LEGOLAND California — Attraction in Carlsbad

PRO TIPS FROM ONE PARENT TO ANOTHER:

CASTLE HOTEL: Save 15% by selecting "season pass holder" when booking (no verification required). Drive up to valet and unload your bags regardless of whether you're parking in valet. They'll hold the bags at any time, even if you're checking in later that night. Check-in starts at 4 PM, but expect a short wait for your key on weekends. Some Gen Z staff member will inform you that at 4, you can start the check-in process, but they'll text you when the key is actually ready. Get free lanyards and "pops" for kids at the front desk, even if you're not checked in. Enjoy two playgrounds and the pool (no key needed) with life vests for all ages. You don't have to be a hotel guest to access these amenities, and unlimited towels are available. The hot tub requires a hotel key. Take advantage of the complimentary breakfast buffet with unlimited drinks, automatically included with every hotel reservation. Make early dinner reservations, especially after the park closes at 6 PM. While reservations may sound formal, every guest must have one. When you first enter the elevator to take bags to your room, stop by the restaurant entrance and give them your room number and preferred dining time (e.g., 6:15). This will help you avoid the post-park closing rush. After securing your table, one parent can take the belongings upstairs. Outdoor seating is available, offering a view of a comedy skit or theatrical show, and kids can play on the playground while waiting for food. -A $100 hold will be placed on debit or credit cards at check-in, even if your reservation is paid in full. Use your room number to unlock the safe in your hotel room for Lego prizes if you don't want to do the scavenger hunt version.

PARKING: Let the attendant know you're a hotel guest for free parking (valet not required). When you arrive at Legoland, inform the attendant that you're a hotel guest checking in later to waive the general parking cost.

THEME PARK: Ask for the online ticket price ($99) at guest services to save $20-25 if buying tickets that day. If you decide to visit again the next day, simply pay the difference between a one-day and two-day pass at the ticket booth. So if two day pass is $130 that second day you decided to do last minute, your walking up and only paying $30, just show your ticket from the day before. Find chicken nuggets, fries, salad bar, pizza, and shaded seating in the park's center for a family-friendly meal break. Chicken nuggets aren’t everywhere they are at one spot. In the dead center. So that hamburger and fries line is 9 different hamburger and fries, not hamburger, nuggets, etc. nuggets are next to the entrance of the water park, on the left side. Trade minifigures with employees or get one free at indoor build stations. Ride reservations mainly benefit new dinosaur rides; most lines are manageable. Buy a $2 tote in any size for wet clothes, towels, or extra items. Play the milk carton knockdown game next to the water shooter race game for an easy jumbo Pokémon plush win ($20 for 8 balls, one prize per play). My 4-year-old has never lost, and he's not especially athletic. Every win is the jumbo prize. The staff running it will tell you that you can only win one prize per person because it's that easy. My kids look forward to that game every trip, and we're always shocked it's still there. They get the jumbo Pikachu, Charizard, or Squirtle prize, which are also offered at the hardest games in the park that most families pass by, not realizing the super jumbo Pokémon plush are the easiest to win. Avoid upsell attempts at other games with...

It’s a really fun place to be, but I have to start with the fact I can’t stop comparing it to Disneyland. So, let’s set that aside for a moment: there are lots of rides, amazing LEGO models, lots of places for kids to play, and it’s a fun place.

Now, I have to compare. We were planning a family trip and the kids insisted we go to San Diego because of Legoland. That was the main draw. We also just went to Disneyland this year. We’ve never been to either before this year and not sure we’ll be able to afford them in the near future as well, but it all worked out that way.

Rides: Disneyland California has WAY more rides, more recognizable themes, better variety, more efficient operations, and better experiences. The first thing I noticed the most was that when we got in line for a ride at Legoland, it would look kind of small, and then it would take almost an hour. This happened to us twice at Emmet’s Flying Adventure Ride and the Coastersaurus. Next was that there was hardly any shade. One really neat thing at Legoland was the build station at Emmet’s the kids could do while waiting in line.

Food: We brought in snacks, but we tried the Apple fries and they were pretty good. Nothing else in Legoland looked good besides the churros whereas in Disneyland it was no stop amazing options.

Things to do: hard to say which is better, but I think I’d give Legoland the edge because there are so many places to stop and build things. My boys love legos. If they didn’t enjoy just building things for hours, it wouldn’t have been as enjoyable. There are also at least three large play structures that are quite incredible. Trading mini figures were defiantly the highlight of the whole day, though.

Aesthetics/Design: the themed parts of the park were neat, and the Lego models - especially of the cities - were amazing. I would say Disneyland is still better, but not by much. They are more different than better or worse than one another.

Value: You can find more deals to Legoland - such as kids go free in October, but it’s still about $80 per person with that. It’s similar in pricing to Disneyland. It’s pretty easy to get to Legoland, it’s less crowded, and we parked at Costco and walked, which was great.

Another aspect worth mentioning is that employees at Disneyland are better trained, friendlier, and better at their jobs, but Legoland’s employees were pretty good too.

Overall, if I were to do this again, I’d start with Legoland then do Disneyland. That would be the perfect ramp up as the coasters are simple and build confidence in young kids to take slight risks. Then Disneyland can be appreciated more.

Oh we also went to the Sealife aquarium, and it was fine. I wouldn’t pay extra for it at all, but it came with the tickets that let skids go free, so we went.

They are different parks, but both have too many similarities not to compare: rides, themes, for kids, in California, and...

We visited Legoland California for the first time in August 2025. It was awesome! There are a lot of rides and shows to do. My son was 6 which was a great age because he could do the “kiddy” rides but also the coasters. His favourite was Technic! We got there early for rope drop and did The Dragon Coaster, Technic and Ninjago first thing. By the time we got to Ninjago it was already a 50 min wait and the ride wasn’t worth it but if it’s your first time I would definitely do it. That ride is one of those ones where you sit and get moved around to different screens and you have to shoot at targets. BUT your arm is the weapon! Which I thought was cool at first…but the sequences are LONG and our arms got really tired, and it wasn’t very accurate. But my son really enjoyed it so I guess that’s all that matters. Bring swimming gear and a change of clothes for your little ones. My son loved playing in the sand pit and then cooling off in the splash pad. Shout out to Caleb at Coastersaurus who made the ride extra fun with his high energy. We also really enjoyed the Ferrari Build and Race. Don’t miss Emmet’s Flying Adventure it was awesome! If you don’t have ride and reserve (which we didn’t) I would skip Unikitty because we waited 40 min even though the wait time said 30 minutes because they kept taking so many people in the reserve and ride lane (not sure what it’s called) AND there were 3 young guys working there who were extremely slow and just not efficient. One guy had hair covering his eye so not sure how he can even see what he was doing. lol. So all in all, it was amazing and we had a great time and everyone was really nice.

At first we were asking for pop badges but then we gave up an hour in because most of the ‘global citizens’ didn’t have them but we did get 2 from guest services and we put them on my son’s shirt and I felt like they just ruin the shirt. So we took them off and didn’t bother with them. I think a lanyard is definitely the way to go with those things.

A few disappointing things were this; they had a Lego World Parade this summer and we missed it by 2 days which was unfortunate and there wasn’t a replacement parade. We also really wanted to see the Ninjago characters so according to the app they had them coming out at 4pm so we put on a timer, made sure not to ride anything too long before that time, and got there early so we would see them but unfortunately they didn’t show up :( That was a big disappointment. My son was ready with his new swords that he bought to meet them but it didn’t happen. Worst part is we asked several staff members about it and no one had any idea where they would be or why they didn’t come.

Sidenote: Legoland app is a must.

All in all, we had a blast. Thank you...