Theme Park Insider - Park Review

History of Legoland California
Legoland California opened in 1999, as Lego's first park in the United States.

How do you get to Legoland California?
Take Interstate 5 to Carlsbad, which is located one hour south of Anaheim and half an hour north of San Diego.

When is the best time to visit?
Legoland is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the school year, and closes at 5 or 6 p.m. most other days. The park is not as busy as others, so unless you can visit on a weekday during the school year, your selection of specific day won't matter all that much. Do arrive early, however.

How do I get tickets to Legoland California?
Lego sells tickets on its website. Use discount code 295-VALUE, found on RetailMeNot, to save up to $17 per ticket. In addition, discount tickets can often be found at Costco (there's one across the street on Palomar Airport Road) or at local fast food restaurants or groceries.

What's new at Legoland California?
A new water park, which will require an additional $10 ticket, or a multi-park pass, will open in 2010. "Lost Kingdom Adventure," a shoot-'em-up dark ride, debuted in 2008.

Plan your day at Legoland California
If anyone in your group wants to ride Knights Tournament, bear right when entering the park and take the path into Miniland and past the Block of Fame to get to to Knights' Tournament first. Then cut across the park to ride the Kid Power Tower and Sky Cruiser. Do not charge to the top of the park when the park opens, because most the rides at the top of the park don't open till 30 minutes after the park officially opens.

If you've very little ones, bear left and ride the Safari Trek first, proceeding around the park clockwise as your kids' stamina holds up.

Note that there's a great play fort, The Hideaways, at the rear of the park, in Knights' Kingdom, for when the little ones grow restless and need to blow off steam.

Because it's Legoland, and not your typical theme park, be sure to leave some time for the Imagination Zone, which features "Build & Test," in which Lego fans can design and build cars to race against other kids.