We were thrilled to visit LEGOLAND for the Grand Opening of the LEGOLAND Castle Hotel! Our park tickets and stay were complimentary so that we could share how awesome the LEGOLAND California Resort is for families with young children!
Last month I did something that not many parents might attempt. I took all four of my kids to a theme park, by myself! Intimidating? Yes. Worth it? Well, let’s see.
Our visit to LEGOLAND was primarily to attend the Grand Opening Ceremony of the LEGOLAND Castle Hotel, newly built at the LEGOLAND California Resort. We had seen the hotel under construction on our last visit, but now it was complete, and we were going to get to spend the night!
The opening ceremony was lots of fun, complete with Merlin the Wizard, horses, knights, and confetti. Lots and lots of confetti.
After they cut the ribbon, we went inside to check it out!
The lobby is very cool. You cross a drawbridge to enter, and then you’re in the Grand Hall of the castle.
This is where you check in, and there’s a LEGO pit for the kids to play in while they wait. The staircase includes an alternative option to get to the bottom!
Around the corner are the elevators and some interactive features such as the Knock Knock Joke Door, and the Jail.
Upstairs is the Dragon Den Restaurant, guest rooms, and a pretty epic LEGO playground in the courtyard. More about that later!
We were so excited to see our room, but it wasn’t time for us to check in yet, so instead we headed to the park to ride some rides and have some fun while we waited.
This was the intimidating part- four kids of various ages and one adult…at a theme park! One thing I didn’t do? Take pictures!
Lunch was especially enjoyable. Melody wasn’t falling asleep, so I decided to feed everyone first. We tried the Pizza & Pasta Buffet, and it was delicious! All four kids (and myself!) had their fill of pizza, pasta, salad, and unlimited fountain drinks. And, sure enough, shortly thereafter, Melody fell asleep in her stroller.
After lunch, the big kids wanted to ride the Technic roller coaster, so I let them get in line, and I took Harrison nearby to the Beetle Bounce and a few other little-kid-friendly rides. The big kids kept coming by and asking to ride the roller coaster again!
Another highlight of the day was Driving School (for the big kids) and Junior Driving School (for Harrison), and Mia’s Riding Camp, which even Melody could enjoy!
We finished the day with some flavored soft-serve ice cream, a trip to the gift shop, and then headed back to the Castle Hotel to finally check into our room!
There are three themes to the rooms at the Castle Hotel: Royal Princess, Magic Wizard, and Knights and Dragons. The boys weren’t thrilled when we ended up with a Royal Princess room (the girls were!), but they were very pleased to see that the room wasn’t overly girly, and all four kids thought the room was “epic.”
We walked through the LEGO playground in the courtyard on the way to our room. I noticed that several rooms had patios adjacent to the play area, and I hoped we would end up with one of those rooms. There was a giant screen showing LEGO cartoons, and I thought the kids would love being able to watch from their own patio…and that’s exactly what happened!
We were thrilled with our room. It was fantastic, with surprises around every corner. The kids’ area had a set of bunk beds with a trundle, their own TV, and a LEGO play area. The adult side had a big comfy bed, another TV, and a desk. There was also plenty of room for Melody’s pack and play.
For a full tour of the room and all of its surprises, check out the Facebook Live video that I did:
The kids played with LEGOs while I got us settled, and then we headed to the Dragon’s Den to get some dinner. This was the view from our table:
The food was great, especially the kids’ meals options. Also in the restaurant is a huge area with LEGOs to play with, and regularly throughout the day there are live performers doing interactive shows with the kids. Vanessa even got picked to participate in one of them!
There was live entertainment out in the courtyard as well, and after we ate we caught the end of one of the performances. After that, it was most definitely time for bed…
BUT, we hadn’t yet completed our scavenger hunt! Yes, there’s a scavenger hunt at the hotel, and each kid receives a prize at the end of it, in a treasure chest in your own room. The hunt is over when you figure out the code to the lock on your treasure chest. We opened ours and discovered some LEGO building sets for the kids!
THEN it was time for bed, and it didn’t take long for the kids to fall asleep after such a fun-filled day.
In the morning when I needed to pack everything up, I simply lifted the bigger kids over the patio railing so they could go play on the playground while I worked! When everything was ready to go, I just called them back over.
I wished we could have stayed for another day. LEGOLAND often does deals where you can get multi-day tickets for the price of a single day, so if you’re planning a visit, look out for those!
The Castle Hotel definitely lived up to our expectations, and the kids and I (and everyone we know who watched our tour!) can’t wait to visit again!
So I didn’t just take my four kids to a theme park. To tell the full story, I drove six hours across state lines, with a carload of kids, spent the night in a motel, then spent the day at a theme park, another night in a hotel, and then drove them all home. It was quite the adventure, and you know what? I’d do it all again!
