Oh, one more thing, this is coming from visiting on a Tuesday and Wednesday mid July with an almost 2 year old. We don't know much about the 'older kid' stuff since we were geared toward entertaining a 2 year old.
Legoland Pros:
Easy access to the freeway and lots of hotels and restaurants. We ate off-site a few times and there were plenty of places to go.
Strollers were provided, although they are fist come, first served so get there early if you want one.
You can bring in your own strollers as well, plus food and drinks (no one, the 4 times we entered the park checked any bags)
On the 'busy' rides there are areas for "Kids to play while parents wait" which I thought was great.
The rides are set up well, like a kiddie ride next to a big kid ride so parents can be in the same area with multiple children on different level of rides.
There is a clearly marked first aid station and employees are easily identified, also a few "lost parent" stations
The Sports Cafe has WONDERFUL food, and about the same prices as Applebees to dine in.
Most restaurants (maybe all) have a "Kid area" where they can color or play with Legos while waiting.
The food in the park is great, like everything we ate was better than the off-site places we ate at.
I liked there were indoor activities like learning centers or hands-on things to take a break from the sun.
Miniland was great for all ages, most the displays are interactive and something to do besides rides.
Upon entering the park they have "What to do when you're 2" fliers to point out best areas for younger kids.
We only saw one show, the Playtown Volunteer Fire show and it was entertaining and fun for everyone.
Tickets were reasonable, for $10 more you can add a second day and include water park and aquarium.
I thought it was going to be geared toward boys, but there were still princess shops, princess visits, face painting and a lot of girl things in case you are concerned girls won't have fun at Legoland.
They are really strict on height requirements, which I felt was Legoland being concerned with safety.
The name tags of the employees are hilarious, some of them get quite creative with what they add-on.
Re-entry to the park was easy, we went twice both days and never had a hassle.
Parking as way easier than other theme parks and not a far walk at all from the gates.
All the shops we visited were pretty neat, had some toys I haven't seen in stores, were fun and clean.
It closes at 8p in the summer. I thought this was good so parents can leave and put kids to bed without feeling like they didn't 'get their moneys worth' at the park. That's still 10 hours of fun.
There is stroller parking everywhere! It keeps strollers out of the way and neat and organized.
Star Wars. If you have a Star Wars fan there is a new area in Miniland (which is all the little buildings depicting famous places in the world) of three star wars movies in mini form. There is also a Star Wars shop to purchase Star Wars Lego stuff at and we ran into the Lego Darth Vader himself.
Granny Smith Apple Fries. Do it, thank me later. Below the Sports Cafe restaurant, go there.
Water Park Pros:
LIFEGUARDS EVERYWHERE. Really. The kiddie pool which had three small slides and a mini river, a few animals and was 2ft deep had around 10 lifeguards at all times, and its not a large pool.
Family dryers. Genius idea. The whole family can pile into a large box and for $5 blow dry everyone so you can continue your day nice and warm and dry. On colder So Cal days this is great, plus with the horrid humidity nothing dries there!
Large change rooms. We fit all three of us, two bags and a stroller easily into a change room.
Lockers for rent in case you want to all get in the pool and lock up valuables or unneeded items.
Photographer. We didn't want to take our camera too close to the pool but there are photographers with water-proof cameras taking your photos going down slides or playing. They give you a water proof wrist band to wear then at a booth you can view your photos and purchase any. Our photos were horribly unflattering but we got a double sided photo key chain for Mason to see mom and dad going down the slide each with him for $6. I would NEVER blow it up but they offer larger prints as well and other items.
The kiddie pool closes for 10 mins every 2 hours for 'potty break' and to be honest I think its for poo inspection. I think this is good since some parents aren't checking swim diapers. I thought it was a good potty break, sunscreen re-apply and snack and drink break. Also I felt the pools were super clean.
Family friendly slides, again we were in the kiddie area but one slide fit four people across and siblings were having a blast going with each other or taking younger ones down.
The mini lazy river was just so cute, with its own life guard and tubes for the kids to float around on.
The big lazy river had an area kids could 'customize' their tubes with giant inflatable Legos on the sides.
We didn't go on the large slides but think there was 3 or 4 'big kid' slides, one of them was a giant orange raft that could fit 6 family members in.
The pools are all heated to a warm 80 degrees, nice for us since the 70 degree air was freezing.
The pools were salt-water treated which I like better than chlorine, doesn't hurt our skin as much.
There was a new zoo splash pad near the kiddie pool that just opened up last month. It had 6 big toys that kids could turn wheels or push buttons to spray water and was pretty fun.
Cabanas. If you want to splurge, you can rent a private cabana that were around the park that come with Legos for the kids to play with, complimentary towels, a fridge and a worker to assist you.
If you have older kids playing on the big slides, there is another kiddie pool with interactive splash toys that younger kids can play in and watch the older ones slide down so parents hung out and could watch both.
FREE LIFE JACKETS. There are stands located around with different sized swim vests. This means less hauling of water wings for parents. You just grab one and return it when you're done.
Aquarium Pros:
Don't expect the Shark Reef people. It was still fun though and our family likes aquariums.
I liked when you enter the aquarium there was a slide and bridge for kids to play on over tanks.
The whole aquarium takes about an hour to visit and open up an hour before Legoland.
There was interactive areas where you could touch sea stars and other animals.
There was a pretty yummy cafe with gourmet mac and cheese and healthy options. It had a great play area for kids, dining on the patio, was pretty large and empty and a viewing tank to watch fish and you ate.
There were play areas in the aquarium like a sand castle to add to built out of Legos.
The gift shop was different, not all Lego themed and had fun toys and things to look at.
At the beginning of the aquarium you can get a book to answer questions and get a sticker at the gift shop (of course my grown husband did this)
Air conditioning! If you go in the hot summer months I'd visit the aquarium when you need a break.
Legoland Cons:
It doesn't open til 10am. When you have young kids waking up at 7a or earlier, this is a lot of down time. We took a long time getting ready, had a leisurely breakfast then went to the aquarium at 9am and then back to the car to apply sunscreen an get our bags before entering the park, worked out but wish it opened an hour earlier or so. Especially leaving the park for nap time we only had a few hours before we had to leave.
Parking was $12 a day. I guess you pay for parking everywhere (especially in CA) but plan on paying that per day. Good news; you only pay once a day so when we returned we just showed our receipt.
Being on a low-carb diet I was hoping for more sugar-free drink choices. You could buy cups at a certain price then refill for a cheaper price at any stand or restaurant but they had one option, diet coke. Wish they had Minute Maid Light or something else, I also didn't want to feed Mason soda or full sugar juice all day. Luckily we brought our own drinks and water.
Some of the prices were high at some places for food and drink but that's all theme parks. I thought the Sports Cafe was most reasonable for a lot of good food and the same price we would have paid off-site.
Photo prices, for the souvenir photos they take around the park I thought they were high, a 5x7 will run you around $14, comes with a Lego border and in a Legoland folder but ours was blurry and overpriced.
Waterpark Cons:
There is only one I can think of. The second day we went and used a changing room there was poop on the bench in the room. Someone probably changing a diaper in there. There are changing tables available and even a 'mom's lounge' to nurse babies, change them and heat up bottles but they must have laid a baby down on the bench without anything under them. We went right in after someone but don't know how often workers are in there wiping down the bench in the rooms or cleaning them out. There also aren't hooks in the changing rooms, wish there was to hang clothes and towels on or hang bags, we had to put them on the floor instead of the poop-bench.
Oh, one more con, even though Mason was free at Legoland, the water park for 1-2 year olds you have to pay $3 a day for them to enter. I'm assuming this is to go toward lifeguard costs or because 1-2 year olds are probably the poop culprits at the kiddie pool. If poop is floating it will shut down that part of the pool for quite a bit, and they require young kids be in a swim diaper. They have them available for purchase too. Guess that's not really a con but took longer to enter because we had to buy the $3 ticket each day.
Oh okay, one more con: you can't enter the water park without walking through half of Legoland. Its in the back corner and quite a walk to get to the water park entrance. Wish you could enter from the side or something without having to walk through the whole park if you are only going to the water park portion.
TIPS:
-Bring your own towels for the water park, they are not provided. You can't wear swim shoes on the water slides, which we bought before leaving and Mason wasn't allowed to wear them anyway.
-Bring your own snacks and drinks. I would HIGHLY recommend getting the Granny Smith Apple Fries though, for $4.95 with a pretty good sized container you'll wonder what you did before meeting them.
-One family we saw was in the parking lot sitting under a shaded tree with a blanket and cooler having lunch. I thought this was smart, since their kids were older (and they had a lot of 'em) and they could eat quick, and cheap, and get right back to the park and stored everything in their car in a cooler.
-I suggest if you eat at Legoland to go to the Sports Cafe. A lot of yummy options, kids meals, cool decor and a room in the back kids can make their own trading cards, color, and play with Legos. It also has a great view of one of the roller coasters as well as televisions showing Lego cartoons. The posters and sports equipment made out of Legos are pretty neat too.
-Bring a stroller for young ones. We didn't the first day, and Mason wanted to be carried (30 lbs of boy) and then we had to lug our stuff. We just brought an umbrella one but should have brought the bigger one we have with cup holders an the basket to put souvenirs, towels, bags, etc in. There is stroller parking at every ride and restaurant. We brought the stroller the second day and left it parked at one place while we visited others then would go pick it up and then move it to the next area if we didn't need to be using it.
-Legoland provides strollers if you are there early but they seemed big but had shade, however, they do provide double strollers as well so if you don't own one it'd be worth getting there early to grab one.
-Bring a backpack for your belongings. Way easier to walk with it on than lugging a diaper bag or purse. I saw some women trying to hold their purses and babies and its just easier since backpacks are hands free.
-If you want drinks during the day but don't want to carry them I'd suggest buying a cup or two (you can choose a giant one or a boy or girl kid cup) to refill around the park, the kids ones were .99 cents to refill.
-Weird tip: if you go to the beach like we did, a nice lady who saw me frantically trying to get wet sand off Mason's feet before getting back in the car gave me baby powder. Took it right off his feet, hands and shoes. I'm probably the only person that doesn't know baby powder takes sand off you, but it does, throw a travel sized bottle in your bag since the water park has sand at it even if you don't go to a beach.
-There are lots of places to eat away from the park. When we left for nap time we would just grab some fast food but it was the same price to eat away for dinner (CA prices are ridiculous) as it was at one of Legoland's restaurants so you might as well eat there. We didn't try a lot, just two (Sports Cafe and the Aquarium cafe) but there was one that looked delish that was an Italian Ristorante that served pizza and pasta they made right in front of you. Being low-carb these days I sadly avoided it but has good reviews.
-Get the "what to do when you're 2" flier if you have little ones, I actually found a PDF form of it and had printed it before going but they provide it. There are lots of rides and play areas for young kids. Duplo Playtown is great, the Enchanted Storybook ride we did a couple times and there are rides for everyone like the boat tour (a large boat seating about 20 that takes you around the lagoon to view Lego sculptures). There are a lot of rides that older siblings can take younger ones on too, if one of them is over the height limit.
-Upgrade to the 2 day pass if you have the time. I think the $10 is worth the money for a second day, its hard to see all the attractions and ride all the rides and go to the water park all in one day.
-If its warm I suggest the water park is a must, there are even white sandy areas with lounge chairs to relax while you watch the kids go by in the lazy river.
-If you don't want to do the water park, Pirates Cove in Legoland is a giant splash pad area. Well two. One actually has a couple water slides and is for older kids, not a splash pad as you will be drenched, then there is a smaller splash pad with swings and littel fountains for small kids. There are lockers and changing areas too in this portion of the park so bring your swim suit even if you don't go to the water park.
-A lot of the rides and some of the shows you might get wet at, there are fun splash pads around the park too and Mason got pretty soaked at some of them. Might want to bring a dry set of clothes.
-When its the hottest do indoor activities like the 4D shows, the interactive play areas (there were a lot for older kids, we went to the Duplo indoor play area for little kids) or visit the aquarium
-Sunscreen! Even though it was 68 the first day and I put sunscreen on I didn't reapply and the back of my neck was red and hurting by that evening from walking around in sun all day which I don't do often.
Think that's all, I'll add more if I think about them but overall think Legoland is a great place for young kids and was so family-oriented and catering to kids it was great. Be warned that over 12 years you're not going to get a great reaction. The areas and kids were kind of broken in a 1-5 age group range and 6-12. They don't even advertise over 12 on signs because its geared for younger families. I think its still really enjoyable though for parents, mainly because of how fun it is for kids plus just the statues and Lego stuff around is half the fun in seeing. I would recommend it for anyone wanting to go to a less busy theme park, plus with so many dining options, hotels and beaches so close you can really have a great time in Carlsbad.
Good gosh, Meagan, that's a book! That's really good information, though, sure to be helpful to others going there. Glad you all had so much fun.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Leslie