Sea World Yesterday - Legoland Today

For the record, I took 332 pictures today. I'm trying to decide if I did this because I was bored or because the park was awesome. I'm thinking the first option is more likely because I continually found myself cursing the park from the moment I arrived. You know those days when all the stars align and everything runs like a finely-executed plan. Well today was NOT one of those days. Guess what!? I overheard a lady stating that TODAY (of all 365 days in a year) is the busiest for Legoland. We have 5 days to assign our visit to Legoland. Why, oh why, did it have to be today? I'll never know. The reason for the heightened interest in the park is because The Legoland Star Wars attraction opened. Other issues that bothered me: - The staff at Legoland are super strict. If Quinten, Colby and Will are tall enough to ride a ride (which they were for almost all of them) they were not allowed to ride without their Dad. Which is okay BUT they had to ride to the direct side of their Dad. This means Ryan, being one person, had to ride 3 times to get all through. Ryan got to the point where he would make friends in line so he could ride at the same time as most of the kids. On one ride, Colby waited in line, by himself, for his Dad to return with the rest of the boys. Of course, I had no idea because the line winds in and through with no real visual from my position. If I had known in advance, I would have worried the whole time. And on top of that, they work to load the rides at a snail pace. Everyone could have had a reasonable wait time if the staff knew how to function efficiently. Sadie and I went for a walk to find something for her to do. We waited for 15 minutes for a horse riding style ride. She was tall enough .... and very excited to have something to call her own ... but upon further examination I read (on a sign beside the ride coordinator) that she had to be 4 years old ... again, annoying for me and disappionting for her. A Mom decided to strike up conversation with us and shared her story about how she was asked to put shoes on her 12 month old daughter before they were permitted on a kiddie ride. It also seemed as we walked ahead to find rides with short lines ... by the time the boys arrived ... the status had changed to lengthy. Not to mention the 3 trips to the bathroom to slow down the early success of our attendance in the park. None the less, I have 45 fun pictures to share. So, it couldn't have been all that bad. The boys decided to take a slide. Story #1

You know when you just don't feel good about something but you don't want to be a complete downer for every idea presented .... so you say nothing ... yeh: I now know I should have said something. Legoland won't let you ride without an adult. And on this one, they won't let you ride with one, nor hold hands etc. (I see why ... but go figure). These picures tell the story.

This ride wins the award for most inefficient.

This ride wins the award for most flexible as all 5 kids ride together with their Dad!! Sadie and Daddy quality time.

The more relaxing variety.

Lego Camel

The case of the lost lego piece.

The boys planned to stock up on lego, in Legoland. I advised them that it's likely not the best use of their money and that a trip to Walmart might be more practical. But it's always good to have a small piece of memorabilia. So for $2.99 they picked a little lego figurine they could build. Will received a baseball player lego figurine. We had spent an hour in the afternoon advising them that opening their package was not the best idea for the park. We thought it better to be back at the hotel. But that was like a torture session for all of us. So, we eventually gave in, only to find the exact reason why we didn't want the packages open in the park. Will's baseball bat to his figurine fell into a drain.

We caught the attention of a Legoland employee (imagine that!) and he assisted us by using a pair of scissors to fish it out.

Will's devestation was spared for another day ... as I'm certain all little pieces will not make it home.

Here's a fun moment in the park. The build and test zone. Sadie was hip checking 10 year olds out of the way so she could race her super car down the track. She'd jump and cheer during the race and did a fist pump at the finish line. I should have gotten her on video. The cute characteristic is that Ryan determined her car traveled faster backwards. She won every race after that.

We asked the boys what their favorite part of the day was.

They responded with: digging for fossils.

Remind me to save the extra expense next year and just take them to the beach.

One funny note, upon entering the fossil finding area Sadie say, "here you go Mom, here's the beach."

Then she proceeded to build sand castles and cover fossils with sand.

My favorite part of the day was when we were waiting for the boys in, yet another line. Sadie took a while to warm up to the water spray park but then learned to have a great time.

I notified her of the upcoming arrival of her brother's ride.

She prepared for attack.

Two Men down (Logan and Quinten)

Strike two (on Dad and Colby). The operation was a success.

Where's Will you ask? He was on the boat behind ... with another family ... I didn't even notice until Ryan informed me after the ride. You've already heard my frustrations ... now I'm just embarassed for not noticing myself, and then, at least taking pictures.

4 reasons why I will not be lending our family car to our boys.

1) Colby ran a red light

2) Will had numerous fender benders. Including one major run-in with a curb

3) Logan is not watching where he is driving

4) Quinten appears to be enjoying his super charged car a little TOO much.

And so it stands, the existance of my frustration:

Star Wars in Legoland

Sand SculptureLive figures to have your picture taken with and Lego Sculptures to have your picture taken

Star Wars Lego Miniatures

The entire Miniatures section is pretty impressive.

Here's a familiar sight:

And a farm

And every other favorite. San Francisco complete with the Golden Gate Bridge. New York City including the Statue of Liberty and the list goes on.

SEA WORLD:

In order of bravery:

William was courageous enought to pet the snake.

Quinten was enthusiastic to travel on AtlantisHere's a portion of the ride ... in which Ryan defined as quite thrilling for a timid guy like Quinten. I was a little disappointed that the other boys were not intersted in going. As Atlantis slides into ground level it creates quite a splash. Along the hand rail, there are portions defined as the 'Splash Zone.' Ever wonder what a 2 1/2 year old would look like when their Mother sneaks them into the splash zone. Well wonder no more! This can't necessarily exhibit bravery because she didn't have a choice. BUT her face shows she's a good sport right?Finally, Logan and Colby decide to take on some rapids. Colby was absolutely drenched. They crashed into a waterfall at an exact position where he was immersed. He was pretty proud to take one for the team.The shark tankThe boys have brought their allowance along with them to spend 'wisely.' So far, the only money they have spent was in M&M World. But every stop we make and every Gift Booth they see, they want something. I have to admit, I think it's all pretty cute too. But I keep telling them that they can't purchase everything they see. I've repeated myself enough times that I'm starting to sound like a major downer. Well, Will came up with an idea. He grabbed one stuffed Turtle to have me take a picture ... in his words, "That way, I can always remember the cute little guy." When Quinten and Colby received word of Will's plan ... they brought a few more into the picture. The lady in the booth looked like she was going to approach and give trouble, or a sales pitch. We took off before she could do either.

But let me tell you! these parks are a cash grab.

They take your family picture as you walk in the gate, they take your picture as you ride down the ride. They advertise there is still space available to pet the dolphins .... yadda, yadda, yadda ... and all the while there's a nominal fee related. All that after paying $60 - $80 to enter and $12 to park in their parking lot. Now you see why I'm such a downer to travel with.

Shamu's Show Titled "Believe" was great. Killer Whales have always been my favorite. And yes, there was a day when I wanted the position as trainer.

Buckets of Fish for a Job well done.

The dolphin show was amazing. The presentation was better than Shamu's but my pictures don't show that. I was afraid to keep my camera out because we were sitting in the "Soak Zone"