Legoland

I took my 6-year-old son, Parker, to his first trip to Legoland last month and it was a blast, but not for the reasons you might expect.

Yes, he loves Lego. He’s been doing one or two a week since he was 3. At 6 he does the ones way above his age group and our house already feels like a Legoland.
But he couldn’t wait to see the real thing. We expected the highlights to be the rides, as they are at most theme parks, but what we really loved were the unexpected attractions.

The first was a trading system they have. You bring in any of your small Lego characters and you can trade them with staff, guests and at little booths around the park. We had no idea that was a thing, but it turned out to be a wonderful one.
First off, all the staff members have little Lego clipped to their shirts. If you see one you like they will make a trade. Also, if you see other kids with Lego figures, you can trade with them.

We met so many people from all over the world by sharing our Lego. For Parker it was like we were the ones traveling the globe and it did what is too often lacking at theme parks—It got us talking to strangers and sharing stories, which made every day a friendly learning experience. Even the lines were more chill than at any other theme park we’d been to because we were compelled to talk to each other.

Next up was the Lego models of cities from around the world. Our first day in the park we breezed through it, because I was afraid Parker wouldn’t really appreciate it. But he asked to go back there the second day and we spent hours looking at giant models of New York, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, Las Vegas and London.
He was most interested in DC and needed to know what was in every building. Luckily, I was raised there and could answer most of his questions. I had taken him out of school for three days, claiming it was educational. (Don’t judge me.) But as we explored the government buildings in the capital, he spoke up: “See, Dad, it is an educational field trip.”)

I was so happy that a 6-year-old could appreciate an exhibit I would have figured would be more interesting to grown-ups. It wasn’t just amazing that they did this with Lego, but that they did it so remarkably authentic. It felt like being there.
We also spent time building Lego in various exhibits. It is Legoland, after all, but the chance to make something and keep it was just about worth the price of admission for a Lego fanatic.

Last but not least—the hotel. We stayed at the castle, in a room for magicians, rather than ones for knights and dragons. The décor was beyond belief. Every inch was beautiful and magical and worth the expense, which was much higher than an off-campus motel would have been. (It’s considerably cheaper than the $1,000 plus per person Star Wars rooms at Disney. We paid $1,500 which included two-day passes to the park, a great buffet breakfast and all-day entertainment.)

But there were two things at the hotel that really thrilled the kid: Every day there’s a treasure hunt. You get clues and have to explore the building to answer them. When you do, you get a combination to a safe in your room that has free Lego. Again, we interacted with families following the clues and it made the park so much more friendly than others we’ve been to.

Aside from having story time, plays, character visits, big screen movies and kid games, there was one unplanned, unsponsored event—the sword fight pit. A fenced off playground that was used by toddlers in the daytime became a medieval battle ground for older kids in the evening, each of them with the ubiquitous soft foam swords and shields sold around the park (like the wands at Universal’s Harry Potter exhibit—every kid had to have them).

The kids ran the show while the parents stood a bit nervously outside the fences watching and meeting. But if a park is for the kids, why not let them do their own thing? We’ve never seen anything like it at any other park.

When I think of some other parks I remember tedious lines, high prices and feeling like I was in a shopping mall, more than a place for fun. The way Legoland gets people to interact made it one of the best experiences we’ve ever had and could teach some other parks a thing of two.

For all the information you need, hit Legoland.com