Rocking Horse Ranch / Legoland NY – Day 2 can be found here.
Another late night followed by an early start. There are always writing and various bits of admin that need to be sorted out after the kids head to bed, and then we had to wake before 7 am this morning so we could book our initial ‘Reserve to Ride’ pass at Legoland.
This was the first time I’d ever used the Legoland app, so it took longer than I’d hoped. Still, I managed to book the Dragon – their largest rollercoaster – for 43 minutes after opening. Could have been worse. Legoland would let us make additional FastPass-type bookings but only after we’d finished the first ride.
Off to breakfast, which was much the same as the previous night except that the sausages had been replaced by ham this morning. No time for eggs-to-order, sadly. We wanted to be on the road by 8:30 am at the latest.
In all the excitement, we forgot about the second stage of booking Legoland – registering for one of the time slots at their Water Playground. Thankfully, none of the slots had booked out and we were able to book a 20 minute slot at 2:30 pm followed by a 1 hour ‘Splash Party’ from 3 to 4 pm at an extra cost of $12 per person.
With that administrivia out of the way, we set off for Legoland. We were initially unsure which address to use, but eventually settled on 1 Legoland Blvd.
The drive was mostly a pleasant meander through the backroads of New York, followed by a brief stint on the main highways. Google Maps tried to send us to the staff entrance, but thankfully the area was well signed enough that we realized our error and found the proper parking lot.
We had prepaid for a spot in the regular lot. We arrived roughly 25 minutes before open, and there were only a handful of cars in the lot ahead of us. They have a premium lot available for an extra $20, but it would save perhaps five minutes off the walk. We were happy just to walk.
We passed through security without incident, and had our tickets scanned in short order. We loaded everything into the app which made the process quick and easy.
There were some amazing Lego statues right out of the gate.
We waited perhaps another 15 minutes for the park to open. It was enough time to find a spot in the shade, drink an overpriced coffee, and make our game plan.
A mere US$7.99 for a large cappuccino!
The park opened, and we were off. I checked the app for an update on the status of our Reserve to Ride ticket and I was surprised to see it was already available. Apparently I only needed to wait 43 seconds – not 43 minutes, as I had initially feared. Nice.
We were still hoping to get a few walk-on rides before we made it to The Dragon, however. First on our list was the LEGO Factory Adventure Ride – and we managed to walk on without any issues. Similar in a lot of ways to the Ratatouille ride in Disneyland Paris, even down to the intricate scenes to enjoy while waiting:
Then we carried on to the LEGO Ninjago Ride, which is similar to the Spiderman W.E.B. Adventure – the ride senses how you move your arms and sends out blasts that damage enemies on the giant screens. We also walked on to that ride, too.
Next up – The Dragon. We ended up not needing our Reserve to Ride passes – we again walked on, and proceeded to stay on for four (!!) rides in a row. The kids particularly enjoyed trying to spot the rats hidden throughout the different scenes.
But eventually even the rats lost their appeal, and we booked Reserve to Ride for the Driving School.
Photo Credit: Legoland.com
This sadly is only available to kids aged 6 to 13, so adults were forced to sit this one out. Thankfully we found a small patch of shade in a somewhat breezy spot, so we weren’t entirely cooked. You can tell that Legoland NY only opened in 2021 – the trees are still quite small. It will be nice once they grow, but that’s going to be a lengthy process.
We looked at getting Lego drivers’ licenses for the kids, but the $27.99 cost per license was too much to justify the purchase. Instead we treated them to an $8 virtual reality rollercoaster.
At least there were more adorable Lego statues to ease the financial pain:
Off to take in one of the 4D shows – the first was “Officer in Pursuit”, which is about a pair of police officers chasing down an escaped fugitives. Pro tip – check the seats before you sit down to see which are covered in foam and water so that you can avoid the messiest of the 4D elements. Most of the elements – occasional gusts of wind or spritzes of water – were mild.
We then moved on to Rogue Riders – the first time we actually benefited from having Reserve and Ride passes. We saved 35 minutes this time. The ride was somewhat simple – you go around in circles and have limited ability to steer, while people on the outside can spray you with water guns or blast you with geysers. It was probably my favourite of the rides but my daughter got quite wet.
Photo Credit: Legoland.com
We doubled back to Brickolini’s Pizza and Pasta for lunch at this point. We initially wondered if the 16” pizza was going to be enough to feed four of us, but at $27.99 per pizza we figured we could order a second one if needed:
Definitely large enough for all of us
Our daughter wanted to go back and ride the Dragon at this stage, while my son wanted to try the Minifigure Skyflyer (the gondola). It got us a nice view over Miniland, which includes cityscapes of New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco, major east coast cities, and more. There are tons of little easter eggs hidden here, and controllable elements. Definitely worth the visit.
We returned again via the gondola and took in another 4D show – this one entitled “Dreamzzz”. The plot is hard to explain, but mostly involves a mini-figure who falls asleep and ends up in a dream world. There’s a big party but then evil demons and a sorcerer on a flying horse start trapping people in bubbles, including the mini-figure’s pet green slime. It became increasingly bizarre from there – but at least our strategy of avoiding the foam-covered seats remained sound.
Thoroughly confused by the second show, we then went off to Splash Battle. This ride involves going around a track in a pirate ship loaded up with hand-crank water cannons. You get to shoot targets, passersby, other ships, and so on.
Photo Credit: Legoland.com
It was a lot of fun, though it can be frustrating for younger kids who might struggle with the hand-crank cannons. We used our Reserve and Ride passes here too and managed to save another 20 to 30 minutes.
We then returned to Lego City World to visit the Coast Guard Academy – which has small Lego boats that drivers can pilot around a track. It felt similar to the Driving School, but adults could join too.
Photo Credit: Legoland.com
There were no Reserve and Ride passes but the wait was considerably shorter than the 40 minutes estimated on the sign. It took perhaps 20 minutes at most – which was good, because the skies were beginning to threaten and we wanted to spend some time in the Waterpark before the skies opened up.
You will never, ever see the Water Playground as deserted as it is in this press photo (Photo Credit: Legoland.com)
Unfortunately, the weather had other plans – the Water Playground had already been closed due to the risk of lightning, so we booked one last Reserve and Ride for the Brick Party (merry-go-round) and tried to make our way back via the Skyflyer. It was closed, unfortunately, but that gave us the chance to see Miniland up close.
The little Easter eggs are great – this model of San Francisco even includes porta-potties
Our Splash Party tickets should be refunded automatically due to the weather cancellation – or so we were assured by Guest Services on the way out the door.
We walked on to Brick Party – which was short, but did what it needed to do – and then it was time to go.
Photo Credit: Legoland.com
There was a mild spattering of rain as we threaded our way back through the main gates, and lightning struck in the distance as we drove out of the parking lot.
We had already loaded the parking pass into the app along with our tickets, so we had no issue clearing out – and just like that, we were on our way back to Rocking Horse Ranch.
And what did we think of our quick visit to Legoland? Well, it would have been nice if the weather had cooperated but overall I’d say it met or exceeded our expectations. We were particularly pleased with the number of rides we visited over the course of a single day.
That said, the rides are not nearly as elaborate as their Disney equivalents. Ride length in particular is quite short, and rides like Ninjago and the Factory Adventure seem to lack even the slightest semblance of a storyline. However, there are quite a few Easter eggs and hidden features for true Lego fans.
We didn’t get the opportunity to use the Reserve and Ride program often, but it still easily saved us 60 to 90 minutes of waiting in line. We likely would have been better off to have just used it on a case-by-case basis, but it was helpful to know that we could show up at a particular ride without running the risk of a sudden line forming.
Back to Rocking Horse Ranch – traffic was busier than on the way out, but it was still roughly 50 minutes.
I don’t even remember what we did after we got back. I think my wife, daughter and I hung out in the main lodge while I wrote and they read, and my son went to laser tag.
Soon it was time for dinner.
The menu tonight:
Tonight’s salad:
My son, wife and daughter had the quesadillas for their appetizers:
While I had the dumplings without the tomatoes:
My wife and I had the short ribs:
While my son and daughter both had the chicken fingers, her with pasta and him with fries (not pictured).
After, my son went back to laser tag and my daughter went off to arts and crafts where she painted a beautiful owl:
My son joined me for the Mark and Baker comedy show. I won’t say it was quite improv as they mostly asked for minor suggestions from the audience as opposed to completely improvising the show from scratch. But they were still very funny – kids and adults alike enjoyed the show.
It was then time for bed – and not a moment too soon. It’s my turn to take our daughter riding tomorrow – and face the dreaded cantering test that would determine whether I will be deemed an ‘advanced rider’.
Continue reading Rocking Horse Ranch / Legoland NY – Day 4.