LEGOLAND is to San Diego what the Aquarium of the Pacific is to Long Beach
It costs more than the Aquarium of the Pacific (AOP) but it’s got a lot more to offer. I’d totally be there if I lived in San Diego.
I go to LEGOLAND often, but certainly not as often as if I lived in Carlsbad, or perhaps San Diego. I know that LEGOLAND, CA offers annual passes, but I didn’t consider quite how important the local visitor must be to LEGOLAND, CA. Until August 24th, 2019.
It was a hot day. The internet says the high was 79 degrees F. My skin said higher. We participated in a Master Model builder session. I took my son and two of his friends. I like going to LEGOLAND, but since they reduced, then eliminated, the medly of bricks in the clubhouse that could be picked from and purchased by the pound, I have less reason to go. The Master Model Builder session is special, and something we can share with others, so we try to go. It’s always nice to take a friend to something special, so we go with friends.
Here’s what we made.
The experience ended at noon, and we entered the park. We split up for a bit, but met for lunch.
There’s a Vegan in My House
He was inspired by something he read on the internet about the many vegan options at LEGOLAND, CA. We picked Wok and Bowl for our dining experience. We split a meal of stir fried noodles with tofu. The word is out that LEGOLAND, CA has many fun vegan snacks and we tried some of the Plant Snacks that they had on sale there. Very yummy! A 5 ounce bag was enough for 4 of us (three HS grads and a mom) to each have a healthy sized serving. As we wandered through the park, we checked out the other snacks that were available.
But the Best Was Yet To Come
You see, we had water park passes this time. The boys were having fun on the rides, but we were all a little sticky and the thought of the waterpark drew us to it. We pondered on whether we needed a locker, and we just decided to do it. ($12.00). It was the best decision of the day! Freedom from physical objects meant I could go down the lazy river (Build a Raft) without concern. The boys went ahead to the wave pool in the Chima area. I soon followed. We splashed down in the Pirate Reef roller coaster and visited what is arguably the best water space in the park: the Soak and Sail.
The Soak and Sail
The Soak and Sail looks like a pirate’s ship that has sprung a whole lot of leaks. The water is icy cold, and there are two large buckets that are constantly being filled…. and emptied. Avast ye maties! Hang out in the wrong spot and look out! You’ll be soaked for sure! I really love this because it reminds me of the rain in Trinidad, where I was born. The rain poured down, and we would don our swimsuits and head out for a bath in the rain. We’d stand under certain spots where it poured off of the galvanized roof. Icy cold.
I wish I had pictures to share with you. I ended up leaving my camera in the locker.
The soak and Sail photo taken from the LEGOLAND side of the park (outside the water park). The giant bucket is near the center of the upper 1/3 of the photo. Watch out when it empties out!
After that, it was Deep Sea Adventure (the submarine ride-very nice), Granny’s Apple Fries, Hideaways, the Dragon roller coaster, Ice cream, Miniland and another favorite ride, Ninjago!
But Let’s Get Back to LEGOLAND, San Diego, the Aquarium of the Pacific and Long Beach.
Families with kids doing a ‘staycation’ need to be able to have some lower cost activities that won’t kill the family budget. If you live in San Diego, it’s LEGOLAND. You buy a resort pass, and just hang out at the park and water-park all day long. If you live in Long Beach, it’s the Aquarium of the Pacific.
My big idea was that you should come in, stash your stuff in a locker at the water park, hit the park, then go back and forth from waterpark to park to waterpark to park, getting sun dried and keeping very, very cool!
Tah Dah!