Last week was ski week for Cam but instead of visiting the snow, we flew south for a sunny(ish) weekend near San Diego! Specifically we visited Legoland on a 2-day pass, staying at the Legoland hotel; conveniently located right near the park entrance. We took Cam to Legoland when I was ~7 months pregnant with Kenna but opted for an airbnb then. With two littles in tow this time, it was fun to stay at the actual hotel. It is VERY kid-centered but that worked well for us this trip.
We arrived on Saturday afternoon after a stressful flight down, having realized we forgot Cam’s booster seat in the car once we were already checked in, through security, and at the gate. Luckily Mike found a carseat rental place that was a 15 minute walk from the rental car place at SAN. But this meant we had to take the airport shuttle WITH ALL OF OUR THOUSANDS OF THINGS to where people rent cars for me to sit with Cam and Mike to walk with Kenna to get the carseat and then request a Lyft to come back and pick me and Cam up; who was then safely tucked into a booster seat for our 40 minute drive to the hotel/Legoland. Whew, what a start.
My mom and stepdad joined us on this trip and were already settled into their room. After we scoped out our room, which had a lot of fun details and surprises for the kids, we hustled to dinner before bath and bed for Kenna. We usually book suites when we travel so the kids have their own room to sleep in while we stay up in the living room. Here, instead, we had one big, long room with bunkbeds in the front, the bathroom, and then the king bed. The bathroom offered some kind of division between the two sleeping areas but I wasn’t sure how we would all do.
While I gave Kenna a bottle, Mike took Cam to the nightly 6:30pm dance party off of the lobby. The hope was for her to be asleep by the time the dance party was over so Cam could come back to the room and quietly get ready for bed himself. However, like when we were in Half Moon Bay, K girl wasn’t thrilled about being going to sleep. Instead of fighting it, I took her downstairs and we explored the lobby with all of it’s Legos for a bit and then all went back to the room together. She went to sleep quickly after our little adventure and Cam followed shortly after. Mike and I sat reading in dimmed lights, eating chocolate and drinking sparkling water in bed. Pretty chill & cozy if you ask me.
My mom was the reservation MVP of the trip and had us a table for breakfast at 7:15am. You get a free HOT breakfast with your hotel stay and it’s actually pretty cute with a kids buffet station short enough for them to access everything on their own, with options like muffins, fruit, pancakes, and pastries to pick from. Cam stacked his plate high with pancakes while I stood in the coffee line with the other parents.
We also got early entrance by staying at the hotel too. Although access to the different lands was a bit confusing and we weren’t able to maximize the perk… Nonetheless, our first ride was fun: a sunny coast cruise through a scenic loop of Legoland.
The rest of the day was a mash up of park play (not my favorite at an amusement park where there are RIDES but seems to be Cam’s preferred thing to do), BBQ lunch, and “digging for fossils” in Dinoland. Kenna was able to go on a good amount of rides, considering she is only one year. This was appreciated although, of course, the lines for said rides were a bit challenging.
The end of the day was gloomy and getting cold, a foreshadow for day two… We walked the short distance back to the hotel for dinner and another dance party for Cam. I’m not sure when you age-out of dancing solo in front of your parents but my guess is it is around the corner for Cam, so I am glad we went now and got to soak in all of his moves!
Mike and I indulged in to-go drinks in bed after the kids were asleep and whispered our way through looking at all of the photos from the day; these small vacations sprinkled throughout the year feel really special because of the amount of condensed time we get to spend with the kids on them.
Torrential downpour threatened day two but we had a few hours in the morning to try to get the most out of Legoland. We were first in line to get in because my mom wasn’t messing around and camped out (having explained to the people behind her that the rest of her family would be joining soon so no one was surprised ha). The rest of us scrambled to get ready and joined her in time to rush into the park before it opened to the public.
Parents – myself included – seem to default to slightly unhinged in these situations; the thrill and anxiety of getting your kids to move fast enough for the promise of a slightly shorter line reduces us all. Despite our best efforts, and constant urging to “hurry up! the line is going to get long” we had disappointing results in our first 30 minutes… first, run/walking to a ride that was closed (uggh) and then having a ride close for maintenance when we were NEXT IN LINE. Cue the carousel. 🙂
My mom and I took Kenna on the same boat cruise we rode the day before, even with the bad weather looming. After a short line, we boarded the boat and immediately felt a few fat raindrops fall. We considered getting off but thought, how bad could it be? Of course, right as our little boat launched, the skies opened. We were drenched in seconds and poor Kenna kept repeating “uh-oh, uh-oh” as rain splashed down on her tiny head. Luckily a very generous dad let us borrow a spare raincoat that I was able to maneuver around her somewhat as a shield. Nonetheless, she was not happy to be trapped on that boat in the rain.
We went back to the hotel after for her nap, and to wait out to storm. While she slept, we decided our best next move was to order rum and cokes and do dance tutorials together as a family!!! Yes there is video evidence and yes it is some of my favorite.
After nap we explored the aquarium – which was the perfect thing to do on a stormy afternoon and just steps away from our hotel at the entrance of Legoland! It was way better than I thought it would be; going on and on with more to explore around each corner.
The rain calmed and we were able to do a few more rides before ending the day with a buffet dinner back at the hotel. We were all starving by that point and, although the buffet was outrageously expensive, the food was already ready so ended up being worth it since we didn’t have to entertain hungry children.
Cam scooped his plate high with mac n’ cheese, while Kenna sampled everything from our plates. It was bath* and bed time after. We had such a great few days, despite some lackluster weather. Next we’re’ hoping for sunny skies on a family trip to Australia to visit Mike’s sister and her family!
*as mentioned, the Legoland hotel is centered all around kids! each room included a box of legos that we ended up using as bath toys every night – an entertainment hack I hadn’t thought of before.
and, speaking of hacks, if you’re like me and need rooms DARK to sleep, I discovered band-aids are the perfect way to cover unexpected pesky little hotel lights, like this one:
VEG VIBES 