We decided to stay at the Legoland Hotel the night before we went to Legoland. It was a little pricey but not as bad as I thought it would be, and it meant we were literally right next to Legoland the next day (and got to go in 30 minutes early).
The hotel had legos everywhere to play with and had a castle play area in the lobby the kids loved. They have multiple shows you can participate in, which Lucas and McKinley did one of those. The kids loved the disco balls in the elevator, that would turn on and play dance music every time the elevator started. Also had a nice, kid-friendly breakfast buffet in the morning.
After going to the zoo on Tuesday, we had some more time in the day, so we went to the Mormon Battalion exhibit. It was really well done and the kids loved it.
Lucas got to dress up as a soldierMcKinley got to dress up as a laundry womanPlaying some games
Panning for gold
The next day we went back to Old Town San Diego and explored some of the old building they had there. The blacksmith shop was the best, as the people there were really good at doing demonstrations.
Learning about blacksmithing in Old Town
After lunch we headed to the beach. It wasn’t super warm but it was pretty nice and the kids loved playing.
Waiting to jump over waves
Sam loved playing in the sand and mud
It wasn’t super warm but the kids still loved it
After the beach we stopped at the temple on our way to the Legoland hotel. The temple is right next to the freeway, so it’s impossible to miss. It’s a beautiful temple.
The first place we went on our vacation was the San Diego Zoo. They were offering kids free during October so it saved us a bunch of money and it was a lot of fun. Lots of walking but lots more to see than at our local zoo.
Getting ready to go in the zoo
Flamingos!I think the gorillas were the best exhibit. There was a baby gorilla that kept running around, doing flips, coming up to the glass and scaring the kids. It was pretty funny.
Checking out some fishLots and lots of walkingSeeing the pandas
This year we decided to go to San Diego for vacation during spud harvest. We planned to go to the zoo, Legoland, Sea World and the beach, with some other things mixed in.
Getting to our gate. The kids love the moving walkways
Waiting for our planeWatching a video during the flight
It was a pretty cold Spud Day this year, which I guess we were due for. It was raining for a bit in the morning but luckily cleared up by the time the parade started.Lucas got to decorate a car and be in the parade with the scoutsSam liked getting candy, even with the wrapper still on
We were lucky enough to live in an area that the eclipse was passing over, giving us 100% totality. I was excited to see it but not really expecting much. It was a super cool experience though, one that’s hard to explain. Everything got so calm and eerie as the sky got darker and darker. Then the total eclipse itself was amazing, taking off our glasses and looking up at the sun. An experience we won’t soon forget.
Sun was starting to become covered.
Kids with their eclipse glasses and extra protection Kryssi made from some plates
Right before the sun was completely coveredMy iPhone camera doesn’t do it justice but figured I’d try
It was a fun Halloween this year. We carved pumpkins, decorated sugar cookies, went to a Halloween carnival at Lucas’ school and went to a couple trunk-or-treats.
Cleaning out the pumpkins. William wanted nothing to do with this part of it.Samuel didn’t get to carve his own pumpkin but he watched and ate some puffs
Finished pumpkins
Playing a football gameTrying to win some prizes on Plinko
Decorating Halloween cookiesReady to go trick-or-treating
After 2 days in a row at Disney parks, we decided to take a day off and just relax. We hung around the hotel, went swimming, did a little sight seeing and just recuperated from a couple long days.
The next day we did our last day at Disneyland. It was even busier then the days before so we ended up waiting in lots of lines. There were a few rides we wanted to try and get to but ended up deciding against it when lines were 30+ minutes. Just not worth it to wait that long when you have kids that get antsy.
At the end of the day, we went to Downtown Disney and looked through the shops there and let the kids get a souvenir. They have a cool Lego Store with some awesome lego sculptures outside, which was fun to see.
Then our last day there was another relaxing day. We decided kind of last minute to get a hotel closer to LAX, as we knew traffic would be horrible trying to get there the next morning. I think this was probably a really good idea, as our driver said on Monday mornings it would probably be at least a 2 hour drive. Then we flew to SLC the next morning and drove home.
It was a fun vacation, though I’m not sure we got to enough rides (due to long lines all the time) to justify the price tag Disney charges, but the kids loved it which was the whole point.
Back on the kids favorite ride againLucas really wanted to go on this ride, Autotopia, so I took him. We waited for about 20 minutes but he enjoyed it
On our third day, we decided to do Disney California Adventure. They have a Cars land, where they’ve replicated the town of Radiator Springs from the Cars movies. William loves Cars, so we were excited to go there. The most popular ride is in that area, Radiator Springs Racers, and it gets a 90 minute plus wait time during the day. We went there first thing and still waited 20 minutes, but it was a really fun ride.
Kids got to see Mater and Lightning McQueen, which William loved. Later we got to meet Spiderman and Captain America, and McKinley got to meet Elsa and Anna, which she was excited about. We also got to see the Frozen show, which was fun.
All in all, we actually liked California Adventure a lot better than Disneyland. It’s a smaller park, so there was less people, less walking around, things were easier to find and just a better overall experience I think.
Waiting for the Radiator Springs Racers
The kids didn’t like this ferris wheel. The cars didn’t stay in place as it turned, they were on tracks that let the cars move back and forth, which they didn’t like
Getting ready to get wet on Grizzly River Run
Waiting for the Frozen show to startShaking Captain America’s handCaptain America had them salute as he asked them some questionsPosing with Captain AmericaPosing with SpidermanPosing with Elsa and AnnaGiving a hug to Elsa and Anna
For our first full day in California, we decided to do Disneyland. We had bought a 3 day, 1 park-per-day ticket, so we figured 2 days at Disneyland, 1 day at Disney California Adventure. Our first day was fun but lots of people and lots of lines. I didn’t expect it to be quite so busy for a weekday in October but I guess that’s how it always is at Disneyland.
The kids did pretty well on most rides. The very first one we did they got scared (Finding Nemo Submarine, which I didn’t think would be bad but it does get kind of scary in places) but they did fine on everything else, though we couldn’t convince them to go on some rides, like Pirates of the Caribbean, which I think they would have liked just fine.
Probably the highlight was the Star Wars stuff. We got to meet Kylo Ren and Boba Fett and Lucas and McKinley got to participate in a Star Wars Training show, which they loved.
Lots of Halloween decorations everywhereWaiting in line for our first ride!First ride we went on, the Finding Nemo Submarine. Kids liked it at first but then it got dark and a little scary. McKinley was in tears and Lucas had his ears covered, but William and Samuel did okay.Classic castle shot, with lots of people to try and work aroundThis was one of the kids favorites.Meeting Tinker Bell. Don’t think Lucas was that excitedIn front of MatterhornMeeting Kylo Ren. The kids were a little scared but did okay
Meeting Boba FettJungle Cruise. One of my favorite rides.McKinley (on the top most section in the back) ready for her trainingLucas ready for his training
Darth Vader makes his appearanceDarth Maul makes his appearance.Checking out Tarzan’s tree houseTrying to get the swordLucas tried hard but didn’t get it
