When I posted our trip to Legoland on Instagram, I got a lot of mamas wondering if their 1 year old toddler would enjoy it. I had the same reservation before we went. After going, I truly believe that Legoland is THE perfect Southern California theme park for 1 year olds! Casey enjoyed his time there much more than at Disneyland, Seaworld, or the Long Beach Aquarium. He loved seeing the colorful buildings, blocky characters, and ride the fun rides. As a parent, I had more fun navigating the less crowded streets. And I wasn’t stressed out about ride queues and managing my time. We pretty much lined up for most rides and got on the next round. We stayed from opening to close, and it was a wonderful day! Here was what we did!
The park opens at 10am. Which means we didn’t have to leave our home so early. We headed to Legoland around 9am and the drive down was nicer than the drive up to Disneyland (traffic-wise).
When we got there, we went straight for ride Ninjago – the only long-wait-ride that Casey could go on. While that was fun for us adults (we went with my grandparents and sister), the imagery and sounds were a bit much for Casey. I wouldn’t recommend taking kiddos there until maybe 3 years old.
After that, we went to the Ferrari Lego Build and Race. My parents, sister and Mike had a blast building race cars to race down the tracks. Around this time, Casey got tired so it was a perfect time for me to put him down for a nap while the adults had fun messing with legos. I placed him in his Vista Cruz stroller (which we take to ALL theme parks and use as a bag carrier) along with our handy portable sound machine.
While Casey took an hour-long nap, my family and I walked around Miniland! It was so nice to leisurely walk with relatives, obsess over the cute details, and point out familiar landmarks that we have been to before. I personally greatly enjoyed this part of Legoland. So creative and cute! I don’t think toddlers would have the attention span to walk through this part of the park, but it is a great place to sit down on park benches and eat a snack or dessert during your toddler’s nap time.
When Casey woke up, we headed to Knight’s Smokehouse for a BBQ lunch. This was a great place for families and toddlers. Firstly, the food is cafeteria style, which means you can share sides with your family members and grab little bits of everything for everyone. Picky toddlers can try a little bit of everything until they find something they like. For Casey, this was a side of mac and cheese and bread roll!
The eating area was outdoors. Even on a summer day it wasn’t too hot with the covered benches. As a toddler mom, I prefer outdoor dining so that Casey has things to look at. And honestly, the chances of him sitting still for a long time is slim. After he decided he had enough to eat, the adults took turns walking with him around the north end of the park, where there was face painting, a shop, and carnival games. He loved walking up to the Lego models in the area and waving hi.
After this, we continued our counter-clockwise loop around the park. We walked through Lego Factory Museum and Adventurer’s Club. In Fun Town, Casey loved riding Legoland Express! He was all smiles with Lolo and Lola as me and Mike ran around the track waving hi at multiple spots. He went twice in a row and honestly, he would have probably loved to go more times! This area also has a great playground for little ones, but since it isn’t shaded, we decided not to stay. Next time, we might hit this area up in the morning when there is less sun.
Over in Lego Movie World, there is a splash pad that kids loved to run around in. If you are doing this part of the park, I would recommend bringing water shoes and a spare change of clothes. Also a towel as the kids get incredibly soaked. We didn’t bring any of that, but I know that Casey loves water parks! In this area, there is also the Carousel. Casey has gone on plenty of carousels before. So now he just sits patiently as the ride starts and looks around calmly when the horse goes up and down.
Casey had the most fun in Dino Valley! He got to ride a boat with Aunt Dee on Explorer River Quest. Then he enjoyed driving a Jeep at the Little Dino Trail. He always had an affinity for steering wheels. His face was glowing as he spun it left and right (don’t worry, the wheel doesn’t drive the car). In this area, he even played a carnival game! It was a fishing game and Casey got to hold a net and catch some fish. We took home a small dino stuffy as a souvenir for his efforts.
While he took his second nap, the adults ate ice cream and perused the Lego shops. We walked over to the other end of the park and chit chatted until Casey woke up. Then we rode on Cargo Ace, an intense plane ride that Mike could barely fit in, and Pharaoh’s Revenge. On the walk back to Legoland Movie World, we finished our rides off with Coastal Cruise. A perfect slow ride on a river in the late afternoon!
We lined up at Legoland Movie World for the 7pm parade at around 6:30 pm. We scored a spot in the front row, and the adults got snacks to eat while we waited. My sister walked Casey around the water splash pad area, which was turned off in preparation for the parade. He chased bubbles from other kids bubble machines and ran around. Definitely watch your kids at this time, as a few toddler crashed in the middle of the lawn – it was not pretty. My sister never let go of Casey’s hand.
I was worried Casey would dislike the parade because it was crowded and loud. However, getting front-row seats helped!! He LOVED the parade. He was dancing and clapping. We got a video of him begging to go on-stage to dance with the stage dancers! It was the best ending to a happy day.
As a parent, I enjoyed this trip. It was stress-free, and extremely fun for Casey. I tell all my mom friends that I would choose Legoland for a 15 month old over Disneyland ANY DAY. Plus, they are only free to go to Legoland until 2 years old, whereas they are free to go to Disneyland until 3 years old. I would save the annual pass to Disney for a later age group and prioritize taking the kids to Legoland while they are really young.
