Attractions & Entertainment Travel

Swimming and Playing Through LegoLand California

Swimming and Playing Through LegoLand California

The week before school started up again, I decided on a whim, to go on a last minute vacation with the kids and our babysitter – we went swimming and playing through LegoLand California. Our babysitter, whom we have had since she was 12, just left for college yesterday. We wanted to do something fun with her before she left, and Daddy was too busy in school, so we made the 8+ hour drive on our own. We had such a fabulous time and I couldn’t have done it without Abby (our babysitter).

We had never been to LegoLand, but had heard it was perfect for kids 12 and under. Since my kids love legos, I knew it would be a blast, and it truly was! Everything in the park is geared toward my age children, 3-8! We had park hopper passes, which got us into LegoLand,  the LegoLand Water Park and the Sea Life Aquarium. We were very fortunate that the lines weren’t very long. We got through most everything fairly quickly. The only line that was a drag was the one to get from LegoLand into the LegoLand Water Park. It seems they could do something to speed up that process.

Brielle loved riding on Cargo Age with Abby. This ride flies low, which is great for any kids who may be afraid of heights.

The Bionicle Blaster is one of those giant tea cup type of rides. I do not do spinning rides, so I was super grateful to have Abby to ride on this with the boys. I think you could even control how fast your Bionicle Blaster spins.

The best part about LegoLand, you might ask? The rides that may have more wait time, have these awesome lego stops. As you get into line, there is an opening to these tables filled with legos. There is a sign that says, “Kids Play while Parents Wait”! All theme parks should have this. Then as you get closer to the front of the line, there is another opening, to pick your kids up from the play area, and get them in line with you. I don’t know about your kids, but mine hate waiting in long lines. These magical lego tables avoid any boredom and frustrations with waiting in line!

My oldest is 8 years old, and is finally starting to like some of the more thrilling rides. It takes quite a bit of talking him into some of them, but I was very proud of him for doing the Knights’ Tournament. You can select varying degrees of difficulty/thrill, on this ride. Kelman and Abby did the easiest one, but it was still quite thrilling as this large arm twists and moves the seats around, above water. The more exciting options even have you going upside down.

I loved watching all of the kids on the Royal Joust. I thought this ride was adorable, and even Brielle got to ride her own horse.

The kids even got to go through their own driving school! It was perfect because the boys went to Volvo Driving School, for 6-13 year olds, and Brielle went to Volvo Junior Driving School, for 3-5 year olds. Even the little ones are able to drive their own car, which gives them so much freedom. She had a blast! I was cracking up the whole time because she kept driving into the wall, and an attendant would have to come over and move her car away from the wall. I hope these driving skills are not indicative of the kind of driver she will be when she’s grown!

The Pirate Reef is LegoLand’s newest attraction. The ride can be reached from LegoLand and the Water Park. There was kicking and screaming from the twins, but we made them go on it anyway. We were warm, and we wanted a little excitement. The ship takes you around a simple little jaunt, and dives down 25 feet between two battling ships, with everyone on the ship, and bridge, getting soaked! The younger three were a tad scared, but it was so much fun!

Then we spend the rest of our day on the lazy river, where you collect giant lego blocks in the water, and attach them to your tube, and on the younger kids’ water slides. I loved those because we could all do them, stay cool, and have tons of fun. I LOVED how family and kid friendly the water park and theme park were. No big water slides for us this time, but next time we go back, I’m sure I can talk the boys into it.

We also explored the Sea Life Aquarium, where we learned and watched a variety of fish and other sea life. I wouldn’t personally spend a lot of money at the Sea Life Aquarium, by itself, but added to a Park Hopper is just right. As part of the aquarium, there is a Lego Atlantis movie playing, that you can stop in and watch. The kids loved that.

All-in-all, it was a fantastic time, and we will definitely be going again. I hear they are decorating the place for Halloween, and I’m tempted to stop by!

 

I was provided with complimentary LegoLand California passes, to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Emily Buys

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