LEGOLAND California

Hello LEGO Enthusiast!

I bet you’re planning a LEGOLAND trip and have a LEGO lover in your family. I was in your shoes too and wanted to plan the optimal trip for my kids.  Read on to learn our tricks and tips for having an excellent LEGOLAND experience!  We’ve also gone to LEGOLAND Florida, click here, to read about that adventure.

TOP 10 Tips for visiting LEGOLAND California & Tips for the LEGOLAND HOTEL

LEGOLAND, California is located in Carlsbad, not far from San Diego. It’s located close to the beach and you actually have to drive through an office park to find the entrance.

Be prepared before you go:

• Kid’s Camera – I highly recommend this waterproof camera for kids.  GREAT pictures and kids love it.
• Smart Phone case – I highly recommend this case (click here).  It goes around the neck and is a waterproof case for your phone.
• Hats – We found that this type of hat with a chin strap was perfect.
• Sunscreen – This sunscreen was awesome, my kids liked it and it doesn’t stick to sand!
• Sunglasses

10 Tips for Visiting LEGOLAND California

1. LEGOLAND is for LEGO lovers!  

LEGOLAND is not Disneyland, nor does it try to be. It is an amusement park geared towards children ages 2-12. We traveled with boys (ages 10 and 12) and girls (ages 8 and 11). The boys were huge LEGO fans and the girls were just along for the fun. There are rides (fun, not thrill rides), shows, movies, hands-on activities, a waterpark, water rides, and amazing LEGO sculptures in Miniland.

2. Arrive Early to Begin your Day of Fun

Arriving early is one of our secrets to success.  During busy seasons, the park officially opens at 10:00, but the gates open at 9:00 and some of the rides open at 9:30. Make sure your kids know that not all of the rides are open, so they’re not disappointed. You can use this time to browse the gift shop or go get in line for the most popular rides. It’s nice to be able to walk through the park when no one is there and the weather is cool. Check the website to find when the park officially opens and more specific information about the day you’ll be there.

3. Trade Your LEGO Minifigures!

Bring minifigures to trade.  Who knew this would be such a highlight?  Tell your kids to bring their 3 least favorite to trade.  Every LEGO employee wears minifigures on their name tag.  Employees are very gracious and willing to trade immediately.  There is also a “Minifigure Ambassador”.  This employee can be hard to track down, but they have almost 100 minifigures pinned to them ready to trade.  Everyone (custodians, Sea Life workers, ticket takers) has minifigures to trade. If you need to, purchase some before you go, here is a good assortment.

4. Know Before You Go: Rides at LEGOLAND

At LEGOLAND, you’re there for the full LEGO experience. Have you read that the lines for the rides move really slowly OR that the lines look short, but their load time is extremely loooong? It’s true. To combat this, we let all of the kids choose their top 2 rides. Everyone studied the map ahead of time and read reviews. We still got to do some of the fun smaller ones, but with 4 kids in tow we needed to try to make everyone happy. If your goal is to have fun, this is a great way to do it!  Our top rides were: Sky Cruiser, Safari Trek, Project X roller coaster, and Knight’s Tournament.

5. Food at LEGOLAND

Food at LEGOLAND is typical park food. We were able to bring bottled water in and small snacks, without any problem. For one meal, we were pleased to find the Garden Restaurant had a fresh, healthy menu and was allergy friendly. Bonus: The Garden Restaurant overlooks Miniland (above). I read several rave reviews about the Granny’s Apple Fries so we tried them, they were only so-so.

Read on for tips #6 – #10:  

Sea Life Aquarium at LEGOLAND, the Water Park, what to do on a rainy day, how to save money on LEGOLAND tickets, and what to wear. LEGOLAND Hotel tips are on page 3.