Our First Trip to Legoland

Yesterday we surprised the kids and took them to Legoland.  They are kind of into Legos (Eric and I were as kids!) and we had heard from a number of people that our kids are at the perfect age to enjoy the amusement park (plus we had buy-one-get-one-free coupons).

Maps are always a big hit with our kids.  We knew very little about Legoland, so it was up to us and the maps to figure out how to spend the day. 

There were so many fun and interactive things to do around the park.  They are all really geared for kids (a number of the rides are only for kids), but adults can have fun too!

One thing we learned quickly about Legoland is that the lines are SUPER slow.  We are talking nearly torture because you might stand in the same spot for 5-10 minutes and then move forward a foot or two.  The one good thing about the lines is that many of them have a central Lego play area where the kids can play while the adults wait in line.  As Eric and I waited in line for the Sky Cruiser (which looked like a "short" line but took an hour), the kids played with Legos and used some ramps to launch their creations.

 Some lessons were learned about balance.

 Almost on the ride!

 Yay!

 Carter and I pedaled together.

 Eric and Ashlynn rode together

After lunch, the kids went on the Driving School rides.  Carter went on the Junior Driving School (ages 3-5) ride.  He did a pretty good job, although there were a few crashes, and had a fun time

 Looking at cars with dad... sounds about right.

 Ashlynn went on the bigger kid Driving School ride (ages 6-13).  The lead up to this ride was like many other rides during the day.  She got herself all worked up in line about some scary aspect of the ride (usually something about it being too fast or making her sick), nearly didn't go on the ride, had a great time, and came off the ride declaring, "You were right, mom!  That was so fun!"

 Next we went on the family friendly Fun Town Police and Fire Academy.  We worked as a family to power our fire engine to the "fire", the kids used hoses to put out the fire, and then we got back on the fire engine and had to power ourselves back to the starting place.  There were lots of giggles.

 It was a bit of a workout!

If I haven't said it before, Carter is a pretty silly and entertaining kid.  Here are some of his dance poses while we waited in line for another ride.

 After another long wait with a Lego building area, we got onto the Skipper School ride.

 Yep, Ashlynn crashed us into Carter and Eric's boat.  Tons of giggles on this ride!

 We then took some time to check out one of the coolest features of Legoland: Miniland USA, where they have models of many of the major American cities and have a collection of Star Wars scenes and characters. 

 New Orleans:

 Las Vegas:

 

 New York City:

 Los Angeles:

 San Francisco:

Washington D.C.:

The Star Wars area (Eric was pretty impressed):

 Despite the fact that we had been at Legoland for many hours, the kids spent a whole bunch of time climbing, sliding and running around The Hideaways play area.

We ended our day with a few (mostly little) rides.

First we went on The Dragon roller coaster (no photos).  Then we went on:
Dune Raiders (aka a super slide):

 Cargo Ace:

 Fairy Tale Brook:

 Just before leaving, we spent a little more time at the Water Works.

 Ashlynn did a good job of protecting her cast.

 Ashlynn met Harry in a gift shop where the kids got... magnets.

 We drove home along the coast and got to watch the sun set.

Bonus question: Guess what the kids are playing with right now. 

It was a great family day!