Legoland Advice for a summer Saturday

[ten6mom]

Hi All! I have never been to LEGOLAND but my boys (11 and 8 by the time we go) have been bugging me to go back for years. I plan on just one day this summer (on a day we are blocked out of DLR) and I want to know if you think one day is sufficient for us to do everything in LEGOLAND and the LEGOLAND water park(s). I notice they have very short operating hours overall (compared to DLR). This is Saturday June 6 I am planning. Any thoughts? I imagine they'll go on all the most popular rides.

If that IS enough time to do the water park also, what are some strategies for that? Do I just arrive with them in their swim trunks and t shirts and switch back and forth as it takes their fancy, or is it best to do one area of the park at opening and the other afterwards, or what?

Thanks for any tips you might have for us.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

That's the same day we're going. No tips, but I'll be following this, too. I'm a Disneyland vet, so great with crowds, but have no concept of what a day at Legoland looks like.

 

[ten6mom]

bump

 

[ten6mom]

Well, beachdreamr1229, I guess it'll just be us, making our way along as best we can! Now I am actually trying to talk my older son OUT of Legoland just because I think everything is going to be such a long wait/slow load compared to Disneyland. Am considering a day at Soak City (adjacent to Knott's Berry Farm) instead... but they don't even have prices listed yet!

 

[Angrose]

I have never been to LEGOLAND in the summer, but we took DS7 last year in May. It was Mother's Day weekend, Sat and Sun, and it was surprisingly not too busy. We did not do full days, nor did we do the water park, so I'm not sure how helpful my perspective will be. We arrived on Sat around noon and I think the park closed at 5pm. We stayed at the LEGOLAND hotel so got to enter the park a little bit before opening the next day and stayed until around 3pm. DS7 isn't really into rides so we didn't do very many, but he did love the interactive play areas and especially the big play structure over by the castle and the pirate splash zone, which is a water play area inside the regular park. I don't think you will be able to do EVERYTHING in LEGOLAND and the waterpark in one day. The lines can get long and they are not as efficient as Disneyland that's for sure. If I only had one day, I would get there at opening and do as much as I could in LEGOLAND itself and then hop into the waterpark in the late afternoon for a few hours. I'm just thinking that it wouldn't be very fun to carry around wet towels and swimsuits if you went back and forth. I've heard that the waterpark does not provide towels so you either need to bring your own or buy them there, but they only sell the nice ones that cost like $20! They also have those whole body dryers that I think cost $5 to use. I do believe they have lockers as well so that's an option.
Looks like we are planning a LEGOLAND weekend in August and we will do the waterpark this time too, but we will go for two full days. My boys, DH and DS7, are HUGE Lego fans and could probably spend a whole week there! I might have to ditch them and drive up to DLR for a few hours!!

 

[ten6mom]

Thank you Angrose, that is helpful information!

 

[pumpkin5156]

Hi!! We have lots of experience at both Disneyland and Legoland. There is a huge difference in park operations and experience so just be prepared. They are both charming in their own ways.

Legoland on a Saturday in the summer will be busy. Get there early and plan to stay all day. Skip the aquarium, as it is nothing special and if you only have one day I wouldn't waste time there. Try to have your tickets in advance as the ticket lines can be long. The lines to get in the parking structure can be long as well, and they are slow.

When you enter I would veer right instead of left. Most people go left. Make sure to pick up a show guide at the front of the park next to the maps for times and events for that day

The water park is kind of whatever. My 8 year old son can spend about two hours there before he is ready to move on. Depending on your family's interests, you will need to decide how to allocate your time. The operating hours at Legoland have always been weird to me, but you will just have to make do. The water park will be crowded probably all day, tapering off toward closing time. If you want a beach chair, you have to go right at opening, but we never sit when we are there. We are too busy playing! We just find a safe place for our stuff, although they do have lockers, changing rooms, and big dryers. I'm too cheap for lockers, so I roll all our valuables into a clean diaper, close it so it looks used, and keep it in my backpack.

The main park is really where I would spend my time. You should be able to get most rides done, as some are for very small children, and may not even be tempting to your boys.

It really is very different than Disney. I'll save you from my opinions and let you form your own as far as comparing the parks, but have a great trip and enjoy your family. If you have questions let me know. We are actually headed there tomorrow!

 

[ten6mom]

Thank you! This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. We finally decided to just do the main park and not try to do the water park due to time restrictions, and we did buy our tickets online so I hope that will save us some time. Is it like Disneyland, where there are separate areas to purchase tickets vs. get into the park?

I plan to get there well before opening (with the blessing of Southern California traffic, of course) and do as much as we can while we have the time. And hey, if we get done before park closing, so much the better! More time for a leisurely dinner elsewhere, is what I say!

Thanks for the heads up... we are Disneyland veterans and my boys have been forewarned that it doesn't operate the same way DL does. I honestly don't want to go at all but they are BEGGING me so I figured, one day won't kill me and this is their vacation too.

Thanks again!

 

[pumpkin5156]

Glad to help. The ticket booths are basically right in front of the entrance kiosks, but they are easy to bypass. Everything is just a lot slower at Legoland. Our family's favorite part is actually Miniland. We spend the most time there looking at all the details. Even my three year old loves it. The food isn't spectacular, so I would wait to have dinner off campus, maybe even by the beach! Carlsbad beaches are well worth your time if you get done early.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

Nice to see some solid advice and opinions. We're driving down Saturday and will be staying at the Legoland hotel until Monday, so hopefully that will be plenty of time to see what we want to see. Honestly, if it were my choice, we'd just go to Disneyland again, but my son's turning 5, the trip was his choice, and he's ridiculously excited about the hotel, the pool, and one water slide he saw a picture of online (the theme park itself is just an added bonus as far as he is concerned).

 

[ten6mom]

Have a wonderful time!

 

[Angrose]

Nice to see some solid advice and opinions. We're driving down Saturday and will be staying at the Legoland hotel until Monday, so hopefully that will be plenty of time to see what we want to see. Honestly, if it were my choice, we'd just go to Disneyland again, but my son's turning 5, the trip was his choice, and he's ridiculously excited about the hotel, the pool, and one water slide he saw a picture of online (the theme park itself is just an added bonus as far as he is concerned).

How did it go?

 

[beachdreamr1229]

How did it go?

Our trip was actually amazing. I didn't have high hopes since I've read a lot of negatives, but it was really enjoyable. My 5 year old absolutely loved it (especially the water park) and wants to go back again next year. My 18 month olds really enjoyed it, too. There was plenty to do for everyone. I don't know why people complain about it being dirtier than Disneyland or not having good theming because it my experience, it was just as clean as Disneyland and pretty well-themed (at least better than Knotts or Magic Mountain).

 

[Angrose]

Our trip was actually amazing. I didn't have high hopes since I've read a lot of negatives, but it was really enjoyable. My 5 year old absolutely loved it (especially the water park) and wants to go back again next year. My 18 month olds really enjoyed it, too. There was plenty to do for everyone. I don't know why people complain about it being dirtier than Disneyland or not having good theming because it my experience, it was just as clean as Disneyland and pretty well-themed (at least better than Knotts or Magic Mountain).

Glad you all had so much fun! I also had pretty low expectations when we went last year, but we also really enjoyed it! I didn't think the park was dirty at all, but I do think they could use some Disney efficiencies. Maybe it's just the nature of the rides there, the lines are pretty slow moving. We are looking forward to going back in August and we will try the waterpark this time too. Looks like fun!

 

[ten6mom]

We had a nice time (One day only, LEGOLAND only). I decided it's more for kids ad the parents are more onlookers than anything else. I think if we go back we will definitely do the water parks... to me, the rides in the regular area are negligible. We did enjoy miniland very much and the Star Wars displays were quite amazing. Parking was not an issue.. there was one ride my younger son wanted very much to do but he did not want to wait 90 minutes for it. However, there were plenty of other things for them to do and they were happy with their trip. I thought lunch at the Garden Grill was fine (although finding seating was a challenge) but overall my kids were happy and that is what this trip was about.

 

[travelingmom4]

Does anyone have a line up of what to do first, second, third (rides) so we are riding the more popular ones before it gets crowded? Or maybe that strategy doesn't work since it opens later, or there is no need? I just don't want to be waiting longer than 30-40 minutes for a ride. FP has spoiled me.

 

[Jaina]

Following. Appreciated the tips so far. All 3 of my older kids (they will be 9, 7.5, and 5) are obsessed with all things Lego, and I think we're going to try a one-day visit in October.

 

[ten6mom]

I don't have a ton of advice. I do know that my younger son had wanted to go on the ride that you "pedal" around a track (more toward the left side of the park, I think) and that by the time we got there (we started on the right side of the park), the line was about 90 minutes and he didn't want to wait that long. Since that was the longest line we saw all day, I'd say that one is pretty popular. I believe that one is called the Sky Cruiser.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I would suggest doing Driving School, Sky Cruiser, Sky Patrol, and Aquazone early. Sky Cruiser opens for early entry if you stay at the Legoland hotel, but the others don't open until the normal time. I found that we couldn't do it all in a day. In fact, we missed the Adventure themed area completely and that was with 2 days in the park. We spent a lot of time at the water park though and would have spent even more if time had allowed. The water park gets crowded pretty fast from what we saw, so plan accordingly. I wrote a brief trip report on my blog in case anyone wants more info: http://disneylanddreamin.blogspot.com/2015/06/legoland-california-trip-report.html I know when I was planning our trip, I discovered there isn't a lot of planning info out there for Legoland, which was hard for me since I'm used to having a firm concept of where to go at different times of day at pretty much any other theme park.

 

[pumpkin5156]

Sky Cruiser is always the longest line and it stays long all day. The driving schools get long as well, and so does the big roller coaster, The Technic, and the shooting ride in the Adventure area ( blanking on the name).

If you want to skip Sky Cruiser, I always start out going to the right when we enter, as most people go left, and those small kiddy rides are slow loading and have long wait times in the morning.

Make sure to take time for Miniland. It's detail is incredible and has interactive buttons and sounds for the kids along the way.