Legoland in Carlsbad, CA
One of the most famous places in Carlsbad has got to be LEGOLAND California! This is one of my kids’ favorite place to go visit and I’ve actually done a lot of staycations at the LEGOLAND hotel. I recently went to LEGOLAND with my son, my niece, and my nephew. We filmed our day so I could give you an inside look at the park!
My first pro tip is to pick up a LEGOLAND pass if you’re a Costco member. They’re about $100 a year and if you go a lot, it definitely pays for itself.
My next pro tip is to make sure you go right when you enter the park. You can go either left or right and probably 90% of people go to the left. The best roller coasters are to the right though, so you can beat the crowds and ride them while the lines are still short. My son’s favorite rides are the Technic Coaster and the new ride in the LEGO movie world, Emmett’s Fly Adventure. Another pro tip, the Dragon roller coaster tends to have the shortest line of all the roller coasters.
In addition to roller coasters, there are a number of LEGO statues throughout the park and interactive things to do. There’s a Driving School, where kids can drive their own cars around on a track. It’s pretty cool because they have two different experiences depending on the child’s age. Skipper School is a boat ride, where you get to pilot the boats around the lake. On this trip, we also checked out the 4D theater which was fun because it’s inside and air conditioned. Definitely recommend that on a hot day.
The LEGO movie land is a newer part of the park that was added after the success of the LEGO movies. Built in the last year, it even has a splash pad right in in the middle – a great thing to take advantage of if you’re visiting in the summer! You can take the kids here instead of to the water park.
Yes, that’s right – LEGOLAND has a water park as well. We didn’t visit it on this trip as it tends to be very crowded in the summer. The water park stays open into the fall, which is when we like to go. Less crowded after most of the tourists go home. There’s also an aquarium here.
There are a bunch of food places scattered throughout the park. We often go to the BBQ place, but on their trip, we went to Urban Kitchen. They have a lot of different items on the menu including a Philly Cheesesteak with Cheez Whiz. Maybe not super authentic but could be a good item to try if you’re super hungry and looking for something more filling.
My last pro tip for visiting the park is this: if you can leave without your kids noticing the LEGO store, do it! We can never leave without picking up a new LEGO set.
If you’re from out of town, I highly recommend staying at the LEGOLAND hotel. It’s super fun for kids. They have rooms with bunk beds and treasure chests that you need to figure out the combination to. Inside the chest are LEGOs the kids can play with. There are two hotels, the original LEGOLAND Hotel and a castle-themed one. Both are great and super close to the park. Really lets you get the full LEGOLAND experience.
I hope you enjoyed this tour of LEGOLAND California. We’ll be visiting some of the other parks in the San Diego area so leave a comment below with where you’d like to see Courtney and I go next!