GET DISCOUNT TIX FOR LEGOLAND HERE!

If you have a child or grandchild under the age of 12 and you’re anywhere near San Diego or Carlsbad or even Orange County just know you’re going to have to go to Legoland. My childhood had no Legos - we had trees and bikes and dull stuff like that. Today’s kids have seemingly unlimited amount of Legos, a never ending supply of them, and a full theme park that’s a bit like winning a golden ticket to the Wonka Chocolate Factory.

But before I go too far here’s a handy link to get Legoland tickets and to see the specials. You’re going to want to pay attention here as Legoland can get pretty pricey so check the link and see if there are any deals. And yes, I theoretically get paid if you buy tickets through me (though it’s not happened yet!) so support my website if you can.

I took my 5 year old grandson to Legoland and I think he would live there if they let him. Legoland is filled with rides including three decent roller coasters (not too scary but pretty good for adults), a bunch of kid friendly rides like a submarine or miniature cars that kids can drive by themselves, an aquarium, and plenty of places to build Legos.

Ninjago is the big ride, an immersive experience where your car is taken through a ride filled with interactive giant screens of Ninjas that you get to “fight” by waving your hands in front of the car. I took my grandson to this last year and it was so intense that I doubt he will ever go on it again.

And that leads me to GRANDPA TAKEAWAY #1: No matter how much fun you think your grandchild will have on the rides there is no way they will like it better than going to one of the zones where you build Legos or going to one of the giant play areas with slides were they can run around. Here’s how my day went:

Grandpa: Let’s go on this cool ride!

Grandson: No thanks, I’m building a boat made of Legos to send down the river.

Grandpa: Look, you can shoot snakes and villains on this ride that looks like Indiana Jones!

Grandson: No thanks, I’m busy digging in sand looking for dinosaur bones.

Basically, this is their day and if you thought you were going to be going on all the cool rides it’s not going to happen unless they want to do it, and chances are they are just as happy building a race car as you might be riding the big coaster.

When it came time for food there weren’t a ton of options - decent but pricey BBQ, overpriced hot dogs and burgers, pizza and pasta, and ramen that might make adults happy but guaranteed to be ignored my my grand kids (even if they begged for it, I know how this works!). This leads us to GRANDPA TAKEAWAY #2: So Legoland is not like Disneyland where there are plentiful food options so I suggest you bring in your own snacks and some Jersey Mikes. Here is their official policy:

Food or beverages (water, small snacks and items required for medical, religious or specific dietary purposes are permitted) Coolers larger than 6-pack size (coolers no larger than 12” x 10” are permitted) Coolers of any size with wheels. No glass containers (baby food containers are permitted)

I know, that doesn’t seem to be complete sentences but basically just put your food into a tote bag.

In the end a trip to Legoland is a dream come true for the small ones. It’s not going to be like Disneyland but if you have fun watching your little one or grandchild has the time of their lives then is there really a better way to spend the day?