Visiting San Diego and Legoland with Kids
Last week, my younger two kids didn't have school for three days because of teacher conferences. I thought that it would be the perfect time to take a little October break trip to southern California.
The main point of the trip was to head to Legoland theme park in Carlsbad, CA. My 6 and 9-year-old LOVE legos. Owen even had a Lego-themed birthday party last year. Legoland is an amusement park with rides, shows, and attractions geared towards younger kids.
Legoland is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday during the week (glad we checked the calendar and weren't disappointed!) so we decided to spend Wednesday at the San Diego Zoo.
I love a good zoo and have had a family membership to our local zoo for over a decade, however, I feel like the San Diego Zoo is totally overpriced and overrated.
This was my second visit to the San Diego zoo and for the second time, I was unimpressed. Don't get me wrong, it's a great zoo. I just don't think it's worth $40 per ticket or even as a destination for your vacation.
Thankfully, kids under 12 are free during the month of October, so it made the fact that we stayed only 3 hours less guilt-inducing. But after 3 hours, the kids had seen everything they wanted and were ready to head to the pool. My advice, save your money and enjoy your local zoo.
After a dip in the pool, we took one for the team and headed to Wendy's for dinner. Currently, Southern California Wendy's is offering a buy one adult admission get a child's admission for free. You just have to buy a medium combo from the menu. This is a savings of $59! Worth the visit.
Legoland's weekday hours are 10-5. To get the most out of the price of admission, we made sure we were at the gate early.
Before even walking through the gates there were several lines (parking lot, admission tickets and turnstile) to wait in. Thankfully, none were too long. Parking is $12 a day and several area hotels offer free shuttles or even a private entrance to the park (Sheraton).
Legoland will have you constantly saying "ooh" and "ah" and "look!" at all of the life-size models throughout the park.
We were constantly amazed at the detail on the sculptures and loved seeing them placed throughout the park.
Legoland is currently hosting Brick-or-Treat, weekends in October. Guests can enjoy special treats, surprises, contests and shows throughout the month.
We weren't able to visit on a Brick or Treat evening, but we were able to enjoy the decorations around the park.
There were several models around the park that were my favorite, so I thought I would share a few with you.
Miniland USA is the most amazing part of the whole park. Miniland USA is in the heart of the park and features seven areas of the United States. The detail and amount of time that has gone into Miniland is amazing! It's truly a part of the park that will inspire you.
One of our favorite attractions at the park was the Adventurer's Club. It's a walkthrough journey through several parts of the world on a quest to find seven hidden keys.
The models inside this attraction were unbelievable!
It felt like one of the parks best-kept secrets as it was rarely crowded and its location is sort of tucked away in Fun Town.
Going to any amusement park during the offseason is definitely way better than doing during peak season. There are far fewer lines and less waiting.
However, on the attractions that did require waiting (most lines weren't more than a half an hour long), Legoland seemed to have come up with the best solution. They provide a play area on several of their rides that allow the kids to play while their parents wait in line.
My Legoland tips:
*Go in the offseason but be aware of their limited days and hours
*The park is perfect for Lego lovers aged 4-10. I didn't bring my 13 year old with us for this very reason. The attractions are perfect for the younger age range, not quite so exciting for the older kids.
*If you are also planning a trip to Disneyland while you are in the area, go to Legoland first. I heard several older kids comparing the attractions of Disneyland to Legoland and being less impressed.
*Bring a refillable water bottle. Our visit fell during a heat wave and the upper 90 degree temperatures were quite hot for our Pacific North westerners who were not used to the heat. Every restaurant in the park allowed me to fill my Camelback bottle up with water and ice for free.
*Two days is the perfect length of time for a visit. The second day is offered at a discount.
*Look for discounts on tickets, they are out there
We had a wonderful visit to Legoland. The park was clean, the staff was friendly and the rides were tame but filled with adventure for those younger thrill seekers. Thanks for the great visit Legoland!
2 comments
This would be my sons dream come true. What a fabulous looking day. Great photos too!
Today, I went to the beach front with my children. I found
a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said "You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear."
She placed the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit
crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back!
LoL I know this is totally off topic but I had
to tell someone!
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