LEGOLAND - Day 7

This was THE day...the BIG trek out to Carlsbad to visit Legoland. Nathan and Chad had been so disappointed we didn't go three years ago when we did the Disney trip and now we were happy to make their dream come true.
We set out fairly early...I think it was 7:45 am or so to start our two hour drive west. Thankfully the park didn't open until 10 am so there wasn't any need to leave earlier than that.
We took a mountain route instead of the main freeway as it was the same distance. This lovely picture is taken just above the Palm Springs area.

Just a few quick pictures and then we hopped back in the car and kept going.

Really lovely country and very empty roads.

Some huge Lego fans in the back seat! I was the only person in the car that does NOT play with Lego!

Yahoo...we had finally arrived in good time. The line up to pay for parking was pretty crazy though and we slowly snaked our way through the streets.

The big decisions was to keep the coats on or leave them in the car. Although the sun was warmish it turned out to be a very wise decision to keep the coats on. The air was fairly crisp as we were close to the ocean and we were a bit chilled at times.

The crowds were nuts! I think everyone had the same idea as us.

I don't what this is or why I had to take a picture of it but I cooperated with the boys' request.

We did a few rides right away. The line ups were crazy and never died down. There is no fast pass system here so you just stand and waste your day waiting. Most line ups were 90 minutes and we just had to by-pass many of them because of that. My biggest complaint about Legoland was that there were many activities you had to pay extra to enjoy. Such as climbing a rock wall, or climbing a palm tree or doing the Mindstorms etc. After paying such BIG bucks to get in, I would have expected it to be all inclusive...like Disneyland! It was hard not to compare the two.

Thankfully we had two for one passes so that eased the pain of the admission price.

The Lego walk of fame was cute. Marilyn and Keith got on well.

I had tea with the Queen.

We had a fantastic lunch at this restaurant. The food prices were fairly reasonable....less than Disney anyhow!

Due to the chilly air we passed on any ride that would get us wet. That was quite a few of the rides!

This was the model shop. Chad aspires to work here one day.

The Lego miniature world was phenomenal! They replicated many great cities of the US and wonders of the world. Very well done.

The fire academy looked really fun! But again....the line up was a bit too long for us and we gave it a pass. The kids can ride a real fire truck at home anyhow :)

The 'snoring' man.

There was a small Lego factory tour that was interesting. No line up there and it was really warm inside!

The boys were able to use these nice new computers to do whatever it is you do with Lego online. I didn't pay close attention. I was looking for a place to go to the bathroom!

Marachi Band

My kids have a thing for churros. I'm not a big fan myself but it was all about them this day!

I thought Keith sort of resembled this knight. I would have to say that most of the rides are geared to 4-8 year olds. That would be the perfect age for a child to visit this park. Just my opinion of course. We didn't even go to many sections of the park due to them geared specifically for the younger crowd.

So we did one final roller coaster which was really fun and made me scream lots much to the boys amusement and then decided to call it a day. We were tired and quite chilled at this part. The sun had set and we knew we had a long drive ahead of us to get home. The very last part of our day was to shop at the Lego store. The boys had money from their other grandparents, Uncle Andrew and us. They pooled it all together and were able to buy a very large quantity of Lego sets.

They bought so much that we didn't have any room to take it home with us on the plane. My brother (who drove) generously offered to take it back with him. So as he's not back home yet my boys are on pins and needles to get building!

One last picture with Chewie.

We started to get hungry about half way home. I was craving a nice salad and the guys all wanted In 'N Out of course. It was perfect timed to find a Wendy's and In 'N Out side by side within a few miles of discussing our dinner desires! I got my Baja salad and the boys got their burgers. Here is Andrew's 'animal style' burger. Did you know there is a secret menu on In N Out's website of all the things they will make you that are not on the menu?! True..check it out. If you've never been to In 'N Out you need to know there are only a few things on their menu. Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Double Hamburger, Fries, and a few drink and milkshakes.

Amazing...they do burgers, do them well and don't mess around with other food. Very smart!

So that ended our day at Legoland. The boys enjoyed it very much and it was totally worth it to see their happy faces.

We rewarded ourselves with a long soak in the hot tub when we got home and thankfully hit the hay.