On Sunday morning, we left Virginia and made the drive up to Goshen, New York to spend a few days at Legoland! Outside of the repeated panic attacks I sustained on the way there…the trip was (for the most part) enjoyable for me *insert dizzy face here*. The kids had a great time! And hubby, I think he was just along for the ride – but he did seem to enjoy himself too!
We stayed at the Legoland hotel, which sits right next to the park. EVERYTHING was Lego themed! The kids were so excited to see the creative ways the hotel incorporated Lego into every area of our stay.
The first floor of the hotel is loaded with fun – complete with a Lego playground for the kids to enjoy while waiting for check-in, a Lego store, arcade, and two dining areas.
Hot breakfast is included with your stay, and it’s located in the main dining room downstairs. The room is filled with larger-than-life Lego creations, some of which are even interactive!
Pool access is also located on the first floor – the kids were super excited to check that out! As you walk to the elevators, there are Lego sculptures everywhere – along with some runner up creations made on the TV show “Legomasters.” And every elevator ride is a disco party! So get ready to dance your way up to your themed floor.
We chose the Pirate Lego theme for our stay! The kids were excited for their pirate bunk beds, complete with Legos and a Lego wall to build on. The TV was even programmed with all the Lego movies and shows for the kids to watch!
After check-in, we went to a local restaurant for dinner – Amore’s pizza. It was *delicious* and was located less than 10 minutes away from the hotel, nestled in the quaint village of Goshen.
Sadly the pool wasn’t open that night, so we waited until the next day for our water fun. Day two was full of rides & activities at Legoland! Thankfully it was our one hot day in New York, so we did all our water rides & swim time that day.
There were rides, games, designs to look at and play with – there’s something fun for everyone! The rides are generally suited for smaller kids (meaning they’re not too fast or too crazy), but we all enjoyed them. There’s one roller coaster in the park – which my daughter loved – and lots of shows to watch, characters to interact with, and things to see!
You’re gonna want to try some of the treats they sell there too! We tried the apple & vanilla soft serve at Granny’s Apple stand (located near Lego Mini land) and it was *yummy*. You are allowed to bring your own food & snacks into the park too, so we were sure to do that. We even left halfway through the day to have some down time back in the hotel room, and then came back to the park once we had recuperated.
Day two was a bit colder (for me anyway) with temps in the low 70s. No water time for me – but the kids still went crazy in the water park AND the pool at the hotel!
No pool time is complete without snacks, so make sure you check out some of the drinks & snacks at the bar by the pool! Evidently I took no pictures of the kids at the pool; probably because I was busy warming myself up!
Our last night in Goshen we ventured out once more to find a local place to eat, and we stopped at Hacienda Restaurant just up the road – again, less than 10 minutes from the hotel. The food was yummy, and the place was HUGE! I believe they do catering and host events at their location – in their peak season I’m sure this is the place to be!
Wednesday was our last day at the hotel, but the fun didn’t stop there…next, we headed to DreamWorks water park located in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (*Disclaimer: this waterpark was NOT easy for us to find. It’s located inside an ENORMOUS mall and the directions were super confusing).
DreamWorks Water park is located inside the American Dream shopping mall which houses the water park, a Nickelodeon Theme Park, a skating rink, a Ferris wheel, mini golf, and a year-round ski & snow resort…it blew our minds!
Once we finished up at the mall and got some dinner, we made our way back home to Virginia. Driving through the night made I-95 MUCH more manageable (but, of course, there was still traffic – even at midnight) – we finally made it home around 1:15 AM Thursday morning.
Now back to life as normal.
And more importantly, looking back on this trip as something to be proud – not dwelling on the hiccups or the things that I view as my shortcomings. The trip wasn’t smooth for me & my pesky tag-alongs (anxiety & panic attacks) BUT I went. I could have said no to the vacation and nixed the whole thing. But I didn’t, and as a result my kids had an amazing week & hubby and I got to spend some quality time together.
Would you ever go to Legoland? And if you have been before, what was your favorite part??
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