The kids were really excited. My parents were just behind us, having stopped at Denny's for breakfast. They had paid for our admission,and the kids got in free (thanks to a Burger King promotion - the coupons were on the inside of the paper crowns they give out).
We walked into the park and enjoyed a little dinosaur fountain. Matt told Nolan, "Look, Nolan.EVERYTHING here is made out of Legos. EVERYTHING! Even the water park!" Nolan looked at Matt and said, "But wouldn't that hurt your feet?"
We didn't have long before the kids would need to eat lunch, so we headed over to the Duplo playground. The kids both loved the houses, slides, mock jail, and Duplos in bins. Matt, especially, is a Lego nut. He spent most of the time on the playground building, and Nolan ran around and played.
The boys wanted to ride the sky cruiser after this (a pedal-car on an aerial track), but the line was over two hours long. Instead, we settled for the Kid Power Tower, a ride where you pull yourself up and the chair (slowly) falls back down to the ground. Nolan and Dennis rode first. I rode with Matt after they were through - the wait for this ride was 45 minutes, as they only had one tower operating out of three. The boys loved the ride, though, so the wait was worth it.
We went to get lunch after playing on the playground. My parents found us while we were waiting in line - thank goodness I was wearing a polka-dot shirt! Nolan loved sneaking up on Grandma and pretending to scare her.
After lunch, the boys wanted to head to get their driver's licenses. Lego Land has two driving courses for children - a "Jr." course for those who are 3-5 years old, and a regular driver course for those in the 6-12 age range. There is no track, and the kids really like driving the cars independently.
After riding the cars, the kids wanted to ride the helicopters. These ride vehicles went up high into the air and the kids could turn the helicopter in circles or make them go up and down. Both kids really enjoyed this ride - Grandma rode with Nolan and Dennis rode with Matt.
After the helicopter ride, the kids saw a fire truck ride they wanted to do. This one was really cool, and you had to work together to make the fire truck (or police car) move forward. There are four cars on each side of the ride, and everyone races to see who can put out the fire (or catch the bank robbers) first. My mom and I rode with the boys - Matt and Grandma worked the pumper to move the fire truck, I pushed the joystick forward, and Nolan pretended to drive.
The kids were loving Lego Land. This park is really designed for those under 12, however, and is NOT Disneyland. This is just a reminder (or a heads-up) for those who are used to Disney quality. The mini-land area is faded and needs a renovation. Some of the rides at Lego Land do accommodate the entire family, but many of the rides are truly meant for little ones only - so the adults will be sitting on the sidelines. This isn't necessarily a bad thing (particularly for the kids, who LOVE the rides and playgrounds), but adults will pay a hefty entrance fee (around $70 each) and will be sitting on the sidelines for a decent period of time.
We headed to the motor boats next. Matt was tall enough (48") to ride by himself, so Dennis waited in line with us, then exited to take pictures. I rode with Nolan, who was intent on racing the child behind us. It was a lot of fun for the kids, and they really loved the ride.
It was decently hot, so we headed over to the Pirate Shores area of the park. We took off Nolan's hearing aids and glasses, dressed both boys in their bathing suits, and let them go nuts on the water playground. This is when we realized we had no towels, so Grandma went to buy two Lego Land towels.
Once dry, we took a look at Mini Land, the area of the park with replicas of several famous cities. Nolan liked the hills of San Francisco, and both boys loved the Star Wars mini-land area.
Following Mini Land, we walked past the Hideaways play area. This is a massive, castle themed playground with a giant slide. The kids were in love. The adults, of course, sat out and waited while they ran around inside the play structure.
The boys really wanted to do the roller coaster next, and we could all (thankfully) ride the Dragon coaster. Nolan made the height requirement,and the coaster was perfect for the younger age-set. Not too wild, and really fun. I didn't get any pictures of the coaster, but I did get a picture of an excited Matt as we waited inside the castle.
The boys rode the jousting horses next, and Matt really enjoyed the horses. Nolan wasn't quite as impressed - he is really a fan of the thrill rides and the horses were fairly slow. Most kids would love these, however (we found out later in the vacation that Nolan likes rather extreme thrill rides - not sure where the child got his DNA from)!
The day was winding down, and we decided to check out the Egyptian themed area of the park. There was another neat playground here (with foam balls that could be shot out of cannons), and several kiddie rides. There was also a nice family ride in this area, with jeeps and laser guns that could be shot at targets for points.
One clever thing at Lego Land is the use of play centers in the queues. As the line wraps around the waiting area, a Lego play station will be stationed in the center of the lines. This allows kids to play while the adults wait in line - the kids enter the gate on one side and you just pick them up once you are on the other side of the square play area.
We headed toward the park exit, and my mom and I took the kids on the Bionicle Blasters (spinning "teacup" style of ride). Dennis gets sick from spinning rides, so he sat this one out!
It was getting close to dinner time, so we walked toward the park exit and let the boys play in the build-and-race area of the park. Each child signs in and receives a set of four wheels, then builds and races different car designs on a track.
The boys loved it,and had such a fantastic time. We left the park, getting a few snaps of our family at the exit. I was glad to get a picture of the boys with their grandparents.
We went to Islands Grill for dinner (outside the park) and headed to our hotel. The boys were fast asleep when we got to the hotel room, so we just put them into the bed and we all settled in for the night. The Residence Inn was wonderful - quiet and very homey. We were all excited for Sea World the next day!
1 comment:
I think my boys are a bit too old for it, but it sure looks fabulous for your kids (that age)! I love the idea of having play areas while you wait in line - brilliant!
Julie
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