Legoland Ahoy!

Interactive Fun for Little Ones

By Kendeyl Johansen

Friends thought my mom and I were crazy to head for Legoland California with my 1 1/2-year-old twin boys and 4-year-old son. But I'd heard rave reviews about the family-friendly amusement park and I wanted to try it even though my kids were so little. Besides, my older son, Max, loved adventure and the twins would enjoy sightseeing and trying to storm everything in sight.

Legoland is a 128-acre family theme park dedicated to kids ages 2 through 12 with more than 40 hands-on attractions, shows and Lego brick building projects. Upon entering the park I was immediately impressed while standing in our first line for the Sky Patrol helicopter ride. To make waiting bearable there were interactive exhibits for my kids to play with and interesting facts to read. "The park's designer obviously had kids," my mom observed. When it was our turn to ride my kids loved "flying" the helicopters. They moved them up and down and from side-to-side using the instrument panel. Our big challenge was getting the boys off of the ride.

My mom and I soon discovered that all of the rides in Legoland are interactive. Instead of passively riding, kids drive, pedal, squirt, climb and build.

My twins stormed Legoland's interactive Duplo Play Town with gusto. The scaled-down buildings were just big enough to make climbing fun, and sliding a blast and the spongy ground was a huge stress-saver for me. My twins loved the buildings‚ buttons, flashing lights, sounds and water features. In fact, they decided they were in paradise and never wanted to leave. They pitched twin tantrums when I herded them towards the exit but my mom, in typical grandma fashion, came to their rescue. She offered to stay with them while Max and I headed for the "big-boy" rides.

Want to see more?

• Presidential Trips for Your Family
• Oregon's Newberry National Volcanic Monument
• Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo: The Perfect Year-round Family Destination
• Check out our Article Library.
• Talk about it!