Legoland California

 Last year I came across a free subscription for children to Lego Club Magazine. Thing 1 loves to get her own mail, so I signed her up. In one issue there was a coupon for a free child's admission to Legoland with the purchase of an adult admission. We agreed that it would be a good family vacation for 2011.
 And I have to say that it was AWESOME. I believe that for my kids at their age (Under age 8), Legoland is better than Disneyland. Here are my reasons:

Legoland is pretty much Lego Mecca, with some fairly impressive displays throughout the park. (I love Legos, they're great learning toys that facilitate creativity.)

The longest line was a 45 minute wait. (And there was only one line that long.)

The lines that were longer than 15 minutes had a little area where the kids could play with Legos while the parents could watch them from their place in line. (Genius on their part, less whining=happier kids +happier parents.)

Thing 2 learning to drive

You get significantly more bang for your buck when it comes to the meal options. (My husband and I split one large combo meal and together we couldn't finish it. I also was satisfied with the options for my kids.)

There was tons of active play. My kids totally wore themselves out.

The best tree house I have ever seen. It took 3 shots to try to get the front. Look at it and try to tell me that you don't want to climb through that with your kids.

There were far less crowds. In one day we had to time to ride every ride at least once, and our favorites 2-3 times.

There are plenty of coasters that even my underweight 3 year old could ride.

 
They have a great aquarium attached that you can view for an extra fee. I thought it was worth it.

It's less expensive than Disneyland with plenty of discounts and coupons available. I totally felt like we were getting our money's worth.

 Gate prices: Adult admission is $69, children's $59. Kids 2 and under are free. Hopper passes to either Legoland plus the Sea Life Aquarum or the Water Park are $81/$71. Or you can do all three for $89/$79. (We didn't check out the Water Park because it was closed that day.) You can add a 2nd day to any hopper pass for $10. Parking is $12 per day. Legoland California is located in Carlsbad California. Now let's talk about those discounts. I'm going to rank them according to most money saved for a short trip, although many are not available to the general public. Pick the best one that is available to you.

1. Buy an Adult admission get a Child free- $59 discount. As mentioned previously, this can be found in some issues of the Lego Club Magazine. I've also heard that periodically you can find coupons like this in some fast food chains in Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico.
2. Employee Discounts- varies- (I saved $14 per ticket on my 2 remaining tickets) If you are employed for a large company check this one out. I am employed for a large corporation that is based in Utah, and I was surprised that they still offered a discount through our employee website. I was able to print my tickets out the morning of, or you can have them sent via snail mail if you are less spontaneous than we were that weekend.
3. Printable Coupon- $8 discount at this link. Only good on day passes (Up to 6 tickets) at the gate, cannot be combined with any other discount. Good until 5/31/11
4. Entertainment Book- $7 discount for up to 6 tickets found in the San Diego 2011 Entertainment Book. Currently the books are $15 each. And if you're you're going this route, I highly recommend that you buy your book through Ebates.com, where you can get 17.5% back on your purchase. (I like Ebates for their many other discounts available.)
5. Military Discount- 10% off for members of the armed services when you show your military ID.
6. AAA Discount- 10% off tickets when you show your American Automobile Association card.
7. Carlsbad Hotels- $6 off per ticket. Many of the local hotels offer tickets at a discount and it means that you don't have to wait at the ticket booth.
8. Costco- This one is a better deal than the previous six deals, but only if you plan on spending 3 days at Legoland. I'm sure that my kids would have been just fine with that, but we had work, school etc. $99.99 for a 3-day pass + $2.34 shipping and handling. There is an extra fee if you don't have a Costco membership, for more details on this deal go here.
9. Legoland Annual Passes- $129 for adults & $99- Ultimately the best bang for your buck if you live close enough to visit than 3 times per year or more, but we don't, or I'm pretty sure I would have bought these. This comes with multiple perks like free parking, and no black-out dates.

Things to Do in Southern Utah: Coral Pink Sand Dunes

I have reached that stage in my life where my children are not interested in watching anything that isn't a cartoon. Nor are they very cooperative in letting my husband and I watch non-cartoons. Let's just say that watching General Conference on Saturday is a joke. (Not to mention that I can not watch that much TV without falling asleep.) The solution: strap the kids in the car and drive for two hours. Driving for two hours took us to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. (Ok, it's not quite two hours from us, but after stopping at the bank, getting gas, and getting a late start it was about that.) Admission to the park (without camping) is $6 per vehicle. I recently got some sand buckets in the summer clearance section at Walgreens that were 75% off and then free with my Register Rewards. I used them to bribe the kids to be quiet on the way there. The fastest way to get there (from St George) is to drive through Apple Valley, down through part of Arizona and back up into Southern Utah.
I had heard many people talk about how great this place is and once we arrived I thought "Am I missing something? It's not even pink." Regardless my kids thought it was greatest thing and want us to come back "at least six times". They had a terrific time playing in the sand.

Whose definition of pink is that?

Still a fairly impressive sight. (My pics really don't do it justice.)

The view of the other direction.

The place is pretty much an enormous sand box.

Even though it is October, it was still about 95 degrees there. We're thinking that we'll have to come in January when it is much cooler. The bathroom and picnic facilities are descent. I liked that there are a couple of spigots with cold water to rinse off most of the sand before heading back. Bring sunscreen, a lunch and plenty of water. And towels for sand removal. We took the long way back through Zion's. A nice drive, but if you don't have a Zion's or National Park Pass it is $25, and yes they do take credit.

Favorite Places to Visit in St George Part 1: Pioneer Park

I love living in St. George. It is beautiful and the weather is actually rather pleasant for nine months out of the year. However, as with many small communities, a little investigating must be done to find things to do with the kids, so here I'll share some my family's favorites and any available discounts that I have found.

Pioneer Park- Red Hills Parkway-No admission charge
Pioneer Park is a must-see for anyone new to St. George. It provides a fantastic view of the city of St George, and parts of Arizona and Zion's National Park can also be seen from the park.

St George from the cliffs above the city.

Pioneer Park has some great climbing for all skill levels. The first time we brought my two-year-old there you would have thought it was Christmas. He yelled "Whoa! Climb on that!" It has trails and rocks that are on my kids' level, as well as rocks and cliffs that my husband finds challenging.

 

Me and my fam

 Pioneer Park is so called because it contains a few original houses that the pioneers built out of caves while they were in the process of building something more permanent.

Pioneer cave dwelling with brick face.

This park is a great place to see local wildlife. Every time we go we see at least a few different varieties of lizards and birds and this last time we saw a tortoise climbing around the rocks. The park has been turned into a reserve for the Mojave desert tortoise.

If you touch them they can get scared, urinate and die of dehydration. No touchie. Big fines.

The park contains 2 barbeques, a fire ring, and several picnic tables. If you're in town around July 4th, it's the best place to watch the fireworks.