then do a search for Brickmaster.
I don't know all the details, because as Canadians, we weren't eligible, or I would have signed up my lego fans.
We are taking a side trip to LL during our DL trip, but we're going Greyline (bus tour - don't have to drive), and we've got 11 days total (1 at LL, 7 at parks, one for break, 2 for travel), so we won't be missing out on anything at DL.
I'd definitely add a day - everything I have heard about LL says that your kids will enjoy it (especially your DS) but it's not worth giving up a DL day.

Brickmaster is a subscription from Lego. You get a magazine and small bagged Lego kit every other month for one year plus one ticket to Legoland. Last time we joined, the ticket was good for one adult or one child and may have been good for about a year from receipt. It is not a buy one, get one, but an actual ticket. The cost of a Brickmaster subscription was just over $50 with taxes and shipping 1 1/2 years ago when we last did it. It was fun for my son to get the little kits every other month, but we really only joined since we knew we were going to go to Legoland that year and figured we may as well get something extra if we were going to have to buy a ticket anyway. Occasionally in the Brickmaster subscription magazine (and sometimes even in the regular free Lego magazine that anyone can sign up for), there is a "Buy one adult ticket, get one child ticket free" coupon.

And I can't say often enough, don't pay full price for Legoland. There are AAA, CostCo, and Entertainment card discounts just to name a few. AAA sells tickets at their offices or you can get a lesser discount by showing your AAA card at the ticket window at the park. Sometimes the Lego store will run special ticket promotions with purchase. Heck, if you have no means of obtaining a discount, last time we checked, it was still cheaper for a family of 2 adults and 2 children to buy 2 CHILD PLUS annual passes and use the free parking and complementary tickets they come with for the adults in the group. So check all your options for the best deal for you before going to Legoland. It's worth it for one visit before kids "grow out of it" after probably age 10 or 11 as long as you're going to be able to get in at least 3 full days at Disneyland, but I wouldn't sacrifice a Disney day for Legoland.

 

[cinderella_mom]

My DD loved LL at age 5. At age 7, it was too boring for her. There are better things to do in San Diego county.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

Somewhere on the Dis, someone mentioned Buy one get one coupons for Legoland. Does anyone know about these?

I signed up a couple of years ago on their website and every few months we get some sort of Lego magazine. It is not something we ever paid for. Every now and then they will have one of the coupons in them. I have one coupon for sure, maybe two right now. If you would like one, send me a PM, I would be happy to send it to you.