legoland

Brick Or Treat Party nights are Back at Legoland California!

Abby H.

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I’m stoked! Brick or Treat is back at Legoland! This will be our 3rd year going, and the kids can’t wait!

Join Legoland California every Saturday night (Sept. 28, Oct. 5, 12, 19, and 26) at 5 p.m. The family theme Park transforms into the ultimate family Halloween party with tasty goodies, monster jams and spooktacular entertainment! With treat stations located throughout the Park and inside SEA LIFE® Aquarium, there is sure to be something to satisfy every sweet tooth. Along with tons of candy, guests can collect specialty items such as LEGO® Commemorative brick, LEGO® Life Magazine and healthy treat options!

The popular Brick-or-Treat festivities are back with a new out of this world Pop Badge Challenge! Families can collect an exclusive Brick-or-Treat pop badge by snapping a selfie with an intergalactic dancer at Club Astro Bash! After dancing their way at Planet Boogie, they can collect one pop badge per weekend, with an exclusive, new Pop Badge design offered each Brick-or-Treat Party Night!

The ultimate family Halloween party is filled with frighteningly- fun entertainment as the Boo Crew returns with a new creepy crawly stilt walker, The Spider Queen! Guests can get in the Halloween spirit by jumping in and boogieing down at the seasons most frighteningly-fun dance parties which includes Midnight Monster Jam where guests help the Monster Crew bring their spooky fun character concert to life! Wacky Professor Frankenbrick returns to Brick-or-Treat with one goal: to be the best mad scientist in the world! Kids can partake in the interactive Frankenbrick’s Lab show by using their imagination to bring his LEGO® Monsters to life. Kids can celebrate the season by singing along and moving their feet to the beat with The Witchettes in the Courtyard Theatre or by joining in the interactive play, Mail Order Monsters. Guests also have a chance to win some scream worthy prizes by showing off their coolest costumes in the Brick-Or-Treat Costume Contest presented by Disguise Costumes! With three categories: Group, Heroes & Villains and LEGO Themed, as well as a Costume Parade for all kids to join in, there is a chance for everyone to strut their stuff during the Halloween celebration!

Brick-or-Treat Party Nights is a special event and admission can be purchased for as low as $64 if purchased online in advance. Special event ticket holders can enjoy costume contests, decorations, character meet and greets, trick-or-treating, live music and tons of frightfully festive entertainment. Guests can follow the fun by using #BRICKORTREAT2019 on social media.

We’re going on October 5th, make sure to keep your eyes peeled on our Instagram Feed for photos of all of the cool treats, spooky costumes, and of course, Granny’s Apple Fries!

Enjoy Fireworks & Fun at Legoland!

Abby H.

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If you don’t have plans for Thursday, check out the fun at Legoland California!

Don’t miss Fireworks set to a patriotic musical tribute with great viewing in designated locations throughout the Park.

Event activities include:

  • All-American family picnic games: water-balloon tosses, burlap sack races, Family Build Challenge and LEGO Hamburger relay
  • Patriotic costume parade: come dressed in your favorite Red, White and Blue attire
  • Fireworks
  • Character meet and greets
  • Special giveaways
  • Live performances and more!

The celebration lasts from 1:00pm to 9:00pm with fireworks at 8:30pm. All Red, White and BOOM! activities are included in the cost of admission to LEGOLAND California.

And if you are looking for a deal, Groupon has discount admissions here. Or if you stop by a San Diego County area McDonald’s location, you can pick up a coupon for a free child admission when you purchase an adult admission at full price.

If you are looking for more frugal fun at Legoland, check out my post here.  If you have a special needs child, learn more about the Assisted Access pass here.

Spring Break in San Diego!

Abby H.

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Spring break is upon us, and I know that without a plan, I’d go nuts for two weeks. Here are some of the adventures we plan on getting into:

Legoland: There is a new 4-D Movie, based on the popular Lego City cartoons! You can check out a preview here. Plus the usual fun stuff, and of course Granny’s Apple Fries. YUM.

Balboa Park: As we have two weeks off, that gives us two opportunities to enjoy two Resident Free Days down at Balboa Park. If you can’t get down to Balboa Park on a free Tuesday, you should definitely make it down for the new exhibits and films down at The Nat. 

Tide Pools: The Pacific Ocean is still too cold to swim in during April, but it’s never too cold to explore the Tide Pools. My favorite Tide Pool is at Cabrillo National Park. Here is a list of the 6 best Tide Pools in San Diego.

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The Big kid and his friends at the Tierrasanta Pool back when he was a little guy.

Swimming: While the ocean may be cold, our local pools are not. The Cameron Family YMCA has a great children’s splash pad/pool, The Ned Baumer Pool in Mira Mesa has a kids pool/splash pad, and the Tierrasanta Pool has a fun splash pad for littler kids.

San Diego Zoo: As I’m sure most of you are aware, the Pandas are going back home to China at the end of April (April 27th to be exact). I’ll be taking the kids to the zoo at least once to say goodbye to the pandas and see the other animals. But, no trip to the Children’s Zoo Playground. The Children’s Zoo is closed while they remodel the area.

Play dates at the Park: We’ll be playing with our friends at the park, investigating the creeks, and doing crafts with our friends. I’ve ordered a couple craft kits, including a suncatcher kit, and a Bouncy Ball making kit.

Being Lazy at Home: I can’t be expected to run all over town for 2 weeks, right? We’ll for sure have (at least) one day at home where we will hang out in our PJ’s, eat popcorn, and watch movies.

Talk Back: If you haven’t already had your spring break, what will you be doing?

Legoland California Turns 20!

Abby H.

We’ll be visiting Legoland California during spring break. The kids are so excited to check out all of the new shows celebrating the 20th birthday!

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If you are headed to the park soon, you will be greeted with all kinds of fun!

In honor of the special birthday, LEGOLAND California is handing out free child-size Minifigure hands to the first 1,000 kids entering the Park. The LEGO birthday cake, created out of more than 100,000 LEGO bricks, will also be on display showcasing the many attractions that have been added to the family theme park since it opened 20 years ago including a LEGO submarine, representing the Park’s newest ride, LEGO City Deep Sea Adventure submarine ride.

The birthday kicks off a year-long celebration that includes a new interactive Birthday Dance Party, LEGO Friends birthday show, exclusive birthday desserts, pop badges and more. The new shows can be seen daily now through Sept. 1 and are filled with singing, dancing and characters for all families to enjoy.

Plus, LEGOLAND California is paying the birthday fun forward to its younger guests – all children ages 12 and under get free admission on their birthday all year long! And for grown ups, there is a great deal on Groupon right now! One-Day Admission or Two-Day Resort Hopper Admission to LEGOLAND California Resort (Up to 31% Off)

And starting next month there will be a new 4-D Movie, based on the popular Lego City cartoons! You can check out a preview here.

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If you are looking to do Legoland on a budget, check out my post here.

Do you have someone in your party that has a handicap? Check out my post about the Assisted Access Pass and how we do Legoland with our kiddo with ASD.

Legoland: Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals!

Abby H.

If your family is like ours, we are hoping to do more “experience” gifts this year. This year, Legoland has answered my prayers!

LEGOLAND® California Resort joins the Black Friday and Cyber Monday fun with AWESOME  deals of its own!  Starting at 12 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 23 through 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 26, the family theme Park in Carlsbad, CA is offering huge deals to the Park, LEGOLAND® Hotel and new LEGOLAND® Castle Hotel exclusively through its website.

Bricktastic deals include:

  • 50% off one-day LEGOLAND/SEA LIFE Hopper tickets
  • 30% off stay at LEGOLAND Hotel or LEGOLAND Castle Hotel plus 50% off 2-Day admission to LEGOLAND California + SEA LIFE aquarium

Family vacation planners and savvy shoppers can sign up now at: https://www.legoland.com/cybermonday/ to receive exclusive access to deals before they become available to the general public. SEA LIFE Hopper tickets and LEGOLAND Vacations Hotel reservations purchased through the exclusive deals are redeemable Jan. 6 through March 21, 2019. Each LEGOLAND California offer is limited and may sell out quickly.

I’ve signed up and set an alarm on my phone! We’ll definitely be buying tickets!

October is Kids Free Month in San Diego!

Abby H.2 Comments

Screen Shot 2017-09-26 at 8.56.48 PMI know I’m early, but it’s worth bookmarking… Kids Free October is back for the 8th year!

For those of us with curious kids, this is perfect! Kids can get into over 40 museums in the San Diego area free with paying adults (all the info can be found here).

Some of the participating organizations include:

Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Fleet Science Center (Galleries only)
Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum
Heritage of the Americas Museum
Japanese Friendship Garden
Living Coast Discovery Center
Maritime Museum of San Diego
Marston House Museum & Gardens
Mingei International Museum
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
Museum of Making Music
Museum of Photographic Arts
San Diego Air & Space Museum
San Diego Automotive Museum
San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum
San Diego Chinese Historical Museum
San Diego History Center
San Diego Model Railroad Museum
San Diego Natural History Museum (The Nat)
Tijuana Estuary Visitor Center
Timken Museum of Art (it’s always free for everyone FYI)
Women’s Museum of California

A full list can be found here. Oh, and as part of free October, Kids can get into the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park free when accompanied by a paying adult!  Other Kids go free attractions include: Legoland, Sea World, and the USS Midway!!

More info can be found here, and other fun, free stuff for kids can be found here and here.

And I’m hoping to have more info on some free events for Halloween over the next few weeks.

Brick or Treat is Coming Back at Legoland!

Abby H.1 Comment

BOT_PumpkinBuild_LLF_secondary.JPGI told the kids this morning that we’ll be going to Brick or Treat at Legoland this year, and they were so excited.

LEGOLAND® California Resort transforms into a monster mash bash for the ultimate family fun during its Brick-or-Treat Party Nights Halloween celebration, presented by Disguise Costumes, every Saturday night (Sept. 29, Oct. 6, 13, 20, & 27) at 5 p.m. with more Park after dark!  LEGOLAND® California‘s Halloween festivities is filled with sweeter treats, exciting entertainment and not-so-spooky thrills.

bot-t2-sea life.jpgAlong with 16 Treat Stations sure to satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth, guests can collect specialty items such as LEGO® commemorative brick, LEGO® Life Magazine containing a special gift and enjoy a bonus treat station inside SEA LIFE® aquarium.  In addition to the treat stations, the kids can’t wait to check out:

  • Frankenbrick’s Lab, kids can partake in an interactive show with a chance to act as scientists on stage and create their own slime
  • Model Shop roof will be the home to AstroBash, a space-themed dance party that’s out of this world
  • A new pop-badge challenge in Fun Town
  • A fall festival complete with a LEGO®pumpkin patch building activity, BOOgrass Band (this is my favorite part of the night- Seriously! Everything is awesome done by a bluegrass band… it’s rad!)
  • And Bitty’s Favorite- A special LEGO® Friends meet and greet in Heartlake City, where kids can decorate their own craft

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Brick-or-Treat Party Nights is a special event and admission can be purchased for as low as $54 if purchased online in advance.  Additionally, guests can purchase a full 2nd day Resort Hopper ticket to enjoy LEGOLAND California, SEA LIFE aquarium and LEGOLAND® Water Park.  Special event ticket holders can enjoy costume contests, trick-or-treating at candy stations filled with tasty goodies and other surprises, festive music and live entertainment.

LEGOLAND California and SEA LIFE Aquarium are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on select dates throughout October.  With special event admission to Brick-or-Treat Party Nights on September 29, October 6, 13, 20 and 27, guests can extend their day until 9 p.m. at both LEGOLAND California and SEA LIFE Aquarium to enjoy all the Halloween festivities plus add on a 2nd day Resort Hopper to extend the fun all weekend long.  For exclusive savings and more information, visit www.BRICKORTREAT.com or call 760-918-5346.

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Exploring Legoland:Assisted Access Pass

Abby H.

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“No Mommy, I don’t want to have my picture taken with a shark, I want to pick my nose.” Margaret

Recently, the kids and I got a sneak peak of the Lego City: Deep Sea Adventure ride. It was great fun- it combines a submarine ride, a treasure hunt, and Legos! The kids had a blast. Henry loved getting his picture taken with Lego “Sharky”, and of course the building station to entertain the kids while we waited in line.  I like that the building station has directions and information about real life fish and ocean wildlife that kids can build with the Legos found at the building station.

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Henry loves Legoland, and so does Margaret. I love taking them. In addition to fun rides, there are tons of areas for kids to play, run, build Lego, and splash (in addition to the water park). What I really like is that they offer an Assisted Access Pass.

A lot of readers don’t know this, but Henry is ASD (That’s Autism Spectrum Disorder). So going on rides, waiting in line with a lot of people, loud noises, and weird smells can trigger him and lead to meltdowns, or just shutting down (sensory overload). Thankfully Legoland offers the Assisted Access Pass. For anyone with a disability, pick one up at Guest Services near the entrance. The pass entitles the pass holder, plus up to five additional people in your party to by-pass the regular line, and wait in a shortened line.

After you get into the by-pass line, the Model Citizen (that’s the staff member) will sign your pass and give you the next time that you can utilize the pass again. You can use it all day. We usually use it 3-4 times to go on the rides the kids really want to go on and have a long line. The wait time to use the pass again can be passed at a splash pad, play area, or building station. There is lots to see and do besides rides. There are quiet areas where kids (and adults) can decompress and relax at both First Aid and The Baby Care Center.

469ABCF7-367C-4837-BF98-445D13D1A387.jpgI also like that you can bring your own snacks into Legoland too. I pack our backpack full of snacks and treats, and our reusable Camelback bottles , (which you can refill with ice and water for free at anyone of the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines throughout the park).  But- the kids and I do love the goodies and treats at Legoland. Especially, Granny’s Apple Fries.

If you and your kiddos are ravenous after 5pm in the park, check out this deal:

Screen Shot 2018-07-10 at 8.56.38 PM.pngKIDS EAT FREE AFTER 5 PM THROUGH 8/18/2018 * Fun Town’s Urban Kitchen, Wok ‘N’ Bowl Ramen, Garden Deli & Café, Pizza Pasta Buffet and Smokehouse BBQ only. Offer is available for a limited time, see locations for availability and details. Kids receive one FREE Kids’ Meal with the purchase of one full-price adult entrée. Offer is available after 5pm at Fun Town’s Urban Kitchen, Wok ‘N’ Bowl Ramen, Garden Deli & Café, Pizza Pasta Buffet and Smokehouse BBQ at LEGOLAND® California. Adult entrée purchase equals one FREE Kids’ Meal. Cannot be combined with any other discount or offer. Restrictions apply. The right of final interpretation resides with LEGOLAND California Resort. Prices, times and schedules subject to change without notice.

The kids dig the Pizza and Pasta Buffet.  I dig Kids Eat Free.

And here are photos of Henry pretending to be Arthur- The king, not the aardvark.

 

For our family, Legoland is a great way to spend the day together on our schedule, with little to no stress.  Talk Back: What is your favorite way to spend time with your family that low key and enjoyable?

 

 

LEGOLAND® Castle Hotel opens tomorrow (and a deal)!

Abby H.

The kids and I are so excited! In just a few hours, we’ll be headed up to Legoland California for the opening of the Castle Hotel. We’re getting a sneak peak today, and the hotel opens officially tomorrow!

The kids are excited because the Hotel featuring more than 2,000 LEGO models made out of three million LEGO® bricks, a Knock-knock Joke Door (Henry is big into knock knock jokes), LEGO play pit, interactive play structures and themed entertainment each night. Oh, and the pool.

LLstatueInstall_0152.JPGThe pool has two interactive features: a water fountain and two tipping baskets which will splash guests in the pool from above.

The Royal Courtyard also features a picnic/cinema area with a large movie screen and seating, a stage for daily performances, a DUPLO® play area for toddlers and a Knight Training interactive playground for those children ready to balance, climb and play.

So, be expecting a lot of photos and posts on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I can’t wait to show you all of the awesome stuff going on up at Legoland and the new Legoland Castle hotel.

Screen Shot 2018-04-26 at 8.33.29 AM.pngAnd if you are looking for a deal on Legoland Tickets, Don’t forget to check your local Denny’s location for a Kid’s Go Free Coupons! I found these at our local Denny’s!

I spied a fresh new pad of these coupons out at our local Santee Denny’s last week!

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Two New Exhibits at Lego SEA LIFE® Aquarium

Abby H.

I’m stoked that the kids and I are feeling better! It’s spring break for the next two weeks and there are two new exhibits at Lego SEA LIFE® Aquarium!SeaLife_0315.JPGSeaLife_0301.JPG

On our next visit, we can take a splash in the ocean without ever getting wet and become a shark explorer at SEA LIFE® aquarium’s two newest exhibits: Sea at Night and Shark Mission!  Open just in time for spring break, both exhibits allow guests to learn about marine life in a fun and interactive way.

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Sea at Night invites guests to jump, leap and “splash” into simulated bioluminescent waves that react to their footsteps.  The reaction created by the guests’ movements demonstrates the effect of a glowing tide similar to ones often seen along the Pacific coastline.

Shark Mission allows kids to come face to fin with six different species of sharks and rays on three giant touch screens.  Young explorers can learn about anatomy, conservation and other cool facts through interactive activities and games.  Guests can also hold a shark’s tooth, learn about shark skin and eggs, plus step into a shark cage.

Sea at Night and Shark Mission are open now for guests to explore at SEA LIFE aquarium.  For more information, visit the Legoland website.

Screen Shot 2018-03-26 at 10.43.29 AM.pngDon’t forget to check your local Denny’s location for a Kid’s Go Free Coupons! I found these at our local Denny’s!