My theme park vacation era begins. I’ve been dreaming of bringing Max to Disneyland. But he is still too young to appreciate the magic and relate to the characters. Instead, Legoland was a better option because of more toddler-friendly rides, smaller scale, playgrounds, and more affordable for multiple days and to stay at the Legoland hotel, which is right outside the park gates for a midday nap. 

So we decided to take a short flight to San Diego for our last trip of the year. Despite many trips to California, I’ve never been to San Diego. I’ve heard its reputation for fun family attractions and fantastic weather. 

San Diego

We only had 2.5 days to explore the beaches and city, so we didn’t get to see everything. We will be back. San Diego felt like Vegas meets Hawaii with a Californian spin. It was hot, dry and beachy —much hotter than I expected. I had heard San Diego has perfect weather… but in my opinion, it was too hot… I guess it’s perfect for beach and heat lovers.

We hiked and explored a few beaches, including Mission Bay and La Jolla Cove. We visited La Jolla’s children’s pool and cove. Beautiful coast. The cove was lovely, and the seals were just hanging out there. Not a place to hang out too long and swim, though. 

We did the 2/3 mile Guy Fleming Trail at Torrey Pines State Park. This was Max’s first hike as a walking toddler. Hiking with a toddler is no easy feat, even if it’s a short, flat trail. The beach was also lovely with nice sand.

Old Town San Diego 

This little area preserves the area’s Spanish colonial and Mexican heritage through historic buildings, museums, and cultural sites. It was picturesque to walk around. We ate dinner at Casa de Reyes, which had top-notch vibes, free entertainment and decent food. 

Food 

We were able to hit up a few foodie spots while we were there. The croissants from Izola were the most impressive. Tacos El Franc was a little disappointing. We even hit up an In-and-Out where Max had his first fast-food hamburger. Tasty Noodle House hit the Chinese food spot after Legoland. 

Sesame Place

I wasn’t planning on visiting this theme park until Max started to recognize and like the characters from his Sesame Street books. He knew all the characters’ names and so I had to take him. It is mainly a waterpark but has a few rides, a parade, a show and Sesame Street characters.  

It was crowded on the Sunday we went, but we finished the rides early morning with minimal lines. It was Max’s first amusement park ride so he was a little timid. 

It was very hot and we finally got some AC relief at the Dine with Elmo — character meet and greet lunch, definitely worth the money. In the morning, Chi animated a 3-foot Cookie Monster stuffed animal like a puppet and Max got scared and cried. I was now worried that he would cry when he met the actual characters. But he didn’t! It was heartwarming to see his face light up when he met the characters. He gave them hugs and I could see how surprised and happy he was to meet his favorite book characters.

We caught the parade to see more characters like Bert, Ernie and Oscar. We successfully had a stroller nap and then hit the waterpark until closing. Max still says he wants to return to “Sesame Street” but knows it’s very far. 

San Diego Zoo

I heard the San Diego Zoo was world-renowned and decided it would be a perfect day for Max. The zoo was humongous, and we only saw a fraction of the animals, but we still covered a lot of ground. Only wish it wasn’t so dang hot! 

The exhibits are well-designed, and we were able to see the animals up close. Seeing the koalas and pandas were my favorite and the hippos were Chi’s favorite. But we also saw camels, a Tasmanian devil, a lion, an anaconda, elephants, monkeys, and more —mostly prioritized animals we couldn’t see at our local zoo.

Legoland

We stayed at the Legoland Castle Hotel for four nights, which is conveniently outside the park gates. We visited the park for three days, but took Max back to the hotel for a nap each day. We went to the park for three days, with Thursday and Friday quieter than Saturday. 

But overall, we rarely waited in a line and was able to ride on rides multiple times. Max got more comfortable with the rides too. He would often request to ride it again at the end. He graduated from the stable bench on the carousel to the moving horse by the third day. His favorite was definitely the Dinoland Car and Boat ride that we went on at least once each day. 

The castle hotel was also fun and well-themed. Max also fell in love with this Unicorn Knight Lego character. He would look for him every day and still says he misses him. It’s so cute. 

It was clear that he was having the time of his life, and that made us so happy (despite being tired of chasing him). On his third day, he told me to “wake up! Hooray, let’s go to Legoland.” It was also fun to see as adults. We will definitely be back in a few years.