Once your kids hit a certain age, taking them to an amusement park can become an annual tradition for some families, and while there are tons to choose from, I’m here to tell you all about how perfect Lego Land is for taking your younger kids to! There are a few locations around the country and this summer we traveled to California and took our 8, 6 and 4 year old to Lego Land for the first time. This was our first major amusement park visit for us and I am so glad we picked this one. The park size, height requirements and theme was absolutely perfect for my aged kids. The park is geared for 4-12 year olds, so keep that in mind.
Lego Land is a Lego-themed amusement park that’s divided into different smaller areas, such as Pirate Shores, Fun Town and Castle Hill. Each area has both bigger and smaller rides that match that theme, along with games, shops and food options. The whole park is very shady with plenty of bathrooms and benches to sit on. One of my favorite parks was all the “stop and build” areas around the park. These areas were covered places to get out of the sun with just oodles of Legos to build! Some areas had the smaller traditional Legos, others had the younger Duplo versions and the water parks had huge floating ones! These areas were a great place to stop and rest for a bit, both for the kids and mom or dad. There were a few rides that my oldest was able to ride but my younger two weren’t or didn’t want to so I stopped at most of these areas to give my younger two a break while my husband took our oldest to ride. There were only like 3 rides that my middle son couldn’t go on, which was great so we avoided those “why can’t I go on too??” melt downs that you would encounter at other parks with faster rides. I was so thankful for that.
After our 3 days at the park, I’ve compiled some simple tips for helping you survive this park and live to tell the tale. Remember, that these are 100% my opinions and not all kids are like mine. You may have a different experience that we did.
1. Take advantage of the park hopper multi-day tickets and don’t try and see the whole park in one day. At current time the 5 day park hopper tickets are only a few dollars more than a single day ticket, and if your time allows you I would suggest spending a few days at the park, especially with younger kids. We spent three days in the park- two in the regular part and spent one whole day doing the water attractions. The lines weren’t too long but there were a few rides that we had to wait around 30 minutes to see. All this waiting can add up to cranky kids and with all the excitement, colors and fun of the park, some kids (like mine!) can get burnt out easily. We saw about 3/4 of the park in one day and then spent the second day riding the remaining rides and revisiting a few favs from day one. The park is only open to 6 as well, so be aware of that.
2. See if your hotel has a shuttle to save you some money on parking! It was $15 a day for regular parking and we took the shuttle 2 of 3 days which was a decent savings I thought!
3. If you can, do all the water rides on one day. If your kids are anything like mine, walking around in wet clothes is not their favorite. This was why we saved all the water rides for one day. There are three water sections of the park: the Lego Water park, the Chima water park and Pirate Coves. All of these areas have water slides, rides and splash pads. There are two large water slides in the regular water park along with a Build-Your-Own-Lego Raft lazy river and then a Duplo section that’s designed for younger kids, but my older ones still had fun over there. There are plenty of life jackets for kids to use, along with lockers and plenty of changing stations. We saved all the water stuff for one day that way we were not changing back and forth. I have heard that some non-water rides will not let you ride if you are wet either, so this is another reason to keep one day water only if you can.
4. Bring a stroller or rent one if you want. My youngest is 4 and between her and all the gear we had I was go grateful I had my smaller lightweight stroller with us. Even if she wanted to walk, I could still use the stroller hold my bag and all our necessities.
5. Speaking of necessities….be sure to bring with you hats, sunglasses, sneakers, sunblock, wipes, hand sanitizer and plenty of water and snacks. One of the reasons Lego Land was so great is that they allow outside snacks at the park. I packed tons of dry snacks and some fruit (like squeezey applesauces) for the kids. This helped keep hunger at bay and allowed us to spend a bit less on lunch. Park food is always expensive, but we found that the Pizza Mania in the Imagination Zone and the Beach Front Grill in the water park were a pretty decent value and good amount of food. Also kids eat for free in the Fun Town Market after 3:30. Also, if you pack a mini-figure your kids can trade it with some of the park employees. This is always fun!
6. Take advantage of those “stop and build” areas I mentioned before. They are a great place to sit and rest for a bit and get out of the sun. Some of the rides even had building areas in the line area so parents could wait while the kids played! It was awesome.
7. Download the Official Lego Land app. It’s free and gives you the current wait times for the major rides along with the height requirements.
8. Get in line for the rides you want to go on first. Some rides like the Dragon, Techno Coaster and Coastersaurus draw larger crowds. You can try and avoid this a bit by getting in line for one of those first as soon as you get into the park. The lines also seemed to dwindle in the later afternoon, so eat those snacks in the day and a later lunch so you can ride the rides with less waiting.
9. Set parameters on what the kids could get for souvenirs. I tried to get my kids to choose something they couldn’t get anyplace else, but that didn’t work with my 4 year old- all’s she wanted was a giant stuffed dog that had nothing to do with Legos. I have learned to pick my battles with her but the older two got some Lego related gear. They were allowed to choose one thing and then each got a Mini-figure key chain for their backpacks for when school starts. They were very reasonably priced at around $6 each and were very unique.
10. Don’t forget to spend time checking out the amazing statues all around the park and in mini-land! They were so incredible and the details were amazing. The kids loved looking at them.
We had such an awesome family vacation at Lego Land. My kids seriously had the.best.time and I didn’t feel overwhelmed at all at the park. It was so well designed and just the right amount of stuff for my kids to do, all for a MUCH more reasonable price than some other well known California parks (if you catch my drift). We all enjoyed the ride, the figures and the theatrics of the parkland definitely recommend taking your kids if you have the opportunity.I hope these tips can help your next Lego Land trip more successful!
Have you even been to Lego Land? If you have any additional tips, share them in the comments!
Looking for the funny side of taking your kids to an amusement park? Check out my Ten Truths about Taking Your Kids to an Amusement Park– it’s hilariously true.
Disclosure: As a blogger, I was treated to two complimentary tickets into the park but was not required to write anything specifically, I just wanted to share all about our amazing time and share some helpful tips for other parents out there! All opinions are 100% my own.
I want to visit Legoland. It just sounds like so much fun. Hope you have a great day!
Thank you! it was super fun, our kids really enjoyed it!
We had annual passes so we could go for just a few hours then head home. A few tips I’d add are
-get there at opening (earlier if you stay at one of the hotels that let you in early)
-Go counter clockwise at the start. EVERYONE goes left first
-Dino Dig is a good place to relax in the afternoon. The kids dig while parents rest.
-Not that it gets brutally hot in Carlsbad, but save the aquarium for the heat of the day if you get the three park pass.
-Buy a souvenir drink cup or two and share it
Those are great ideas! Thank you for sharing!!