While Disneyland was the theme park I was looking most forward to visiting during our 3-parks-in-3-days trip to Southern California, Legoland was certainly the park that my son, Braden, was the most excited to see. He has loved Lego since he was 4 years old and now at 10, loves them more than ever. The interlocking brick system is a terrific outlet for my bright and creative boy.
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| We said goodbye to the Disneyland Hotel |
Having spent our first two days visiting California Adventure and Disneyland, we woke up at the beautiful Disneyland Hotel bright and early to catch our bus to Carlsbad. Braden and I were thrilled to get to ride on our first ever double decker bus. We went up to the second level and towered over the multitude of Southern California drivers. Our bus ride was scenic with ocean views and after about an hour, we arrived at Legoland.
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| Legoland is in sunny Carlsbad, CA |
We had been to Legoland once before, when my son was 6 years old. I was surprised at how little he remembered. I felt like we were there 4 months ago, not 4 years ago. The biggest difference for me was being fresh off of Disneyland this time. What a different place it seemed, having Disneyland in my very recent memory. It seemed so much smaller and in general much less impressive. It's probably a good idea to visit Legoland before Disneyland:-)
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| The Legoland Hotel is a kid's paradise |
Braden, however, was in complete Lego heaven and therefore, I was happy too. During this trip, we were also checking out the new Legoland Hotel for the first time. The bus dropped us off right at Legoland's opening time of 10 am. We walked to the hotel first to drop off our bags. Legoland was like a ghost town on this Thursday in October so our room was already ready for us. I was happily surprised and we went to drop our bags off at our room before heading to the park.
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| Our room was on the Adventure floor |
We stepped into the elevator and the doors closed behind us. The next thing we knew a disco ball dropped from the ceiling and some groovin' 70's music started to play. Neither Braden nor I missed a beat and we promptly "got down" to the music. We got off the elevator laughing and remarking over and over what a fun surprise that was. We would spend the rest of our 24 hours at the Legoland Hotel trying to ride the elevator by ourselves so we could boogie.
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| The separate kid's room with a bunk bed and TV |
Braden was over the moon, loving the Legoland Hotel. Our Adventure Room was a fantastic kid's paradise with several Lego builds to admire and even a separate room for the kids with a bunk bed and their own TV. Upon check-in, we were given a scavenger hunt that would result in a Lego prize. Braden couldn't wait to see what the prize was and he was sure it would be a Lego set. I held him off the hunt until after our park visit since it closed at 5 pm and we only had the one day there.
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| A butterfly made of Lego's decorates our room |
We walked out the back door of the hotel and Legoland was conveniently just steps away. We headed through the gates, felt the thrill and excitement of entering an amusement park, and looked for our first ride. We found Sky Cruiser and the first thing I noticed as we stood in line is that we were in the sun, which got very hot just standing there. The second thing I noticed is that the line was not moving. I compared it to the efficiency and shade of the Disneyland queue's and it didn't measure up. We waited for a good 30 minutes and still didn't see an end in sight. I was getting hungry, hot and irritable so we bailed and got lunch instead.
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| Braden at "Driving School" |
After lunch, I felt much better and we found that the long line was an anomaly. There was no line at the Driving School, which Braden did remember from last time and he was excited to get to drive a car again. He had fun living the grown up dream, then we moseyed on to our next ride. Instead we found the Lego Movie Experience set up on the Legoland soundstage. Braden was completely thrilled to see the actual sets from the dad's basement in the Lego Movie. I was pleased to see my boy beaming with excitement.
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| Braden at the Lego Movie Experience |
Next it was time to head to Miniland, my favorite part of Legoland, where miniature replicas of cities are built entirely out of Lego bricks. Impressive is an understatement when attempting to describe Miniland. All built to perfection, with hundreds of thousands of Lego bricks and even moving vehicles, Miniland is comprised of models of Las Vegas, New Orleans, Washington DC, New York City and even Star Wars. Braden seemed to be most enthralled with Sin City and I hoped it wasn't a bad sign! We enjoyed walking around admiring the skyscrapers in the warm sunshine and then decided it was time to ride some roller coasters.
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| Miniland has several miniature, famous city skylines |
We started with The Dragon, a fast and fun roller coaster that starts by winding slowly through a castle scene built entirely of Lego bricks and ends with thrilling twists and turns. We then headed to the dreaded Technic Coaster which I remembered from our first trip and thought it's Splash Mountain-like drop at the beginning was terrifying. We hopped in line and my heart started beating rapidly. I made sure Braden knew that this would be my one and only ride on it. We boarded our car and I held on for dear life. We then climbed the slow climb of terror and dropped like the New Year's Ball in Times Square. I screamed and then thought, "Wow, that wasn't so bad." The rest of the coaster ride was a blast and very similar to our favorite Goofy ride at California Adventure. My 10 year is keeping me young, for I would never have ridden this ride without his insistence. (I should add as a disclaimer that both roller coasters are fairly mild. I, however, am a big chicken!)
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| We enjoyed another picture-perfect, Southern CA day |
We spent the rest of the day riding various rides. We were able to hop right on most of them and practically had the park all to ourselves. We had another wonderful day together and I was sad to see it end. We would be flying home and back to reality the next day. We left the park a little early because Braden was excited to begin his scavenger hunt and claim his treasured prize. He also begrudgingly admitted that Legoland is more about the impressive Lego creations than the rides. He too had been spoiled by the Disney rides!
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| The safe in our room |
The scavenger hunt was quite clever. Braden had to answer four questions in order to get the correct combination to the safe in our room. He found the answers with no problem and promptly opened the safe. He was excited to find not one, but two Lego sets in the safe waiting for him to retrieve. My boy was the happiest he had been all day (and he had been happy all day!) and rejoiced in being an only child (because he got to keep both Lego sets).
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| The whimsical Lego creations added to the ambiance at breakfast |
I love Disney and you would be hard pressed to find a bigger fan out there than myself. But I was very impressed with the Legoland Hotel and more than any other, I believe this is a hotel that was truly made for kids. From the dancing in the elevator and the scavenger hunt, to the proximity to Legoland and the kids room within our themed room, it was a paradise for my 10 year old boy and I was delighted to be able to give that to him!
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| Every hotel lobby needs a Dragon! |
Click here for more pictures from Legoland.
I hope that you have enjoyed reading my entry from this Traveling Travel Agent's travels. I am a travel agent because I love to travel and I love helping other people discover our big beautiful world! Through strategic partnerships, I offer my clients preferred rates, complimentary upgrades and extra amenities. If you would like to receive weekly travel specials from my agency, Purple Palm Vacations, please sign up for our Exclusive Travel Specials.
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