Today is the day the kids have been talking about for the last three months. Each morning, when Colin wakes up, the question is the same: "Is today the day we go to Legoland?"
It is a very warm and sunny day today, and we are a little too hot in our long sleeves, but we are happy to finally be here. There was a lot of excitement as we drove the 30+ minutes it took to cover the last half mile to the entrance. At least there were a lot of Lego figures to look at. The parking was convenient, a shortish walk to the entrance, and then long lines to purchase the tickets. We split up, Dean in one line and I in another, with two coupons that will get a kid in free with a paying adult. As I wait, a lady walks by, offering an extra coupon she had on hand from her PTO. That was amazing - it saved us $80 bucks, right there. The ticket prices are staggering!
We first check out the area that has Lego reproductions of NYC, Las Vegas, New Orleans and so forth... Just amazing!
We were most impressed with the Star Wars section, that included many different scenes from all six movies. The scenes from Endor were there best.
Then it was time for some rides. Colin was ready to ride his first roller coaster! Owen freaked out in line and refused to ride, so Dean left the line with him and walked around while Jordan, Rylan, Colin and I went on the ride. Colin LOVED it!
This was more Owen's speed...
Then it was time for lunch. A long wait in line, followed by a staggering checkout price of $92 - and the food was only so-so... :( At least the kids had a great time while waiting in line.
We rode a couple more rides after lunch (long, long lines...), and then the kids met Wyld Style outside the Lego Movie building that houses one of the sets used in the movie. Best part of the day!
It started to get chilly as the sun went down, so we hunkered down in an indoors building area, while Dean went back to the van to get jackets. Jordan spent the time building a giant chicken army.
We ended the day with a nighttime boat ride and dragon roller coaster that everyone rode. Owen didn't like it, at all. At the very end, we finally made the trek into the giant store at the entrance to purchase Lego sets. The kids all received Christmas money in anticipation of visiting Legoland - with the intent of purchasing Legos there. It was craziness in that store. I had put them off on buying stuff all day so that we wouldn't have to carry it around, and I think everybody else had the same idea.
So some thoughts about Legoland... expensive. Too expensive for the limited amount of stuff to do, and for the quality of food. The nighttime lighting is horrible. It is so dark - it is too easy to lose a child. We didn't, luckily, but I found it difficult to let my guard down and enjoy myself. It is also geared towards younger kids. Jordan did have fun, but it was a little bit boring for him after the first hour, and I can see why.
After we left, it was a very long drive to our hotel in Downey, near downtown L.A. My SIL booked an Embassy Suites for all of us, and it was a fabulous hotel! It was the kind of layout where the floors circle around the main floor, where the breakfast area is, so you can see all of the rooms on each floor. Several of the room doors in the hotel have tape across them. We learned that there is a highschool marching band from Texas staying in the hotel too. The kids are four to a room, and after a certain hour, they are taped into their room. A security guard and several parent volunteers patrol the floors, and check the tape seals on the hour, all through the night. That is actually a pretty good system! Never heard a peep out of the kids. We made it to our room and collapsed. The kids wanted so badly to open their Legos, but we made them wait until the next morning. Tomorrow it is supposed to be overcast and rainy, so we will be sightseeing in Hollywood.
