Some people say you can’t really put a price on fun. But I’m guessing many of those people are billionaires and mortgage defaulters.
It seems to me that being a parent, especially at the moment, is all about putting a price on fun. And being the parent of a 4-year-old, I am learning, means facing up to an epic collision of price and fun: the amusement park. What it offers, what it costs, what weaponry and waiting it will entail. In my household, we’ve just confronted this dragon for the first time, at a place that actually has a talking red dragon.
No, not Disneyland. We thought we would aim for less commotion, smaller crowds. But we did like the idea of an overnight stay, and we had heard that the people at Legoland had been up to a few things lately, including the opening of a Sheraton next door.
So we dodged Disneyland and its sibling California Adventure (each of which charge $59 to $69 for admission); we sidestepped Universal Studios Hollywood ($57 to $67) and SeaWorld ($55 to $65); and we headed to Carlsbad, Calif., for Legoland. With our 10 percent auto-club discount, admission cost $44.96 for the little person and $53.96 each for the larger ones (prices have since increased $2).
First we caught a break: That Sheraton, which opened in February, is roomy, with helpful staffers, a big, kid-friendly pool area, a sliver of a view of the Pacific (best from the third-floor rooms) and its own Legoland entrance. Things were slow when we arrived — just before noon on a Friday — so the hotel let us check in early, stash our stuff, then march down the path, hand over the greenbacks and grab ahold of five full hours of interlocking rectangular plastic fun.
Grace Li Qi, our 4-year- old, went all clingy as we neared the gates. But the first thing you see, entering from the Sheraton, is a playground of slides and ropes. So if the lines are too long or the rides are too scary, or not scary enough, you have that fallback.
Approaching the core of the place, you hit Miniland, where most of the models are. Minimal motion, minimal lights, minimal noises — this looked like a scaled- down slice of heaven to me. Grace took it in quietly (but bragged about it to her dentist later). We browsed past faux San Francisco, artificial Los Angeles, pseudo New Orleans, facsimile Manhattan and fake Las Vegas Strip, all constructed of Lego pieces. Las Vegas was added last year, giving visitors a chance to compare a fake Manhattan skyline with a double-fake Manhattan skyline.
Mostly for younger set
Legoland, which covers 128 acres, opened in 1999. The Lego mother ship in Denmark sold the park in 2005 to Merlin Entertainments Group, which spent $20 million on upgrades here in 2008. Although its target audience is children 2 to 12, its gentle nature appeals most to younger kids but not too young. Kids under 36 inches tall can’t go on some rides.
Once Grace’s confidence was up, we headed into the Land of Adventure, which opened in March. Loosely based on Egypt, this zone features the Lost Kingdom Adventure (the park’s first indoor “dark” ride); Cargo Ace (low-flying “airplanes”); Beetle Bounce (which holds kids snugly as they climb and plunge about 15 feet); and Pharaoh’s Revenge (foam- ball mayhem in a sort of bouncy house).
It’s a big park, and we missed plenty, including “Journey to the Lost Temple,” a 25-minute musical comedy that premiered in May; and the 36,000- square- foot Sea Life Aquarium, which opened next to Legoland in August. (The aquarium closed “for modifications” Nov. 11 and is scheduled to reopen Friday; its separate admission fee is about $10 if you add onto a regular Legoland ticket, $11.95 to $18.95 for the aquarium alone.)
We loved the off-season weekday pace. On the other hand, even though the cost of admission is the same as on weekends, some features shut down on slower days. Pizza Mania was closed at lunchtime. The 4-D racers show was dark. Princess Lily of Castle Hill, who greets weekend visitors in person, apparently sneaks off on Fridays to get her tiara buffed.
Other big-fun moments: Grace loved jumping back and forth, back and forth, back and forth over a red plastic chain between poles in front of a closed attraction. And in the minutes before the 5 p.m. park closure, Grace and a couple of other ragamuffins kept at the playground ropes and slides like little Cinderellas.
I know. You’re waiting for the money math. Here it is:
For the five hours of Legoland (including $35 lunch and $2 to steer a toy tugboat), we paid about $190. Add the $200 hotel room, the parking, dinner and breakfast at the hotel, and our 24 hours in Carlsbad cost about $600.
Grace turns 5 in about six months. There’s been talk of a theme-park birthday, and I’m sure it would be fun. But maybe we’ll take another lesson from Legoland. Does anybody know where I can buy a red plastic chain and a pair of poles for my backyard?
Insider’s Guide
GET THERE: Legoland is just off Interstate 5, 30 minutes north of San Diego, at One Legoland Dr. in Carlsbad, Calif.
THE ATTRACTION: Legoland is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. most days. (Except for the summer months and holiday weeks, the park closes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.) Adult admission is $62, children 2 to 12 are $52. Auto club members get 10 percent off. It’s an additional $10 to park; 760-918-5346, .
STAY: Here’s a roundup of several non-chain options in the little city of Carlsbad — all west of Interstate 5 and the railroad tracks, all handy to the Pacific, all within easy range of those thousands upon thousands of colored plastic building blocks. Bear in mind that there are plenty of major- chain lodgings as well — including the new Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa.
Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort, 3075 Carlsbad Blvd.; 760-434-7020 or 800-235-3939, . This four-acre compound combines lodgings and a mini-mall, with the biggest buildings (except for the Mexican restaurant) done up in Tudor style. Kitchenettes and rentable time-share condos, a grassy courtyard, pool, pingpong, Jacuzzi-style tubs, plus Norte’s Mexican restaurant and sun-splashed Daily News Cafe for breakfast and lunch. To reach the beach, cross Ocean Street and descend a staircase As a walk-up customer on a spring weekday night, I negotiated a $169 rate for an ocean-view room. Rack rates begin at $195.
Tamarack Beach Resort by the Sea in Carlsbad, 3200 Carlsbad Blvd.; 800-334-2199, tamarack . This place, which includes 23 hotel rooms and 55 rentable condos, sits across the street from the beach. Off-season hotel- room rates run $169 to $199. Summer rates (beginning June 15) are $230 to $270. The condo units (which include kitchens, dishwashers and washer-dryers) go for $248 to $416 daily.
Best Western Beach View Lodge, 3180 Carlsbad Blvd.; 800-535-5588, beachviewlodge . The Craftsman-style facade will catch your eye. Stepping in, you’ll find the well-tended building beyond it less stylish, built in the boxy ’60s beach hotel/apartment tradition. Smallish oval courtyard pool and whirlpool; the beach is just across busy Carlsbad Boulevard. Off-season rates $170 to $225, summer rates (which began May 16) $185 to $240. (Bear in mind that Best Westerns are independently owned and operated.)
Ocean Palms Beach Resort, 2950 Ocean St.; 888-802-3224, opbr . Although it looks quite retro-tiki-trendy from the outside, it’s more humdrum from inside the standard units. They all have kitchens, though, and the beach is a block away. Off-season rates $114 to $400, summer rates $189 to $515.
Beach Terrace Inn, 2775 Ocean St.; 800-433-5415, beachterrace . One-bedroom suites, some with ocean-front views, almost all with at least partial views of the Pacific. Many of the rooms are still outfitted with basic (some would say motel-style) furniture and fixtures.
ENJOY: This is the off-season (high season runs from March 1 through early May), but the city of Carlsbad has many other things to offer besides Legoland and the beach, such as the Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch on Paseo del Norte.
Downtown Carlsbad includes a train station, the Carlsbad Mineral Water Spa (a three-story Bavarian haven of mineral baths and mud facials), the Witch Creek Winery tasting room, the big Victorian Ocean House restaurant, a Starbucks and the Fahrenheit 451 used-books store (good selection, heavy on Beat writers but unpredictable hours). Most of these are lined up along Carlsbad Boulevard (a.k.a. U.S. 101); others are perpendicular in Carlsbad Village Drive. (More information: 800-227-5722, visit .)
