FULL LEGOLAND GUIDE: Make the most of LEGOLAND with little kids. Here's my perspective as a first timer to the parks

Can you believe I live in San Diego, CA and have only been to LEGOLAND once when it opened back in 1999!? It was majorly time to change that, and with my kids at a perfect age to enjoy the parks, I was excited to take them.

If you've never been to LEGOLAND before, it can feel a bit overwhelming to try to figure out the best way to do the park so you can make the most of your day, maximize the experiences and rides, grab all the best food, and see everything the park has to offer. I did a bunch of research before we took the kids, and have some tips and tricks to share with you from the perspective of a first timer at LEGOLAND.

Looking for discounted tickets? Check out all the current deals for LEGOLAND here.

In this blog post, I'll cover:

Want to see a video recap of our day at the parks? Check it out here.

Ok, let's get started! Here's everything I wish I knew before going to LEGOLAND for the first time and all of my tips and tricks for doing the park as a family of 6.

Is LEGOLAND worth the trip?

In short, YES! But the amount that you get out of the parks also depends on your kids' ages, and how many adults you have in your party. More on that in the section where we talk about ages. But if you are down here visiting San Diego, I would highly recommend adding a trip to LEGOLAND to your itinerary.

If your kids are into LEGO at all, it really is a memorable place to take them. LEGOLAND is such a cool experience because of all of the detail they put into things that are build with LEGO, the different lands they built, the rides they have (I was impressed with how interactive a lot of the rides were), and just the ease of doing the park. It feels pretty relaxed, even when it's crowded and there's lots of space to spread out in the park. 

The best way to do the parks

Before we went, I did lots of research about how to do the parks the best, what rides to do first, what fills up fastest, etc. If you go in the fall, winter, or spring, chances are you won't hit too many crowds (unless it's a holiday or spring break). The park is pretty mellow during that time and you don't really need to worry about crowds or long lines.

If you come in the summer, the top recommendation I got was to do the parks counter-clockwise. Most people rush to the left and do DIno Valley and the LEGO Movie World first, and those places get crowded. I recommend going to the right and doing some other rides first that won't have any line early on, and save the left side of the park for a few hours after opening when the morning rush and crowded lines settle down a bit. 

Some of the rides I recommend doing first (that will end up having lines later in the day) are: Ninjago The Ride, the Technic Coaster, The Dragon Coaster, The Royal Joust, and Lego City Deep Sea Adventure. This is the order we did them in. We focused on some of the big kid rides since they fill faster, and took our 2 yr old on other rides or playgrounds in the area for the rides he wasn't tall enough for. Doing all of these rides first only took us about an hour and a half on a summer day in July, so I highly recommend coming at opening on crowded days to make the most of your time. Check for crowd estimates on this website.

After this, we went back to the Land of Adventure and did some of the other rides there (and the kids wanted to go on the Technic Coaster again). How we ended up doing the parks was a little bit bouncing back and forth, but it isn't too far of a walk. If you don't want to go back and forth in the park, I'd recommend continuing around counterclockwise, and you'll hit the rest of the park. 

What is the best age for LEGOLAND? 

I think the golden age for LEGOLAND is from ages 2-11(ish). After that, the rides may seem a little juvenile, but there's also so many other things to do at the parks so older kids still can find things to enjoy. Younger than 2, they won't be able to do many rides. 

Now, let's talk ages. LEGOLAND is so much fun, but if the kids aren't old enough or tall enough to ride most rides by themselves, you won't be able to do a lot of the rides because you won't have enough adults to pair up with each child. We went with a 2, 5, 7, and 9 year old. The 7 and 9 year old are both over 45" tall and were old enough and tall enough to do everything on their own. We had our 5 yr old and 2 yr old each ride with a parent. However, a lot of rides you can't have more than 2 people in a cart, so if you go by yourself with the kids, you'd be limited on what you can do. 

I also recommend checking out this page on LEGOLAND's website because they have a list of rides and you can see what you can ride based on height.

Older kids (9 and up) might enjoy the MINDSTORM area where they can take a class to build a robot that listens to their commands. Sign up for this early in the day.

Is it possible to do the whole park in a day?

No. But you can get pretty close to doing all of it. If you're coming in the summer, there's too much to do if you consider seeing the cute little shows they have too. If you are visiting any time other than summer, you will likely be able to do more, but there's still so much to do you won't be able to do it all (at an enjoyable pace haha).

However, at the end of the day, my kids all felt like they got to do everything they wanted to as far as rides were concerned (we focused on rides since that was what my 5 yr old wanted to do for his birthday). If we had added more shows in, we would have done less, but still would have gotten a lot done. There were some things we skipped based on the kids' interests, and one of the awesome things about LEGOLAND is there really is so much variety of things to do that you can customize the day to things that interest your kids the most. 

I will say, we did choose to do Reserve and Ride on the day we went because I was worried about the crowds on a summer day. And we wanted to do as much as we could with the money we were spending. Reserve and Ride definitely helped us get more done in the parks, and made it easy for the kids to ride things that they loved a second time.

What is Reserve and Ride and is it worth it?

If you are coming on a crowded day, and only going to be here one day, then I'd say it's worth it. If you have little kids that have a hard time waiting in lines, I'd also say it's worth it. 

Reserve and Ride is LEGOLAND's fastpass system that lets you choose from a handful of rides, book a time to return for the ride, and when that return time is ready, you walk up to the ride and wait in a very short line compared to the standby line. From my experience with it, you usually get on the ride within 5 minutes of getting into the Reserve and Ride line. For parents with little kids who don't want to wait in long lines with kids, Reserve and Ride means that you reserve your ride time, and then instead of standing in line, you can go grab food, play on the playgrounds, watch one of their shows, build in the LEGO stations, trade Minifigures, shop in The Big Store, etc. As a first timer to the park, I felt like this let us explore more and do more in the park because the time wasn't taken up with standing in lines.

There's different "levels" of Reserve and Ride you can do which shorten your wait time by more and more time the higher tier you select. In my experience, and from what friends who frequent the parks all the time have said, you don't usually need the higher tiers of Reserve and Ride. The cheapest option is usually still really fast, and with little kids and stopping for snack breaks, the ride times came up more than fast enough.

LEGOLAND Waterpark tips

The LEGOLAND Waterpark is such a blast. We did this on a separate day at the parks because you can easily spend 1/2 to 3/4 of a day there in itself. If possible, I'd save the waterpark for it's own day. That way you don't feel too rushed to do the waterpark and the park on the same day. 

The waterpark is great for the whole family. There's lots of areas that are shallow and great for toddlers. I especially love that there's a great shallow area right. next to the big slides so I can still watch my older kids go down the slides while staying with my toddler. Another great perk about LEGOLAND's waterpark is that it is pretty sectioned off, so it's easier to keep kids in one area before moving to another, and it's easier to keep an eye on them.

I would definitely recommend having more than one adult with you in the waterpark though if you have younger and older kids. My husband and I usually split up and one takes the big kids on the slides while one stays with the toddler. In a lot of places you can still see the slides, but I like to have someone with my older kids for safety as well.

Here's some of my favorite spots in the waterpark by age:

• For Toddlers (Ages 1–6): The DUPLO® Splash Safari provides gentle slides and water play areas designed specifically for young children. Additionally, the Kid Creek offers a mini lazy river experience, allowing little ones to float and splash in a safe environment.

• For Kids (Ages 7–12): The Build-A-Raft River lets children design their own LEGO raft before floating down a winding river. The Joker Soaker is a colorful play structure where kids can enjoy water cannons and a massive water drop. For those seeking more excitement, the Pirate Reef and Orange Rush slides offer thrilling rides with water cannons and high-speed turns.

• For Teens and Adults: The Riptide Racers provide a competitive edge as guests race down side-by-side slides. The Splash Out slide offers a high-speed descent into a splash pool, while the Pirate Reef combines water fun with interactive elements .

My kids all love the Build-A-Raft River, where families can use large foam LEGO bricks to customize their rafts before embarking on a leisurely float. This interactive experience adds a creative twist to the traditional lazy river. And I love that the entire family can do it together.

LEGOLAND also offers private, shaded areas equipped with seating and food service, available for rent to provide a comfortable retreat during your visit. We brought food when we came, but there are some restaurants in the waterpark area as well. The Beach Front Grill and Beach Street Tacos offer a variety of meals, including pizzas, burritos, wraps, and tacos, catering to different tastes and preferences.

Tips and tricks we learned along the way

If you only read one section of this post, let it be this one. After tons of research, here's a few things I tell my friends who are going to LEGOLAND. They may seem like random tips, but these were a few key takeaways I think are great to remember:

• On crowded summer days reserve & ride is so worth it
• Check height requirements before going so you know what your child can ride so there’s no disappointment.
• Their app is great and really helpful to plan your trip. Use it!
• Don’t ever buy full price tickets. There’s always some sort of discount happening. See all current discounts here.

• Minifigure trading: if your figure has a hat or hair, and an accessory you can get better trades.
• The park isn’t too big so you don’t feel like you’re lost. And with reserve & ride you don’t have to go back and forth to find short lines. We stayed in one land at a time basically, unlike Disneyland where it's sometimes necessary to be jumping all around the park based on wait times.
• Don't miss grabbing some apple fries while you're here. They're a crowd favorite and you'll see why with a few bites.

• The aquarium is SO cool. There's so many fun places for the kids to explore and touch anenomes and starfish and more. I highly recommend checking this spot out if you can. Just keep in mind you can't bring a stroller in here.
• There's usually fun things for the kids to do in line, like brick building stations. I love that it helps make the line feel shorter.

• There's also a ton of fun building places around the park. Don't miss the race car building area. My kids could stay in there forever. It's so interactive and there's tons of tracks for them to test out their race cars on.
• You can do a rider swap if you have little kids who aren't tall enough for rides, just like you can at Disneyland. Just let the ride operator know before you get on the ride.

• If you purchase LEGO sets, you can have them held for you at the front of the park so you don't have to carry them around all day. I also like having my kids take pictures of all of their "I must have this it's my favorite set in the world" requests throughout the day, and then at the end of the day they can go through the photos and choose one set to actually purchase. This saves a ton of time and meltdowns mid day.

What should I bring to LEGOLAND?

If you have a toddler or little kid, a stroller is a must. See all of my favorite travel strollers here. We usually bring our Uppababy Vista to the parks because it can fit two tired kids on it. Even for older kids who you might not think need a stroller, theme parks usually tire them out and they're grateful to have a seat and ride at times.

Snacks. Bring lots of snacks. I think for a theme park, the food in LEGOLAND is pretty decent, but kids always get hungry in line. You're allowed to bring food and drinks into the park.

If you have a toddler who will get tired waiting in line, I'd recommend bringing this portable hip seat (use code MINIVOYAGER for 15% off). It absolutely saves my arms in lines, and I love that it's easy for my toddler to get up and down from it. I can't recommend this enough for theme parks. It's one of my top must-haves.

Swimsuits, a change of clothes, towels, and a wet bag. Even if you aren't planning on going into the waterpark, there's splash pads in the LEGOLAND park. It's way easier to be the fun mom and say "yes" to the splash pads if you're prepared. I like these thin fold towels for the park- they're not bulky and they dry ultra fast. And this wet bag is a must for swimsuits after playing. It'll save your diaper bag or stroller from getting soaked.

Buying tickets and parking

I've mentioned it before, but I'll mention it again here. Don't pay full price for LEGOLAND tickets. There's usually always some sort of deal happening. Find all the current deals and purchase tickets here (and I'm always grateful when you purchase through my links because I get a small commission).

You can also buy parking when you purchase tickets, which I recommend. You can add in your license plate so the gate will open right up when you drive up. As far as paying for premium parking, I don't think it's really worth it. The parking lot for LEGOLAND is right next to the park and even if you park near the end of the lot, it's not that far away. I'd save your money on this upgrade.

What not to miss at LEGOLAND

Here's a few of my kids' favorites at the parks:

The Dragon
A family-friendly roller coaster that begins with a gentle indoor tour through a LEGO castle and transitions to an outdoor track with mild drops and turns. It's an ideal introduction to roller coasters for younger riders.

LEGO Ninjago World
An interactive area where kids can train as ninjas, using hand gestures to control virtual elements in the Ninjago The Ride. It's a fun blend of physical activity and digital interaction.

DUPLO Little Dino Trail
Hop in and set off on an adventure trail ride with Dino Valley’s cutest DUPLO dinosaur. This clever little dino is hiding somewhere along the trail... follow the clues to be the first to find her! My kids love taking photos on the cameras attached to the car throughout the ride.

LEGO City: Deep Sea Adventure
A unique ride aboard a real submarine, offering an underwater journey to explore marine life and sunken treasures, all within a LEGO-themed environment. My kids loved that it was interactive and they could "check off" items they spy underwater on the screen in the submarine.

Miniland USA
A captivating display of U.S. landmarks and cities, including the White House and Downtown San Diego, San Francisco, and more. It's fun to see all of the details they put into everything they build here.

LEGO Technic Coaster
This rollercoaster is more intense than the Dragon roller coaster, but my big kids love it. This ride has big drops and some tight turns. Riders must be four years old and 42″ tall to ride.

Driving School
My kids ask to do this one multiple times. Ride on and drive your own LEGO car through the city streets. Riders must be ages 6-13 years old. There's a junior version for younger kids right next door.

Emmet's Flying Adventure Ride
This is the most popular attraction in THE LEGO® MOVIE™ WORLD. Join Master Builders on a Triple Decker Flying Couch, as cutting edge technology transports you all over The LEGO® Movie™ universe. Surrounded by a full-dome virtual screen, you'll feel like you're flying through a world created completely from LEGO® bricks! Riders must be at least 40" to ride.

 

I hope you found all of this info about LEGOLAND helpful! This was our first time at LEGOLAND and I've updated this blog post a few times as we have gone back to multiple times since then with even more tips. As always, I appreciate you supporting me through my links above and purchasing tickets with my link. If you're looking for a great, easygoing theme park to take the family to, LEGOLAND is such a great option.