So we made our first trip to Legoland this past weekend. We were looking for something different and my daughter is the perfect age and height (36") for this park. This is not something we considered before because my son would not have been able to ride on anything (everything requires a child to be able to walk and sit up on their own).
The drive down, hubby kept complaining about it being in the middle of nowhere and wondering if our annual passes on bought online ($99) was worth it. I will say it was not crowded, BUT when we got there people were leaving and there was a HUGE dark cloud ready to come and bring some nasty lightning and rain. So when we got in, none of the outdoor rides were open. We had to get our passes anyways, so we went to the annual pass center and did that, did the Duplo play area (daughter loved it and didn't want to leave), did the greenhouse (my LO kept asking to go back to see the cows, so also a huge hit), and then got something to eat. By this time the lightning had passed and some rides were opening up (still sprinkling). We did the safari ride and while cheasy my daughter loved it and wanted to go on again. So I told my husband I would take her and he could go on the wooden roller coaster. Well to my surprise while waiting in line (safari broke down) I got a text from my husband that the coaster was 36". Up to this point, it was an OK day and we were not sure how often we would really come back, but my daughter getting to go on her first wooden roller coaster and this coaster is way better than any kiddie coaster, made our day. Now keep in mind my daughter loves coasters and asks to go on even the big ones, so we knew this would be a hug hit for her. But the look on her face going over that first hill was priceless. She loved the whole thing and by the second ride was even putting her hands in the air (yes, I taught her that on one of the kiddie coasters in Uni). My husband who never buys the professional pictures or ride pictures was the first one to look at the pics and pick out the one he wanted to buy of his daughter on her first wooden coaster. To say the least we will be back more than we thought. We even got her on the driving school ride really meant for 3 year olds. She was the only one on and she got personal driving lessons... so cute.
It really is geared to younger kids and they have these logo play areas in most ride lines, allowing the kids to play with legos while the adults wait in line. A nice touch and my LO would have enjoyed that part more, but really there was no lines. The longest was boat school at 10 minutes and that was only because some idiots could not figure out how to drive their boats. But overall the park was not busy. Again, not sure this has anything to do with the success, but more of the huge storm hitting right when we got there. The new area was OK, the water ride gets you soaked, so we did not go on that. Maybe on one of the days we do the water park too we will consider that ride. But people coming off and on it seemed to really enjoy it though. So it looks to be a hit.
I think this park hit their target audience. My daughter could not stop smiling (and believe me in Disney she does stop smiling and honestly she seemed happier at legoland) and we loved watching her enjoy everything. So it was a good day and can't wait to go back. I do see where capacity could be an issue, so if it is a more crowded day I see the experience not being as good. They really need to coasters for the coasters that only have one and they need to figure out a way to move some of these other rides along. Because as they build resorts and other things, they need a way to increase capacity or the lines are going to be a nightmare.