LEGOLAND California

Reviews 3

JU

Julie Pearce

Torn ... my daughter likes faster, higher, faster higher when it comes to rides and some of theirs are a bit too tame. But not all 3 year olds are American Ninja Toddlers like mine. No Fear isnt a t-shirt for her, its a way of life. So IF she was 42" tall, she may have liked this more. As it was, she was 39.9" tall. Seriously, the girl at a coaster kept checking and checking and checking and then brought over the supervisor to push my daughters hair down and recheck and there was a team of people discussing it. Hey, if it takes a team effort to see if she is 40" tall, let the kid ride! They didnt. So I got out an extra pair of her socks, waited for shift change and, boom, she was 40". She proceeded to ride that roller coaster 13 times that day. 9 of those times in a row at the end of the day till they basically closed it down. Also, if you have a kid whos very physically capable, youll want them to think theyre 4 for the day on some rides. Plenty tall (over 36") but theres also an age on some things. My kid could ride the mechanical horses by standing one foot on each ear and never fall, but, again, Ninja toddler. So she got to be 4 that day. You know your kid and his/her abilities, so judge things with parental knowledge for safety to enjoy the park the best way your kid can. My child couldnt be bothered with the Beetle Bounce - it just moved up and down with no actual drop. (Knotts equivalent is Woodstocks Airmail and it does some actual dropping and she does like that one.) To quote her, "I dont need to do that one again, Mommy." after riding with a look of "when does the ride start" the whole time. The next day, friends post it was their daughters favorite. So go by your kid to know what theyd love. Too Tame for Ninja Kids: Beetle Bounce, Coast Cruise, Dune Raiders, Fairy Tale Brook, Sky Patrol, Mias Riding Camp Perfect for Ninja Kids (up to 40"): Coastersaurus, Cargo Ace (boring, then suddenly fun, then boring, then fun - youll see), Hideaways (but if you have a playground near home, this is basically that), Kais spinners, Knights Tournament (though your Ninja may be upset they dont get to ride as fast as Daddy - and if youre a grown up, go for the Scorpion version and hold on to your lunch!), Kids Power Tower, Ninjago, Royal Joust (at least once, and she may wave her arm around like shes on a bucking bronco screaming like shes only got 8 seconds to make it more fun), The Dragon (over and over and over and over...), Captain Crankys Challenge (in an end seat). Rides your Ninja will beg for all day but cant get on till he or she is taller: Bionicle Blaster, the faster ride on Knights Tournament. Missing here are notes about water rides or splash pads. While our girl loved squirting the passing boats and loved the idea of the Aquazone Wave Racer but isnt a sudden-loud-explosion-noise-lover, it was only in the 60s and it was just too cold to get soaking wet. So I dont have reviews of the areas to get all wet but think these would ROCK on hot days. Drinks - you can get the Coke cup where you fill it yourself at the Freestyle Coke Machines (where you can make any concoction of Coke products you can imagine), but with only 4 stations currently, dont. And if you do, and the syrup in your drink is gone of bad and you pour it out, you have to wait 10 minutes to refill your drink. The Coke Machine computer knows all ... seriously, some kind of chip in your cup. Hummm, maybe I should toss that cup out before they track me with it. If you want to fill it a second day, you can get that for $4 your first day or $9 if you pay the next day, which seems a bit stupid. Sorry, Baby. Yes, Mommy said "stupid", I apologize and wont use that word again.

SA

Sarah Reginaldo

THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE THEME PARK. NOT HOTEL. But I cant figure out how to do it separately. Legoland is *not* an amusement park like Great America or Disneyland. Its for young kids. I would say the target age is for about 5 years old (the average height is the ideal size for almost all of the rides) to maybe 10 years old (again, this is about the size of the rider for most of the rides). But anybody who loves Legos will enjoy the attractions like the Miniature City, the Star Wars Area, the stores. BUDGET TIP: You can save a lot of money (we saved almost $100) if you prepurchase tickets using online discount codes. Throughout the park, there are many displays built out of Legos. Although most displays are made of Legos that have been glued together or secured somehow, there are still loose Legos that small children might put in their mouths. My absolute LEAST favorite part of Legoland: My son had gotten a Lego gift card from his aunt and uncle at his birthday party the weekend before, and wed saved it and anticipated spending it at Legoland. BUT THEY DONT TAKE LEGO GIFT CARDS AT THE LEGOLAND SOUVENIR SHOPS. They only take gift cards that are purchased from Legoland. FAMILY FRIENDLINESS: Yes! Streets and avenues are wide enough for double-strollers and even small wagons. Check the website for details on height requirements for specific rides. IMPORTANT NOTES: Definitely prepurchase tickets. Legoland is on a huge plot of land and also kind of contains two other attractions: Legoland Water Park and Sea Life. Both are NOT full sized amusement parks. Ticket "packages" are marketed for Legoland plus the Water Park, or Legoland plus Sea Life (actually an aquarium), or all 3, or multiple-day passes. Choose whats right for your vacation, but the best package for us was "Legoland + Sea Life, Buy One Adult Ticket, Get a Child Ticket Free" promo. We saved about $100 doing this, and I found the deal by searching for "Legoland California ticket coupons promo" in Google. ***There are souvenir shops in Legoland that sell merchandise that you can only get from Legoland, like some cool hats or shirts. These are reasonably priced from about $10. This is also one of the few places in North America where you can have Lego block keychains engraved! (We got our son a new Lego backpack and lunchbox for 1st grade. His dad and I got personalized keychains.) I recommend planning for these expenses, or helping your kids save up in advance. ***At the Guest Services building at the entrance, you can get some free buttons to wear on your visit: a Birthday button, and a "My First Visit" button. I got both for me and my son, and I got a "Happy Birthday!" from every ride-attendant and Legoland employee (everyone was so nice), and a Legoland birthday pencil from one of the kiosks.

BR

Bruce

Ok, Im not sure how I missed adding this review to my list of places where we have gone.  Anyone with little children will love this place, "I guarantee it!"  We have been to this wonderful theme park several times while our kids were small and had a great time.   The first time we went, we spend most of our time with the kids building stuff out of the thousands of blocks they had available at their kids play area.   They have a "Duplo section" which is based on the LEGO-affiliated namesake brand targeting children aged 1 1/2 to 5 years old.  The area includes a number of Duplo themed and water oriented attractions, including a playground called Playtown. The buildings that were constructed and on display here were just amazing to look at.  The details put into building these building are so detailed and look almost like the real buildings throughout the world.  Its amazing how they have dioramas set up all throughout the park and different countries. The rides were mostly kiddie rides but nonetheless we had a blast and our kids did too.  We ended up returning a few more times over the years just to revisit the park or see what we missed on a previous visit.   We toured many parts of the United States which is replicated in Miniland, to include: San Francisco, California, New Orleans, Louisiana, Los Angeles, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Ferndale, California. Some of the cities we saw at Miniland: Midtown, Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, and Washington DC, which features the length of the National Mall from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial and includes the Smithsonian Museums, Georgetown and the White House. Some of the rides we went on included the, Skipper School (outdoor boat ride adults and children pilot self-propelled Lego boats around a water course), Soak N Sail (a two-story water playground featuring a collection of smaller slides, jets, cannons), and Splash Battle (water cannon pirate ship themed ride) to name a few. In "Fun Town" the kids rode and participated in the following attractions; Lego Factory (a tour of a mockup Lego factory that details the production of Lego bricks), the Police and Fire Academy (a competitive team attraction where groups propel a hand pumped truck in a race down a street to douse a simulated building "fire" and return the truck), Volvo Driving School (for 6 to 13 years olds includes Lego cars, multiple intersections, two way traffic and traffic signals, on a closed circuit designed to promote safe driving and skills), and the Flight Squadron (a ride where patrons ride in Lego airplanes that move up and move in a circle). Overall, we had a great time and may revisit this theme park soon!

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