When my brother Edmund mentioned taking his young daughter to visit
Legoland California, I thought it would be a great opportunity to visit the theme park, since it wasn't very high on my bucket list but I wanted to experience it for travel agent research purposes. After some discussion, a weekend trip was planned with Edmund's family, my brother Allen's family (on Sunday), and our parents.
It was last-minute so the airfare was pricey, but I redeemed Southwest points and used the companion pass for Kaleb's ticket. The cost of the flight in points correlated to the cash price, so it wasn't the best redemption, but hey, it was free (plus taxes).
For lodging, I used an anniversary night certificate from my
Marriott Rewards Premier credit card to stay at
TownePlace Suites San Diego Carlsbad/Vista on Friday night and redeemed Hilton points at the
Hampton Inn Carlsbad-North San Diego County on Saturday night.
There are many ways to purchase discounted Legoland California tickets. Costco sometimes has discounts for 2- or 3-day tickets. Buy-one-get-one-free promo codes for single-day tickets and other options can be found by searching on the internet, specifically at
slickdeals.net. I ended up finding a decent discount for 2-day Legoland California tickets through Kaleb's workplace, so we bought them there.
I rented a car from Avis. My initial strategy for finding the lowest rates is to check Costco Travel and
autoslash.com. Whichever reputable rental car company shows up as one of the lowest, I go to their website and plug in discount codes I've collected over the years from browsing Flyertalk.com (such as this
Avis thread) to make sure there isn't a better deal. I also book the rental using a credit card that provides primary collision coverage, such as the
Chase Sapphire Reserve or the (first year free)
Chase Sapphire Preferred. That way, I wouldn't have to deal with my auto insurance if the car got damaged; it came in handy when
a deer hopped in front of our rental vehicle last year.
Our flight to San Diego was non-eventful. We rode a shuttle to the rental car center. Signage was clear in pointing out where to go to pick up your car. I had
Avis Preferred Plus status, so we could go directly to the parking lot to select a car. (Anyone can sign up for Preferred for this perk; complimentary Plus status is offered by World Elite Mastercard. Got one? Call 1-855-802-1387 to upgrade.) We decided to try out a hybrid Ford Fusion. It was fun to watch the "efficiency leaves" growing on the dashboard display when driving well. Accelerate too fast or slam on the brakes and the leaves wither.
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| follow the sign |
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| efficiency leaves blooming |
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It took less than an hour to drive to
TownePlace Suites. Since we were arrived late at night, the only room left was adjacent to the check-in desk and dining room. The manager assured us that the evening shift would end soon and that it would be quieter during the night, which did happen. What he didn't mention was that in the morning, the waffle makers, when finished cooking, would beep constantly, the sharp tones drifting through the door into our room. We had to get up anyway so it was tolerable. (always bring a pair of earplugs, just in case)
Our room was a large studio, equipped with a kitchen. TownePlace Suites would a great choice for an extended stay.
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| large bathroom |
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| Paul Mitchell toiletries |
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In the morning, we enjoyed a complimentary buffet breakfast.
We checked out and met up with Edmund's family and our parents at their hotel,
Staybridge Suites, to carpool into Legoland.
It was already opening time (10am) and many cars lined up to enter the parking lot. We found that the rightmost lane was the fastest, at least for today.
Legoland was what I had envisioned, with many larger-than-life colorful Lego displays. We mostly spent time in the kiddie areas where Abby was tall enough for the rides. It was endearing to see so much happiness in her and other children while riding attractions that simply went up and down or round and round.
Going round and round on Cargo Ace (24-second video):
One of Abby's favorite rides (17-second video):
For lunch, we went to the
Ocean Journey Cafe inside the
Sea Life Aquarium, connected to Legoland. It was a comfortable air-conditioned self-service dining venue with various stations such as pasta, grill, sandwich, and salad. Not too many eating places in Legoland are air-conditioned, so this restaurant was like a hidden oasis. You don't need Sea Life admission to eat here; just let the entrance staff know you want to dine at the cafe and they will point you in the right direction. We did have tickets, but we weren't going to use them until Sunday. Perhaps this was why the cafe was not so busy as people may assume they need to enter the aquarium to eat there.
The food here wasn't bad, reasonably priced for a theme park, and freshly made, which is good, but bad if there are a lot of people in line waiting, as there was usually just one person making the orders. Kaleb and I ended up ordering too much as the portions were larger than expected. We probably could have gotten away with one entree and a separate side.
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| "gourmet" mac and cheese, and sliders with fries |
After lunch, we spent time at the
Legoland Water Park. No pictures here since we put all our valuables in a locker near the entrance. The large lockers were sold out so we had to purchase two small ones; I would recommend coming here early in the day to secure a large one. The changing area was a zoo. The dressing rooms surrounded the rows of lockers and there wasn't much space to form lines to wait. I read about a different locker area near the wave pool being less crazy; next time I would going there instead.
We rode the lazy river (the inner tubes looked nothing like on the website and there were no Lego pieces available to play with) and stayed around the kiddie areas. The water was heated but not super warm. Once the sun started to set behind trees and buildings, it got cold pretty fast, signaling our departure from the park. We went back to our respective hotels to clean up and change for dinner. Kaleb and I checked into the
Hampton Inn, our home for the night. I somehow don't have any pictures other than an independent room service menu, but it was a typical clean and comfortable room. No waffle maker beeps this time!
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| how was the speed limit determined? |
For dinner, I made reservations at
King's Fish House, which had okay reviews on
Yelp, but convenient for our large party. The food was all right, typical of a chain restaurant.
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| warm sourdough bread |
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| fried calamari, ok |
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| roasted beet salad |
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| salmon |
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| ono |
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Sunday morning, we partook of the Hampton Inn's complimentary breakfast buffet.
Kaleb and I checked out of the hotel and carpooled again to Legoland. Allen's family had already arrived at the theme park, using the extra time to enjoy attractions targeted to older children. We eventually met up with them at the Lost Kingdom Adventure laser gun ride, and proceeded to explore the rest of the theme park together.
We entered the
Sea Life Aquarium and had lunch again at the Ocean Journey Cafe before exploring the watery attractions. This time, I ordered a kid's cheese quesadilla meal, which was enough for me.
The aquarium was small, holding the kids' interest for an hour. Afterwards, we went back to the theme park until it was about time for Kaleb and I to head to the airport.
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| Abby spotted a caterpillar, which Brandon picked up |
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| Alison driving around |
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Our return flight home was uneventful, and that concluded our visit to Legoland California. It was what I expected it to be, great for kids and the lines weren't too long compared to Disneyland. Kaleb and I didn't have time to try the more thrilling attractions, but that can wait for another visit when the nieces and nephews get older. I would definitely recommend Legoland California for families with young children. On-site hotels are available for extra convenience.
What's next? Kaleb and I (and a hundred thousand others) head to Madras, Oregon for the
Great American Solar Eclipse - stay tuned!
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Another disclaimer: The intention of this blog was to remind Future Me in full detail about where I went and what I did. I could have made it private, but I frequently get questions from family, friends and internet folks about how I planned things, got deals, etc., so instead of repeating the story over and over, I direct them here. If you are offended by anything I say or do, save yourself the discomfort and kindly click away from my blog. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!
