It’s hard to walk into any room in our house without finding a rogue LEGO somewhere on the floor. Our kids love LEGOS. Of all the toys they could be playing with, I certainly don’t mind them wanting LEGOS. I loved building all sorts of creations when I was young too.
With a love for LEGOS also comes a need for visiting the crown jewel, LEGOLAND.
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If you are in southern California and looking for something fun to do, look no further than LEGOLAND California. Located just 35 minutes north of San Diego, this theme park is every LEGO lovers dream.
We visited the park at the beginning of October and we really could not have chosen a better day. It was warm without being scorching and it was not crowded at all. Nearly every ride was a wait of less than five minutes.
I highly recommend downloading the LEGOLAND app prior to your visit. On the app there is a daily schedule feature where you can add all of the activities, shows and food that you want to make sure to visit. We used this to make sure that we fit in all of the activities that we wanted to do before we left for the day.
The app was also helpful with walking directions and letting us know what rides and restaurants were closed during our visit. The ride wait times are also available.
When you start planning your day through the app, it will ask for the height and age of the children in your party. It will then alert you which rides and experiences may not be available to those that are too small or young. This was especially helpful because we made sure to save the rides that our youngest wouldn’t be able to ride until she was taking a nap.
Click here for a downloadable map of Legoland California.
The park is split into multiple sections. Keep reading for what to find in each section and some tips and tricks to help you along the way!
As soon as you enter the park, you’ll find yourself in The Beginning (which is also the exit). This is where you will find The BIG Shop and Minifigure Market. The photo shop, first aid center, guest relations, reserve & ride and rentals are also located in this area.
We were really excited to make our own figures at Minifigure Market but it ended up being a bust. There weren’t nearly as many options as we expected and they were very specific about what could go into the package. Once you created your minifigure, you could only choose one additional hair piece or cape for each person.
When we purchased our tickets online, we also purchased a refillable cup. This cup can be refilled at any of the Coca Cola Freestyle locations throughout the park all day for no additional cost. We definitely felt as though the refillable cup was worth the cost. The machines have many options besides soda such as juices, teas and lemonades.
The Market, located right at the front of the park is where you will pick up your refillable cup if you have purchased one in advance.
As you head to the right, first up in NINJAGO WORLD. Here you will find a few rides such as Kai’s Spinners, Cole’s Rock Climb, Jay’s Lightening Drill, LEGO NINJAGO The Ride and Zane’s Temple Build.
LEGO NINJAGO The Ride was our first for the day and was a fun & exciting way to start the day. It’s also a good plan to make your way here first as this is one of the rides that tends to have a long wait time.
Don’t forget, LEGOLAND allows for Rider Swap! Don’t waste your time waiting in line twice for each parent to ride. The ride attendants will allow the first adult to ride while the other waits back with the little ones too small to ride. Once the first parent has had a go, the other gets to get on next!
For shopping they have Wu’s Warehouse for all the NINJAGO lovers and the dining option is Ninja Kitchen with offerings such as bao buns and banh mi sandwiches.
After NINJAGO WORLD is Imagination Zone. Here you will find Build & Test, LEGO Technic Coaster, BIONICLE Blaster, AQUAZONE Wave Racers, GameSpace, LEGO MINDSTORMS, LEGO Rebuild the World: Planet LEGOLAND, THE LEGO MOVIE 2 EXPERIENCE, and the LEGO Show Place 4D.
We spent a considerable about of time at LEGO Rebuild the World. They have LEGO bins throughout the building that allow kids to make their own creation. Once complete, they can add it to the huge LEGO globe in the middle of the room. This is a great place to let kids unwind for a little bit.
For food you’ll find Pizza & Pasta Buffet (which was still closed during our visit due to COVID) and Pizza Mania (individual sized pizzas and family meals too).
In the far east corner of the park is LAND OF ADVENTURE. Here you will find Dune Raiders, Beetle Bounce, Lost Kingdom Adventure, Pharaoh’s Revenge and Cargo Ace.
This is a great area for younger kids because our youngest was able to ride all the rides in this area.
If you have any Pokémon fans, there were a few fair games (at an additional cost) in this area and the prizes were large Pokémon stuffed animals.
Up next is MINILAND USA which is home to Coast Cruise, Coast Guard Build-A-Boat, the Model Shop, Block of Fame and various cities built out of millions (literally!) of LEGOS. This was a cool area to explore and some of the LEGO models are interactive too!
It was really neat getting to see some of the LEGO creators building models to be used throughout the park and hotels at the Model Shop.
After Miniland, you will find Castle Hill. This area is home to Builders’ Guild, The Hideaways, The Royal Joust, and The Dragon. For food you will find the Churro Stand, Granny’s Apple Fries, Knights’ Smokehouse BBQ, Castle Ice Cream and Castle Burgers.
King’s Market is also located in this area for all your knights & dragon shopping needs.
The Package Pick-Up Service is a great service to take advantage of if you happen to purchase something in the park that is bulky to carry or is valuable. Simply make your purchase at any of the gift shops throughout the park and then use the Package Pick-Up Service to have your items stored at the front of the park until you exit!
Of course we had to try out Granny’s Apple Fries in the Castle Hill area of the park. Granny Smith apples are cut, battered and fried. They are tossed in a cinnamon sugar mixture and served with whipped cream for dipping. This little snack was so good!
This area is home to LEGO City: Deep Sea Adventure ride as well as the Dive Shop.
We didn’t spend any time in this area because the ride was closed during our visit!
For rides, you have Captain Cranky’s Challenge, Swabbies Deck, Pirate Reef, and Splash Battle in this section of the park. Because of the possibility of getting wet on some of these rides, there are also locker rentals here.
Make sure to pack an extra set of dry clothes. The last thing that you want to be doing is walking around in soaking wet clothes after some of these fun rides!
You can also fuel up for the day here with the Beer Garden and Coffee Shop.
Fun Town is home to a large number of rides and attractions including DUPLO Playtown, Kid Power Tower, LEGOLAND Express, Sky Patrol, Junior Driving School, Driving School, Fun Town Police and Fire Academy, LEGO Life, LEGO Factory Tour, Adventurers Club, and Skipper School.
For food you will find Burger Stop, Fun Town’s Urban Kitchen and Fun Town Treats. Shopping includes Brick Brothers Trading Company and Driver License.
Keep in mind, you are also able to bring your own water into the park! Make sure to pack water bottles to save a little money. Fun town is a great place to take a rest and get hydrated. There are multiple benches and areas to sit in this area of the park for a little rest.
We had a burger and fries from the Burger Stop and it was a good fuel stop to get us through the rest of the day.
Next you will run into THE LEGO MOVIE WORLD. This section was our kids favorite part. The whole area is centered around Benny’s Playship and water fountains for kids to splash around in. As you enter into this area, you really do feel like you are walking into the LEGO MOVIE WORLD.
Here, you’ll also find Emmet’s Flying Adventure, Unikitty’s Disco Drop, Queen Watevra’s Carousel, Build Watevra You Wa’na Build and Emmet’s Super Suite.
Benny’s Playship was the perfect place to let our daughter run around and play while our son went on the rides in the area (since she wasn’t quite tall enough).
The wait was less than 10 minutes to have our picture taken with Emmet and Wyldstyle at Emmet’s Super Suite.
The Awesome Shop is located in this area.
For dining there is Cloud Cuckoo Crepes, Benny’s Rocket Fuel and Everything is Ramen.
We ate lunch at Everything is Ramen in The Lego Movie World. We had the pork belly ramen and the chicken rice bowl. The ramen was good but you must like sesame and sesame oil – it’s strong.
The chicken and rice bowl was also pretty good (and healthier compared to many of the other options throughout the park) but the sauce is very spicy. It is not listed as spicy on the menu and we ordered it for our kids to share. It worked out in the end, we ate the bites with the sauce and they ate the rest.
The last section, before returning to The Beginning, is Explorer Island. Here you will find Coastersaurus, Dig Those Dinos, Safari Trek and Fairy Tale Brook.
Coastersaurus is another ride that is known to have a long wait time so head here at the very beginning of the day or the end of the day (like we did). We were able to walk right on multiple times!
The Water Park located at Legoland California is a separately ticketed park. We didn’t visit this park because it was closed when we were visiting. The Water Park is typically open for the season from March to November.
It costs an additional $30 per person to visit the waterpark and this add-on must be purchased at the same time that you purchase your regular park tickets.
If you are planning on seeing the waterpark and LEGOLAND on your trip, I highly recommend visiting for at least two days.
This aquarium is also a separately ticketed part of the park. It costs about $10 more per person to visit this section. We didn’t visit this area of the park either because we wanted to maximize our time doing the other ride and activities at LEGOLAND.
If you are looking to visit during the holidays, the park also has special events for Halloween, Christmas and New Year’s Eve!
Although we did not attend the Brick-or-Treat event (we visited the park on a week day and this event is held on the weekends), the park was decorated for Halloween and it made it that much more fun to see also the spooky additions to the park.
The hours at the park vary throughout the year but they are typically open from 10am-5pm.
Although they are typically open seven days a week, they do periodically close on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from September to February.
Because the park was not busy at all when we visited, we were able to see most everything that we wanted. If visiting during a popular time, I would suggest spending two days at the park to be able to see it all!
1 Legoland Drive
Carlsbad, California 92008
(888) 690-5346
Legoland Castle Hotel and Legoland Hotel are both located right outside the entrance of the park.
To read about our stay, check out my post Our Stay at Legoland Castle Hotel in California.
I highly recommend purchasing your tickets ahead of time to avoid long waits at the park.
For the most up to date hours, closure dates and ticket pricing at Legoland, California, click here.
Comment below and let me know what tips helped you plan your trip to LEGOLAND California!
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