Legoland California Travel Guide - San Diego | California Travel Tips

California travel journalist Veronica Hill shares her Legoland California Travel Guide in this episode of "California Travel Tips."

This Danish amusement park will captivate your imagination with its intricately-built Lego creations and fun family rides. Located in Carlsbad, a city in northern San Diego, the amusement park is geared toward younger children. Still, adults will be mesmerized by Miniland USA, which recreates America's top cities such as Las Vegas, New Orleans, Hollywood and New York, in Lego bricks.

The Star Wars Miniland Gallery exhibit is especially impressive — boasting 1.5 million Lego bricks of your favorite scenes and characters.Legoland is divided into eight themed areas: Fun Town, Dino Island, DUPLO Village, Imagination Zone, Land of Adventure, Castle Hill, Pirate Shores and the Water Park.

Have your kids bring along a swimsuit, as there are plenty of places to get wet. (You might want to bring a change of clothes yourself!) New is the Pirate Reef water ride, complete with water cannons and a 25-foot water chute drop.Our kids love the Volvo Driving School, which has two tracks for younger and older drivers.

For an added fee, kids can even get their own drivers license!Plenty of good eats can be found throughout the park, but one of the best is the Garden Restaurant, which overlooks the lake. It serves up a variety of gluten-free, vegetarian and healthy options, along with soups, salads and paninis. Before you leave, don't miss a stop at Granny's Apple Fries. These fried, cinnamon-dusted treats, slathered with vanilla cream, are the best thing at the park.

Tips: Be sure to sign up early to take part in the Lego MindStorms activities, which almost always sell out by noon.

When you arrive, start at the back of the park and work your way to the front for fewer lines. Legoland is located only 7 miles from the Oceanside Amtrak station (235 S Tremont St., Oceanside; 760-722-4622), making it very accessible from most major cities. If you plan on hitting the water park and Sea Life Aquarium, check into their park-hopper tickets, which offer a better value.

LIKE ME ON FACEBOOK http://tinyurl.com/nqx9osq
FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER https://twitter.com/Californiatips
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM http://instagram.com/californiatraveltips