Has anyone been to Lego Land?

[jenrose66]

Dh wants to take the kids for a day while we are in Florida. We won't have a car, and also each kid is still either in a car seat or a booster. Is it a logistics nightmare to coordinate transportation for the day?

 

[mom2att]

Just got back from Legoland today. If you are staying on or near Disney property, be prepared for about a 40 minute drive to Legoland. I imagine there are shuttles there from someplace, likely a tour bus. LL is a nice park, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get there in your situation.

 

[jenrose66]

Just got back from Legoland today. If you are staying on or near Disney property, be prepared for about a 40 minute drive to Legoland. I imagine there are shuttles there from someplace, likely a tour bus. LL is a nice park, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get there in your situation.

I share your sentiments...but I have a DH and DS that are absolutely enthralled with all things Lego. It gets expensive. If we have to pay full price for admission tickets it will cost us $300 and that doesn't even include parking and transportation and food costs.

 

[DOOM1001]

There's a shuttle from the Orlando Premium Outlets Vineland Ave location.I went to Legoland in October and had a great day,I've heard some reports that when it's very crowded the lines can get pretty long as the rides don't have the best capacity.The park overall is great and definitely worth it in my opinion,you can spend an hour or more just in the miniland area.

 

[Upatnoon]

Dh wants to take the kids for a day while we are in Florida. We won't have a car, and also each kid is still either in a car seat or a booster. Is it a logistics nightmare to coordinate transportation for the day?

Lego is perfect for little kids, but I would rent a car or not go at all.

If you take the bus, you have no flexibilty as to when to leave. That's fine with older kids, but with little ones I would not want to be at the mercy of a bus schedule. Someone gets sick, or tired, you are in a world of bus-waiting hurt.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Lego is perfect for little kids, but I would rent a car or not go at all.

If you take the bus, you have no flexibilty as to when to leave. That's fine with older kids, but with little ones I would not want to be at the mercy of a bus schedule. Someone gets sick, or tired, you are in a world of bus-waiting hurt.

I agree with this. We initially thought the shuttle would be a good idea because it would save us the expense of renting a vehicle, but the shuttle only runs once both ways - to the park in the morning and back to Orlando when the park closes. Taking into consideration that Legoland is 45 minutes away from the Orlando area, do we really want to be stuck out in Winter Haven all day with no way of getting back to the Orlando area if someone gets sick, hurt, needs an afternoon break, or if we decide we don't want to wait until the park closes to go back to where we are staying? That would be a recipe for disaster for our family. If Legoland was only 15 minutes or so away, then we would probably consider using the shuttle service because if we really did need to leave we could just call for a taxi; but that wouldn't be something we could do with a park that is 45 minutes away. So I agree that you definitely need your own vehicle for a trip to Legoland. I know this isn't a fair comparison, but there is always the Lego Center in Dowtown Disney if your kids really like Legos. We visited there on our last Disney trip and really liked it. They have areas where you can build and race Legos, neat Lego statues/structures to look at, and a nice selection of Lego sets available for purchase.

 

[Doogan]

You can get a child in free for each paying adult here

 

[jenrose66]

You can get a child in free for each paying adult here

Thanks for that link. I saw that on Mousesavers but I was a little leery to purchase cause I was reading how some people got an expiration date of 5-31. However, I may chance it since it's an excellent deal, the tix would cost us about $160 as opposed to $300. If we go we will definitely just rent a car for the day. I just was able to downgrade my room from preferred room value to standard room and that saved $118 so hopefully that would cover a rental for a day.

Has anyone rented a car from the car care center? It seems like the most convenient, though probably not the cheapest.

 

[chuchujew]

Just got back from Legoland today. If you are staying on or near Disney property, be prepared for about a 40 minute drive to Legoland. I imagine there are shuttles there from someplace, likely a tour bus. LL is a nice park, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get there in your situation.

how's your time spend in legoland. does it worth going? we have been to the legoland in san diego a couple times ( we are in california), still debating if we should spend a day at legoland since we have a tied schedule.

tks.

 

[SapphireMarie]

I'm kind of looking for reviews too as LL is a MUST for us. The kids seem to want to go there more than Disney. They have a biiiit of a Lego obsession.

 

[NorweJenNY]

My family went to Legoland in Dec. We were fortunate enough to get in for an insanely low rate as part of a school group. I'm glad we went, but honestly, I would never pay full price to go back. If our family of four were able to get in for $100 or so, we might consider going back in the next year or two. We were probably somewhat disappointed just because we are Disney regulars and this is a definite step down by comparison. Perhaps it would be better if we weren't used to Disney standards.

That said though, there are pluses. There's a cute pirate show with Lego men and jet skis and water skiing. If you go late in the day, the sun is likely to be in your eyes or reflect strongly off the lake, so wear sunglasses. Driving school was a hit with my boys because they got to practice driving behind the wheel of their own car. Just be prepared, as they will have a briefing before driving in which they are only under staff supervision, but you can watch them when they come out to drive. Boating Scool was also fun for the family, once you get the hang of it... Though we had the longest wait here as people load very slowly. There was a ride that was like you were standing on a waverunner, but it goes around and around, and you have a little control to lean out further from the center or come in closer. There is a good deal on a pizza buffet there... I think it was around $10 for adults and $6-8 for kids, but there is very limited seating. (Beware there irate also limited bathrooms at this restaurant, so find another to use beforehand.) The best part was seeing all the cities built out of Legos! Amazing! New York, Washington DC, Las Vegas... with such details!

Know ahead of time that this park was geared toward the under 12 crowd. Some seats are quite small... Like the Lego safari ride, so we let the kids ride themselves and we watched. The roller coasters are relatively tame. If you can handle Big Thunder at MK, you can handle these coasters no problem. We only avoided one coaster in the center of the park because of a big drop my family didn't want to experience.

Some things were corny though... the shooting ride... I think it was in or near the Egyptian area. If you're expecting Buzz Lightyear, you will be disappointed. But it was fun for something more interactive than just a ride. We also found the 4D show corny... think MuppetVision 3D or Philharmagic, but created by wannabe imagineers... There were scenes with wind, but they crank up these absurdly noisy fans to create the effect, which kinda made it hard to hear the Lego men dialogue. Something was dripping on my husband thru most of the show too. And the stories were geared toward kids, with little for adults to appreciate, unlike the way Disney is able to capture multi-generational audiences. And the park likes to boast about a whole bunch of themed lands, but there are really only a couple small things to do in each land.

So I hope this helps. Have fun on your trips!

 

[jenrose66]

My family went to Legoland in Dec. We were fortunate enough to get in for an insanely low rate as part of a school group. I'm glad we went, but honestly, I would never pay full price to go back. If our family of four were able to get in for $100 or so, we might consider going back in the next year or two. We were probably somewhat disappointed just because we are Disney regulars and this is a definite step down by comparison. Perhaps it would be better if we weren't used to Disney standards.

That said though, there are pluses. There's a cute pirate show with Lego men and jet skis and water skiing. If you go late in the day, the sun is likely to be in your eyes or reflect strongly off the lake, so wear sunglasses. Driving school was a hit with my boys because they got to practice driving behind the wheel of their own car. Just be prepared, as they will have a briefing before driving in which they are only under staff supervision, but you can watch them when they come out to drive. Boating Scool was also fun for the family, once you get the hang of it... Though we had the longest wait here as people load very slowly. There was a ride that was like you were standing on a waverunner, but it goes around and around, and you have a little control to lean out further from the center or come in closer. There is a good deal on a pizza buffet there... I think it was around $10 for adults and $6-8 for kids, but there is very limited seating. (Beware there irate also limited bathrooms at this restaurant, so find another to use beforehand.) The best part was seeing all the cities built out of Legos! Amazing! New York, Washington DC, Las Vegas... with such details!

Know ahead of time that this park was geared toward the under 12 crowd. Some seats are quite small... Like the Lego safari ride, so we let the kids ride themselves and we watched. The roller coasters are relatively tame. If you can handle Big Thunder at MK, you can handle these coasters no problem. We only avoided one coaster in the center of the park because of a big drop my family didn't want to experience.

Some things were corny though... the shooting ride... I think it was in or near the Egyptian area. If you're expecting Buzz Lightyear, you will be disappointed. But it was fun for something more interactive than just a ride. We also found the 4D show corny... think MuppetVision 3D or Philharmagic, but created by wannabe imagineers... There were scenes with wind, but they crank up these absurdly noisy fans to create the effect, which kinda made it hard to hear the Lego men dialogue. Something was dripping on my husband thru most of the show too. And the stories were geared toward kids, with little for adults to appreciate, unlike the way Disney is able to capture multi-generational audiences. And the park likes to boast about a whole bunch of themed lands, but there are really only a couple small things to do in each land.

So I hope this helps. Have fun on your trips!

Thank You!

 

[momto2js]

We have been twice, once in November and once in January. Both days the weather we in the mid seventies and school was in session for the locals. My kids are 5 and almost 3. If I were in your shoes, I would send dad and your oldest in a rented car, I would bring an in expensive booster seat on the plane. I would not spend the money on the extra adult and younger kids and here is why:

EVERY ride has a minimum to ride hight and then a minimum hight to ride alone (in most cases this is 48"). This practically means that EVERY kid under 48 inches must have an adult to ride. The cars are not big enough to fit an adult and 2 kids with few exceptions. (We did fit the three of us in a boat at boating school) So in your case, unless you have a really tall one year old, one adult will have to stay with her, and one of the other kids will one child and parent wait in line and ride. Then you will have to have one parent and the other kid wait in line to ride when they are done and the first group can wait with the youngest. Even if your youngest is tall enough to ride you still have the issue with only being able to ride one at a time because someone will have to stay with the non-rider.

This applies to MOST of the rides. There are a few attractions that are age based. So for my family it ment that my 2.5 year old was riding splash mountain one day, and was not old enough to ride a slow "horsey" ride the next. (you must be 4 for the jousting ride) For my kids and I approached stangers that appeared to have older kids and asking if they would ride with one of my kids so we could all go. But it was stressful and a HUGE PIA!! I had buy one get a kid free but would not have paid full price for the hassle.

For a park marketed to younger kids, this is a huge problem for families where the kids out number the parents. Do I think your DH and son will have a great day, YES!! My kids love the park and are still talking about it. But, for the cost and added complications for your family, I'd send DH and older son, and then do a resort day and let the youngers ones get some rest, or add a disney park day and take the younger kids to MK for the day were you can do all of the rides as a group of 3 with no problem.

 

[jenrose66]

We have been twice, once in November and once in January. Both days the weather we in the mid seventies and school was in session for the locals. My kids are 5 and almost 3. If I were in your shoes, I would send dad and your oldest in a rented car, I would bring an in expensive booster seat on the plane. I would not spend the money on the extra adult and younger kids and here is why:

EVERY ride has a minimum to ride hight and then a minimum hight to ride alone (in most cases this is 48"). This practically means that EVERY kid under 48 inches must have an adult to ride. The cars are not big enough to fit an adult and 2 kids with few exceptions. (We did fit the three of us in a boat at boating school) So in your case, unless you have a really tall one year old, one adult will have to stay with her, and one of the other kids will one child and parent wait in line and ride. Then you will have to have one parent and the other kid wait in line to ride when they are done and the first group can wait with the youngest. Even if your youngest is tall enough to ride you still have the issue with only being able to ride one at a time because someone will have to stay with the non-rider.

This applies to MOST of the rides. There are a few attractions that are age based. So for my family it ment that my 2.5 year old was riding splash mountain one day, and was not old enough to ride a slow "horsey" ride the next. (you must be 4 for the jousting ride) For my kids and I approached stangers that appeared to have older kids and asking if they would ride with one of my kids so we could all go. But it was stressful and a HUGE PIA!! I had buy one get a kid free but would not have paid full price for the hassle.

For a park marketed to younger kids, this is a huge problem for families where the kids out number the parents. Do I think your DH and son will have a great day, YES!! My kids love the park and are still talking about it. But, for the cost and added complications for your family, I'd send DH and older son, and then do a resort day and let the youngers ones get some rest, or add a disney park day and take the younger kids to MK for the day were you can do all of the rides as a group of 3 with no problem.

I was looking at the lego land website and I was concerned about the situation you described above. I'm going to show this post to my DH. My oldest may reach 48 inches in August but right now he's about 46.5. My younger son is about 37 inches. DD is just about 28 in...

 

[huffjoann]

hmm, we are going on a Disney cruise in May, the plan was to get off boat and go to Legoland, which I knew was 45 min drive,, and i am seeing LL is only open like 10-5 so not even a full day in WDW standards, LOL,, but I guess I was wondering if we should go immediately after cruise or wait til next day, we don't have any other plans besides cruise & legoland for this trip?

 

[momto2js]

hmm, we are going on a Disney cruise in May, the plan was to get off boat and go to Legoland, which I knew was 45 min drive,, and i am seeing LL is only open like 10-5 so not even a full day in WDW standards, LOL,, but I guess I was wondering if we should go immediately after cruise or wait til next day, we don't have any other plans besides cruise & legoland for this trip?

It depends. If you get of the boat and to the car by 8am you should be fine. You will want to arrive before the park opens but 2 hours should be enough I think to make the drive from the port, but it could be close. Make sure to check the calendar and make sure they will be open on the day you get back. I don't think I'd go to LL on a weekend day if I had a choice.

Both times we have gone, the park was not too busy and we have done everything several times in the 8 hours we were there. Honestly, I was glad they closed at 5 because I was done. However, if it is a weekend or a busier time, the shorter day might be an issue. (Personally, I still think I'd be ready to go after 8 hours). It is shorter than a disney day but the park is much smaller than the disney parks. Maybe 1/3 the size of the MK maybe less.

 

[huffjoann]

well to add to that I see that they are set to open their new water park portion that weekend,, hmm,,, that might make things interesting LOL