So the planets aligned in just the wrong way a couple months ago and I broke down and finally agreed to go to LL. We just planned to go May 24th because it's the only weekend available between now and 2010!

So it's going to be me, DH, sis and her fiance, Mom, and my kids aged 5 1/2, almost 3, and almost 1. We live in south Orange County, so we're not going to stay down there. None of us are particularly early risers or do well with other human beings when forced to function before o'crack:thirty.

Where do I even start with planning this? It's not like there's a BrickPlanet somewhere to give me tips and tricks for putting up with this trip. (I'm guessing the first thing I should do is accept that this is going to happen and try to be positive about it... but I've heard a lot and I'm really spoiled by DL!)

Elizabeth

Most people go left when they enter LL and clog all the rides there for a couple hours after the park opens. Instead I would bear right and do the park counterclockwise, though you'll hit the mid-point of the park at Knight's Kingdom the same time as everyone else. Bear in mind, that LL rides are mostly slow loaders, especially the Sky Cruiser and the Safari. The Safari is worth getting back to when the crowd is light at midday, but the Sky Cruiser might be a miss, or save it for the last ride. The pasta in Ristorante Brickolini is made to order and very good for theme park food. You'll enjoy the trip if you have kids between the ages of 2 and 10.

If you have kids who love Legos (I do!), check with the Lego store in Downtown Disney about any specials.

When we were there for spring break, you could get a pass for every $75 spent. And my son spent a bunch.

Pity it was *after* we had been to Legoland! (Oh, and don't ask me for them; they were lost in the post-trip shuffle!)

(But we got a pretty good deal through AresTravel online.)

My family happens to really like Legoland. It's not Disneyland. It's different. But we still like it quite a bit. YMMV, of course, but try not to go into a trip there with preconceived ideas of disliking it!

If you have little kids, bring a change of clothes. There is a water playground that will occupy them for hours, but soak them as well. When my sister was little, we had to buy her new clothes after.

If you think they might like cars that they can drive around in, head directly to the driving school attraction at opening. It has little cars that drive around on a race track...unlike Autopia, they aren't on a thin track, but can freely move about the race track that is there. It is really cute and is my four year old's favorite ride. My son could stay on this attraction all day.

My son seems to like Legoland better than Disneyland right now..His fear of rides we can hardly get him on anything at Disneyland....but he loves those cars at LL.