OK, I'm pretty sure we'll finally get down to Legoland after our next trip to Disneyland. This will put us at Legoland on Friday, November 23rd - the day after Thanksgiving.

It will be at least me (37) and Max (he'll turn 6 next month), and most likely my mom (58), maybe my brother (30), maybe neices (15 & 18) and nephew (17).

Park Hours are 10am-6pm.

1 - How busy should I expect this park to be?

2 - Can we do everything in one day?

3 - Max has been apprehensive about a lot of rides until last week when he became brave at WDW and he's really proud of his newfound bravery, so he might do all of the rides (he's somewhere around 49" tall currently). Are there many "big thrill" rides that he might not like?

4 - What is the best place for lunch in the park? Are the choices very different depending on where we eat? How about prices? Are they all counter service type places, or do they have table service restaurants too?

5 - I think we'll book the Grand Palisades Resort Hotel - apparently they have a private Legoland entrance - where will this put us when we enter the park and where should we head first? If this hotel isn't great, can you recommend another?

6 - Will the water attractions be open in November? If so, will I want to stay away from them or embrace them?

7 - I think there are some attractions that have additional fees, are any of them worth forking out extra cash for? (I'm pretty cheap!!! ;) )

8 - How far is Legoland from the San Diego airport? I will probably book our return flights home from SAN on Southwest.

9 - Can anyone give us a touring plan for wherever we enter the park, and will attractions take about the same amount of time as those at DLR (wait times & ride times)?

10 - It looks like Karl Strauss' Brewery Restaurant is in the hotel - is this a good place to have dinner? Anyplace else not too far away that would be good?

I'll probably be back with more questions!!! TIA!

I'll try to answer the questions I have knowledge of:

1. I imagine it will be crowded the day after Thanksgiving but I've never seen the park as crowded as DLR on a busy day.

2. Yes, you can pretty much do everything in one day.

3. Knight's Tournament is an adjustable robocoaster so he can set it at low intensity. If he's very apprehensive then he might be afraid of the Dragon coaster and the Technic coaster though he could certainly physically handle them.
The rides at Legoland are meant for little kids so he'll be very happy with the creative, innovative and tame selection of rides. I am sure he will love the Volvo Driving School, it is so much better than Autopia at DLR. He'll really be driving his own car with no guide track handling the brake and accelerator pedals. Plus it's electric so no noxious fumes.

4. I like the food at Legoland better than at DLR to be honest. Do not miss the churros with chocolate dipping sauce at the Fun Town market. They are so fresh and delicious that you'll never be able to eat a DLR churro again. Brickolini has surprisingly good alfredo pasta and the pizza is decent (generally I don't like any pizza in SoCal being originally from NYC). The Garden restaurant has some good, healthy choices. For ice cream there's Haagen Dazs and Dreyers, but avoid the soft serve ice cream. The apple fries with vanilla dipping sauce are a Legoland original and pretty good. There are other choices such as the Pirates BBQ and the Sports Cafe but since I'm a vegetarian I've never eaten in them.

6. Water play areas will be closed but the water rides should be open. You will get very wet on Splash Battle so don't do it if it's open on a chilly day. I guess it might even be closed.

7. There are some but you can skip them. You don't need to play mini golf when there are so many other fun things to do in Legoland. The only worthy one would be the Dino Dig if your kids like sand and digging up fossils. But with a limited schedule that day open 'til 6PM only, I'd skip it on a first trip.

9. Generally people go left upon entrance and circle the park. The best rides and play areas are on the left in my opinion. By day's end take in the spectacular Lego creations in Miniland. Lines are slower at Legoland than DLR for the most part. Rides have low capacity. For example avoid the Sky Cruiser if it has a long line, which it probably will, it's not worth a long wait and the line is soooooo sloooooow.

Depending on your teens' personalities, they might feel too cool for Legoland since it is designed for kids between 2 and 10.
In all, I think it's a fantastic park and in some ways prefer it to DLR. Your six-year old will have a blast.

1 - We were there on Thanksgiving Day last year; not busy at all. I'm sure it will be a bit busier the next day. We will be going again this November.

2 - Because we did not know what to expect the very first time we went there, we were not able to do everything in one day. But with only 1 child and planning, you should be able to see and do everything in 1 day.

3 - My middle DS, who was 5 last November, was also apprehensive about roller coasters; but he loved the Dragon Coaster and actually did the Lego Technic Test Track. My older DS, who was 6 last Nov, did NOT like the Knights Tournament. He was too short; it wasn't exciting at all (the shorter you are, there is less movement.)

4 - All the places we've eaten are good. The kids love the pasta at Brickolini and we all love the ribs at the Knights Table BBQ.

5 - We've always stayed off-site.

6 - No matter what time of the year, my kids are attracted to water. They will find it! I always bring extra clothes. We did go on Splash Battle and they got soaked. But as I recall, last November, was a bit warm. I think we actually changed into t-shirts and shorts during the day.

7 - We've never played mini golf and we did do the Dino Dig, which my middle DS and DD loved doing. Who doesn't love playing in the sand?

8 - Not sure about the airport. We've always driven from Sacramento.

9 - I know there have been suggestions to enter and go to the left; however, whenever we do that, we always end up spending way too much time on that side, not giving us time for enjoy anthing else. SO, we always to go the right; do those things quickly and get them out of the way, so we can enjoy more time with the playground, water play, etc...

The Build and Test area is the most favorite of my boys. They can spend 2 hours in there, so we always do that last.

All my kids love doing the Adventurer's Club. Since we go once a year, it's always a new experience for them, finding those keys!

10 - Don't know much about any restaurants for dinner. Wherever we go, if there is an El Pollo Loco, that's where our food comes from!

If asked, my boys will choose Legoland over Disneyland or even Hawaii to visit their grandmother!

gloria

I believe the Sports Cafe is the only table-service restaurant. We ate there and really enjoyed it. We think it's always a nice break to sit and have a relaxing lunch when we're running around a theme park!

The food was good, the service was great, and the prices quite reasonable. And the restaurant has a great feature - there's a big lego play zone in one corner, so the kids can just go there and play until the food comes!