What’s New at LEGOLAND

Tuesday night I had the opportunity to attend an event hosted by LEGOLAND on behalf of my sister blog Apple Tots in the Hudson Valley.   Representatives from LEGOLAND California, LEGOLAND Florida and LEGOLAND Discovery Center Westchester were present to talk about how LEGOLAND Parks have transformed into the ultimate family destination and about the rapid expansions taking place at LEGOLAND Discovery Centers throughout North America this year.  Master Model Builder, Gary McIntire, was also on-hand to build with those who attended and present the opportunity to view exclusive LEGO Legends of CHIMA models.

You might remember that last year around this time I took a trip to Florida with my son to visit my mom.  During that trip I took my son to LEGOLAND Florida.  We had a blast and I vowed that we would one day return for a full family trip (check out that post with pictures HERE).  What I didn't know at the time is that I was only a few months early of them opening up a brand new attraction titled “The World of Chima” that my son would have gone crazy for.  Last night at the event I got a chance to view this new attraction that opened in July 2013 both in video format and as a LEGO model (how cool!).  The World of Chima offers attractions for both old and younger kids but the centerpiece is “The Quest for Chi”, an interactive water ride that offers riders a chance to fire water cannons at targets that include LEGO characters (and others on and near the ride) ensuring no one leaves the area dry.

Also happening in LEGOLAND Florida later this year is the grand opening of the LEGOLAND Hotel!!  The LEGOLAND hotel in California has been such a great success in the short time that it’s been open (it opened April 2013) that the Florida hotel is going to be opening ahead of schedule!  It will be located at the front of the park and a perk of being a guest of the hotel is that you get access to the park a half hour early before regular guests (sweet!)

My sister and her husband took my nephew just a month ago to LEGOLAND California and from the pictures & video they sent back to us my son is now begging for us to take him to California.  Last night I got a glimpse into the new 3 acre water park that is going to be opening up Memorial Day weekend 2014 entitled “Legends of Chima”.  This water park will be in addition to the current water park that is already at LEGOLAND California.  With interactive water play, water cannons, a huge wave pool and more water slides than you can count, it looks like an incredible place for a family vacation!

For those that live in the NY Hudson Valley area, you don’t have to go very far for your own LEGO adventure.  The LEGOLAND Discovery Center Westchester is conveniently located in Ridge Hill (across from Stew Leonard’s).   At the Discovery Center you can experience the 4D Cinema, take a LEGO factory tour, view New York's top landmarks made out of LEGO bricks, build and race your own LEGO racecar, ride Merlin’s Apprentice Ride plus much more.  For younger kids there is a duplo soft play area, plus kids under 2 are admitted FREE!  They also hold birthday parties for the LEGO lover in your house ;)

Thank you again LEGOLAND for the fun night of food, drinks and fun and most importantly for information on all the new and exciting attractions that are coming soon to the LEGOLAND parks!

Just like Emmet says….”Everything is awesome!!”

Can you tell me how to get?

….how to get to Sesame Place? 

Last weekend we took our first trip to Sesame Place.  I haven’t been there since I was a kid myself and with the exception of one area it is completely different from what I remember.  We went with my sister and her family and had a BLAST!!  At first A was a bit hesitant about going on rides and preferred to walk around & scope everything out.  But once he got up the courage to go on a few rides he loved it.  His favorite part was playing the carnival games.  He played well and we are now the proud owners of 5 new stuffed animals :-/  Sesame Place has water rides as well as dry rides, but the water was cooooold and the weather a little windy so we didn’t spend too much time on the water activities. 

We stayed overnight so were able to spend a few hours in the park the night before (when it was empty) and then the whole day on Saturday.  On Saturday morning we had tickets to eat breakfast with the characters.  Both A and my nephew were a bit afraid of the characters but we managed to get some pictures and have a fun breakfast.  The best part of the weekend (and something we didn’t know when we planned the trip) was that it was superhero weekend.  How perfect for us, right?!  Super Why was there to take pictures and of course my little superhero dressed up as one of his favorite superheros all weekend and got his picture with Super Why and Princess Presto.

If you are planning a trip to Sesame anytime soon here are a few tips that I recommend that we learned from our trip:

1. If you decide to stay overnight splurge for the little bit extra it is to stay in the hotel that is across the street from the hotel (Sheraton Bucks County).  It’s worth it to be able to go back & forth during the day with the kids to take naps, etc.  There’s also a hotel shuttle that will take you to/from the park. (FYI they are building a new hotel that is in the parking lot of the park.  It’s schedule to open in July/August 2012)
2. Sign up for “Discovery Dollars” at the beginning of the day.  You use your credit card to link to a spending account and you are issued a waterproof bracelet to wear all day.  You then use the bar code on the bracelet to scan all over the park to make purchases all day.  This way you can lock up your belongings in a locker & not worry about carrying them all day.
3. DO the character breakfast.  The park doesn’t open until 10 am.  I don’t know about you, but A is up at 6 am and there was no way I was going to be able to entertain a 4 year old for 4 hours before the park opens - especially when he’s looking out the window at the park.  Breakfast is at 8:45 and this gets you in early before the park opens (score!!)
4. DON’T bother with Preferred parking unless you have a season pass.  I have a season pass so preferred parking was free.  However, the rear of the preferred parking section is just as far as the regular parking lot so there’s no difference for the extra $$ you’re paying for preferred.
5. The park was much smaller than I expected.  My 4 year-old and my almost 3 year-old nephew walked the entire time and didn’t need a stroller.  We packed our things in backpacks and just went.  Was so much easier than trying to navigate with the stroller or worry about parking it, etc.  If you have slightly older kids it may be easier to ditch the stroller (or at least leave it in the car just in case).
6. Line up early for the parade.  It’s awesome and worth it to be front and center.
7. Download the iphone/android app.  You can even track where the characters are within the park to find your favorites!
8. Check out what’s in each of the restaurants before you dine.  The food is just okay, but check on the map (or your app) for what is served in each of the restaurants before you go.  Some have a better selection than others.

A Break from it All

It’s started to become an annual tradition to visit my mom in Florida the first week in March.  Since my hubby doesn’t get very much vacation time, just A and I fly down and it’s our little vacation together.  A mommy and son bonding week.  While it now feels like it was 6 months ago rather than 3 weeks ago, we had a great time soaking in the sun. 
 
Last year A was so afraid of the water, both the ocean and the pool.  Only on our last day did he finally warm up to the pool.  Boy, what a difference a year makes.  This year we got to the beach and he ran right into the surf without hesitation.  There was my big guy, jumping in the waves and asking me to take him out deep in the ocean so he can “see the waves close up”.  I was taken aback.  Who was this kid and what had he done with my son?!  Over the course of the week I watched as A fell in love with the ocean.  It was so captivating. 

We took a couple day trips to Busch Gardens and to LegoLand where we rode rides and played until the parks closed.  The rest of the week was spent swimming, playing in the sand, splashing, and looking for shells.  The only way it could have been better would have been if my husband had been there to share in those moments.  But otherwise it was pretty darn perfect.

Jamaican Me Crazy

My husband and I just got back from a very relaxing week in Jamaica…..alone.  It was our first vacation by ourselves since our honeymoon 5 years ago and while we missed our son, we enjoyed every single second of our alone time.  No whining, crying, potty breaks, etc.  Just uninterrupted quiet and (dare I say it) sleep!!  We went down there for a close friend’s wedding for which we both were part of the bridal party (my H was the best man).  We flew down on Sunday, the wedding was Tuesday and then we stayed the rest of the week and flew back on Saturday.  The resort was just beautiful.  We didn’t do anything except lay by the pool, the beach and sit at the swim up bar drinking yummy rum drinks.  Ahhhh!!  Going back to work today was very difficult and sad.  Although being in meetings back to back all day very quickly made Jamaica start to fade away...

While we were on vacation my mom and my in-laws watched A and he was extremely well behaved for both of them.  This was the first time we had ever left him for more than a weekend so we were nervous how he would do with a longer length of time away from us. We decided not to tell him far in advance about us going away since we knew he would be worried about us leaving and the less time he had to think about it the better off we thought he would be.   When I dropped him off at my mom’s the day before we left he seemed perfectly happy to spend some time with Grandma.  When we picked him up however, he seemed different…almost as if he was mad at us.  When we got him home he immediately started throwing temper tantrums like we’d never seen before and driving us crazy.  I guess being away from us and his normal routine took a toll on him.  About 5 time outs and a 2 days later, he’s slowly getting back into the swing of things.  LOL  I just hope we get him back to pre-vacation A soon because he’s driving us crazy!

Annual Family Vacation

Every year my side of the family gets together for our “annual family vacation”.  Since my siblings live all over the country (my brother on the west coast, my sister down south) each year we choose a destination and get everyone together with my mom for a week of family umm…. togetherness.  This year’s destination was Williamsburg, Virginia.   My husband didn’t have enough vacation time left to go with us, so he drew the lucky stick and stayed at home while A and I made the 6.5 hr drive down south.

All in all, we had a nice week filled with amusement parks, water parks, playgrounds, mini golf and lots and lots of swimming.  We even managed to squeeze in lunch with Elmo and his friends :)  It’s always wonderful to spend time with my siblings and to see my niece and nephews.  Now that A is older he had so much fun playing and interacting with his cousins.  Of course there were some hard moments since I had to deal with A on my own (he was being clingy for a lot of the week) but overall it was fun….and it beat being at work all week! 

How quickly vacation time fades, though.  I was back at work not even a day and it felt like I had never left :(  I already feel like I need another vacation.  Good thing we have another one lined up for next month – and this time hubby and I are going alone!!!  Wohooo!

Here are a few pictures from our week.