Legoland

[Kdbruin]

my DH and I are thinking of taking our 5 year old son to Legoland at the end of our DL trip. I wanted to know what the benefit is to staying at the Legoland hotel and if there are other hotels nearby that someone can recommend. We tend to like the more 'deluxe' hotels.
I also looked at the hours and they close early! Can LL be done in 6 hours or less? And if so, we may stay further north on the I-5 (we live in Nor Cal) I was thinking by Magic Mountain. Does anyone have any suggestions for hotels in that area as well?

 

[ImDMous]

The Sheraton Carlsbad Resort is right next to Legoland. We usually go there for Easter and 4th of July for their restaurant's buffets. It's a very nice place. I have't been to Legoland since it's pretty expensive and we don't have any kids.

 

[ten6mom]

I don't know if you already took your trip. My experience last summer is that Legoland can be done in one day, but not if you add the water park (which we did not do). We are doing a LL day next week where our ONLY goal is the water park.

Sorry i can't comment on Magic Mountain.

 

[cgh]

Sorry if this is too late, but I was searching for legoland (in florida) and found this. We have stayed at the Legoland hotel in California and I highly recommend it. It is made for kids, with lots of silly stuff that my almost 5 year old (at the time) LOVED. whoopy cushion areas you step on by the elevator, elevator with a disco ball and disco music, legos legos everywhere for playing. (including some in the room!) Plus early entry. Legoland is a park you can spend as little or as much as you want. My 5 year old can spend HOURS uninterrupted playing with legos.

 

[MrInfinity]

Original post from June, so maybe too late here.

We stayed at the Sheraton several times before the LL Hotel was built. It has a private entrance (15 min walk) to LEGOLAND.. it's neat because it drops you into the back of the park, so hopefully you can hit rides back there before the early entry crowd that went in at the front, gets back there. Besides that, it's a typical Sheraton... not themed to LEGO in any way.

The LEGOLAND hotel, on the other hand, is so much fun. If you have kids in the 4-10 year-old range then it's perfect for you. There are LEGO bricks everywhere... play structures in the lobby... castle, stories, early park entry... treasure hunt in your room which is decked out in a LEGO theme. Some things will amaze you but I don't want to give it all away because the first time we experienced some of them they were so neat, it wouldn't be as good to go in looking for them. Just... Stay there. Hopefully you've seen the LEGO movie, as there are subtle jokes that tie back to it. It's as expensive as a Disney Deluxe, but with as many amenities and immersion as a Disney Deluxe so it's worth it. You do get a breakfast buffet with your stay... and it's not your typical Sheraton "muffins and juice" buffet... it is a real buffet. The dinner buffet is even better, but you have to pay extra for it and it's on par price-wise with a Disney character meal.

You can do LEGOLAND in 6 hours or less, especially the Florida one which is not crowded. The California park is usually packed. LEGOLAND Cali does have a water park and a small aquarium on the same property, so you could make it 2 days and it would be great!

I would not recommend staying by Magic Mountain, since you'd be looking at a 2-3 hour drive to/from LEGOLAND. If you hit the morning rush, crossing LA like this would be a terrible start to the day.

Warning: The LEGOLAND Hotel is packed with kids running around everywhere. If you are going for quiet or relaxing, this will not be the place!! Altho... there is a full service bar.

 

[firsttimr]

Hijacking to ask where the best place to eat in or around LL is? We will probably do the Halloween Brick or Treat so we'll be there for 2 meals - lunch and dinner. Recommendations?

 

[Purrkins]

Not sure when your trip is but we just did Legoland this week and was there from opening to close. We did not see the entire park and in fact missed a significant part of it. Of course, we:

1.) Rode the Ninjago ride 4 times.
2.) Spent over an hour racing lego cars
3.) Spent over an hour racing lego boats
4.) Played a round of miniature golf
5.) Spent two hours playing in the splash zone while I hunted Pokemon

Protip - dress kids in bathing suit and swim shirt and pack dry clothes and a towel in your bag. Once your kids see the splash area they'll be gone.

As for the post above asking for food - some decent reasonably priced food at Legoland. They have a special right now, kids eat free after 5.

If you wish to eat out of the park Tip Top Meats is probably your best bet, unless you're a vegetarian.