OK, we still haven't been to Legoland and Max is really dying to go. I promised him that we would go in June. We will be in Disneyland Monday 6/16 and Tuesday 6/17 and then we will go to Legoland.

My first set of questions: Legoland is open 10-6, can we do it all in one day, or should we plan on two days? I don't mind going back the next day, it won't hinder any other plans or anything... we've got the free time.

Second question: Are there things that we should just skip completely?

Number three: Is Pirate Shores just a water park area? I'm sure Max would like that, but I really wouldn't (I'm so not running around in a bathing suit, that's all I'm sayin'!)... hahaha Are there rides or is it all just getting soaked stuff? Do all of the rides get you soaked? Is it more of the type of waterpark like dot's in DCA where parents can sit back and watch their kid's play?

The fourth bunch: Can we get breakfast in the park? Maybe the apple fries??? Are they good, and are they open for breakfast? What would you recommend for lunch? If you think we should go two days, tell me two places. Max loves ribs for some strange reason I cannot figure out... how is the Knights Table Barbecue? Where would you go for dinner? We will have a car.

Finally: What about hotels? I am hoping to get a good deal at the Sheraton (they have a private park entrance near Pirate Shores/Castle Hill), have you stayed there or have any comments about the place? How about the Holiday Inn Carlsbad by the Sea? I see that they have a TGI Friday's in the hotel and kid's eat free... that would probably be good enough for dinner for us. Any other recommendations that we shouldn't pass?

Anything else we should know???

I would definately say that Legoland is a one day park.

We haven't been there in a while, so my memory is a little foggy. You will get wet on the Pirate shores ride. There are also a few other little rides in the area, but not very wet. There is also a splash area there, and you can sit and watch.

The apple fries are good. I'm not sure what time they open. I'm sorry...I can't help in the breakfast dept. as we have never had breakfast there.

We always get hamburgers in the park. They are pretty good, and the fries aren't bad either. For dinner: On Palomar Airport Rd., (near LL) there is a Pat & Oscars. http://www.breadstick.com/index.html I highly recommend it. The breadsticks are out of this world.

I don't have hotel experience in the area either because we live close enough to drive home.

If I think of anything else, or come up with any tips, I'll let you know!

How old is Max? I will let you know what my kids liked at his age. :)

There are so many other wonderful things to do in San Diego that I would much rather do something else with your extra day. Balboa Park alone will add a day to your trip even without going to the zoo.

There are so many other wonderful things to do in San Diego that I would much rather do something else with your extra day. Balboa Park alone will add a day to your trip even without going to the zoo.

Thanks, it's not really a matter of having an extra day to find something to do with... it is a matter of visiting Legoland for the first (and perhaps only) time and wanting to be able to do everything - they are open 10-6 and it seems like a lot to cover with a youngster who is a Lego-MANIAC!!! I assume there are places for the kids to just sit and build??? I am thinking he will want to spend a lot of time doing that kind of thing and it might not allow us to do all of the attractions in one day.

My kids say these are the must do's for a boy Max's age: (in no particular order)

Skipper School: They get to drive a boat, theming is silly and fun :)

Volvo Driving School: There is no track...and they get a "license"

Sky Cruiser: This is a must do (especially for Mom) you are on a track up high and you can see spectacular views of the ocean, and the Carlsbad Flower Fields - my favorite!

Splash Battle Pirate Shores...you'll get wet, but it's fun

Adventurer's Club- You go thru a little maze and search for keys...this may be a little scary for a little one, but my kids liked it...

Coast Cruise...a boat ride with a lot of Lego's displayed... fun theming...look closely at everything...

Fun town fire academy...you may need to partner up with 2 more people...my kids love it!

Build & Test Imagination Zone: Here Max can build a Lego Race Car, and test it out on a downhill track...this place is a time zapper though, so watch out!

As far as places to build Legos, the Build & Test place is the only one I know of. However, on some rides, there are play areas off to the side of the queue, where the kids can build, but they are usually with the larger "Duplo" style legos, and mostly plain bricks. Nothing too exciting.

My kids also like the Bionicle Blaster (They are similar to Disney's Tea Cups) He needs to be 42" to ride though.

Across from the BB^ is a white "building" with canvas sides. Sometimes they sell clearance Lego items in there, so it's a good place to pick up souvenirs.

If you have time, Fairytale Brook is a fun little ride. It was in need of maintenance on our last trip there, though. (Lots of spider webs, and broken pieces)

If you have anymore questions, just ask.

Have Fun!

We spent 2 days there and easily could have gone back for another if we were operating strictly on my son's desires and schedules! I think if you have a kid that is in the three to seven or eight range who loves legos, you could spend a few days and they would not get bored. You might! My DS could have spent an entire morning just in the area where you build lego cars and race them down the track. He did spend about 2 hours in the store just past the lego factory tour area building and playing with the legos. We have thousands of legos at home but they were not the same!

It's not DL and it's not even DCA but there is lots of hands on stuff mixed in with the rides. DS loved walking through all the townscapes built with legos and trying to figure out how to make it at home!

I think the apple fries are horrible. I find most people want to try them and then never get them again. You can get an extremely overpriced breakfast in Legoland, but I would recommend going to Ruby's in the Carlsbad Outlet Mall. I would get there no later than 8:30am since you want to be at LL at opening.

You can really do all of the good stuff in LL in a day. You didn't mention (or did I miss it) you child's age. I would agree with MrsGrumpy, but it does depend on his age. Also note there is a new land with a new Indy style ride. If you child likes a little thrill than a must do is The Dragon and Technotrack (sp) a wild mouse ride that has a better drop than DCA's Mullohand Madness.

The Pirate Shores area has a very small water park that he will get soaked in. There is a ride that you can get very wet in and one that you don't--when it's working.

For lunch I would rather see you go to the market place near the Volvo cars and skip the Knight's Table. As suggested, after closing, go to Pat & Oscars--5 minutes away and get great fall off the bone ribs, lemon (not the BBQ chicken) and the Greek Salad. The great bread sticks come with everything. Sign up on line and you will immediately get discount coupons.

The Holiday Inn used to be the Best Western Pea Soup Anderson's and was a lot of fun. It got remodeled about 5 years ago. The rooms are small--I personally can't stand TGIF, Claim Jumper, Islands, etc.

Max is 6-1/2 and he's Lego-obsessed.

Thanks for all of the tips and advice. Keep it coming if you've got anymore to tell us. I am looking at the layout of the place and the not-so-helpful maps online and it just seems like it would take more than a day to get through it all, but it sounds like everyone had an easy time doing it all, yay.

You can probably do it all in one day unless you get sidetracked in the Test and Build area.

We are heading to DL for 10 days in May and have planned for 2 of the days to be at legoland.


We got our tickets for free using our airmiles for 1 day AND you can go for a second day for only $15 each ! ! !

:)

We are heading to DL for 10 days in May and have planned for 2 of the days to be at legoland.


We got our tickets for free using our airmiles for 1 day AND you can go for a second day for only $15 each ! ! !

:)

For the second day, is that an upgrade at the park, or do you have to purchase it in advance? I am debating getting discount tickets in advance, so I'm not sure if I should get the one-day or just go for the other option. If I get a one-day and can add a day for only $15 once I'm there I think I will go that route.

Please let me know what you thought of it when you get back... I'd love to hear from you.

Wendi, I don't know if your advance discount will be better than this, but I just got a coupon from DQ for a free child admission with paid full-price adult admission. It has to be done AT the time that you pay for the adult ticket, though. You could do an advance discount on one adult ticket, then use this coupon for the free child admission with the 2nd adult. PM me if you want me to send it.

For the second day, is that an upgrade at the park, or do you have to purchase it in advance? I am debating getting discount tickets in advance, so I'm not sure if I should get the one-day or just go for the other option. If I get a one-day and can add a day for only $15 once I'm there I think I will go that route.

Please let me know what you thought of it when you get back... I'd love to hear from you.

On the LL website it says you can't upgrade promo tickets.

I emailed them and asked if we could upgrade our tickets from airmiles and was told yes :)

We are doing the 2 days if the weather is good. The park is only open 10-5pm and closed on Tuesday and Wednesdays too when we are there.

My son is reallllly into lego so I think we will need the second day.
Our friends were there in Aug and said they wished they had a 2nd day as they missed a lot of things.

We took DS, 6, in January and he is Lego obsessed. The park was open 10-6 and it was PLENTY of time to do the whole park. We actually even left at 4:30, we had done everything. Applie fries are really good......not sure what time they open. I think your child is the perfect age for the park. We thought if DS was any older it would have been a little on the childish side for him.

We had burgers at the place right by the Driving school and they were good. Also I recommend buying the refillable cup for drinks and fill it up throughout the day...definitely a better deal.

I would definitely check into the Brickmaster club on the Lego website if you have not purchased your tickets yet. You get all kinds of free Lego sets, magazines, etc. as well as a ticket for entrance into the park. We ended up buying three memberships and put the extra Lego sets at the grandparents' houses.

Parking tip--after the toll booths, make a u-turn. Ignore the sign that tells you to go straight after the turn. The lower two lots are NOT preferred parking so you can usually park closer in those lots.
My son is 4 yrs. and loves Build & Test also (if it is closed in the morning try again later in the afternoon as it is sometimes closed for school groups). He can spend hours there and doesn't want to leave.
Go through the LEGO Factory Tour even if you don't think you want to because they sometimes give out free bricks or magazines at the end. You can just walk through the short exhibits to get to the end. You end up in the club house and can build things with legos there.
The Big Test Firefighters in Action show is really good. You probably should try and see that.
Try and ride the Sky Cruiser first thing (although it might be open until 10:30am) since the lines can get up to 2 hrs. long in the summer.
Have fun!

Wendi, I don't know if your advance discount will be better than this, but I just got a coupon from DQ for a free child admission with paid full-price adult admission. It has to be done AT the time that you pay for the adult ticket, though. You could do an advance discount on one adult ticket, then use this coupon for the free child admission with the 2nd adult. PM me if you want me to send it.

Thank you so much for the offer, but I've got a free child's ticket already so I think I'll be better off just getting the discounted ticket for myself. I haven't purchased anything yet though, still checking to make sure I get the best deal! :D

Thank you so much for the offer, but I've got a free child's ticket already so I think I'll be better off just getting the discounted ticket for myself. I haven't purchased anything yet though, still checking to make sure I get the best deal! :D


What about for the 2nd day? In no way am I pushing you to use these, but I don't want to pitch them if they could be put to good use.

Just wanted to report back that we'll be in Legoland in about two weeks. Max and I are really excited and still haven't decided if we'll just do one day or two. We will just see if we can get it all done in one, if not, we'll go back for a second day.

We are staying at the new Sheraton Resort & Spa which has a private entrance to Legoland, I'm pretty stoked about that! We should be at the back of the park when everyone else is coming in at the front so maybe that will give us an edge on touring and timing. Plus, we don't have to deal with parking and the main ticket booths.

I think we're going to try Ruby's Diner for breakfast since it comes so highly recommended. We are just going to go with the flow while we're at the park and eat when and where we feel like it, I guess.

Thanks for all of the tips... I'll give a report when we get back!

Oh! I can't wait to hear how it all went. My son is almost 4 (at the end of June) and LOVES LOVES LOVES Legos! (I personally feel they are the best toy invention EVER! Keeps him busy for hours . . . anyway . . .) We are headed to LA in July and have a couple extra days before my sister-in-law shows up. We considered a trip to Legoland since we have an Entertainment Book coupon to use. Sounds like a fun place! He might really love it - so would his Daddy! ;)

How did it go Wendi?

How did it go Wendi?

We had a really good time. I agree that Legoland could certainly use some clean up work!!! Tons of cobwebs, fading, really, really filthy ground, etc. But they have a lot of really unique rides too. It isn't someplace I'd have much of a desire to return to, but I am glad we went. We did just about everything there (except for the really little rides) and left just before the park closed, probably a half hour to spare.

We stayed at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa, which is only a few months old and has a private Legoland entrance. The hotel was fabulous... really, really nice... and I love, love, love those Sheraton beds, maybe I should splurge on one for myself. Max and I swam in the morning before our drive back home, the pool was really warm, which was OK since it was still a little cool and breezy out, but it wouldn't have been very refreshing if it were hot outside.

The nice part about the private entrance is that you enter at the back of the park, so you can get through a few rides without anyone else in sight, pretty cool. It wasn't very busy while we were there either, I think the longest wait we had was the Sky Cruiser and it was about 30 minutes - we didn't take the advice of the guy who let us in and go there before the lines get long in the middle of the day.

We had dinner at Ruby's Diner after our day at Legoland and it was super!

Max had a lot of fun and really liked the park, my niece (18) and nephew (17) also had a good time, but of course it was much more boring for them and me.

Oh, we had lunch at the sit-down sports restaurant (can't remember the exact name) it was very basic, the kid's selection was a buffet (it was expensive for a kid's meal too... something around $10) they had burgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches, macaroni & cheese, waffle-cut fries, broccoli, and cantaloupe. I had salmon, which was decent but not special it seemed to have been cooked with grease... I dunno about that!!! I think my niece and nephew had burgers, again, nothing special. Oh, all of the food and drinks were more expensive than Disneyland.

If anyone has questions, I'd be happy to answer them!!!