Nacho Mama Goes to Legoland :)

I wanted to hurry up and get this posted for you folks right away because I heard that San Diego is going to the #2 Vacation Destination this holiday weekend (after Vegas, can that be true?) I also know that many of you who'll be coming to town for Blogher in August are bringing your families and staying through the weekend to enjoy San Diego. I figured some of you have got to be planning to visit Legoland, and maybe for the first time-like me!

Today my husband, kids and I had the privilege of attending the opening of "Splash Zoo"-a new feature at Legoland Water Park, along with the other moms of San Diego Momfia. It was a BEAUTIFUL day to hang out by the water in a cabana...

The Momfia Cabana at Splash Safari

I have to admit that, until today, it never crossed my mind that I could take my 2-year-old to a waterpark. So when I heard that Splash Zoo was designed for TODDLERS to enjoy the waterpark experience, I was a little concerned that my husband, 8-year-old and I might not be enjoying the day as much as our little guy. I needn't have worried-we had a FABULOUS time! We ALL enjoyed the toddler-safe "lazy rizer" innertube ride, the slides and especially splashing around with the Lego animal fountains. We all had a BLAST!

Photo via Legoland

Now as I mentioned, I was a Legoland virgin. However, I've grown up regularly visiting pretty much every theme park in Southern California. There are things I really love about theme parks: I love rides and OK, I'm a huge sucker for anything with a "theme." There are also things I generally don't care for: pricey food, lack of shade, crowds.  Here's what I loved about Legoland:

-The WHOLE family had fun, even though we spent the day in the "little kid" parts of the park.

-Most of the attractions were interactive, like this musical fountain. You can play the different instruments by jumping or dancing on the yellow circular pads. They also had fountains where the kids can aim the water stream at the Lego animals or targets-my kids LOVED those!

-Another thing I REALLY appreciated was the lush landscaping and abundance of shady places to sit. This is a big beef I have with a lot of theme parks. You're tired, maybe your toddler has fallen asleep in his stroller, and you have no choice but to broil while waiting for your older child to go on a ride. This is exactly what happened when my 8-year-old wanted to go to "Volvo Driving School." BUT, instead of turning into a chicharron?  I got to sit on a nice cool shady bench to watch my kid drive the Legoland grand prix!

-Although the line to get our tickets was pretty long, it didn't feel crowded inside the park at all. We hit the waterpark at about 11:30 and it didn't start to get busy until we were leaving to visit the main park at about 2:30.

I can't really say what kind of food was on offer. I didn't want to risk being stuck with something my super-picky kids wouldn't be in the mood for, so we packed our own drinks and snacks and had a lovely poolside picnic under one of Splash Safari's GIANT umbrellas (really-they were like a Christo installation!) It was delightful :)

We had "Resort Hopper" passes, but my kids were wiped out after Legoland and the Legoland Water Park, so we didn't get a chance to see the aquarium. I was a little disappointed about that, I love aquariums and it looked pretty awesome! I believe you can pay $10 and extend your passes for an extra day, so that might be something you'd want to consider.

Another tip: instead of taking the exit off Interstate 5 marked for "Legoland" you can get there by taking the Palomar Airport Road exit, then turning left onto Armada. The roundabout will lead you to Legoland. We took this way home and got a jaw-dropping view of the coast, I wish we could have seen it at sunset!

Hope you find these Legoland tips helpful for your next family trip :)

MANY, MANY, THANKS to Legoland and San Diego Momfia for the invite. My kids are already begging to go back!

Wishing you love with extra cheese-
Nacho Mama

Disclosure: The tickets to this event were gifted to me by Legoland.  The above is my honest opinion and I have not been compensated in any way for what is written here.