The kids and I will be following DH to a conference in June in Newport Beach so we will be on our own during the day but we will have the car. DS loves these trips and keeps asking to go to a museum again because I try to find fun educational things to do we go out of town for these trips. Since we did LA in the fall I'm not going to head that way again. Is there anything fun and/or educational we should check out? I'm sure we can occupy ourselves at the beach but I'm also interested in other things in the area.
We are considering driving to San Diego first and then to the conference so what is the consensus about Legoland? I feel like I've only seen bad reviews of it but DS is obsessed with all things lego. Thanks!
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04-21-2014 #1
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Tell me about Newort Beach with young kids and maybe LegoLand
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04-21-2014 #2
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No input on Newport Beach.
Legoland is good for little ones, imo. The only complaint I have with it is price but if you find the ticket coupons, you are all set. My big kid was a thrill rider even at 5yo so when we went, the rides were too tame for him. It's a cute park and a Lego obsessed kid will love it.
Disneyland is a fun visit too. Contrary to most on the board, I think it's fine to just take it as a one day experience. Just going to Downtown Disney is fun too- they have a cool Lego store.
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04-21-2014 #3
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Check your kids heights vs. the rides at Legoland. At 2 my younger DD could ride very little there and she was very disappointed. It wasn't a lot of fun for her to watch her older sibling go on a lot of rides that she couldn't do!
Personally I would do DL vs Legoland.Beth, mom to older DD (8/01) and younger DD (10/06) and always missing Leah (4/22 - 5/1/05)
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04-21-2014 #4
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For a "simple pleasures" experience, check out Pretend City in Irvine. It is perfect for a 2 year old [ETA: sorry, and a 4 year old--even better!]. It is a bit pricey but nothing compared to a theme park. It is not a whole day experience, but you likely could spend several hours there. It is kind of a mini town with different theme areas and roads for little ones to play in/on. There is a house to play in, plus one wall is exposed with tools and pipes and things to pretend it's a construction site. There are a post office, restaurant, garden area, beach, medical office, garden, and more.
Also look into Balboa Pier. There were some plans to redo it, so I'm not sure what's there now. But I think it still has a small Ferris wheel. You can ride across on the ferry, either as a pedestrian or with your car! Our kids love the ferry. (Or you can drive around on the peninsula, but the ferry is fun.)Last edited by sariana; 04-21-2014 at 04:19 PM.
DS '04 "Boogaboo"
DD '08 "Lilybear"
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04-21-2014 #5
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The Discovery Science Center is in Santa Ana, maybe 20-25 min from Newport Beach- they have some cool exhibits that rotate and if you have a membership to your local science museum they may be part of an admission fee network. Definitely worth checking out!
http://www.discoverycube.org/
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