It's such a fun place for kids but honestly Jack and I had so much fun as well! I think seeing your kids have fun, automatically leads to fun for parents.
I really wanted to share five things we learned from being at Legoland with two small kids, and these might not be ground breaking, but they're things I wish we would have known! Fortunately we were prepared for some, but I wanted to share them anyway.
1. First and foremost, if you have stroller-aged kids, actually even if you have kids that get tired of walking (maybe 5-7?), RENT THE LEGOLAND STROLLER, cart, sanity-keeper, whatever it's called. I promise you, it will make your life twenty thousand times easier.
We had a stroller for Oliver but the darn shade was broken and it was super sunny, hot and humid. I saw people with those stroller cart things and immediately told Jack we needed to rent one. They have the one kid and two kid one. We got the one for two and it was a life saver! Elliot (5 years old) was able to sit in it as well when he was tired or wanted a snack. It had a big shade and it was so light and easy to push. We probably saw 85% of parents with one.Elliot and Oliver both sat in it and enjoyed the ride, and Jack and I didn't have to deal with the "I'm tired" chant from Elliot. We left our stroller we took by the entrance and took it back to our car once we left the park. Best twenty dollars spent.
2. Plan on spending the entire day there unless you get the two or five day passes. Legoland was so kind to send us the one day resort hopper for all three areas (Legoland, Sealife and Waterpark), but we knew we only wanted to be there one straight day, and in hindsight, we could have gone back to the hotel to rest but we didn't, and I'm actually glad because we didn't have to get the kids back then have to load the car over again and take the drive. Jack and I probably high-fived each other about a hundred times when we left because the entire day ran so smoothly due to all of the things we did to maintain our sanity and the sanity of the kids.
3. Carry plenty of snacks and water. We took sliced cucumbers, goldfish, pretzels, veggie chips and other snacks to keep the kids full (and busy) when we all needed a break from the heat and walking. Obviously you can buy lunch there but little finger food snacks are the best until you make it to lunch. Water, water, water all day long. With the heat, sun and humidity, we all drank our weight in water. I get really bad headaches when I don't and for a full day of rides and walking, I couldn't take that risk. Stay hydrated! There's plenty of shade, but that doesn't mean the sun is gone. Of course, apply lots of sunblock!
4. THE BEST. Take your kids in their swim gear! We didn't since we didn't plan on going to the water park (and we didn't go) and I swear I thought about throwing them in our backpack just in case, but I decided not to at the last minute, and I kicked myself for it. About 4 hours in, the kids were getting tired and super hot, there was a little splash pad there and we let them get wet in their clothes. For some miraculous reason, we did pack swimmers for Oliver, I changed him really quick and they enjoyed that probably more than the entire park. Kidding, sort of, but really they were so happy to get soaked. We spent about an hour there and then continued with the rest of the park. The splash pad was packed with kids and parents sitting around for the same reason we were, I'm sure.
5. Take extra shoes. Every parent probably knows this, except for us. I must have seen a total of 6-10 single shoes around the park and I thought, who in the world loses their shoes without their parents noticing? We do guys, we all do. Almost at the end of our journey, while Jack and Elliot were on a ride, I noticed Oliver only had one shoe on, I looked everywhere for it and once Jack and Elliot were done, we walked back to retrace our steps and could not find the damn shoe. Also, I only packed one pair for him for the trip (face palm). We went back to the hotel one shoe short. A Target trip and twenty-five bucks later, Oliver had new shoes. See what I'm getting at? Don't be like us and spend unnecessary money on shoes you didn't really need if you would have packed two pairs.
The entire park was so enjoyable and the Sea Life part was really cool. The kids loved seeing all the different fish, sharks, sting rays and all the other sea life there. It's really neat. Legoland is honestly really great for kids their age.
This trip was also a great way to see what to expect once we go to Disney (or other parks) and it taught us a lot of things about ourselves and the kids. For one, we realized we have way more patience than we thought we did and also, our kids are waaay more well behaved and resilient than we knew.
Thank you Legoland for having us! Till next time!
