Legoland in a day with 2 toddlers - itinerary?

[northshoremama]

we're going to legoland on sunday, may 29th, just for the day. i have 2 toddler girls, 5 and 3 years old. i'm guessing they'll enjoy the park...but since this is our first time there, i was hoping to get some feedback as to what to do first, must-see's/must-do's, etc.

we have sealife and legoland tickets, so i do plan to start the day off (10am) at sealife, then have lunch (where?), then off to legoland afterwards. i believe the park closes at 6pm that evening. so any recommendations on what rides/attractions/shows we should do first (keeping in mind it'll be early afternoon by the time we get into legoland).....OR should we do legoland first and then leave the park around 3:45pm to head to sealife?

thoughts?

 

[sonnyjane]

OR should we do legoland first and then leave the park around 3:45pm to head to sealife?

thoughts?

Does the aquarium close at 6 also? I would go to Legoland first and then finish with the aquarium. I haven't been to Legoland, but I have been to the aquarium and while it is very cute, it won't take you very long to see everything. I drove up to the aquarium when it opened and saw everything in 23 minutes (timed it lol), but I went by myself. Your kids will undoubtedly want to play with the exhibits more than me. Bottom line is, it's not something that's going to take you several hours, so if you would rather focus on a lot of rides and attractions in Legoland, don't worry about keep thing aquarium as an afterthought.

 

[northshoremama]

yes, according to the calendar, sealife also closes at 6pm that evening. i'm now leaning towards going into legoland first at 10am...then leaving there maybe around 4:15pm to make our way to sealife and close out the aquarium.

thanks for the input, sonnyjane!

 

[Astro Orbiter]

You can 'hop' back and forth, so depending on how things go you can slip into SeaLife mid-day then go back into Legoland. If it's hot or busy, this is a good way to avoid the sun/crowds for an hour. SeaLife is a flow-through kind of thing. You wait for a few minutes to get in, then it's one room after another until you hit the exit. No going backwards, or cutting through the middle.

For 5 and 3, I'd think the must-dos are: (check height limits, of course)
Coaster-a-saurus (kid-sized roller coaster, can have a 45 minute line)
Safari Trek (long lines, too)
Fairy Tale Brook. (I think it's lame. DD loves it. I'm considering treatment...for her. It's lame. Rarely any line.)
Duplo playground / train (10 min wait)
Volvo junior driving school. (30 min wait)
Beetle Bounce (10 min wait)
Knight's Joust (30 min wait)
Cargo Aces (10 min wait)
Wet zone in Pirate Shores.
Play Zone (outside the theater / by the duplo playground).
Costal Cruise (10 min wait)
Miniland farm (kind of by costal cruise) and Las Vegas (they are the most interactive)

You'll have to decide about the Hideaways (huge multi-leveled play structure). Pharoh's playground I think the younger one would get ran over in. Lost Kingdom Adventure I'm not sure of the height limits or their ability to shoot (It's like Buzz Lightyear). The slides (by Beetle Bounce) can be fun, too - and know that you can bypass the 'lane' slides and go down the corkscrew slides at the right)

For lunch, I like to bring it in. Or head out to the car - you'll find people picnicing under the trees in the parking lot. Otherwise we like the burgers at Castle Burger or the Upper Deck Sports Cafe.

Deb

 

[northshoremama]

thanks, deb! the main reason i'm thinking legoland first (rather than sealife) is primarily the wait times for the rides. i've already started looking at legoland's website and checking out height restrictions, and coaster-a-saurus is on our list of "to-do"! i want to save some time by not going to a ride knowing our DDs are too small to ride. and thanks for the tip about the slides near beetle bounce!

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

Deb - too funny about Fairy Tale Brook. I totally agree!!!

We loved Legoland. I really want to go back before my kids outgrow it. We went a few years ago on an off-season weekday, so we didn't really have waits for any of the rides. Except for the Skipper School....that line was SO long! Plus the entire wait was in the sun. It was the only wait we had, so if you want to ride that one, go early. My kids really liked the ride though (you drive a lego boat), so it was worth the wait.

My DD was 4 when we went, and her very favorite thing was the Royal Joust. The kids get to sit on a cute Lego horse, and ride around a track. Nothing too exciting, but right up DD's alley. Unfortunately I believe your youngest won't be old enough to ride, but your 5-year old will probably really enjoy it.

Also....do you have a buy one/get one coupon for tickets? Don't pay full price! Here are pictures of those two rides. Happy planning....and have a great trip!

 

[northshoremama]

thanks, DTDkettleCORNfan, for the additional information and pics! looking forward to our day at legoland. btw, we got legoland admission included in our vacation package.

 

[ktlm]

I agree with the others that you should do Legoland first and end the day at Sealife if you have enough time. If you have been to other nice aquariums, you may find yourself a little disappointed in Sealife. DD (then 4) was actually really bored with it. I bet we didn't spend more than 30 minutes in it because we could barely get her to stop and look at anything. If we go back to Legoland, we will probably skip Sealife because she has no interest in going back. She would rather spend the whole day in the park.

 

[northshoremama]

I agree with the others that you should do Legoland first and end the day at Sealife if you have enough time. If you have been to other nice aquariums, you may find yourself a little disappointed in Sealife. DD (then 4) was actually really bored with it. I bet we didn't spend more than 30 minutes in it because we could barely get her to stop and look at anything. If we go back to Legoland, we will probably skip Sealife because she has no interest in going back. She would rather spend the whole day in the park.

that's what my sister said, too. that they went thru sealife pretty quickly with her kids. so i'm thinking we could leave legoland around 4pm, head into sealife (which closes at 6pm), and then since we'll probably be out of there within an hour, we can grab a snack before heading back on the shuttle.