Legoland for range of kids

[meredith55]

I'm trying to figure out a plan for legoland! We've never been there and are going next Thursday!

We have 5 kids ranging 6months to 9. My two sisters will also be with us. Are there rides for everyone? Is it better to split up and have the bigger kids on one side of the park and the younger ones on the other side? Any tips in general would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

Are there rides for everyone?

Legoland IMO has a surprising number of height restrictions considering it caters towards younger children. However, there are still rides that all your kids could enjoy. 9 is still a reasonable age for Legoland, though probably getting towards the older end. By 11 or 12, I would imagine they would not be interested. There aren't really any rides for adults, but I did enjoy looking at Miniland (lego models of cities and Star Wars).

Is it better to split up and have the bigger kids on one side of the park and the younger ones on the other side?

I'm not really sure. It might be helpful to split up based on height, since as I mentioned there are a lot of height restrictions. You can take a look at the website to see what the height requirements are.

Any tips in general would be appreciated. Thanks!

Legoland has a water park that requires separate admission, so that is something to consider as well.

The Legoland Hotel lobby is also a fun place to hang out, just outside the front entrance to the park. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be for hotel guests only, but I've never seen anyone ask. There is a castle inside with a lego moat. My kids love it in there.

There are no fast passes or that sort of thing. (edit: I guess there is a front of the line pass that comes with VIP packages, but I don't believe this is a common thing) I'm not sure which rides are the most popular, but the Ninjago World is the newest which might make a difference.

 

[Steven G]

They do have a front of line, it's called reserve and ride. It works the same as the flash pass at six flags.

https://www.legoland.com/california/legoland-california/buy-tickets/reserve-n-ride/

They also have an aquarium. It's not the greatest, but it's a nice way to waste an hour, it is usually a separate charge unless you get tickets that include it.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Are there rides for everyone?

There are a couple boat rides for all ages. There are probably other rides, too, but I can't think of any off the top of my head. The aquarium is okay, but since the Stephen birch aquarium isn't too far, I think the Legoland aquarium is only desirable if you need to kill an hour.

Is it better to split up and have the bigger kids on one side of the park and the younger ones on the other side?

You may want to split up for a little while. The park is pretty small and you may not need to split up, but there are some areas made for toddlers that the other kids may be bored at pretty quickly. The older kids will probably want to do the roller coasters.

 

[Steven G]

As far as roller coasters, the most "thrilling" of them is the Technic coaster, and that is just a variant of Goofy's flight school in DCA, except not as fast on the turns.
The dragon roller coaster is fun, but pretty tame.
The coastersaurus is very tame, but they usually let you ride it twice in a row, since it is short.

 

[Steven G]

on the other hand, the "Knights Tournament" can be more intense than any Disney ride by far. It's a rather unique ride. There are 5 settings from tame to crazy.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

They do have a front of line, it's called reserve and ride. It works the same as the flash pass at six flags.

https://www.legoland.com/california/legoland-california/buy-tickets/reserve-n-ride/

They also have an aquarium. It's not the greatest, but it's a nice way to waste an hour, it is usually a separate charge unless you get tickets that include it.

Interesting, hasn't heard of this before.

 

[Steven G]

Unless it's REALLY crowded, Reserve & Ride is probably not worth the cost, especially if you have 4 or more people.
In most cases, you can get the reserve and ride during the day, so if it turns out to be a really crowded day, you can get one, although they can sell out.

Although if you do use it, a good plan is to go on all the rides that don't use it in the morning, and then once it gets busy start going on the reserve and ride ones. Another way to use it, is to take lunch, show, rest, etc., and while at activity reserve a ride.

 

[meredith55]

Thanks for all of the tips! I'm not going to spend extra money on the reserve system. I'm still trying to acquaint myself with the park through maps. I appreciate all of your advice and am sure we'll have a great time next week!

 

[oakleycat]

I would not do the reserve and ride, I don't think I've ever been thee when it was busy enough to pay that much and we've had passes for years. There are plenty of rides for everyone, even the babies can ride the boats, train carousel, safari jeeps, etc. I also don't think there's a need to split up as the easier rides are interspersed with the fast rides: my older one often wanted to ride the dragon coaster so one of us would take my younger on the joust across the way, coastersaurus is right by the safari jeeps, etc. The park is not that big. Have a great time, your kids are the perfect ages! My oldest is turning 11 this year and while he still enjoys it, he's at the older end for the park and we did not renew our passes this year.

 

[cadien]

The aquarium is really nice for its size. And air conditioned! Their photos aren't part of the package, however.

We were able to buy the reserve and ride without getting the rest of the VIP experience. But then only really needed it two or three times.

Like others have said, I wouldn't worry about splitting up the ages. There were a range of activities and rides in every area. Our son usually loves rides but he enjoyed all the other things at least as much. Dinosaur dig. That huge fort type thing by the castle. All the piles of Lego bricks to just play with. The splash pad in the Friends zone.