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Travel Review: Legoland Theme Park – Much More than a Builder’s Showcase
By Sean Traynor, age 14, Assistant Editor
Minland USA
Has cities made of Legos!
Legoland theme parks exist around the world in Denmark, the United Kingdom, Germany and Carlsbad, California (just north of San Diego in the United States). We will take you on a whirlwind tour of the Carlsbad Legoland because of its combination of games, gadgets and gizmos to make this park unique. Since Legoland opened in 2000, it has changed a great deal. If you haven’t made a visit or it has been a while, consider a trip to Carlsbad, California for a fantasy world built on Lego creations.
Legoland is much more than a showcase of Lego creations. It includes rides, food, shows, interactive areas and visual delights – all at a less hectic pace than Disneyland. The variety and size of the animals, people, fictional characters and entire cities made out of Lego and Duplo bricks will boggle your mind. Life sized versions of Darth Vader, R2D2, Chewbacca, Hagrid, Harry Potter, Dora the Explorer and Bionicles are just a few of the many characters you’ll see made completely of Lego bricks. You’ll also see aliens, sharks, police officers, monkeys, fire fighters and almost every other type of Lego creation.
The large Lego sculptures are unbelievable!
The park is divided by theme. You can visit Imagination Zone, Miniland USA, Castle Hill, Fun Town, Explore Village, Land of Adventure, Pirate Shores, and Dino Island. Each area has its own unique rides, restaurants, shows, Lego designs and more.
- Imagination Zone includes areas to design and build your own Lego creations. It has a new X-Box Family Game Space to try out games. It also includes rides including Bionicle Blast, a thrilling spin ride and Wave Racers, a power ski ride through waves and water blasts.
- Miniland USA includes Lego cities such as Las Vegas, New York, and San Francisco built with real Lego building blocks. You can take a leisurely walk through the area or take a coast cruise in a Lego boat. Adults flock to this area in awe, whereas the kids seem to get bored fairly quickly without the grasp of the complexity and planning it took to complete this monumental fete.
- Castle Hill includes a medieval village with The Dragon roller coaster and other fun things to do and explore. You can even take a 360 degree ride in a robotic arm over a moat.
- Fun Town includes race car driving, boats, sky cruisers and more modes of transportation. It also has many creative Lego creations with interactive activities for kids of all ages.
- Explore Village has a trip down a fairytale brook, a safari trek through the wilderness and a train ride. There is even a dinosaur bones digging area.
- Land of Adventure is a new land which includes Dune Raiders, a 30 foot high slide. It also has Lost Kingdom Adventure where you get to laser blast targets in the dark and a 16 foot tall pharaoh made of 300,000 Lego bricks.
- Pirate Shores is where you will get wet. Splash Battle lets you ride in a ship while firing water cannons at each other and spectators. Soak-n-Sail has over 60 gadgets to spray water and Treasure Falls is a small water flume ride.
- Dino Island includes a mild roller coaster set up like a dinosaur.
Playgrounds
Not only do they have the play town in Explore Village for smaller children but they have a physical activity challenge playground for older children in Castle Hill. This area includes a 3-story structure with climbing nets, tube slides, obstacle courses, a bouncing bridge and a zip-line. It’s a great place to run around and take a break after riding the rides.
Shows
There are several shows including the Fun Town Fire Academy. It’s a funny show that uses acrobatics to teach kids lessons about fire safety. There are also comedy shows, a sword-fighting knight show and a Lego builder’s demonstration. One of the favorite shows is Bob the Builder in 4D.
Rides
Legoland has more than 50 rides for kids of all ages. The extra small kids can focus on Explore Village where they can ride the Fairy Tale Brook boat ride, the Legoland Express train ride and the Coast Cruise boat ride. The small kids will enjoy focusing mainly on Fun Town where they can ride the Safari Trek safari car ride, Fun Town Fire Academy fire engine ride, Lego Sky Patrol helicopter ride, Flight Squadron airplane ride and the Skipper School boat ride. The new Cargo Ace in the Land of Adventure will fly them to new heights. The Coastersaurus roller coaster located in Dino Island, the Royal Joust located in Knight’s Kingdom and Sky Cruiser in Fun Town are also good for kids 36” and taller. For kids over 36”, you have thrilling rides to keep you busy all day. These include the Knights’ Tournament robotic arm thrill ride, The Dragon roller coaster (where many Lego figures will greet you inside the cave), the Aquazone Wave Racers power ski race located in Imagination Zone and Kid Power Towers rope ride located in Fun Town. The new Land of Adventure also offers Beetle Bounce, Lost Kingdom Adventure and the fantastic new Dune Raiders slide. For slightly older kids (over 42”), you will enjoy the Lego Technic Test Track roller coaster in the Imagination Zone where you twist and turn your way through some exciting track combinations. The Bionicle Blaster spins you madly around. Kids over 5 can experience driving at the Volvo Driving School and kids over 10 can build and program interactive Lego Mindstorm Robots.
Ryan driving on his own at the Volvo Driving School!
The new Sea Life Aquarium is next to Legoland. It not only includes a large aquarium but has play zones, fun facts and quiz trails. There is an additional fee for this aquarium.
Summary
Legoland is a good alternative to other amusement parks because it mixes interactive games, shows and activities with rides. By mixing up the activities, you will experience a fun and enjoyable day!
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