In September, my family and I spent the weekend in Carlsbad near Legoland.  For those of you who don’t regularly follow my blog, we have three boys who at the time were 5 years, 3 years, and 5 months.  We arrived in Legoland from L.A. just before the park opened on a Saturday morning.  This was our first trip and because we have two children who are already crazy for Legos, we had really high expectations for our trip.

There are two water-play areas in Legoland.

Legoland is not a huge park and can easily be done in one day. Although from its advertising and the looks of its attractions one would think that riders of all ages would be able to access the park’s attractions.  My biggest complaint about our trip was the fact that my three-year-old could not go on a lot of the park’s attractions and there was only ONE attraction in the park that our baby could ride.  Furthermore, on a lot of attractions that both of my older boys could ride, they each had to have an adult ride with them.  Given the fact that we have three children and the baby couldn’t go on anything, that made life difficult.  This meant we had to wait for each attraction and then one of us would ride the attraction twice–once with each child.  Having to wait for one of us to ride the attraction again took up a lot of time in our day, which took away from time we could have been riding other attractions.

There are several playground play areas.

Like Disneyland, Legoland has themed lands with attractions, restaurants and shopping.  Everything…and I mean EVERYTHING is Lego-themed.  Prepare to be Lego-ed as much as a person can possibly be Lego-ed.  If you have a child who likes Legos, they will love this park.  Although children under 3 may enjoy the park, I would highly recommend waiting until your children are 4 or older so that they stand a better chance at riding more of the attractions.  I would also recommend that you have an adult for each child.  This is NOT a park in which you can be outnumbered by children.  Having three children–one of which being a baby who could only ride THREE attractions in the entire park, made the trip very frustrating.  If we had brought one more adult or our children were all over 3 years old, I’m sure we would have had a much better time.

Legoland’s Baby Center – Look for it on the Legoland map.

That is not to say that Legoland does not look out for families with babies.  Like Disneyland, Legoland has a baby center.  It is noted on the map, but very hard to find.  In fact, we never saw a sign and found the unmanned center by chance.  It is a great place to stop down with baby for nursing, bottle feeding, diaper changing, etc.  There is an adult restroom but no toddler-size potty.  The facility is clean and does offer a nice getaway for moms, dads, and babies.

Below are the amenities inside the Baby Center.

With the right age children and/or enough adults, families can have a nice weekend at Legoland.  Here’s a little video of our experience in the park.

Located inside Legoland is a pretty nice water park.  (If I were a Legoland local, I could see hanging out at the water park all summer long!)  The park is geared for young children and adults (cool) but lacks sufficient shade (not cool).  Admittedly, it was a great way to cool off in the midst of the long, hot day.  Be sure to bring a change of clothes (bathing suits, towels, and flip flops) for the water park.

Just outside Legoland is the Sea Life Aquarium.  The aquarium takes about two hours to see.  We went back and saw this the next morning before heading back to L.A.  Check to see if your hotel has a shuttle to and from Legoland, as parking for two days gets pretty pricey!

Overall, Legoland is a clean, safe park for families.  If your kids are Lego fans, they will be thrilled with the park and all it has to offer.  Legoland is super fun if you are prepared with a game plan.  From time to time, there are great two for one (or buy one adult and get a child free) discounts available with just a little bit of leg work, so make sure to look for deals before your visit.

I would like to thank Legoland for providing my family with tickets so that we could enjoy the parks.  The opinions expressed in this review are my own and may differ from others.  My opinions are honest representations of my family’s experiences.  As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to email me through my profile or contact me by leaving a comment on this post.

I will be posting a GREAT review on the fantastic West Inn and Suites located within minutes of Legoland soon, so stay tuned!!!