How to Legoland.

Are going to Legoland? Congratulations! My planning tips will help to plan your upcoming Legoland trip and to learn “how to Legoland”.

Legoland is much smaller than other amusement park which makes it perfect for 2-10 years old kids. I took my nephew who is a huge Lego fan to Legoland twice when he was 8 and 9 and he loved it. I also took my other nephew who was 11 there. While he enjoyed his time in Legoland, he was bored couple of times. My 6-years old loves the park , but it is our second year of our annual membership. and I think it is our last year. We run all the rides many times and got everything we could out of this membership.

Here is the list of tips and suggestions for your Legoland trip planning.

The best time to visit Legoland to avoid crowds is couple of weeks before or couple of weeks after California school breaks and 1-2 weeks after holidays. So, ideally you visit the park mid-January to mid-February, end of February to beginning of April, end of April to mid-May, mid-September to beginning of November and first two weeks of December. There is also mid-July – mid August, but summer is always busy. This is all based on my personal observations since January 2018.

Get to the park early. Obvious but true. We’ve been members since 2018 and we rarely get there before 10. If you plan to be at the park entrance by the opening time, you will be able to get to several rides with no lines. Park opens 10 am.

Check the Legoland deals. The park runs multiple deals year-round. “Kids go free with paying adult” runs several times a year in California. McDonald’s and Subway have the coupons. I always have couple of coupons on hands, so contact me and I’ll be happy to share.

If you are in South California and plan to visit Legoland at least twice during the year, get Legoland year membership in Costco. Year annual pass in Costco is 99$ that is 10$ cheaper than a day ticket at the gate. If you buy Legoland membership online you will need to get the actual membership card during the first day of your visit. The line at the office can be huge and it goes SLOW. I spent almost an hour getting my annual pass card in February. So, if you see a long line, go and enjoy the park and get your card on the way out before you exit the park. That will save you time.

Download Legoland app. The app has maps, list of rides, rides closures, list of restaurants  and a lot of other useful information. The app also has wait time.

 Get familiar with the map prior to your visit.

Parking. Legoland parking is $20, preferred parking is $35. The parking is fairly small compared to other amusement parks. It has three sections, 8 lines in each section. First section on the right dedicated to preferred parking. So, even if you parked in a third section, you are looking at 5-7 minutes’ walk to the entrance. I personally do not see a value in additional $15, but preferred parking lot gets full fast.

 Pay for Reserve ‘N’ Ride fast pass for all riders if the wait time for majority of rides longer than 50 mins. We get the cheapest option that currently cost $25 and it saves time and allows to reserve the next ride the moment you get our of the previous ride. Yeah, I know, I know you just spent 200-300$ on the tickets and now you have to pay additional $25 per person for fast pass. Trust me, fast pass will significantly improve the quality of your visit.

Use Package Pick-up service. You can buy the Legos at any store in the park and pick them up at the entrance. When my nephew was visiting first time, the only thing he wanted out of the park was new Lego set that I promised him to buy . We did not want to carry it all day so we convinced him to buy it at the end of the day. We got inside one of the stores and learned about this program.  I bought him Lego right away and he couldn’t be happier. We picket it up at the exit. It is super convenient service that will give you piece of mind and save you from having a whining kid.

Bring snacks, water and even lunch for kids. The policy says that you can’t bring large coolers, but I never had problem carrying couple of sandwiches in my backpack.

Take early lunch. Restaurants packed by 12. Preferably 11 or 11.30

Water Park visit. Skip water park if the temp outside is lower than 80 F. The water is COLD. It is cold even for my 6-years old swimmer who can tolerate cold water. Plan water park visit after lunch, as it gets less crowded after 2.30-3 pm and water is much warmer.

Skip water rides if you don’t want to get wet. You will get wet, on Aquazone, Splash Battle and Pirate Reef. The kids might get cold after those rides even with the change of clothes.

Check your kids height and know the rides height restrictions. I am talking from from experience here. Our second time in the park we spent 20 mins in line only to find out that kids were not tall enough for the ride.

Prepare the games to play with kids when waiting in lines. It can be simple game like Paper-Scissor-Rock. We usually play “Animals” game with our 6-years old. The rules are very simple, each player says the name of the animal. the first person, who doesn’t know any more animals loose.

Bring light Jacket. The park is located on the coast. The weather is unpredictable, it can be marine layer, fog or drizzle. All this ocean related fun stuff can ruin your visit. If you don’t want to carry the jacket, at least keep in the car.

Have a plan. And a plan B. And plan C. Depending on the kids age, you might want to have a “must do” list, and “good to do” list. Plan to visit you
“must do” rides in the morning. Fist hour after the opening the park is not crowded, so you will have a good chance to go to at least two-three rides. Plan rest time, movie time  and LEGO time. alternate rides with building LEGO’s activities.

You can read more about plans in my How to plan your day in Legoland post ..

Here is an example of our plan:

1. Lego Ninjago World(Ninjago, Cole’s Rock Climb).
2. Imagination Zone(Byonicle Blaster, Lego Technic Coaster) .
3. Movie at Lego Movie 2 experience.
4. Land of Adventure(Lost Kingdom, Beetle Bounce, Dune Raiders).
5. Lunch at Pizza Mania pizza and pasta buffet.
6. Walk through Miniland USA to Fun Town.
7. Fun Town(Driving School, Lego Life “Build and Test”, Fun Town Police and Fire academy, Adventures Club).
8. Pirate Shores(Captain Cranky’s Challenge).
9. Back to Fun Town, Skipper School.
10. Eglor’s Build-a-Boat.
11. Walk back to Explorer Land.
12. Coastersaurus.
13. Lego shopping. Set a budget before going to the store or, even better, before going to the park.
14. Sea Life Aquarium

Have drink after the park at home or in the hotel . Congrats! You survived a day with kids in Legoland.