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We had been putting off going to Legoland for a while, not because we didn’t want to go, but because we didn’t know what the best Legoland age range was. We’d heard that it was best for kids over 6 and were just worried that we’d be shelling out a lot of money for Legoland for 2 a year old if it wasn’t suitable for him.
The problem is, we have three kids, so we are bound to have SOMEONE not fit in the “best age for Legoland” category, so it was a delicate dance of who was going to get the short end of the stick (Sorry baby girl! Guess we’ll have to make Disneyland Paris a priority for you in a few years!)
We ultimately decided to get a free birthday ticket at Legolandfor my 6 year old son, which meant that we’d be doing Legoland with a 6, 3 year old, and baby.
So, the big question: is Legoland for Toddlers worth it? (And when I say “worth it” I’ll be talking in terms of “Was it with the cost?”)
Short answer: Possibly (ugh, sorry, there are some major caveats we need to dig into!) But if you want all the details and specifics, keep on reading. I’ll go over exactly why I thought Legoland for 3 year olds was worth our time and money (but why I’d question if going with a 2 year old would be worth it), how we planned out the park so that we optimized what he could do, and I’ll go over exactly what the best rides at Legoland for toddlers and preschoolers were!
Note: We went to the Legoland Germany Resort (which you can read all about here, if you are in Deutschland), but all of my tips and tricks would work for any Legoland resort
Legoland For Toddlers
Maybe you are wondering what the best age is for Legoland because you’ve got a littler one. Or, maybe you are like us, where you have a range of ages of kiddos and are trying to decide what the best theme park is to go to that will attempt to meet everyone’s needs. Or, maybe you are Lego lovers and want to go for yourselves but aren’t sure if it’s worth it for your tot.
If I had to stop this article right here with no further explanation I’d say this:
- I (personally) wouldn’t go with just a toddler, simply because of the price (depending on the exact resort depends on prices and if toddlers are free). Remember, you are also paying for yourself, so even if your toddler is free, I found the park to be limiting to what I could do because, well…I obviously couldn’t just leave my kid playing with Legos while I went off on a ride
- However, if you’ve got older kids who want to go or if YOU love legos, then you will still find plenty to keep them busy, entertained, and happy
Now, I say all this with a slight caveat. I’m not sure what Legoland Resort you are considering. For us here in Germany, I may argue that Playmobil Fun Park is more of a toddler and preschooler’s speed (and a heck of a lot cheaper for the day considering the age). However, if you have older kids and are wanting to go to the park regardless, then Legoland for 2 year olds (or really 2-5 year olds) can still be a great day with plenty to do!
For the sake of this article, I consider a toddler a kiddo from around 1.5 to 3.5 years old. Obviously, even within that age range, there will be wide variants of what they are able to do.
Cost
Maybe it’s because we watch our money pretty tightly, but for me, the cost of a ticket is a pretty big determining factor when deciding “Is Legoland worth it for a toddler?”
There is no set standard for the ticket costs globally, so you’ll have to check the specific resort you are going to, but here are a few examples of the cost for a toddler ticket for Legoland:
- Germany Legoland Toddler Ticket: Free Under 3
- Uk Windsor: Based on height, not age. If under .9m they are free
- California: 2 and under are free (ages 3+ must be paid)
- Florida: 1 and under free (ages 2+ must be paid)
Plan Your Day Strategically
I’m a planner. So, for us, we needed to have a rough game plan for our days. Not only to maximize our time at the park but also because we knew that there were going to be rides that our 6 year old could do that our toddler could not. And we all know what a toddler melt down looks like, so we tried to know ahead of time things like if Lil B (Age 6) wanted to go on the Dragon Ride (roller coaster) that the Knights Jousting was actually right around the corner for Mr. J (the 3 year old) to do. Everyone wins!
This was a lifesaver in avoiding major temper tantrums because we would know to split up before even getting to certain rides or attractions and then we’d have a meet up point for after. (The park did have free Wifi, so it was really easy to WhatsApp (or obviously text) my husband to see where they were at when we split up)
Luckily, the Legoland website and App are fantastic in filtering out and finding rides and attractions to meet your exact needs.
Utilize the Legoland App
Before heading to the park, download the interactive map and App to your smartphone. This was such a game changer in actually maximizing the efficiency of our days!
I particularly liked that it gave the ride wait times so that we could plan accordingly. It was also nice that when we were nearing eating times, we could check on the App to see what restaurant options were nearby to choose from instead of wandering around with hangry kids (ok ok, and wife).
However, the best part of this app is that there is a “Build Your Itinerary” option. And this, my friends, was perfect since we had kids of differing ages and heights, which meant some rides were out of the question completely, while others, one 1 kid could do. Here’s how to do it:
- You can put in members of your family, which includes their heights since this determines the rides they can go on.
- It then gives you a list (with a map) of all the rides that are applicable to your group. So, for example, it didn’t even give us the option of the Flying Ninjago, because I just had the two boys in the App.
- It notified us when the ride was good for Lil B but not Mr. J.
- You can then go through the list as you make your way through the map and the park. It gives detailed descriptions for each ride so that you can make a decision before actually walking all that way if you want to do it or not.
- Once you finish a ride, you can check it off your list
- It was oddly satisfying getting to Sunday afternoon and checking off the last suggestion in our App. It made me feel like we were super efficient and really did do everything we wanted!!!
Use the Website Filters
Depending on the exact Legoland Amusement Park you are visiting, the exact steps on their website may be slightly different to find what rides are best Legoland ages for which rides. But basically,
- Start at the homepage for the resort you are visiting
- Click on “Things to Do” or “Explore Legoland”
- Go to “Rides and Attractions”
From there, you can filter out what you need! So, for example, you can choose the area of the park, the height of your child, if they need to be accompanied by an adult, etc.
I found that the following filters helped me to know exactly which attractions would be optimal for our own 3 year old.
- Set the height requirement to how tall he was
- Chose the area of the the park (I went through each area)
- I chose the filters:
- Fun
- Discover and Wonder
- Play and Frolic
- Create
- Splashy didn’t apply to us because it was April, but had it been summer, I would have applied that one
I then made a quick note of all of these so that I knew to head to those.
What To Pack for Legoland For Toddlers
If you’ve ever been to a theme park with a tot, then it’s more or less the same kind of packing stuff. Here is what we brought along in a backpack:
- Snacks……AAAALLLL the snacks!!!
- Reusable water bottles (I kind of regret not getting these fun Lego Style ones!)
- Did I mention snacks???
- Hand sanitizer
- Sunscreen
- Sun hat
- Swim suit for the splash areas
- Change of clothes (whether that be for water rides/ attractions or well….”other” issues, if ya know what I mean!)
- Wet/Dry Bag to store any potentially wet/ pee soaked clothes
- Extra socks (I always pack extra socks for amusement parks in case they get wet on a ride- nothing is more miserable than soaked socks!)
- If applicable to your toddler: Diapers, wipes, etc
- Umbrella (just in case)
- Rain Suit Coveralls (again, just in case)
- Lightweight travel stroller (Even if they don’t end up needing it, you can always stash your stuff on it)
- Easy to use cable bike lock for your stroller
- Also, make sure that they are wearing CLOSED TOE SHOES
Get a Wristband
Amusement parks can be an anxiety inducing event for any parent of a toddler. With so many people and various paths, it’s actually pretty easy to get separated, especially when the little ones see something that they just haaaave to go see NOW!
In fact, on our first day, a little boy HAD gotten separated from his parents and the panic in his eyes as the tears streamed down his face as he pleaded, “MAMA!” was absolutely heart wrenching!!!! (Dad was found, but it was a good 10 minutes!)
Luckily, the park had wristbands that you could put contact information on, just in case the worst did happen. However, they weren’t just handing them out freely, so we did have to ask for them.
Pro Tip: Don’t put your kids’ name on the wristband, put YOUR name on it! I once read that you should never use a kids name because anyone can read the band and say, “Hey, “so and so” come here……” and to a toddler, if someone knows their name, that must mean we know that person, right? So we put our names on the bands instead. (Ok, maybe that’s a bit paranoid buuuut whatever)
The Best Legoland Rides and Things To Do With Toddlers
Each Legoland Park may have slightly different rides, but a lot of them have similar themes, if not even the same ride (maybe a different name though). That being said, as far as straight up RIDES, I didn’t feel like there was a TON for toddlers, especially 2 year olds. Legoland for a 3 year old had a bit more options. The Legoland height requirements were what determined what we could go on. Since we are in Europe, my 3 year old could only do things that were over 90 cm (he was juuuuuust barely under 100cm). In the US, the minimum requirement for a lot of the rides are 36 inches.
I will say that if we had gone last year when Mr. J was only 2.5, he wouldn’t have been tall enough to ride many that I list below. I highly recommend measuring your kiddo and then going to the website and putting in the height to know EXACTLY what rides and attractions you’ll be able to do.
Here were the actual rides Mr. J (age 3)/ 96cm was able to do:
Safari Tour: These kinds of rides are always a hit with toddlers. However, due to the fact that there are so few actual rides for the youngin’s, this one always had at least a 30 minute wait. However, he still loved it
Royal Joust: This was the real MVP of Legoland for a 3 year old! Luckily, it had almost no line when we were there so we actually rode this around at least 4 times in a row (and even then, we had to pry him off for the next activity!) I think he liked it because he could do it all by himself and the bouncing of the “horse” was different than just a typical ride.
Duplo Train: This was just a small little mini train within the Duplo Playground section. But hey- Trains. Toddlers. Enough said.
Adventure Playground: Unfortunately, a lot of the playgrounds were a bit too “big” for Mr. J (they were too hard to climb, the slide was too scary, etc) but this one was great because it had various ability levels, so he just stuck to the parts that he had total confidence in and was more than happy!
Canoe X-Pedition: As small as 80 cm can go on this one, so it was perfect for the toddlers, and they “row” their own canoe all by themselves!
Accompanied With an Adult
The following rides could be done with an adult and a toddler.
Flying Airplanes: This is your typical fairgrounds-style airplane ride that goes around in a circle and, with a joystick, the toddler can make it go up and down.
Harbor Cruise: This one was fun, but he couldn’t get the hang of steering, so the hubby had to take over, whiiiiiich, the tot wasn’t a fan of that part.
Mummy Balloon Ride: He had to be accompanied by an adult, but he loved pulling the string that made the “hot air balloon” “fly” up into the air. (A 2 year old at Legoland may not have been able to have ridden this one, depending on the height requirement (min 90 cm required) though)
Legoland Xpress Train Ride: This train takes you around the majority of the park, allowing you to see all the different parts. Anytime my kids can ride trains, it’s a good day! The train ride itself was maybe 10-15 minutes.
Temple X-Pedition: Both boys (3.5 and 6 years) LOOOVED this one. In fact, we probably did this one at least 4 times. Why? They have “Pew Pewers” as my kids call them (laser guns) where you shoot at targets, some of which make Lego figurines move if you hit them. Mr. J didn’t hit a single target on his own, but he didn’t care!
Fire Engine Ride: This was another favorite one of the kids. You get into a “fire truck” that you have to basically pump it to the end of the track and then you have to aim a fire hose at a target.
Other Activities For Toddlers at Legoland
I think one of the reasons why people say that Legoland with a toddler is still worth it is because there are still a ton of things to do at Legoland with a 2 year old other than just rides.
Parade
See if there is a parade on the day you were there. It was about the perfect time frame to keep the kids’ attention and fascination and just long enough to get the theme song stuck in your head the rest of the day. (“When I sing Lego, you sing LAND!”- Mr. J is STILL singing it at home!!) There were jugglers, pirates, dancers, dinosaurs, knights, and more!
Build With Legos
Most Legoland parks have some sort of facility to go and actually play with the Legos. In the “Rebuild the World” room (in Germany) there was a section with Duplos, which was absolutely perfect for both our older todder and even our baby at Legoland.
Duplo Playground
This area was a great playground for toddlers through preschoolers at Legoland. As mentioned earlier, a lot of the playgrounds were just too “big” for Mr. J, where this one was made for the younger ones in mind. This is also where the Duplo Train was at and, in Germany, where the Splash Pad area was as well.
Aquarium
I was really surprised by this one! I wasn’t expecting to find a full on aquarium at Legoland! But alas, there it was and, of course, my toddler just loved it!!!! Who doesn’t love walking through a “Sea Tunnel!?” My only complaint was that they didn’t allow strollers in here, which was a major bummer, because we were trying to get him to take a nap!
Shows
There are several different types of shows throughout the day, so at least one should catch your toddler’s attention; whether it’s a magic show, dancers, puppets, or something else. There are also actual movies, if your toddler can sit through one (normally around 40 minutes)
Mini Lego Cities
I didn’t think that this part of the park would capture Mr. J’s attention the way it did, but man, was it a chore moving on from here!!! Why? Each section had a joystick or a button you could press that made part of the city move (like a crane pick something up, or a boat glide on the water, etc) which he just couldn’t get enough of and couldn’t wait to see what the next button did! It was actually really fun to watch his fascination with all the moving parts!
Playgrounds
There are playgrounds throughout the entire park. As mentioned earlier, quite a few of them were just too big for him, even at 3. However, there were still several throughout the park (and definitely in the Holiday Village as well, like the Pirate Island Hotel Pirate Ship) that were perfect for a wide range of ages, including even toddlers.
Conclusion
So, at the end of the day, is Legoland good for 3 year olds and toddlers? Well, we absolutely were not lacking in things to do, that’s for sure! Mr. J found plenty of activities and several rides that easily filled up our time.
However, for the cost of the day, I still don’t think I would have taken Mr. J, as a toddler, if he was our only kiddo. Yes, we kept plenty busy, but they were on a lot activities that were similar to other (more affordable) nearby attractions (like Zoos, themed playgrounds, etc). Granted, if you can get them in for free and if there is a great special or discount for you, then I could be easily swayed to say that it would still be worth it.
There were also times that we (the adults) both wanted to do a ride but couldn’t because one of us had to hang back with Mr. J.
However, I was pleasantly surprised that we were able to keep BOTH kiddos equally entertained without too many meltdowns over the weekend, so I will consider that a total parenting win! Also, Mr. J keeps asking when we can go jousting again. So, if you were to ask HIM if he’d go to Legoland again. It’s safe to say that the answer would be a resounding yes! From my perspective though, I think we will wait until all our kids are out of toddlerhood to go back again.
