I’m a Mom of Toddlers and Was Shocked to Find That Legoland Blew Disney out of the Water

This past fall, with a long weekend off from preschool and two bored kiddos at home, my husband and I contemplated a weekend away from our base in Southern California.

When considering where to go, we most heavily weighed our decision around our kids’ interests. Sure, I would have loved a getaway luxuriating by a quiet pool with a good book, but with two toddlers, I know that’s just not reality. Plus, when we cater our trips to our kids, it makes for an easier trip, and there’s nothing better than seeing smiles plastered across their faces in pure vacation glee.

Since we live about two hours away from both San Diego and LA, we naturally considered a drop-in to Disneyland. It would be a surefire hit with our kids, nearly four and 18 months at the time, as they’d previously loved visits to Disney World, Disneyland, and Disney’s Aulani Resort in Hawaii.

But the cost alone was exponential. 

Seeking a similar immersive experience, we landed on Legoland California despite the fact that our kids never played with Legos aside from a few random Duplos strewn about our playroom. I figured it was still a theme park and would be new, different, and worth a shot.

After two days in the park, I couldn’t believe we didn’t visit sooner. With its themed hotel, affordable ticket prices, sensory-friendly rides, and playgrounds galore, it was a dream for preschoolers and blew our previous Disney trips out of the water. For anyone with kids under 5, in particular, I’m convinced it’s a must-visit. Here’s why.

At Legoland California, there are two hotels: Legoland California Resort Hotel and Legoland Castle Hotel. We stayed at the latter, and it was a fantasy for my kids from the moment we arrived. The entire exterior is fashioned like a real castle with turrets and a drawbridge-style entrance. Inside, every single inch is themed from floor-to-ceiling with Lego play areas, thrones to sit on, and even a jail to hide out in. Each floor pays homage to wizards or royalty, and every room is like sleeping inside a storybook. But the best part for parents is that every accommodation is a suite.

With two adults and two kids, this was a game-changer. Instead of squeezing into double beds in a shared space, we had a bedroom for me and my husband and a separate bunk bed room for the kids that had fun theming, a galaxy night light, and a curtain to close off the space. 

The room was also filled with thoughtful extras such as rounded corner protectors to prevent bonked heads, a step stool for washing little hands, a toddler toilet seat, Legos to play with, and juice boxes in addition to water bottles. A small safe even held a prize for the kids to keep once they completed a hotel scavenger hunt. None of this cost extra. 

The hotel also had multiple playgrounds — one designed for toddlers and another for older kids — a zero-entry pool, an outdoor movie theater, and on-site Lego character meet-and-greets that didn’t require pricey dining reservations like at Disney.

In addition to all the perks previously mentioned, all Legoland hotel stays include breakfast. We saved money this way and enjoyed eating there since the on-site hotel restaurant had a play area where bored kiddos could occupy themselves while waiting for meals. In my opinion, no Disney hotel comes close to offering such spacious rooms with so many inclusions for little ones, at such an attainable price. 

The Castle Hotel, for instance, starts at $317 per night. The California Hotel next door begins at just $287. Disney hotels easily cost double that without a suite or breakfast included.

Likewise, at Legoland California, park tickets start at $79 per day. At Disneyland, they start around $100 per day — but only if you buy a three-day pass. If you want to just visit for one day you can expect to pay between $104 to $206 depending on the day of the week and the time of year, and that’s without park hopper access.

I compared an online search for a two-night midweek fall stay with hopper tickets at Legoland like ours, and found that the whole trip typically costs around $1,100. The same elections at Disneyland — without a suite or breakfast — push $3,000. 

If you’ve been to Disney with young kids, you’ve likely endured a long, dark ride filled with tears after it unexpectedly scared your little one. That happened to us even after frantic last-minute Googling to see if our selected ride was considered frightening by other parents.

But at Legoland, every ride has a sensory warning outside of the entrance to alert parents as to whether it is dark or loud. I thought this was genius, and every time we paid attention to these warnings, our kids felt at ease and enjoyed the rides more than in the past when they felt anxious or fearful just before boarding. The one time I dismissed a high sound and sight rating, thinking it would be fine? My daughter spent most of the ride with her hands over her eyes. The system really works.

I also thought Legoland had a good mix of ride types so my older toddler wasn’t constantly turned away by height restrictions like she has been at Disney. She went on a kiddie train, pretend helicopters, flying planes, boat rides, a submarine, and more. 

I visited midweek in fall, and we walked onto any ride we wanted. Both of my kids loved the carousel, and because the park was so empty, they were allowed to stay on and ride it over and over. Our second day in the park was a Friday, and while crowds did swell a bit, we still experienced manageable wait times for any ride we wanted, including the hot-ticket carousel.

I’ve been to Disney more times than I can count, including midweek in off-season periods, and I’ve never walked onto any ride I wanted quite like that.

One qualm I’ve had about bringing my kids to Disney in the past is there’s not that much for babies and small toddlers to do aside from recognizing characters or lining up for parades. Many rides have height requirements or the waits are just too long, and parades can become stressful and overcrowded.

That’s why I really liked bringing my youngest to Legoland where she could play in several over-the-top themed playgrounds, in addition to a splash pad, a Duplo playhouse, LEGO build areas, dance areas, and a dinosaur sandpit where she could dig for bones. My youngest loved these playscapes, and so did my nearly 4-year-old. Disney, on the other hand, doesn’t have these types of similar offerings. 

At Disney, we sometimes struggle with whether to do one day in one park and save money, or go for multiple days to experience additional parks, and whether or not to add on hopper tickets so we can go back and forth. All of these options are quite costly.

At Legoland, however, one ticket provides admission that day to Legoland, plus the Legoland aquarium, and a water park, which are all on the same grounds. Not only does that add serious value, but it kept my kids busy and entertained for two full days.

The only drawback to our trip? My 4-year-old hasn’t stopped asking to go back — and for longer next time.