My wife is going to have a day long class in Long Beach later this month and I was pondering doing a drive down to LegoLand to kill time as I will have nothing to do all day long.

Things I am concerned about

1) No kid with me. My Granddaughter will be in school so I am concerned about the entrance to the park stuff that I read about where you have to have a kid.

2) Is it worth it for just a day only being me? I am more interesting in the pick a brick wall then anything else but I am worried about being limited to hour limit that you can purchase at the gate not being a enough time.

Thoughts?

MM

Just went there in October for part of a day. Make sure they are open that day. And check their hours.

My main concern would be traffic from Long Beach to LL. We once drove from SFO to LA arriving at rush hour and went around LA to an Angels game in Anaheim that evening. Just made it. Get some input from locals as to how long the drive takes at what time of day.

It is a pretty pricey place. Check online prices a week before you go. I bought a ticket that day because it was the only day I could go, and if I was sick, that would be a waste of money. As I flew out from the East Coast the day before via San Diego, and flew back the morning of day three, it was a very rushed trip. But I did accomplish my mission.

You may want to go when you can take your granddaughter and spend the entire day there. Also they are open later when days are longer I think.

The PAB wall was not that impressive compared to Gunzburg's big brick shop. You may be better off buying bricks on BL depending on what you need. Good luck!

Yeah, if PaB is what you're looking for, LLCA isn't that good anymore. A few years ago, they had a bunch of good stuff you could look through. I particularly remember four bins that were just assorted Technic and other little bits in the black/grey/tan color range, which was very useful. But nowadays, it's mostly basic bricks in basic colors; nothing special compared to what you might see in a Brand Retail Store.

I was just at LLCA yesterday. It was 4 of us adults, and we were there specifically to shop. No one questioned us not having kids. I will echo what the others have said, and give you some more to go on.

The drive from Long Beach to Carlsbad will take you about 1 1/2 hours, unless there is major traffic. You should be against traffic most of the time, though.

It is $15 to park. As long as you buy $20 worth of merchandise, they will refund you the $15 parking fee. As long as you are in the park under an hour, they will refund you the entry fee. Time starts from the moment you enter the park.

The Big Store is under construction right now. They are expanding it's space. So they have moved the store to the Imagination Zone. It's a bit smaller than the usual store. They have tons of Series 10 and Movie Minifigures (but no Series 11). Other things I saw at the store, that stood out for me: Gandolf polybag, Z-95 Headhunter polybag, Town Hall modular.

There is a small kiosk at the front enterance. Mostly Friends and Star Wars stuff. There is a Movie store with most of their licensed merchandise. Star Wars, Chima, and other licensed stuff (no City, Space, Castle, etc).

The store I had the most hope for was the PAB store. It was disappointing. It was nothing special, with very basic bricks.

All in all, I was pretty disappointed with the visit. Maybe I'm used to times past, or maybe it was because I live/work within 40 minutes of the park. Also, you can't use your VIP points there.

I managed to get through all those stores within 40 minutes. I spent about 5 minutes looking at the X-Wing on display, and then headed out. Got back to customer service with 10 minutes to spare.

If you have nothing better to do, and it's worth your time, go for it.

If you are just looking for a pick a brick wall I'd suggest the Lego store in Glendale. The last time I visited California I happened to find myself there and was pretty happy with their selection.

I think I am going to just hit up the Glendale lego store and a few others and find a nice place to do a good long run by the beach. My other passion is running.

Thanks for the advice everyone

MM

I'm a runner, too. In your situation, I'd do the same thing. Sounds like a good plan!

How about the PAB wall in the store at Downtown Disney Anaheim? I believe it is closer to Long Beach than Glendale. The store at Downtown Disney is also larger thn the one in Glendale.

Just another option.

Andy D

Great idea. I hadn't thought about that. It should only be 30 minutes east of LB, if that. You can take the 22 East to the 5 North. Parking is free for 2 hours, I believe. You can park near the Disneyland Hotel/ESPN Zone. The Lego store is under the monorail tracks.

I completely forgot about the Downtown Disney Anaheim store and I was there about 3 months ago but I was exhausted from Disney and was not feeling 100%. I might hit both of them as I will have 2 long days and one can run only so much.

I ran the Long Beach Half/Full Marathon back in November. There's lots of great running to be done right there, along the beach and waterfront. We should have some great weather in SoCal this weekend. Take a look for the course map, and maybe run some of that.

I ran the Long Beach Half/Full Marathon back in November. There's lots of great running to be done right there, along the beach and waterfront. We should have some great weather in SoCal this weekend. Take a look for the course map, and maybe run some of that.

Thanks for the running advice. I am going to use that a course for running as I got a 20 mile run that weekend.

Fantastic! Enjoy, and let us know how the shopping and the running go.