Is Legoland worth it?

[aussiegirls]

Hi all

So we will be in Anaheim for 2 weeks in November/December. I was thinking of taking a day trip to Legoland but I have been reading many mixed reviews about the place. Some say it is awesome and some say that it is crowded and totally not worth it.

So I thought I would pop in here and ask the Dis theme park gurus. It will be me and DD 10yrs old and DD 8 yrs old. We like rides but not really rough rides and not big roller coasters - just smallish ones. To be honest I think that the main reason the kids want to go is for the Lego factor. How are the Lego displays, would it be worth the trip for them alone? Another thing may be that we will be going during the Christmas season. Do they do or have anything special for Christmas?

So what do you guys think, is it worth it or should we just give it a miss?

xxx

 

[nunzia]

The displays are very cool, and they have nice stores. IMO (and this isn ONLY my opinion as many LOVE LegoLand) but we did not. The kids were underwhelmed and never said a word about it once we left, but are still talking about Sea World (spent 2 days there and had a wonderful time). I HATED Legoland..and was really surprised I did as it is very lovely to look at and the displays are amazing. BUT..the play areas are geared toward little kids..most of the rides are pathetic with INCREDIBLY slow loading and lines.. it seems more like a little kid play are, but not a FAMILY experience. Again, just my experience, but I can guarantee I'll never go again.

 

[jessica52877]

We love legoland! DS7 goes on and on about it. He is thrill ride kid but happy with legoland and their not so thrilling rides. He LOVES legos so this could have a little to do with it. He enjoys the rides and actually would rather ride then see the displays. The displays are awesome!

My only complaint is how some of the bricks are faded. Drives me bonkers.

 

[amamax2]

Ok, based on your signature, it looks like you will be here around Thanksgiving and then the beginning of December?

So first off, If you go to Legoland during the week in the beginning of December, it will not be crowded. It is decorated for Christmas and very beautiful that time of year.

Now, as far as if it is worth it:

While I personally do not love it, my kids LOVE Legoland and always have, although they are on the cusp of having outgrown it at 12 & 13. They are Lego fanatics, but also enjoy the rides. The rides are very tame compared to even Disneyland. There is a fairly good mix of things to do for younger and older kids in terms of rides, shows, and activities, and it is just very pretty to walk around. About half the rides are definitely geared to the younger crowd, but the other half aren't.

I do think it is fairly expensive, though, for what you get, although there are discounts floating around all the time.

Some people do not like it because they feel it is for younger kids; I think you know your girls and how they will feel. It definitely isn't Six Flags or Universal Studios, lol. My boys and the kids we have gone with haven't felt this way yet, though last year when we went, they definitely were starting to show signs of this. We have seen over the years that each time we go, some of the things they have always loved are now too young for them. I think the next time we go may be the last.

I guess some of your decision should also be based on how many days exactly you are here in the States and what else you have planned.

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

We have gone once...it was the Monday after Thanksgiving two years ago. Except for a few popular rides, we never waited longer than 5 minutes. My kids were 7 and 4 at the time, and they LOVED it.

If any of the following conditions were different when we were there, we might not have enjoyed it as much as we did:
-crowds (like I mentioned, very low)
-weather (it was a beautiful day)
-ticket cost (we used two BOGO coupons, so the kids were free. I can't imagine paying full price)
-we went prior to Disneyland (If we had saved it for after DL, it might have been a bit disappointing. As great as LL is, isn't DL....so I wouldn't recommend saving it for a finale.)

The Christmas stuff they had was cute. There wasn't very much of it....a big Lego tree surrounded by Lego presents just inside the gates, and Santa in his sleigh pulled by reindeer (all Lego, of course). But it wasn't nearly as decorated as DL.

With 8 and 10 year olds, this may be your last chance.....I agree with the previous posters that it is geared toward smaller kids. My kids are now 9 and 6, and I know they would love it just as much if we went back. I hope we can make it back soon, before they outgrow it.

Happy planning!

 

[lapdwife]

We went this summer because our youngest is a Legomaniac. I couldn't believe how dirty the place was, how run down some of the displays were, how the restrooms weren't kept up (silly me, I like TP)..and yes it was expensive. I don't know if I'm just so Disney-ized or what it was. I had some people on Facebook tell me they felt the same way while there. Now, you ask my 5 year old, and he'll tell you it's great. The water park was nice, although small.

 

[jessica52877]

I am glad that it wasn't dirty. We were just there on Sunday. I was surprised at how clean the restrooms were particularly. I tend to notice those types of things. There was one piece of trash that actually caught my eye on the little jungle trek thing, it was a cheetos bag from the trick or treat trail. I assumed it hadn't been there long at all.

We missed out on the waterpark. It was kind of drizzling on and off and so we skipped it and did the aquarium instead. I feel like we had to rush in order to see it all. I wish we would have had two days. We also had bogo tickets. It is expensive, but no more then Disney, etc.

 

[nunzia]

I should clarify we did go in summer and we did pay full price. That probably clouded our views. The kids were 6 &4 when we went..should be prime age..the park was only open for a short day..even in summer it was like 10-6. We were there at opening and the first ride we tried to hit..the little dinosaur coaster..had a 45 minute wait...no joke..we waited though because the little one was happy to be big enough to ride. While watching this thing and waiting it struck us that they had ONE ride vehicle..and it held 16 people. Just amazingly inefficient IMO. I guess if we had been there when lines were short (another 45 minutes to ride what looked like a cool Buzz Lightyear rip off...inside it was lamer than our county fair rides..sorry!) it would have been much more tolerable. The displays didn't hold their interest like I thought they would...they were very cool and I did like looking at them. I stood in line another 20 minutes to get some apple fries..which were pretty darn good, but really..why did it take 20 minutes to serve the three people in front of me? I kept looking inside and it looked like there were no issues..just slowness..and the place ONLY served the apples so what gives? My DH did love the ice cream and it was cheaper than Disney. We weren't able to see any shows, since each line was so long and you figure you have 8 total hours, and average 30 minutes per line..well...there you go. I really think if we were local we'd like it..knowing when to go and just letting kids do what they wanted and come back often since the AP prices seemed reasonable, but as a tourist I felt ripped off for what we got for what we paid.

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

I should clarify we did go in summer and we did pay full price. That probably clouded our views. The kids were 6 &4 when we went..should be prime age..the park was only open for a short day..even in summer it was like 10-6. We were there at opening and the first ride we tried to hit..the little dinosaur coaster..had a 45 minute wait.

Wow....when we went, there was no one in line at the dinosaur coaster, so we got to ride multiple times without getting off. I remember the operator kept asking if we wanted to keep going (and of course the kids all screamed yes...) Waiting 45 minutes for that would have definitely changed things.

Hopefully the OP can go on an off-season weekday and get ahold of some BOGOs

 

[aussiegirls]

Thanks so much guys.

I think I might just play it by ear at this point. I won't buy any tickets or anything and when we are in Anaheim I will ask the kids if they feel like taking a day off Disney and go to Legoland. I am sure if we decide to go we will have no trouble getting a bus tour there.

I was just wondering, if we do go it will likely be Friday the 10th or Saturday the 11th of December. I was leaning towards the Saturday at first because I figured Disney would be packed, but then I realised that Legoland would probably be packed on a Saturday too. So that would leave the Friday, which hopefully may be a little less crowded.

Does anyone have any thoughts about which of these days we should do, if we decided to go to Legoland?

Thanks

xxx

 

[amamax2]

I would definitely do the Friday to have a less-crowded situation.

As others have said, low crowds and finding discount coupons are the keys to a successful Legoland trip. The rides do load slowly and often cannot accommodate a lot of people. The hours are always short.

You can have a lot of fun there! While I don't love it, we do have a good time when we go. But, we also always go on a weekday, off season, so do not experience anything like what some of the pp have experienced. That would be miserable.

I don't think I have any discount coupons, but will look. If you post a new thread asking for some, there are always someone who has some and more than willing to send them. And that way, you'll have them if you decide to go.

 

[Michaella]

I think it sounds like it would be perfect for you.. stacks of "not so big and scary" rides...

We loved Legoland and went on a Wednesday and Thursday three weeks ago.. it was wonderful.... I highly recommend it to everyone.

I would go tot Legoland on the Friday and plan the Saturday as your "show day" at Disneyland where you dont necessarily plan rides at DL.. but more hop from show to show!

 

[lffam]

We went with our 7yo DS and he loved it. We drove from San diego. Thought the parking fee was a bit rich, but we got the same at Seaworld so guess its normal to have to pay on top of park admission. We could only go on a day when the Water park was closed due to our schedule, but that didnt take away from the fun we had. My son had planned a few things that he wanted to do there and the first one was to get his Drivers License and drive the Lego cars. He drove them about 4 times in a row first thing as there was so few people there. That was the same in the whole park, We had come from Disneyland a few days earlier so it was quite a change. The mini legoworld was very well done, though some of he blocks had taken there toll from being outside with the finish flaking off them a little. There were some rides which my son & I went on which he enjoyed. He's not a real thrill seeker so it was good to have some rides he liked. The fire truck race is allot of fun and takes a bit of puff. My son lost his drivers license there when it unknowingly fell off his lanyard, which we discovered a couple of hours later, but we backtracked and they had it them for him.

By the end of the day the park had got a little bit busier but was still pretty bare in Disney terms. All in all we had fun, probably would go back but try and make it on a day that the water park was open too.

 

[pfeifferdcat]

My kids 8 & 5 love Legoland. We go once/year, usually on a Sat or Sun in June or July. It's never ben packed like DL is, but like some people say they lines move slooooowwww.

Also for other people thinking of going, beware that some rides have tall height requirements. Like some little plane ride (think like Dumbo only not as high) & my DS couldn't go on it a few years back because he wasn't tall enough, but he could ride Dumbo. Huh?

 

[ironpig70]

Got my son some legos as a stocking stuffer yesterday at Target. They where small bags and 1 had a "free" childs ticket with a paid adults admission. I wanna say the toy was $5 or so. So that might bbe something to look into.

 

[starshine514]

We went on a weekday in March 2009, and we didn't like it. It was crowded (yes, we waited 45+ minutes for the dinosaur coaster). My youngest was 2 and got to ride - 2 different rides that day. Yes, 32" is too short for almost everything at Legoland. My older daughter got to ride more, but lines were loooong and the park closed at 5. We did catch the dragon coaster around 3:30 in the afternoon; the line was relatively short and she rode it about 4 times (us adults switched off riding with her). And finally, we discovered a little airplane ride that the 2 year old could ride around 4:30, and we rode it repeatedly until they closed. The Lego displays were great, but I can't imagine ever going back there. We also didn't like the apple fries.

We have annual passes to Sea World, though - and I would highly recommend it!