Legoland California was the original Legoland park in the United States.
This is one of the best parks in the country for kids between the colorful, well-themed realms
and abundance of family-friendly attractions. Don’t expect much in terms of thrill rides,
even compared to other Legoland parks, but this park has more than enough to
fill a day. So in this video, I will rank the park’s top 15 rides and attractions.
Before starting the countdown, I want to note a few attractions that will not be included.
First, there’s the Coastersaurus junior coaster. I’ve heard this Gerstlauer creation actually has
a sneaky good first drop in back, but I have not ridden it. The coaster had
too long a line in my first visit and it was closed for refurbishment in my recent trip.
Second, I am far too old to experience Lego Driving School. But it’s worth noting
this driving attraction is one of the most popular rides for younger guests.
Third, I have not visited the Legoland Water Park. I have ridden the water rides on the
amusement side though, and they’ll all make an appearance on this list.
15) Lego Factory Tour- This attraction is hidden in Fun Town, but it’s an enjoyable
walkthrough showing how Legos are made. You have some automated machinery showing
the manufacturing and packaging processes to make the models sold around the world.
14) Safari Trek- This track-guided car ride takes
guests past some static animal figures. I wish there was more movement or narration,
but the ride is atmospheric at least between the lush vegetation and occasional sound effect.
13) Skipper School- This boat ride gives guests the ability to steer a ship through a trough.
It’s a much rarer and more exciting experience than driving your average car. I wish there were
more visuals along the route, but the driving mechanic is the ride’s main selling point,
especially with younger guests. 12) Pirate Reef- This is a miniature
Shoot the Chutes ride from Hopkins. It’s half the size of the others. As a result, the drop
only has a little zip, but the resultant splash is still massive and will soak you to the bone.
Aquazone Wave Racers- This Zierer flat ride is a Legoland staple,
but it was unfortunately removed a few years ago. It’s basically a whip ride placed above the water.
When you steer yourself outwards, you get some light thrills as you skim across the water.
You just had to beware the water bombs on this one. You got drenched if any hit you.
11) Splash Battle- This interactive water ride gives guests a water gun.
You can then fire at some displays in the center of the ride or fire at other guests.
This is the far more enjoyable option. Not only can you shoot other riders, but you can take
aim at people off-ride manning some turrets. 10) Technic Coaster- This Mack wild mouse is
one of the rarer large park models. As a result, this one starts with an exciting 5 story plunge.
It’s a really nice drop you don’t get on a lot of other mice. The rest of the ride is dialed back
though. You have some harsh trim brakes that lessen the usually great laterals. This was
probably done to make it more accommodating for kids, which is fine given the park’s audience.
9) Miniland USA- This is the heart and soul of the park. It’s an expansive walkthrough with some of
the most detailed Lego models you can find anywhere. You can see iconic cities like
New York and Las Vegas brought to life in these incredible scale models. The one downside in my
recent trip is that many of the interactive elements were either deactivated or broken.
8) Fairy Tale Brook- This slow-moving boat ride passes by- you guessed it- a series of
scenes from famous fairy tales. The scenes are cute and several have some movement,
which is an upgrade over the aforementioned Safari Trek.
7) Fun Town Police & Fire Academy- This feels more like a game than a ride.
Teams race to put out a fire. Riders first pump their vehicle- like a mine cart- over to the fire.
Next, you pump water and aim the hose at windows to put it out. Then you pump your vehicle back to
the starting point. This one is operated a bit differently from the others. You have to wait
until everyone’s fire is extinguished before returning, which makes the finale a tad more
anticlimactic than the others I’ve experienced. 6) Deep Sea Adventure- This submarine adventure
is a neat experience. You travel through an aquarium seeing a wide range of fish swimming
about. And we’re not talking Lego fish. We’re talking real living and breathing fish. But you
do have the Lego element. You have some figures along the way and riders are supposed to use a
monitor to identify these treasures. But I prefer to just focus on the sights myself.
5) Dragon- This is the park’s best roller coaster. Built by Vekoma, this ride starts
with a medieval themed dark ride segment. It’s very well-done and I especially love the scale
of the giant dragon animatronic. Then you head outdoors for a more traditional coaster section.
It’s a bit taller and more engaging than you’re average roller skater. This one has
some force in back on the first drop and that swooping drop into the trench towards the end.
4) Emmet’s Flying Adventure- This is a quirky flying theater. These rides usually
have ultra-realistic visuals and take you past famous landmarks. This one is off-the-wall crazy.
It’s sensory overload as you pass through this colorful, animated environment.
It may be a bit too chaotic at points. The motion isn’t too exaggerated on
this one, but it is well-synchronized. 3) Coast Cruise- This slow-moving boat ride
takes riders on a narrated tour of Miniland. It’s a leisurely way to admire all those models and the
guide will also crack some corny jokes that remind me of the skippers on Disney’s Jungle Cruise.
2) Lost Kingdom Adventure- This Sally interactive shooting dark
ride has a well-executed Egyptian theme. You are on a quest for stolen treasure.
The ride has a lot of 2D props, but there are some more elaborate 3D ones mixed in.
You have plenty of targets to take aim at and most are operational. Several trigger an animation
after being hit, so there is some reride value to try and see everything. And it’s quite easy to hit
those targets since each gun has a laser sight. 1) Ninjago the Ride- This is another interactive
shooting dark ride, but this one is a lot different. This is a Triotech model that is a 3D,
screen-based shooter. You then use hand gestures to fire projectiles at screen based targets.
There is a learning curve. You need to remember not to change elevation too much.
But once you have it nailed down, it’s a ton of fun. It’s such a rewarding ride system and there
are plenty of targets to hit. And honestly, I think this ride is much easier to follow
than the much more publicized Webslingers dark ride Disney California Adventure.
Knight’s Tournament- This was once the park’s best thrill-ride by far. Nothing else came close.
It was a series of Kuka robot arms. Riders could make the experience as tame or extreme as they
liked. Level 1 was quite mild. Level 5 had riders spend more time inverted than right-side up.
The flips weren’t as forceful as some other rides, but it was extremely disorienting being
flung around in every which direction. It was 1 minute of pure mayhem. And now sadly, it is
just a grassy picnic area. But if you’re interested how this experience used to be,
I have reviewed a very similar ride at the Billund location in Ice Pilots School.
So those are my top 15 favorite rides and attractions at Legoland California. What are
your favorite rides at America’s first Legoland park? Let me know down in the
comments. If you enjoyed this countdown, I’d appreciate it if you gave this video
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coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!