Legoland queries

[candygirlIRE]

Forgive me if I ramble... but we are thinking we would like to do a quick trip to Legoland, arriving to California on the 1st of July and doing Legoland July 2 and 3, then leaving California the 4th....

Thoughts??

Will it to be TOTALLY packed as it's near the holiday?
Are there deals out there right now for 2 days at Legoland?
Fun for all these ages: 12yrs(dd) - 5yrs(ds) - 19mo(dd2) ??
Weather nice enough for the water park?
Best place to stay? Most affordable?
Awesome place to eat?

Help me plan the trip - I don't want Legoland to be just a pipe-dream for my husband anymore He's been dying to go!!

Suggestions??

Thanks so much!!! (Wish is was Disneyland, but we are saving up for a 2 week trip next year whoohoo!)

 

[skiingfast]

Yes it will be very crowded.

Legoland will love for you to come for two days. That's why it's only $15 to add a second day. This kind of screws up the reasons to get a discount because those are mostly on 1 day tickets.

DS 5 will love it. The others probably won't care about the second day.

Weather will be great. The waterpark is nice but gets really crowded with only a handful of things to do. Swim when it open at 10am, and leave when it's noon, come back at 5pm.

There are a couple nice places to stay, and many cheap places. This place I've seen come up cheap but probably won't be for your dates is Lake San Marcos Resort. You can find basic hotel and motels at the Legoland exit of I-5 and up or down and exit.

There is a lot of dining in this same area. I like Claim Jumper, share a piece of chocolate cake for desert there.


Get to legoland early, it will take time to park and get in the gates. Ride the coasters first thing. The lines are really bad, for the ride quality. Sky Cruiser looks fun but the wait is aweful for what it is. Coastersaurus is over in a flash. You will split up a bunch of time because in many case there are two rides paired together. One for the adults and kids, and one for the really little kid. Explore the Sealife Museum or the Miniland USA mid day when lines are worst.

 

[candygirlIRE]

So what are some other hotels in the area that people can suggest?

What are the best rides of the park? Do they offer the rider switch, as we will have our DD2 with us who will be about 18mo?

Any other helpful hints and tips.....
We know it will be crowded, but will it be insane

Best place to buy tix?? Or should I go direct through them?

Thanks!!

 

[skiingfast]

So what are some other hotels in the area that people can suggest?

What are the best rides of the park? Do they offer the rider switch, as we will have our DD2 with us who will be about 18mo?

Any other helpful hints and tips.....
We know it will be crowded, but will it be insane

Best place to buy tix?? Or should I go direct through them?

If you want to do two days, then buy the two day tickets from LL because the second day is so cheap. This will be cheaper than buying two one day tickets. Getawaytoday has a discount but it doesn't include the waterpark.

If you just want one day, in the lego club magazines which are free to subscribe to for children, is a buy an adult get a free child coupon. I think that may be for the hopper that doesn't include the waterpark too. I have also heard of discounts on cup at local fast food locations.

I find the crowds a bit bad, because it's just not Disney, it's not as pleasant to be there. The queues are not as nice. The park isn't as nice. The rides aren't as good. That's why insane may be what to expect. Just keep in mind the lines will be long and the rides not as great.

Rides that are most popular are, the coasters, sky cruiser, Bionicle Blaster, Lost Kingdom Adventure, Treasure Falls, Driving School, Fire Academy, Pirate Shore Splash Battle and eating Apple Fries. They all have long lines.
There is also a new attraction coming this summer, Pirate Reef, which is sure to be a popular water ride.

LL does do Parent Swap, though I don't know the details of how it works.

Some other hotels I thought I'd mention are a Hiltion Garden Inn and Carslbad by the Sea. Both nearby.

 

[candygirlIRE]

So without having a google map in front of me, how far is legoland from Disneyland?
I have a magical thought of doing one day Lego and one day Disney..... Doable??
Maybe a hotel I between??

Tell me it could work?!?!?

 

[skiingfast]

So without having a google map in front of me, how far is legoland from Disneyland?
I have a magical thought of doing one day Lego and one day Disney..... Doable??
Maybe a hotel I between??

Tell me it could work?!?!?

It's very easy to do. Don't drive when there is traffic. I mean go to one and after at night drive to the other. It's about 60 miles between the two. I would do LL and then DL which will be more exiting and have FastPass.

 

[candygirlIRE]

So just to totally confuse everyone LOL we may be able to go the spring break instead, first week of April, days 2, 3, or 4. We would drive there, go to legoland, stay one night at a hotel, and then leave next morning.

One day good for legoland??
I know the waterpark is open, but will it be nice enough weather wise??
Crowd wise, how busy are we talking??
More or less than July trip??

Still thinking about adding a day of Disney to this mini trip...... But really not sure cost wise.

Any good hotels with indoor pools?? Suite style with the two rooms (like embassy suites)??

Thanks guys!! Sorry to be so bothersome lol

 

[DLtorgo]

There is a Homewood Suites nearby, Not sure about indoor pool. I would think you would be very cold at water park. I have gone in the middle of July and still found cold mornings in Carlsbad.

I would guess it would be busy but just get there early and you will be fine. I would ride coasters first and skip Sky Cruiser and the Safari. Lego has some really slow loading rides. It is very cute and fun, but I find one day just fine for DD 7 and DD 3.

 

[candygirlIRE]

I was just going post about the Homewood suites!! They look nice and are part of Hilton/Embassy Suites group which we love!
I'll start a topic about that a little later I think.

I was thinking it would be a little too chilly for swimming and the water park myself. Maybe we can just bring our stuff into lego just incase?? Are there lockers avail for renting?

Which other rides to skip OR not miss for our five year old??

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

I hope you guys make it to Legoland. Especially since you said your husband really wants to go - now is the time, as your 12 year old is kind of at the upper age for the park. Not that older kids would have a bad time, but it is definitely geared for a younger crowd. I remember watching a video about the water park before it opened, and someone from Legoland said that the water park was build for kids 12 and under. So your two oldest would be prime ages. Can't speak to the weather in April, but we did LL one year at the beginning of December and it was definitely warm enough do do the water park (it wasn't open at the time, but the other splash/play areas were full of kids!).

Regarding rides not to miss....my daughter was 4 or 5 when we went, and she LOVED the lego horse ride. I think its called Royal Joust, or something like that. Basically you ride around on a plastic jumbo lego horse....nothing too thrilling or fancy, but she would have done that all day if she could have.

Hope you guys have a great time!

 

[skiingfast]

I was thinking it would be a little too chilly for swimming and the water park myself. Maybe we can just bring our stuff into lego just incase?? Are there lockers avail for renting?

Which other rides to skip OR not miss for our five year old??

A lot of rides have two versions, a big kid and little kid version located near eachother. This will make it easy since you aren't going to ride everything.

Yes there are lockers. However it may be a warm day, you never know. Though you are just off the ocean and the morning is rarely warm enough for casual swimming. You should really consult the forecast on this so you can pack the bags with swimwear and sunscreen if needed.

So just to totally confuse everyone LOL we may be able to go the spring break instead, first week of April, days 2, 3, or 4. We would drive there, go to legoland, stay one night at a hotel, and then leave next morning.

One day good for legoland??
I know the waterpark is open, but will it be nice enough weather wise??
Crowd wise, how busy are we talking??
More or less than July trip??

One day would be good, like I said at the top 5yo will love it the rest not too much.

Check the forecast you may hit a hot day, more likely sweatshirt will be handy since you are near the coast.

Crowds will be similiar Spring Break to Summer near the 4th just a little less.

If you do go for one day, drive all the way spend the night and drive to DLR in the evening after. Do not drive between Anaheim and Carlsba in the morning unless you want to leave by 6 or after 9.

 

[23bw]

Skiigninja has Legoland summed up pretty well.

As for hotels, the Sheraton in Carlsbad is a nice choice. The hotel is pretty new so everything is still in great shape. They have a very nice pool and weekend activities like BBQ or movie night by the pool. And best of all is the private entrance that is within walking distance into Legoland.

We were there last July 4th with our 5 & 8 year old. We were planning 2 days but actually cut it short after just 1/2 day in park. Crowds around the park wasn't bad but the ride queues move very slow. And once you do get on the rides, they are a bit of a letdown if you compare them to DL. The kids did enjoy the park but they liked the hotel pool even more so we cut the visit short to just 1/2 day.

Weather was perfect for the water park when we went. However the water park was way more packed than the parks.

 

[ShaunaM]

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re..._Inn_Suites_Carlsbad-Carlsbad_California.html

The west Inn Suites in Carlsbad they have a free shuttle to legoland , very short drive. free cookies and milk, in the evening , rooms were awesome, two king beds in one area and a pull out in a separate area. Windows were triple paned so very quite. I would go back there in a heart beat. our kids were 10, 8, 6
Legoland was a bit anticlimactic for them after Disney,our 8 year old is our Lego kid . They all had fun but two days would have been too much. That said we were there two years ago and the water park was not open yet. some lovely restaurants in CArlsbad. the favourite part for our kids ( us too ) was stopping to see the seals on the shore line In La Jolla , on the way back to the San Diego Airport...very cool and free.

 

[candygirlIRE]

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re..._Inn_Suites_Carlsbad-Carlsbad_California.html

The west Inn Suites in Carlsbad they have a free shuttle to legoland , very short drive. free cookies and milk, in the evening , rooms were awesome, two king beds in one area and a pull out in a separate area.
some lovely restaurants in CArlsbad.

Do they offer a free hot brekkie (even if small)??

Can you suggest some restaurants??

And thanks for the seal tip! I hadn't even thought of that!




Regarding the tickets, my sister is able to get a deal through her employer that offers all three activities (park, waterpark, sea life) for a discount and the second day is free!
So I think we will do the first day and just play the second by ear - we have to get back to LV on that second day at some point, so it would just be a quick stop back if we do.


You guys are all so helpful
Some great advice, tips, and suggestions!!

 

[ShaunaM]

...free breakfast....sausage.eggs...the works ...was great .
Restaurants I will have to to look back tomorrow , but we did a small family pizzeria it was great, and then a seafood place, I can look in the morning.

Really lovely hotel

 

[Sjwillia]

"If you do go for one day, drive all the way spend the night and drive to DLR in the evening after. Do not drive between Anaheim and Carlsba in the morning unless you want to leave by 6 or after 9."

I am still trying to put together a May plan for both DL and LL. I definately do not want to spend part of my limited time stuck in hours long traffic. Is the traffic terribly slow in the AM going both ways on the drive between Anaheim and Carlsbad? I appreciate any advise from those who have done it.

 

[ykmom]

We were just there last week for one day. Even with relatively short lines we did not manage to do every ride. Our daughter is 8 and still really enjoyed it. It has an entirely different feel than Disney but I would certainly go back. I found it to be a very relaxing day, much more laid back than Disneyland. 2 years ago we stayed at the hampton inn in Carlsbad. It was very nice and included a full breakfast. It is just a hotel room, not a suite though. We really enjoy the Japanese restaurant in the outlet mall for supper once we leave the park.

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

Sjwillia...

We added a day at Legoland to a Disneyland trip a few years ago. We went on a Monday, and left Anaheim around 8:15. We didn't have any traffic heading down, and were waiting at the gates in time for 10am opening. We were one of the first cars in the parking lot.

I believe the park closed at 5pm. We didn't want to waste any ride time eating dinner, so we ate dinner at a nearby restaurant after Legoland closed. By the time we finished dinner, we were late enough to miss all traffic on I-5 heading back up to Anaheim.

 

[Sjwillia]

Sjwillia...

We added a day at Legoland to a Disneyland trip a few years ago. We went on a Monday, and left Anaheim around 8:15. We didn't have any traffic heading down, and were waiting at the gates in time for 10am opening. We were one of the first cars in the parking lot.

I believe the park closed at 5pm. We didn't want to waste any ride time eating dinner, so we ate dinner at a nearby restaurant after Legoland closed. By the time we finished dinner, we were late enough to miss all traffic on I-5 heading back up to Anaheim.

Thank you - this is very helpful.

 

[candygirlIRE]

For those of you who stayed at the Homewood Suites.... Is the pool warm?? I know it's outdoor, but is it heated and pleasant to swim in or just cold??


Thanks!!!