Quest for Legos - Part 2

The process of entering Legoland took almost an hour. The park is pretty stingy on what you see before you enter ... so the boys were at full line fatigue by the time we finally got in. I'm not sure if the entry process was so poor because we went at such as popular time -- or it is always like this.

In the long, disorganized and confusing line to get into Legoland we had several choices. We could purchase tickets to Legoland and Sea Life (the Park's aquarium), or just Legoland (the Water Park is closed this time of year) -- we could purchase tickets for one day or two. Since we were on a Lego quest we opted to go to just Legoland for two days (and it was already afternoon when we arrived from Santa Barbara).

There are two lines to get into the park. One to buy tickets, and one to enter ... both are jammed packed, and the ones on the far left move much faster than the ones on the right. In the future to bypass the ticket line, I highly recommend buying tickets in advance. We tried to buy tickets from the Holiday Inn Carlsbad, but the front desk was grossly misinformed about the special and even their own shuttle service policy. They thought Legoland was offering a special of the second day free if you bought tickets at the park. The special was actually a coupon for a free ticket in January through March -- and you only needed to show proof of purchase at the service desk.

Since it was the Holidays once you enter you are greeted with a giant Lego tree. We proceeded to the left on the first day. If we went to the right we would have seen a Lego Santa in his sleigh, and a Lego Frosty. The Lego Santa and Frosty are set up as picture opportunities. And people line-up to get their photos taken in front of them ... this was quite difficult to explain to our boys. Still I was rudely able to snap a couple of cool pictures and bypass the line as Jonathan pulled the kids off the Lego sleigh.

We have a policy about lines ... if it is over 45 minutes don't bother. On the first day many of the lines had signs that said 60 minutes (on the second day this grew to 2 hours). We'll have to go back during the summer season when the Water Park is open. I wonder if that will decrease the impact on the Legoland lines. Since we were there in the afternoon, waiting until after 3 pm to ride more popular rides was the best bet.

Highlights of our two days (and definitely things that shouldn't be missed) include:

• Miniland. This is an opportunity to walk through Lego DC, Lego New York, Lego Las Vegas, Lego San Francisco and a Lego town with a train. There are several ways to enter, one you come down a hill walking by busts of famous people like Pavarotti, the Queen of England and Winston Churchill. The other way is over a bridge with Lego lions. Caleb loved looking at the intricate detail in all of the buildings, cars and people. Xander liked steering the boats in the Miniland marina. We also loved taking the Coast Cruise through Miniland you got to get up close to the Lego Sidney Opera House, and also see Lego New York from another perspective.
• The Lego Showplace. Where you can watch the adventures of Clutch Powers in 4D. The movie is in 3D, but Legoland adds wind, and mist and fog to make it a 4D experience. Considering my oldest has limited depth perception, and the 3D glasses don't work for him, the fact that he loved the show speaks to how well done it is. 
• The life size characters in Lego that were hidden in every nook and cranny of the park including Bob the Builder,  the dragons, park workers, the life size Volvo XC90 ... They were really very cool.
• Solo rides for the five and under set. Xander and Caleb loved the Royal Joust best (this was a ride on an oversized carousel horse on a track through a forrest). In fact there were several opportunities for the five and under set to go solo. The other ride they liked was the Junior Driving School (driving a little Lego Volvo around a mini race track).

Overall we had a great time, some of the rides were a bit overrated, and entering the park can be a better experience. We may go back sometime this year when the Water Park is open, and when Legoland opens Miniland Star Wars. Next blog will be on the activities outside of Legoland in San Diego and our ride home.