Tag Archives: ca

Legoland 2022 1-Day Trip Review

We went for a day in March during spring break. With young kids, we had some height restrictions, but most rides were available since Legoland is for young kids. The park was busier than I expected, but overall it was much better (less crowded) than summer time.

Legoland sells VIP access to skip lines, but I wasn’t interested. Plus, we’ve already been to Legoland a handful of times so I didn’t see the need to pay extra.

I downloaded the official Legoland app, which was extremely helpful in looking at estimated ride wait times. Too bad their app doesn’t let you order food like Disneyland’s app does.

While picking rides in the park, I focused on rides with shorter wait times & rides that were nearby. If there was a ride nearby with a short line, I definitely took my kids to check it out.

Attractions List with comments

Junior Driving School / Driving School

  • This is fun for kids to drive around

Sky Patrol

  • basic helicopter ride. what you see is what you get. fun

Fun Town Police and Fire Academy

  • this was a competitive ride (competing against other groups). pumping (to move the truck) was harder than expected

Skipper School

  • this boat ride was fun, but the line was really long. the wait wasn’t worth it

Legoland Express

  • simple train ride for toddlers. it’s fun, and no wait is awesome

DUPLO Playtown

  • this was ok. kids can play in the playground. the Duplos were scarce (COVID safety precaution?)

Queen Watevra’s Carousel

  • it’s a basic carousel ride. you either like it or you don’t

LEGO Movie 2 Experience

  • this simple walkthrough is cool for Lego set piece nerds, but it might not be interesting for everyone

Coast Cruise

  • simple, boat tour. I feel bad for the tour guides since they have to repeat the same pun jokes over and over

The Royal Joust

  • this thing always has a long line? it works well for the kids to wait in line while I get food nearby…

Knights’ Smokehouse BBQ

  • the lunch options are decent. typical, pricey theme park food, but the BBQ itself is not bad. if you get here during lunch hours, be prepared to wait in a long line

Cargo Ace

  • simple, kid friendly plane ride

Bionicle Blaster

  • these saucers spin around fast. shorter/younger children can’t ride it

Ninjago the Ride

  • our family isn’t super into Ninjago. the ride was OK, but I think my sensor hand placement was off since it wasn’t working well

Eglor’s Build-a-Boat

  • it’s legoland, so there’s different lego stations for kids. this one was a decent distraction. the Legos didn’t seem to be that clean considering the amount of water they are exposed to

Fairy Tale Brook

  • this ride is awesome. the decor is standard fare. I always enjoy this simple boat ride with almost no wait

LEGO Factory Tour

  • we walked through some Lego factory machines and the kids were able to build with Legos. this was more of a time sink

LEGO City Deep Sea Adventure

  • this sub ride was ok. there was no line, and I’m not a huge fan of the treasure hunt activity (spot things in the water)

The Hideaways

  • this play ground at the top of the theme park was fun for the kids to run around. I have to assume due to COVID, all the tube slides were closed (sealed at top & bottom). No slides makes getting around the vertical playground a bit odd

The Big Shop

  • always packed at the end of the day. The shop is OK. I think most stuff you can find online at a similar or better price. I didn’t find any notable exclusive Legos this day. If you show them your Lego.com VIP, you get a small discount

Legoland is fun for young kids, but it’s easy to run out of things to do after your 1st day. Costco has a 2 day ticket promo (with 2nd visit in 14 days of 1st visit), but that’s more Legoland than we need.

Disneyland 2021 1-Day Trip Review

We went for 1 day in August with young kids, meaning we couldn’t go on all the rides (height restriction). When we went, there was no park-wide fast pass system, so I didn’t have to worry about optimizing the next fast pass.

Before going, I downloaded the official Disneyland app (with my account & tickets set up). This is important since it lets you join boarding groups (Rise of the Resistance) at 7 am (outside the park) or 12 noon (in the park). If you are trying to join a boarding group, make sure you try exactly when it turns 7a (or 12). The official app also makes ordering food easy.

Some helpful tips: 1.) Go early. Try to get there when the park opens (like 8am) or even before they open (line up for rope drop). This will let you go a number of rides early in the day when lines are shorter. 2.) With tip #1, go on rides with longer lines first. Here’s a site showing sample wait times.

Ride List with comments

  • Jungle Cruise
    • alright. The guide was good, but the scripted dad jokes were soso
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
    • decent. This is classic Disneyland
  • Haunted Mansion
    • decent. This is classic Disneyland
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
    • fun for young kids
  • Mad Tea Party
    • decent. your typical spinning kid ride
  • King Arthur Carousel
    • decent. your typical carousel ride
  • Star Wars: Rise Of The Resistance
    • decent. It wasn’t the best thing ever. I enjoyed the impressive set pieces. This ride broke down twice on us (used Rider Switch) and ate up much of our afternoon.
  • It’s a Small World
    • good. This is classic Disneyland
  • Autopia
    • good, but they need to make the cars electric. The gas fumes are awful
  • Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
    • good, but it’s hard to tell where you are aiming
  • Mickey’s Mix Magic (9pm)
    • decent. Instead of a parade, they projected a show onto the castle and lit up a ton of fireworks

Food List with comments

  • Mickey-shaped Beignets @ [Mint Julep Bar, New Orleans Square]
    • mediocre. we were hungry in the morning, but these did not knock my socks off
  • New Orleans Mint Julep @ [Mint Julep Bar, New Orleans Square]
    • tasty, non-alcoholic drink
  • hand-dipped corn dogs @ [Stage Door Café, Frontierland]
    • tasty, but I was feeling fried food overdose
  • chicken tenders kids meal @ [Stage Door Café, Frontierland]
    • alright. your typical generic theme park kids meal. including a mandarin orange was good
  • Dole Whip Soft Serve @ [Tiki Juice Bar, Adventureland]
    • good, but I prefer the float! Don’t @ me
  • Dole Whip Float @ [Tiki Juice Bar, Adventureland]
    • amazing. Dole whip floats are always great, even more so on a hot day
  • frozen cherry lemonade @ [Fantasyland cart]
    • not good. the cherry flavoring didn’t remind me of cherry
  • blue milk @ [Milk Stand, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge]
    • good. this may have been an acquired taste. The tropical flavor was delicious
  • green milk @ [Milk Stand, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge]
    • average. I tried the citrus flavor, but it didn’t remind me of citrus and didn’t hit the spot

Disneyland was a fun-filled day for our family. Since we don’t go often, I try to do as much as possible. This is tough with kids, but we had strollers and took a break in the middle of the day to let the kids rest.

Having secured the Rise of the Resistance boarding group at noon, I think we accomplished more than enough. If we had more time in the afternoon, there were plenty of rides in Fantasyland to try or Mickey’s Toontown to visit.

Maptime Movement

I’ve attended Maptime in both NYC & LA. Each location seems to make the event their own. If you’re interested in maps, you should definitely check out a local Maptime event.

maptime

In NYC, we worked on different mapping challenges (subway maps, D3.js, etc.). In LA, we went over using git & Github.

2009-2010 CA High School Rankings

Oh, neat. There’s just updated API data for CA schools earlier this week on 5/13.

I’m finding all the information both pleasant and frustrating. Pleasant that it’s available for all so easily, yet tricky to understand in plain English.

What I looked at is the API data files 2009-2010 (2009 Base API-Data File DBF). Below are the top ten CA High School rankings without looking at special education, alternative models (ASAM), small size, or charter schools.

2009-2010 CA Base API High Schools

  1. Gretchen Whitney High
  2. Oxford Academy
  3. California Academy of Mathematics and Sc
  4. Mission San Jose High
  5. Lowell High
  6. San Marino High
  7. Monta Vista High
  8. Saratoga High
  9. Miramonte High
  10. Troy High

Note that Lynbrook is next at #11 after Troy High.

For comparison, here is the same list based on the Growth API instead of Base.

2009-2010 CA Growth API High Schools

  1. Gretchen Whitney High
  2. Oxford Academy
  3. California Academy of Mathematics and Sc
  4. Lowell High
  5. Mission San Jose High
  6. San Marino High
  7. Monta Vista High
  8. Saratoga High
  9. Miramonte High
  10. Lynbrook High

Troy is #11 in the growth basis.

The list is largely unchanged between the base and the subsequent growth API update.

I think it’s interesting since I attended Monta Vista High and students largely hold a grudge against MV for being so book focused and competitive. Parents, on the other hand, do whatever they can to get into the school so that their children will have a (theoretically) better future.

Disclaimer: I am not familiar with CA school rankings so my analysis may not take into consideration something that another person may view as key.