Best Rides at Legoland California
Today we’re going to talk about the best rides at Legoland California. Since the best ride for one person may not be the best ride for someone else, I’ve broken the rides down into categories so you can find the best rides at Legoland for you and your family members!
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Legoland California Roller Coasters
If you’re looking for a thrill try one of Legoland’s three roller coasters. From pretty tame to pretty scary, you’re sure to find a coaster that fits!
Coastersaurus is a great “beginner” roller coaster. It doesn’t go too high and it’s a quick ride. So quick in fact that you get to go around twice! The minimum height requirement is 36″, and riders between 36″ – 48″ must be accompanied by an adult at least 18 years of age.
Coastersaurus is one of the rides that opens early for hotel guests. It’s also at the front of the park, so the line for this ride is usually very long in the morning. The best time to try to ride Coastersaurus is in the late afternoon after some of the younger kids have tired out and gone home.
If your kids are ready to level up their Legoland roller coaster experience then it’s time to try The Dragon. This fairly tame coaster starts off riding slowly through a castle scene with lots of animated Lego builds to enjoy.
After this dark part of the ride, the doors open to the outside and the coaster heads up a moderate hill with a slight drop. At the very top you have a great view of the park!
The Dragon has a few more twists and turns than Coastersaurus does, but you really aren’t too high up in the air during the ride. Kiddos need to be 40″ inches to ride this one!
Once your kids have conquered the mighty Dragon they might be ready for the Lego Technic Coaster. Even as an adult I find this one pretty scary so make sure your kids are ready!
The Technic Coaster has a pretty steep drop at the beginning, and then soars back up to the very top of the tracks for several hair-pin turns that feel like you’re going to be flung right off the rails. It’s not for the faint of heart!
Ride requirements for the Technic Coaster are a bit more strict than most rides. Riders need to be at least 4 years old and 42″ tall. To ride without an adult, they need to be at least 48″ and 6 years old. If you’re looking to skip this one and just send the kids, make sure younger kids between 42″-48″ are riding with a friend or sibling that’s at least 14 and 48″ or taller.
Scariest Ride at Legoland California
What is Legoland California’s scariest ride? Well that depends on what you are scared of!
If you’re scared of heights and big drops, then definitely the Technic Coaster.
While there aren’t any big drops on Emmett’s Flying Adventure Ride, if you’re scared of heights you may want to request a ride on one of the lower “couches.” This ride has also been known to make people nauseous because of all the motion.
If being underwater and seeing sharks sets your spine tingling, then skip the Deep Sea Adventure! Although the submarine is never really fully underwater, it seems like you are during the ride. Real sharks swim right by the viewing windows! The enclosed sub can leave you feeling a bit claustrophobic as well.
Loudest Ride at Legoland California
The two rides that tie for loudest ride are Ninjago the Ride and Lost Kingdom Adventure. Both of these rides are interactive rides with loud music and “shooting” noises.
Lost Kingdom Adventure involves aiming at targets and shooting with a “laser blaster.” Combine that constant “pew-pew” noise (from all 4 people in your car) with the music and sound effects and you’ve got a recipe for disaster if you have kids that are sensitive to loud noises.
Likewise, Ninjago the Ride has loud sound effects as well as the noise your “fireballs” make when they hit their targets. The car that you ride in has the speakers built in, so the sound effects are playing right in your ear.
Most Popular Ride at Legoland
The most popular ride at Legoland was always the Technic Coaster. People would literally line up and run for this one as soon as the ropes dropped. It’s still one of the most popular with wait times often approaching an hour on the busiest days.
However, with the opening of the Lego Movie World, Technic now competes with Emmett’s Flying Adventure Ride and Unikitty’s Disco Drop as the most popular ride at Legoland. These are also the newest rides at Legoland California, so that has a lot to do with the popularity. The wait time for Emmett’s is consistently 45+ minutes, and Unikitty’s wait times at least 30+ minutes.
If you want to ride any of these three rides without a huge wait, then head to them straight away when the ropes drop.
Best Legoland Rides for 2 Year Olds
The first time we visited Legoland my son was 2 and he had a blast! While toddlers won’t be able to ride any of the coasters, there are still plenty of other rides they will love.
Queen Watevra’s Carousel is perfect for little ones accompanied by an adult. If they aren’t big enough for the ponies, there are places to just sit on a bench as well.
The Legoland Express is the timeless classic train ride that every kid loves. It’s located in the Duplo Play area so after the train ride kids can play and parents can rest!
Cargo Ace is a great ride for toddlers at Legoland. The line is usually pretty short, and Mom or Dad can squeeze in to ride along. You’ll need to accompany your kiddo on this one if they are under 36″.
Safari Trek and Fairy Tale Brook are two more rides perfect for toddlers. Safari Trek is a slow-moving car on a track that wanders through lush landscaping and plenty of amazing Lego animals. Fairy Tale Brook is a guided boat ride through –you guessed it — a land of brick-build fairy tales. Kids will love looking around at all the stories, and you’ll love relaxing in the boat!
Best Ride to Get Soaked On
The ride that wins this category is Pirate Reef! This is the one and only ride in Legoland California that can be accessed from both the waterpark side and the Legoland side. No matter which side you enter the ride from, there’s no escaping the giant wall of water that crashes down on you at the end of this ride. That’s why I always recommend riding this one on the day you are at the waterpark. Otherwise, make sure to grab a poncho!
Second place goes to Splash Battle, where your boat is under spray attack from other riders as well as bystanders who have access to sprayers. If there are lots of people riding, you will definitely get quite wet. However if there aren’t many people riding then your chance of getting wet at all significantly decreases.
Legoland Rides for 5 Year Olds
Five year old kids at Legoland have more ride opportunities open up to them as they are now older and taller. They are big enough for Coastersaurus, old enough for Jr. Driving School and Royal Joust, and probably skilled enough to hit targets inside Lost Kingdom Adventure. Sky Patrol and Skipper School are two more rides that five year old kids will love because they can steer a boat and control the up and down movement of a helicopter! It’s a great age for Legoland!
Best Rides for Kids Who Love to Drive
Kids love the chance to be in control of the rides they are on, and Legoland has plenty of these types of rides! Jr. Driving School and Driving School allow kids to freely drive cars around (no track!) and Skipper School allows them to pilot a boat. While the path is somewhat guided at Skipper School, kids can still steer left and right and press down the “accelerator” to make the boat move.
Sky Patrol is a helicopter ride where kids can be in control of the helicopter moving up and down and spinning left or right.
Rides to Skip if You Get Motion Sickness
My husband really doesn’t like rides that spin. He’s a good sport about most of the rides at Legoland but there are two that he’ll avoid at all costs — Bionicle®️ Blaster and Captain Cranky’s Challenge.
Bionicle®️ Blaster is a ride similar to the Tea Cups in Disneyland. Lots of spinning, and while your cart spins on its own you can also spin it faster by turning a disk in the middle of the cart.
Captain Cranky’s Challenge is a big boat that swings and spins while slowly getting higher and faster. Definitely not a good one for anyone who has just had lunch!
I’ve also heard other people say that Emmet’s Flying Adventure has made them feel nauseous. This one doesn’t bother my husband too much but it is a fast-moving visual ride so it could definitely bother people who are prone to motion sickness.
Legoland California Rides for Adults
Can Legoland California be fun for adults too? Of course it can!
Can adults ride Legoland rides? Why of course they can! In fact, the only ride adults can’t go on is Beetle Bounce. Even then, the restriction is on height, not age.
If you love coasters you’ll enjoy the Technic Coaster and the Dragon. Need a coffee break? Fuel up at The Market in The Beginning and then hop on Coast Cruise for a nice relaxing, narrated boat ride.
I personally really enjoy Unikitty’s Disco Drop and Emmett’s Flying Adventures too. The thing I really love most about Legoland though is the beautiful weather, the relatively low cost of food (compared to Disney!), and the frequent lack of crowds.
Best Interactive Rides
Legoland California has four rides that involve rider participation. The first, Deep Sea Adventure, is an underwater submarine ride where kids interact with a touch-screen that challenges them to find certain things in the water. Treasure, crowns, jewels, and art are just some of the things to be looking for. At the end, you receive a rank based on how many you found!
Lego Ninjago the Ride is another fun interactive ride where you move your hands over a sensor in your car that shoots out varying digital “blasts” onto a screen. Your goal is to help all of the ninjas defeat the bad guys while your car moves from screen to screen with different challenges. Check your score at the end to see if you beat everyone else in your car, or even scored the highest of the day!
As mentioned earlier in this post, the Lost Kingdom Adventure ride gives you little plastic “laser blasters” to shot at targets along the way. Many of the targets produce a noise or some sort of action (like causing items to move or pop up).
Finally, if you’ve got a kid with way too much energy head over to Kid Power Towers. This ride actually requires physical strength to raise you seat up in the air by pulling on a rope! Once you are up at the top you can hang out there or drop back down and climb back up again.
Best New Rides at Legoland California
The last new rides that were installed at Legoland California are all a part of the Lego®️ Movie™️ World 2. Unikitty’s Disco Drop, Emmet’s Flying Adventure, and Queen Watevra’s Carousel are the three rides in that area. The Lego®️ Movie™️ World 2 area also has a splash pad, a building area, and a climbing structure called Benny’s Spaceship.
The newest attraction at Legoland for 2023 is a jungle gym type play area called Lego®️ Ninjago®️ Training Camp. This attraction was built where the Aquazone Wave Racers used to be.
Best Non-Ride Attractions at Legoland
Of course Legoland has more than just rides, and we can’t leave without mentioning all the other fun things there are to do at Legoland California.
If you’re looking to take a break from standing in line or you just need to sit for a while, Legoland has a movie theatre that shows 4D movies, a performance stage with seasonal shows, and plenty of free-building areas for everyone to create something awesome out of Lego. Hint: a lot of these building areas also have places to charge your phone!
Legoland California also has a few play areas for the kiddos to expend some energy and have tons of fun. Benny’s Playship is a big spaceship-shaped climbing tower with a slide. Right next to this is a splash pad for kids to play in and cool off.
The Duplo Play area is perfect for toddlers and younger kids, while older kids will love the climbing and sliding in The Hideaways. The new Lego®️ Ninjago®️ Training Camp is another great play area that even has ADA compliant features!
Legoland also has several “pay to play” attractions like carnival games and remote control boat and vehicle driving areas.
Last but certainly not least, kids can actually learn at Legoland by taking a class in Mindstorms or learning how to build the best rockets and rovers in the new Lego®️ City Space.
As you can see, there are definitely rides for just about anyone at Legoland California. Which ones are your favorites?
