We were VERY fortunate to be able to attend the unveiling of the latest addition to the LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland at LEGOLAND this past week. Having two boys…ages 2 1/2 and 5 1/2, Star Wars™ is a BIG DEAL around here.
They are mesmerized by the movies and pretty much all things Luke, Vader and Yoda. We even donned the costumes this year for Halloween. Who wouldn’t pass up a chance to be Princess Leia?! I think that having a husband (like so many of us!) that grew up in the original Star Wars™ era, dads really feel connected to their kids with the shared love of these films.
We’ve been to LEGOLAND several times before with our oldest but this was the first trip that the little one could actually enjoy it. I just love everything about the park.
It has nice, wide open walkway spaces, tons of areas for little ones to explore and play and a really wide variety of rides.
There are also fantastic and HEALTHY food options, which at theme parks is sometimes hard to find. We highly suggest the Pizza & Pasta Buffet for your trip. They serve amazing salads, pasta and pizza (buffet-style, aka FAST) in a sit-down restaurant. It’s super easy and quick if you are juggling strollers and multiple tired and hungry kids.
We usually spend the first half of the day exploring the rides and attractions, then a fair amount of time in Miniland in the center of the park.
It’a s great area to rest a little (that’s when you put the littles in a stroller) with a lot of benches for seating and to just marvel at the amazing LEGO® models of cities all over the United States.
The Star Wars™ area is quite impressive, depicting tons of characters and also mini models of full scenes from the movies.
We were lucky enough to get a sneak peek of the latest MASSIVE addition on March 4th…The Death Star.
Photo credit: LEGOLAND
It is HUGE…8-feet wide, 13-feet high, weighing more than 1,900 pounds and made out of more than 500,000 bricks. It is incredible to see the features of the film scenes made out of the bricks. Especially the famous trench run scene where Luke Skywalker maneuvers his X-Wing fighter through the combat zone to destroy the Death Star. If you have boys, you KNOW what I’m talking about!
And the best part, is that adjacent to the model, guests are invited to construct their OWN starship at building stations with special LEGO® bricks. My boys LOVED this part and I love how Legoland is so interactive and encourages creativity in our children.
I loved this picture with Darth Vader and the Stormtroopers. Mind you, my oldest wouldn’t even LOOK at a costumed character one year ago so his silly nervous grin just makes me laugh! And the little one was SO brave until the Stormtrooper talked to him. This is the best group shot you can get with kids these ages, I guess!
So if you have the chance to hit up LEGOLAND soon…do NOT miss this new attraction. It’s sure to be fun for kids…and Dads too. 🙂