LEGOLAND Hotel

When Allen and I were planning the trip to California, we had some choices to make.   We learned very early on that a family trip is a family trip and a vacation is a vacation.  They are very different things and should never be confused.  You may have a few minutes of vacation on a family trip, but let’s be honest here, traveling with a family is not relaxing in the least.  Vacations are relaxing,  family trips notsomuch.  Confusing a family trip with a vacation is a recipe for a mommy meltdown {not that I know or anything}.

We also knew that we were going to be at LEGOLAND and that the boys were really wanting to stay at the LEGOLAND hotel.  In theory we agreed with them.  It’s just that that place is expensive.  Like more comparable to the Ritz Carlton.  However, the fact remained that this was a Family Trip and not a vacation and we needed to consider what was best for the family.  So we bit the bullet and stayed one night at LEGOLAND hotel.  We ended up getting a package that included tickets for 2 days and one breakfast {which was so fantastic that it is the breakfast by which all other “free” breakfasts shall be measured}.  In the end we were very pleased with our decision.

When you enter the LEGOLAND Hotel you are greeted by a huge play area for children to build and play while the adults check in. 

There are also some really cool models in the lobby too.  I really loved the display behind the front desk.  It has over 5,00o minifigures and the wheels of the bike are actually magnifying glass.  The bike moves and shows the details of the minifigures.  How cool is that?

Miller could not pass by the child sized bell hop without shaking his hand and telling a few secrets.

Jackson built a robot while we were checking in—they are a specialty of his!

Upon check in the children get a scavenger hunt where they look at things in the hotel and write down numbers.  When they get to the room there is a treasure chest which they could unlock with the numbers.  They were very serious about that.  Well as serious as you can be at a hotel with Legos.

When you get to the elevator there is a little something to keep the kids entertained while you wait for the elevator.

It is a Whoopee Cushion in the floor!  We gave that thing a work out!  They kept singing the theme song for the Lego Movie while we were there, “everything is Awesome” and they were right, it was awesome!

Once you get in the elevator it surprises you when the light dims and they disco music comes on.  That’s right!  A disco elevator.  Who thinks of these things?  The boys thought it was a hoot!

There was never any doubt that we would choose a pirate themed room for our stay{they also have Adventure and Medieval themed rooms} the boys quickly opened the safe with their goodies.  They were delighted to find two minifigures, two chocolate coins and two LEGO magazines.

I was positive that I took pictures of the room, but I do not seem to have them here on my camera, so…  the above is the adult area of the room and here you can see the length of the room.

I borrowed these pictures from the internet

The parents area

The children’s area.  I loved that they had a separate space, but it was close enough.  They loved all the special touches  and that it had its own TV {they never turned it on}. 

The bathroom was not overlooked one bit.  Although it was the size of a normal hotel bathroom is was well designed and had lots of special touches.

photo credit

We ate dinner at the hotel and I do have to say that it was the one part of our stay that was not great.  Dinner took almost an hour to arrive and was cold.  They took care of the dinner for us, but it was a disappointment.

The boys enjoyed watching the Olympics and playing with the Legos that were provided at the tables.

This was before Miller passed out cold at the table.  Poor guy didn’t even remember getting tucked into his Lego Pirate bed.

Here are a few of the cool displays that were in our room.  Every detail is so well thought out.

 

Each room has at least 8 models.  We stayed in a premium room  and I think we had a few extra decorations.

Overall we were very pleased with our stay.  We would definitely go back. 

Here is a great video that shows many of the highlights in case you’re interested.

LEGOLAND California Day 2

Our second day at LEGOLAND California was just as amazing as our first.  While we were at breakfast we each decided what our top priority was for the day so we made sure that no one would leave disappointed that we didn’t get to do what they wanted to do before we left.  Allen and Miller both wanted to go back to the Project X rollercoaster.  So we hit it-twice!

The second time Jackson insisted that I ride in the front with him.  Great!

I wanted to go on the boat ride that takes you around the back of Miniland.  There are so many amazing Lego creations that you can see from that ride.

The Taj Majal

The Eifel tower

 

Mount Rushmore

If you look closely you can see that there is a Lego Q-tip cleaning out George Washington’s ear.  The boys adore little details like that!

In the back of the buildings there are often delivery trucks.  They think of everything.  I wonder if all the kids are disappointed that they do not get a personalized shout out in the form of a Lego Delivery truck at LEGOLAND?

We also spent some time in Miniland admiring all the cool creations.

LEGOLAND California even has a section ofMiniland dedicated to Star Wars.

Super cool!

At first Jackson refused to smile for the picture.  Then I realized the was unable to since he had positioned himself in a precarious position with  Chewbacca’s weapon. 

Same thing here!

But trust me, this boy was all smiles all day.  How could you scowl when you are a 7 year old Lego lover at LEGOLAND?!?

Miller continued to love all the “life size” characters!  He stopped at this guy every time we passed by.

We also had to visit the Dragon rollercoaster before we hit the road.  What a blast!

We could have stayed several more hours, but we needed to get going to our next destination and we didn’t want to miss some of the cool scenery in the dark.

Thanks for the memories, LEGOLAND, we will be back!

LEGOLAND California Day 1

The boys we beyond thrilled about visiting LEGOLAND California.  Since our trip to LEGOLAND  Florida, they have been itching to go back.  Last Spring they found out that LEGOLAND  California opened a LEGOLAND hotel and they quickly decided that a trip was in order.  We were fortunate that the stars aligned for them and Allen was doing some temporary work not too far away.  I’m afraid they are really spoiled!

Their level of excitement was equal to that of Christmas Day, so I’d say we could have fueled a small city with the amount of energy the boys had going in.

We arrived that morning and started our check in at the LEGOLAND Hotel!  In case you’re wondering… It isn’t actually made out of Legos, but it has Legos everywhere and is decorated in different Lego themes.  I’ll do a separate post about the hotel, but we had to check in first to get our tickets.  2 days of LEGOLAND were part of the package we purchased.  Yes 2, because 1 is just not enough!!

So off we went to LEGOLAND!

As you enter there is a water feature with this fountain of Legos coming down.  The attention to detail at LEGOLAND is amazing!

The boys rarely missed a photo op when they can climb in or on a Lego creation!

They were all smiles waiting for their first rides.

We hit the pirate area first.

A good many of the pirate rides were wet ones and since our Bahamian selves were already cold in the 65 ish degree temps we skipped those.  We still had plenty to do there.

Skipper School is always fun and the boys managed to steer the boats.  Jackson and Allen worked as a team to pass Miller and I.  Competitive much?

Miller and I stayed the course though!

 

Some of the amazing details…This cute diver would pop up out of the water.

 

We got a kick out of these family size dryers for those who didn’t chicken out on the wet rides.  For just $5 you can dry your whole family!

There are several of these guys sitting on benches that were made out of Lego around the park.  Miller had the funniest reaction to them.  He wanted to sit on their laps and tell them secrets.  I wonder what he said?

We made our way over to the Kingdom area.

The Dragon roller coaster was a favorite in Florida and it was a blast here as well.

The Knights Challenge was a little less exciting.  We ended up waiting in line the longest for this ride and it was a bit of a let down.

These horses are still fun for the boys.

This Lego spider was quite a highlight!

Several times during our visit we passed this musical fountain.  When you jump on the circles it makes music play and water to squirt up in the fountain.  We could have spent forever there!

We spent plenty of time exploring Miniland.  There is so much to see there.

Their to scale replicas  are fascinating.

When we went to LEGOLAND Florida, Miller was not tall enough to go on one ride.  This year he was tall enough and he was thrilled to go on the Lego Technic ride!  Allen insisted that Miller and I ride in the front and although it was way out of my comfort zone, I did so for my guys!

We ended up heading to the hotel for a bit of a break around 4:00, and after our feet recovered a little bit, we went back for a couple more rides.  It was great to be able to have a little down time and then grab a few more rides when everyone else was heading out.

We ended our evening with a dinner in the hotel.  While the dinner was nothing to write home about, any restaurant that is decorated in Legos and has Legos to play with ranks high in our book.

Since I am sure your eyes are bleeding from all the pictures, I will go ahead and end Day 1 here and then do another post for Day 2 and the hotel.

Before I go I just have to put this in here.  It’s just too cute!