I’m comparing Disneyland and Legoland in California here, but much of this information can also be applied to the corresponding parks in Orlando, Florida!

You know that I love Disneyland, and my kids do too. BUT my kids are also Lego obsessed, and we’ve taken two Legoland California trips in the last two years. After our visit in 2024, my kids begged to go back, and I have to admit that there are some seriously compelling reasons to sometimes consider Legoland over Disneyland.

Consideration 1: Age

Do you have kids between the ages of 4 and 9? I have found this to be the real sweet spot for Legoland, and in many ways it’s even better than Disney for these ages! The main reasons are:

Rides
Nearly every ride and attraction is geared towards 4- to 9-year-olds, so most rides won’t be “too scary.” My 9-year-old just conquered the most intense attraction at Legoland, the Technic Coaster, but he is probably years away from trying the most intense Disney coasters.

Play areas
There are a lot of play areas great for these ages that don’t involve waiting in any lines, both traditional playgrounds and also building areas full of Lego bricks. In a single day I counted 4 playgrounds my kids played on, and 3 Lego building areas where they created some fun. 

If you have toddlers, you may want to wait until your kids are a bit older because there aren’t quite as many rides for the little ones. And Legoland doesn’t quite have the entertainment to draw adults that Disney does, so you may not get as much out of the experience.

And if you have older kids, they may feel the park is too young for them or doesn’t offer enough thrills.

Edge for under 4: Disneyland
Edge for ages 4-9: Legoland
Edge for ages 10+: Disneyland

Consideration 2: Planning Required

Legoland is so chill, it’s almost too easy, especially when you’re used to Disney. There is almost nothing to plan in advance, other than buying tickets. We used the Reserve and Ride system (Legoland’s version of the Lightning Lane) and there really is no strategy or planning to it, other than we bought it ahead of time. We stayed at the Legoland Hotels, and the only thing you really need to plan ahead there is to make a reservation for the included breakfast buffet.

Disneyland, on the other hand, has a multitude of dining and other premium experiences that require advance reservations (although you don’t need any of these to have a good time). And there are entire blog posts dedicated to Lightning Lane strategies (including mine!). Crowd levels are higher, so there’s an element of strategy there too.

Edge: Legoland

Consideration 3: Amount of Entertainment

While Legoland is smaller than the Disneyland resort and has fewer attractions, it certainly has enough attractions for 1-2 full days of entertainment for kids. While we rode nearly every ride we wanted to on our first day, our second day was filled with the water park, riding some of our favorite rides again, and spending more time at the playgrounds and Lego building areas.

Disney’s entertainment is on a larger scale, such as firework shows and other nighttime spectacles, and just more live performances, but we find Legoland to have more than enough for kids.

Edge: It’s a tie! Both are great

Consideration: Crowds

We have visited Legoland during two peak times: Spring Break and Summer Break. While there were certainly a lot of people, the park never felt extremely crowded, especially compared to the crowds we often experience at Disney. The ride lines can get long, but Reserve and Ride (Legoland’s “skip the line” system)  allowed us to ride everything we wanted with minimal waiting, and the cost was similar to Lightning Lanes at Disneyland. But all of the other attractions like the water park and many playgrounds and Lego building areas were not crowded at all. Sure, there were many kids there, but we never had to wait for anything. Same goes for food; we experienced minimal waits everywhere we went.

Edge: Legoland

Consideration: Price

It’s not even close. I chose a random summer weekend day, July 19, to compare. 

A Disneyland one-day single park ticket for one adult and one child is $402. 

For Legoland, the price for the same date listed on their website for July 19 is $238. BUT. I’ve ALWAYS been able to find “Kids Go Free” tickets. Google it. I found one just now for $149. 

For park hoppers, Disneyland charges an extra $90 per person, but if you want to add the water park to Legoland (the water park is located inside the Legoland park) it’s just an extra $25 per person. There are also numerous non-kid discounts out there such as AAA which actually have pretty good savings for a single-day ticket.

Edge: Legoland

Consideration: Park Hours and Days of Operation

Legoland opens later and closes earlier than Disneyland. They generally always open at 10am (sometimes 10:30am), and if you stay at one of their hotels you can go to select attractions 45 minutes early. During peak times they may be open until 8pm or 9pm, but for most of the year they are only open until 6pm or 7pm on the weekends, and often close as early as 4:30pm mid-week. They also don’t operate every day during the off season, so just make sure to check the schedule as you’re planning.

Disneyland, on the other hand, is open every day, usually from 8am until midnight, although some nighttime events can change this schedule. 

I personally didn’t mind the shorter park hours. We stayed at the hotels and generally went from 9am to 6pm, and felt this was plenty of time to enjoy each day, especially with kids. But I probably wouldn’t choose to go on a day when the park closes at 4:30pm.

Edge: Disneyland

Consideration: Interests

My kids really love both Legos and Disney. They love Disney Legos. So Legoland is a no-brainer for them in terms of theming. For kids who aren’t into Legos, there is still plenty of non-Lego fun to be had, but if they’re huge Disney lovers instead then Disneyland may get the edge here.

Edge: Depends on your kids’ interests

Consideration: Weather

Carlsbad and Anaheim are about an hour away, and while the weather is pretty nice and mild in both places year-round, Carlsbad tends to be cooler. So this probably means fewer pool days, but nicer weather during the hottest months in Southern California, August and September.

Consideration: Food

Legoland food is not awful, but it steers closer to typical low quality theme park fare than Disneyland. There aren’t any sit-down restaurants in Legoland or anything that requires reservations, other than the breakfast buffet. Still, there’s enough variety to suit most families.

One big gripe I have with Legoland food, however, is that most of the restaurants close pretty early, which can make dinner hard to come by if you want to eat later than 5pm. After a long day at a theme park, I don’t really want to drive somewhere else for dinner, but that’s generally what we end up doing at Legoland. There are several family friendly, decent restaurants within a 10-minute drive.

Disneyland, on the other hand, has entire blogs dedicated to its food. There are numerous quick service, snack, and sit-down dining options throughout the parks, hotels and Downtown Disney, and they are continuously releasing new menu items and dining experiences. While I don’t go to Disneyland for the food, I have to admit there are many better options compared to Legoland. And most of them are open at normal dinner hours!

Edge: Disneyland

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So if you have kids ages 4-9, especially if they love Legos, Legoland is a fantastic way to spend 1-2 days that’s much less expensive and stressful than Disneyland. As a family, we’ll still visit Disney more often, but Legoland has become at least a yearly park in our rotation!