Legoland

[OlliePop27]

Looking for advice about visiting Legoland as there's not much out there compared to DL. Does anyone have a "touring plan" for the park? Is it possible to accomplish most things in 1-day without the Reserve N' Ride service?

 

[Rex1993]

Legoland is smaller in size than California Adventure. You can get through everything you want without much of a problem in a day but keep in the mind that the hours are compressed. If the crowds are big that will mean huge wait times for Emmet. We did 4 days there and it was plenty. The only reason we did four was because we had the city pass and just added another two days for no cost. The kids wanted more days at Legoland than days at the beach and we were staying at the Sheraton so it was walking distance.

A few things to note. The ramen was really bad when we went. The barbecue was pretty darn good.

 

[China Expat]

JUst go and enjoy! It's a breath of fresh air to not have to do all of that deep Disney planning down to the minute!

 

[woodys_girl]

After having really detailed plans for WDW and DLR I too was shocked at the lack of info on Legoland.
Yes, you can get most things done in a day with little planning. Depends on your kids' interest and ages, but we've done 1 day only on each of our 3 visits and always got a lot done and had a good time. Emmett's does get unbearably long; even if there is "no" wait (i.e. you use reserve and ride or walk straight to where they make you stand on the dots) you are looking at 20 minutes +. But I really like the ride. For us, hitting it late worked better than earlier.
We kind of like to walk into the park a little, skipping the 1st few rides we pass and then just get in line and go around the circle, skipping things that don't interest us or that maybe look too long.
Another one that gets really long is Coastersaurus because they only have one train. Again, we had good luck towards the end of the night.

 

[vspenn]

can any comment on best food options in Legoland? What are the better choices for lunch? any snacks not to miss?

 

[woodys_girl]

can any comment on best food options in Legoland? What are the better choices for lunch? any snacks not to miss?

The apple fries are very popular. We have always gotten them. We don't "love" them (talk about them when we get home, dream about going back to have some) but they are tasty and unique to Legoland. They are just apples, cut into the shape of fries, battered and fried, and served with whipped cream.
My husband and I actually liked the food we had at Everything is Ramen. Now, I can't remember what we had, but I remember liking it. We had one Ramen dish and something else. My kids ate individual pizzas that same meal, which they liked, but they aren't terribly picky about pizza.
I would say most of the food is typical theme park food so the ramen and the apple fries were the two things that I can't get at every other theme park. If you are going in the off season you may notice that Legoland closes early enough that you can have dinner offsite, after the park closes.

 

[Steven G]

can any comment on best food options in Legoland? What are the better choices for lunch? any snacks not to miss?

Smokehouse bbq is actually pretty good. It is our top choice.

i second apple fries. Always get, but it’s not crazy good, it’s just a nice snack.

the pizza and pasta buffet is actually a good deal for a theme park all you can eat, good variety.

we have not tried ramen place yet.

most of the other places we tried were meh inside the park.

 

[Dust2]

The churros near the submarine ride are amazing. They are the type they serve in Spain, shorter and wider than regular churros and served with dark chocolate dipping sauce. I also recommend the all you can eat pizza and pasta buffet. They usually have a kids eat free after 4pm promo.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

.

 

[Steven G]

legoland can get really dead. Check here on your days
https://www.isitpacked.com/crowd-calendars/legoland-california/

obviously, no guarantees, but you should be able to see patterns.

unless the park is packed, for most of the rides you really don’t need the reserve n ride, if you dedicate the entire day.

 

[OlliePop27]

Thanks to everyone for responding. Turning back to rides, does anyone know if it's possible to buy reserve n' ride for only 1 parent, not both, plus one child? The reason I ask is because we will have a 5-year old and a 1-year old. The 5-year old will want to ride everything but the younger one will be too short. We don't need both parents to ride everything, as we're fine alternating who rides with the oldest. Not sure if only one adult can buy and switch who uses it. Again, not trying to go against any rules, it would just save us money as we don't care to each ride everything.

 

[Steven G]

Legoland has changed the Reserve and Ride since I last used it (it is now designed to be used on your phone instead of this second device you carried around with you). As well, there are options to buy individual rides instead of the full.

So I don't think I have the answer to this, since it's changed so much.

I checked the FAQ's just in case, and your question wasn't there.
https://california-support.legoland.com/hc/en-us/sections/11063792972189-Reserve-Ride

 

[woodys_girl]

Thanks to everyone for responding. Turning back to rides, does anyone know if it's possible to buy reserve n' ride for only 1 parent, not both, plus one child? The reason I ask is because we will have a 5-year old and a 1-year old. The 5-year old will want to ride everything but the younger one will be too short. We don't need both parents to ride everything, as we're fine alternating who rides with the oldest. Not sure if only one adult can buy and switch who uses it. Again, not trying to go against any rules, it would just save us money as we don't care to each ride everything.

We ended up not purchasing the Reserve n Ride on our last visit (and did not need it), but I don't see why you couldn't switch off which adult used it. I think it is through your phone so if you were both signed in to the app whichever of you was riding could just show the pass. Again, I can't confirm, but I don't see why not.

 

[OlliePop27]

Does anyone know how long it takes to get through the parking lines at Legoland before the park opens at 10:00? Is arriving at 9:30 early enough to be ready at the gates when they open at 10:00?

Also, does preferred parking really get you much closer?

 

[woodys_girl]

Does anyone know how long it takes to get through the parking lines at Legoland before the park opens at 10:00? Is arriving at 9:30 early enough to be ready at the gates when they open at 10:00?

Also, does preferred parking really get you much closer?

Preferred parking is closer, but it's not really a huge lot in my opinion.

I'm not sure on exact timing, but it did not take us very long to pay for parking and park. I don't think it would be crazy to drive up at 9:30 for a 10am open, though usually I like to give myself a tad more cushion (with the time change we have no problem being a little early to a 10am RD).

 

[OlliePop27]

I wanted to write back and mention how wonderful Legoland was! It is very low key compared to DL and I think very manageable to do things in 1 day. We got reserve n' ride and I'd probably do it again for 1 day. We did not stay on site and stayed near the beach, which was amazing. It was really easy to get in and out of Legoland each day with close parking spots. Travelling from Legoland to DL was also easy. If you time it right to leave after morning rush (and there's no accidents) it's easy to make it to Anaheim in about 1-hour. We flew into SD, rented a car, drove to Carlsbad, then drove to Anaheim after a few days returning the car at Alamo on Katella.

I know there's not a ton of Legoland info out there, so if anyone is visiting the CA park and needs more info feel free to send me a private message and I can do my best to answer your questions.

 

[Psymonds]

I wanted to write back and mention how wonderful Legoland was! It is very low key compared to DL and I think very manageable to do things in 1 day. We got reserve n' ride and I'd probably do it again for 1 day. We did not stay on site and stayed near the beach, which was amazing. It was really easy to get in and out of Legoland each day with close parking spots. Travelling from Legoland to DL was also easy. If you time it right to leave after morning rush (and there's no accidents) it's easy to make it to Anaheim in about 1-hour. We flew into SD, rented a car, drove to Carlsbad, then drove to Anaheim after a few days returning the car at Alamo on Katella.

I know there's not a ton of Legoland info out there, so if anyone is visiting the CA park and needs more info feel free to send me a private message and I can do my best to answer your questions.

we've had the same experience. unless you want to go to the water park, 1 day is enough, reserve and ride will help you be able to ride some rides more often. We have also seen the park empty out a bit before close, but also they will cut off long lines before close (you can't get in line at 5:55 for some rides for a 6pm close).

Parking is not an issue at all.

we have stayed onsite and offsite.

We drive from norcal.

Biggest caveat for legoland is the age range is really 5-10 or 12 for best kid memories. Our 13 and 15 year old had fun but mostly in the "taking my 7 year old brother on rides" sense. There are not big thrilling rides for larger kids. Spring break we did universal, Knotts, Disney and Legoland, and Legoland was the least favorite for all but our 7 year old.

 

[obsesseddisneyfan]

we've had the same experience. unless you want to go to the water park, 1 day is enough, reserve and ride will help you be able to ride some rides more often. We have also seen the park empty out a bit before close, but also they will cut off long lines before close (you can't get in line at 5:55 for some rides for a 6pm close).

Parking is not an issue at all.

we have stayed onsite and offsite.

We drive from norcal.

Biggest caveat for legoland is the age range is really 5-10 or 12 for best kid memories. Our 13 and 15 year old had fun but mostly in the "taking my 7 year old brother on rides" sense. There are not big thrilling rides for larger kids. Spring break we did universal, Knotts, Disney and Legoland, and Legoland was the least favorite for all but our 7 year old.

I agree with the age. My Kids went at 8 years (great time) 9 years (is it this again) and now at 11 have no desire to go. Even told their friends mom that their friends has "aged out of lego land". It really is great for the younger set.

 

[OlliePop27]

I agree with the age. My Kids went at 8 years (great time) 9 years (is it this again) and now at 11 have no desire to go. Even told their friends mom that their friends has "aged out of lego land". It really is great for the younger set.

I agree. We had a tall 5 year old at the time of visit. I can see him being too old for Legoland by 7-8.

I think the Dragon Coaster is great though, even for us older folks!