5 Tips for Visiting LEGOLAND California Resort

We kicked off our summer with a trip to LEGOLAND California Resort. LEGOLAND is located in Carlsbad, CA, only about an hour and a half drive from Los Angeles. This was our first official family trip of the summer, and it was a blast for our entire family. Literally, our 2 year old, 4 year old and 16 year old all had a great time!

The best thing about our little road trip from Los Angeles to the San Diego area, was the fact that it took virtually no planning. Our trip was care free and easy, even with 3 kids in tow.

I have compiled a list of 5 tips that made our LEGOLAND visit a success.

1. STAY AT A HOTEL ON PROPERTY

When planning our stay, we had to consider our hotel's proximity to LEGOLAND. We have a 2 year old who still takes naps during the day, and quite frankly, it is just much more convenient to be steps away from the park.

It sure beats having to walk back to the car, loading the kids up twice and driving back and forth between park and hotel.

We chose to stay at LEGOLAND Castle Hotel. This is LEGOLAND's newest hotel, which opened its doors this April.

Located right at the main entrance of LEGOLAND California, the hotel features an entertainment Courtyard with play zones for kids of all ages including a LEGO® DUPLO® tot spot, slides, an outdoor stage and movie screen with seating and tons of playful surprises from talking portraits to musical seats and more.

These play areas are a fantastic feature for families with small kids. Not only are there several different play areas in the courtyard, there is also a fun "LEGO® pit" in the lobby of the hotel, for the kids to play in while mom or dad check in. And another fun play area is located in the Dragon's Den Restaurant

Now lets talk about the rooms. Every room features a separate children’s sleeping area with LEGO® building tables, a TV and a scavenger hunt, where they each receive a LEGO® building set to take home.

There are three different themed rooms, we chose the Magic Wizard room.

Our 4 year old refuses to spend the night anywhere but his own bed, however, he could not wait to sleep in the bunkbed with his sister above and his baby brother in the trundle below.

There was so much to do at LEGOLAND Castle Hotel, that we almost didn't need to visit LEGOLAND California. Almost!

It was extremely convenient to be steps away from the park, and the kids absolytely enjoyed the stay.

2. BYPASS THE RIDES AND GO TO MINILAND

If you go to LEGOLAND at opening, I strongly suggest bypassing all of the rides, especially those near the park entrance, as lines are longest there. Bypass the rides and head straight to Miniland, where you will find LEGO® replicas of Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York, The Taj Mahal, and even... even STAR WARS!!!

Our little ones were in heaven recognizing scenes from their favorite Star Wars movies, and our 16 year old was absolutely enthralled with the skyscraper replicas.

While we walked around enjoying Miniland, some of the longer ride lines died down, and we got to enjoy shorter wait times.

3. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE PLAY AREAS

One of my favorite things about LEGOLAND, besides the fact that, unlike other theme parks, every ride was tailored for children, were all of the play areas. There are beautiful playground scattered throughout the park, as well as LEGO® building areas carved out in the actual lines for rides.

We took full advantage of these playgrounds, to give everyone a break between rides. These play areas also worked great because our teenager got to go on a few of the rollercoasters with one of us, while the other parent stayed to watch the boys play.

It was a pleasure to be able to let the kids build LEGOS®, while we waited in line. There was no fatigue for the little ones. Well, lets be realistic, it cut down frustration levels for us parents as well.

4. EAT AT FUN TOWN'S URBAN KITCHEN

Every meal is prepared fresh, right in front of you, plus there are lots of vegetarian options. We were blown away at LEGOLAND's thoughts on fresh food for the family. It was really nice and a little unexpected, to have good, fresh food at a theme park.