If your children are under 10, there is plenty for them to enjoy at Legoland California. Older kids aren’t the target audience.

Purchasing tickets to Legoland California

We’ve been wanting to revisit Legoland California since our first trip here in 2021. Ultimately, we settled on an annual pass (thank goodness this is far cheaper than what Disney charges). There are four levels of passes (Elite, Platinum, Gold, and Silver). My read of the passes is that Elite is best for those who intend to visit the parks in other states, Platinum is for parking, and Gold is good enough. Silver is probably best for the youngest crowd who wants to go on weekdays and doesn’t need to worry about school days.

If we were trying to optimize this, we would have one parent get a Platinum pass for the parking benefit and marginally better in-park discounts. Then we would have everyone else get a Gold pass. Yes, Platinum passholders get more opportunity to visit, but Gold isn’t that stingy.

If you’re looking for the best price on tickets, when I casually monitored pricing, I found that Black Friday offered marginally better deals.

Best rides at Legoland California

Rather than list off every single ride that you can find at the theme park, I’ll just focus on the best rides. A full list of rides can be found at Legoland California’s website.

Just one disclaimer: we haven’t yet been on the brand-new Galacticoaster, an indoor rollercoaster through space that will draw some similarities to Disneyland’s Space Mountain.

1. The Dragon

All the way in the back of the park is another roller coaster called The Dragon. A rather ominous name but the ride itself isn’t too intense. It starts off with a casual stroll through a lively castle before the roller coaster part happens. There aren’t any loops and the drops are tame, so it might not entertain thrill-seekers. But it’s still fun and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it as they ran back onto the ride more than five times in a row.

2. LEGO Technic Coaster

This is the “scariest” ride in the theme park, which is your typical wild mouse ride. If you get to Legoland California early enough, there won’t be any crowds. In fact, during repeated visits, we haven’t seen lines scarier than the ride itself. I imagine it will draw lines during busier summer months, so it’s still a good idea to come early if you intend to ride.

To its credit, this ride doesn’t have brakes that send you slamming into the seat restraint (which is more than I can say about Goofy’s Sky School at Disney’s California Adventure). So I’d rate this as a pretty comfortable ride. Once you get past the first drop, it’s relatively smooth sailing for you and your kids.

3. LEGO CITY: Deep Sea Adventure

This is your typical submarine ride where riders feel like they’ve submerged into a different world. But the real appeal of the ride is its interactivity. Riders will intently look around to see what hidden objects they can find out their window. There’s no penalty for getting it wrong, so you could just do what I did and press everything repeatedly to get max score. But there’s no fun in that. I like this ride more than its non-interactive equivalents at other theme parks.

4. Unikitty’s Disco Drop

Going up and down and up and down… that’s what you can expect with Unikitty’s Disco Drop. Some might feel a little queasy from all the vertical motion. But if you find the up-and-down sensation exhilarating, then you’ll like this ride. Little Char below was scared of it on her first attempt but it quickly rose up the list of her favorites. There are two pillars to help move the line a bit faster. Don’t be surprised to see this one with a lengthy wait, especially if Emmet’s next door is crowded.

5. Emmet’s Flying Adventure Ride

I don’t have a good picture of the ride itself given how dark it is on the ride, but think of this like Soarin’ at Disney. I want to like this ride–I really do–because it has a story and it takes you around multiple interesting worlds. But the problem is that it feels like the characters narrating the ride ate way too much sugar. It’s so hyper that it’s hard to understand what’s going out and voices just turn into (very loud) white noise.

I’d go so far as to say I’d be a big fan of the ride if it toned down the excitement a few notches. Am I expecting too much as an adult reflecting on a ride intended for children? Maybe, I’ll give you that.

6. Coast Cruise

Coast Cruise is a ride that is slightly different each time you go on it. Each employee that captains the ship has a slightly different story to tell. The ride itself is fine and there are plenty of puns that makes you feel like you’re on the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland. Production value is lower here than at Disneyland, but I also feel like it’s more authentic.

7. Coastersaurus

One of the newer rides at Legoland California is Coastersaurus, which is found near the front of the park. Unlike the other roller coasters mentioned above, this one is very quick once you get on the ride. It’s so short that workers will let everyone go at least twice (with the record being four times in a row when no one was in line). It’s incredibly tame and even five-year-old Char was hoping for more excitement elsewhere. Think of this as a beginner roller coaster.

Want to figure out when is the best time to ride? Try later in the afternoon. Since it’s a beginner ride, many younger kids want to experience it, but the younger crowd dissipates around mid-afternoon (nap time?). We’ve sat in this line for about an hour one day before figuring out that we just need to come back at a better time.

8. DUPLO Little Dino Trail

All the rides in Dino Valley specialize in being acceptable for toddlers and the like. Bigger kids will absolutely wonder why they’re wasting their time on this Dino Trail. But younger kids will love it. As a result, this one has a huge line. Get here right at park opening or come back late in the day after those little kids go back to nap.

Each rider in the front will get a camera to take “pictures” of dinosaurs as they search for the one they need to find. If you aim at the black sensors and snap a photo, the dinosaurs will talk to you. Kids might not notice you can do that so point it out to them to make the most of waiting in that long line.

9. Driving School

Want to see your child drive a car? The Driving School is a good option for you. There are two courses: one for young children and one for older kids. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to go on the ride with them–this isn’t Autopia. Instead, you’ll get to watch them figure it out on their own. Some children might not like the independence, but if yours are fine with it, they’ll come away feeling happy.

There are plenty of employees around to help out the kids if they get stuck or end up in an accident. They’re not able to go fast enough to cause serious damage, so don’t get too worried.

10. DUPLO Playtown

You might think this area is all for little ones and you’d be mostly correct. The train ride is an extremely simple, small loop that really is best for infants. You’ll find Duplo blocks in houses and small mazes for younger children.

But there is one ride(?) that will give you a pretty good workout and offers some intrigue for kids of all ages. That ride is the Kid Power Tower. You and a partner sit on a chair that you lift with your own arm strength. Go on this ride a couple of times in a row because each child wants a chance to ride with you and mom doesn’t have the grip strength to make it up. Unlike Ninjago, this one makes your muscles sore for all the right reasons. Don’t skip over this one.

The ride with the most potential but poorest execution

Ninjago The Ride

Here is the hot take of this post: I strongly dislike this ride. It has so much potential with an interactive score-based ride that is meant to drive competitive desires. But what you get is a ride that is very unenjoyable and a frustrating mess.

• Your hands need to do an awkward action to attack enemies.
• You must position your hands just above the sensor to register the action at all.
• The sensor simply does not work sometimes, which leads to kids getting frustrated. As a parent, I don’t want to ride something that makes my children upset as I have to deal with the aftermath.
• There is absolutely no immersion in the environment, as you can see multiple scenes upcoming or past just by turning your head to the side.
• I don’t understand the story at all if there is one.
• Go on this ride multiple times and you will be sore because of the awkwardness of interacting with the ride.

Do yourself a favor and skip this ride.

Food could be better

In general, the food isn’t the star of the show at Legoland California. For adults, that’s probably the most disappointing aspect of the theme park. I wouldn’t say we’re hoping for a culinary experience but rather just a better value for the money and more variety. Let’s get into a few examples of what I’m talking about.

What’s ultimately missing from Legoland California is a legitimate sit-down restaurant that serves something other than fast food. I’m not sure why it seems only Disney commits to having true restaurants in their theme parks.

The Pizza Pit Stop

Let’s get it out of the way first: the best thing about this restaurant is the ordering system. You just need to walk up to a window and choose what you want on a screen, then wait to be called to collect it. If you have an annual pass that offers a discount, you’ll need to flag down and employee to apply it. As you’d expect, the restaurant specializes in pizza, but it’s nothing all that memorable. It’s not a bad value and works if you have pizza lovers in the family.

The restaurant is over in the Imagination Zone, to the right of the front entrance.

Burger Kitchen

Found in practically the middle of the park, Burger Kitchen is your stereotypical theme park burger restaurant. We have no complaints about the food here and it’s exactly what you expect it to be. This is another restaurant where you can order off the screen and just wait for it to be ready. If you’re looking for food to sustain your day, this might be one of the better options (almost by default) to fuel up.

Knight’s Smokehouse

There’s so much potential at this restaurant advertising that it smokes brisket on-site daily. It’s found pretty much as far away from the front entrance as you can get. Let’s start with the positives. I think the food has a good flavor, which is more than I can say about some of the other restaurants here. There’s also plenty of seating, which is a must during crowded days.

But that’s about all I can say that’s congratulatory. Where does the restaurant struggle?

• Portion size. There’s something disappointing about spending over $25 for a meal and not feeling satisfied. If the intent is to not give much food, might I suggest smaller plates to trick the eyes?
• Food is too dry. I don’t need BBQ to be swimming in sauce, but the brisket is so dry that it will leave you gulping down water to compensate. The biscuits similarly lack the rich buttery goodness we want it to be.
• Lines can be long. More so than other restaurants, this one features a bit of a bottleneck due to its cafeteria style. You’ll wait in a single lengthy line around the interior of the restaurant as you wait for employees to hurriedly put orders on everyone’s plates.

Everything is Ramen

I unfortunately don’t have a picture of the food (not sure how that happened), but we were most disappointed with this one. But it’s ramen! What could be wrong with it? Ramen is all about the flavor of the broth and the texture of the noodles. And we found it struggled with both. The noodle quality was similar to what you might find in an instant ramen packet. The broth was rich but didn’t remind us that we were eating ramen.

This one is in The Lego Movie World to the left side of the main entrance, but you’ll do well to avoid it.

Churros con Chocolate

Located at the base of Castle Hill, Churros con Chocolate is home to the best churros in the theme park. Every other shop sells the typical thin churro you’d find at any theme park. But if you want a thick, warm, crispy-on-the-outside-and-melt-in-your-mouth-inside delicious churro, you’ll want to come here. It’s the same price as the churros you’ll find elsewhere, but it’s double the satisfaction. There might be a short line, but it’s worth it.

And best of all, each order of churros comes with two of these bad boys and some delicious chocolate for dipping. Sign me up for more!

Granny’s Apple Fries

Yet another option that I seem to have misplaced my photo. People seem to enjoy the apple fries given the lines that swarm around the stand. But… we’re not a fan. And for a simple reason: it’s way too sweet. We’ve mentioned in other posts that we’re big fans of fruit, but the apple fries are completely loaded with sweeteners that detract from the simplicity of the snack. Nothing against you if you do enjoy it, but it’s not for us.

Get bonus time when staying at the Legoland California Hotel

One “feature” of staying at the Legoland California Hotel is getting an extra 15 minutes to ride some of the rides before others do. That might not sound like much, but when you’re talking about rides with some of the longest waits (like Coastersaurus), it’s actually not a bad benefit. We stayed at the Legoland California Hotel and the kids had a wonderful time. Which rides come with early entry?

• Coastersaurus
• DUPLO Little Dino Trail
• Explorer River Quest
• Coast Cruise
• NINJAGO The Ride

Just staying at the hotel won’t get you entry to the theme park. But on crowded days, this can be a pretty helpful feature. Just flash your room key to take advantage.

What do you like to ride while at Legoland California?

Suggested reading:

• Disappointment at Legoland California’s Sea Life Aquarium
• Legoland California Water Park Review: How to Get Cheaper Entry
• Thoughts on Disneyland
• Universal Studios Hollywood: In Need of TLC
• Beautiful and Yet a Major Blemish: A Review of the Park Hyatt Aviara