KIfan1980 Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 For our summer vacation this year, my family decided to fly to the West Coast and visit Legoland, San Diego, and Knott's Berry Farm. We had a wonderful time and I wanted to share some pictures, stories, and thoughts from the trip. I hope you enjoy! Logistics Summary - we flew into LAX (cheaper and direct flights), stayed in Carlsbad (home to Legoland), and spent most of our time in San Diego area (although did venture back to LA for Knott's). San Diego GOCard was purchased/used for entry into all attractions. Day 1 - after a day of flying and driving, we decided to hit up Legoland as it was 10 minutes from our condo. Legoland is an AMAZING park - it is obviously designed for the young family crowd, but is fun for people of all ages. Some fun rides and great Lego attractions throughout the park - my kids absolutely loved mini-land and all the Lego building throughout (so much so we ended up visiting again on Dad 6 of the trip). Here are a few of the many pictures we took at Legoland from both days. One of many huge Lego creatures The Volvo XC90 at the entrance to the Volvo Driving School And the driving school - kids loved being able to "drive" on road with real traffic lights, stop signs, etc... Miniland - New York Miniland - New Orleans Miniland - DC Miniland - San Francisco Miniland - Vegas (love the details) Lego Characters on Fairy Tale Themed Ride Fun family Ride (propel the Fire Trucks, spray the water to put the fire out) Fun, Acrobatic, and Education Show OK - I'll stop boring you with the Lego Pictures now! Day 2 - venturing down to San Diego for the first time, we began by hitting up Balboa Park, a huge city park where many of the buildings from prior expositions have been re-tasked as Museums (I think there are 15 museums in the park). We all enjoyed the Car Museum, Air & Space Museum, Model Railroad Museum (used to be largest before EnterTrainment opened I believe), and the natural beauty of the park. Getting around is easy via a free tram. Later in the day, we ventured down to the waterfront for a Harbor Cruise (I'd have liked to go on the USS Midway Museum, but that will have to wait for a future trip). Los Angeles Class Nuclear Submarine in port (from the harbor cruise) USS Nimitz Aircraft Carrier (from the harbor cruise) Day 3 - following a relaxing morning, we returned to San Diego visiting the Birch Aquarium, followed by a trip to Belmont Park (10 ride amusement center on Mission Beach in San Diego). While the initial purpose of this trip was to ride the Giant Dipper (originally opened in 1925), the end result was that my family and I had an awesome time in a wonderful entertainment area. The rides were fun - seeing the ocean from the lift hill rocks, the bumper cars were insane, the Krazy Kars were an absolute blast, the Tilt-a-Whirl spun us like crazy, and the Beach Blaster (internal swinging revolving ride) almost made me sit down and rest. All that and the beach/ocean was only half a block away! Giant Dipper I was surprised at how well these spun! Day 4 - big drive to Knott's. Absolutely wonderful park - loved it. One incredible coaster - Silver Bullet. Several really fun coasters - Jaguar!, Montezuma's Revenge, Sierra Sidewinder (Camp Snoopy Coaster that my 44" tall was able to ride), Ghostrider. Great family rides and attractions - Shows, Calico Mine Ride, Two Trains, Spinning Sombrero's, Blacksmith Shop, and a Stagecoach ride (that unfortunately we missed out on timewise). Note that I liked the looks of Xcelerator (even the paint scheme) but didn't ride as it was not operating much of the day. Really well themed park that I can imagine visiting again, although it did have the CF food pricing problem. Definitely a Theme Park! Love this ride, especially the corkscrew elements. Fun, Short ride with a very interesting ride vehicle/restraint setup. Multiple Trains! A very nice woodie in my opinion A great kids coaster (Camp Snoopy ride with a 42" height requirement!) They even advertise it as "Rob"ery I'll have to get these next time. Day 5 - another relaxing morning at the beach was followed with a trip to the SD Zoo. A huge zoo that even offers Bus tours and has a skyride. The highlight here is the Panda exhibit, which ironically had about the longest queue of our entire trip! Worth the wait Hope you enjoyed reading - I highly recommend this part of the country as a place to visit, and feel lucky that I was able to take this trip with my family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkiboy Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 Glad you had a Wonderful Time Keith if not next year I will make it out to the west coast in 2012. DisneyLand used to be my home park so I went all the time when I was a baby I have also Been to Knotts and Magic Mountain but its been almost 23 years since ive been to those parks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 What a wonderful trip report! I am always glad to see the pictures of other, not just coaster and theme park, things, too. Interesting cars on that Tilt-A-Whirl, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dbfan Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 Holiday World claims to be the nation's first theme park, yet Knott's was open 6 years before and considered itself the first theme park. Good TR though, looks like you had a good time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincyMan98 Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 My mom hates California...I went there last year, I asked my dad if we could go to Knott's Berry Farm..and he said no. Because my mom hates California...I don't see me going there anytime soon! But it's still fun, and from seeing these TRs I want to go even more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TH13TEEN Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 Great PTR! I'm glad you enjoyed KBF... ^ P.s Why does your mother hate California? Ya, the economy sucks... but how can she hate a whole state? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveStroem Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 Great PTR. I love going to parks with my kids just like I can tell that you do too. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIfan1980 Posted August 4, 2010 Author Share Posted August 4, 2010 What a wonderful trip report! I am always glad to see the pictures of other, not just coaster and theme park, things, too. Interesting cars on that Tilt-A-Whirl, too! I could probably bore you to no end with pictures of airplanes, cars, and my kids from this trip - I try to add a few to my PTR's, but figure most on these forums want to see the coasters/theme parks more! Tilt-a-whirl cars were unusual, but didn't stop the spinning. Great PTR! I'm glad you enjoyed KBF... ^ P.s Why does your mother hate California? Ya, the economy sucks... but how can she hate a whole state? I can see why you are such a fan of KBF! Also, I'd say California is a wonderful state that I love to visit - although I wouldn't want to live there again (four years at school was plenty) Great PTR. I love going to parks with my kids just like I can tell that you do too. Too true Dave - while my kids are probably too young to remember the details of this trip, I know we are building quality relationships as we travel and spend time together that will serve us well in the future. I have vague but fond memories of traveling through Europe/South Africa/and the US with my parents when I was younger. It will be even more fun when they get to be a little older like your kids - they already have the coaster count going (now 7 year old - 38, 4 year old - 12). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KICoasterGirl Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Great PTR Keith! The minilands look really cool especially the D.C.! Downtown Disney in Florida has a lego shop and they have some mini mini cities. Morey's Piers has the same type of Tilt-a-Whirl (plus two other good ones) and it also spun really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KI Kevin Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 While I'm glad you loved KBF...I personally wasn't a huge fan. But I do agree with you on Silver Bullet, it's flat out amazing. I didn't get to ride Xcelerator either, it was still closed from that accident last year. And that comment about boring us with Legoland pics...is that possible?! Overall I'm glad you had fun. Next time you travel out there hopefully your kids are old enough to ride all the big coasters so you can go to SFMM...what an incredible park... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIfan1980 Posted August 4, 2010 Author Share Posted August 4, 2010 And that comment about boring us with Legoland pics...is that possible?! I thought of your Facebook request when I wrote that. Next time I see you, you can look at the rest on my iPhone - here are a couple more since you asked nicely though! The Sydney Opera House is an incredible design in person and in miniland. Love Vegas - there is even a working "Big Shot" on the top of the Stratosphere Tower. I miss the Bay Area. Not the best picture (backlight), but amazing colors and detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KI Kevin Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 I absolutely LOVE looking at pictures of Miniland! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Millennium Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Great PTR! I visited LA area two years ago and loved it. I'm going back next summer for a SFMM/Disney/Knotts trip. Got me excited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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