Our family recently drove down to Carlsbad for another visit to Legoland. We’d been planning the trip for months so you can imagine how disappointed I was when a major storm was on the forecast for that same weekend! Instead of dwelling on something that we couldn’t change (which is the norm for me) I went with it. And you know what? We all had a great time! I can’t wait to share all of my advice for spending a rainy day at Legoland in California. Read to the end for my advice on other theme parks too!
why you should spend a rainy day at Legoland California
you’ll experience smaller crowds and shorter wait times
Guess what? People don’t want to visit theme parks in the rain. Parents don’t want to drag their kids around getting wet all day. No one wants to be miserably cold and wet. Let’s not forget that a rainy day means that most rides that are outdoors (which are most rides, at least in the United States) will be closed.
Do you realize what all those drawbacks mean though? You will deal with far less crowds on a rainy day! So not only will wait times for rides be much shorter (we basically walked on every ride during this last trip), but walkways will be less congested, and meal times at eateries will be less hectic too!
you’ll explore new parts of the park you might usually overlook
If your family is anything like mine the kids usually want to go from one ride to the next. There’s very little downtime to look around and explore other aspects of the park that are less “thrilling”. Which at a park like Legoland is a real shame because there are so many special touches to see everywhere! There are also some parts of the park that you might overlook that are the perfect refuge on a stormy day.
you can rest assured with Legoland’s rainy day promise
Legoland California has a Rainy Day Promise on their website to help guarantee that you get the most out of your visit no matter what the weather does! Not only do they have a definition of what a “rainy day” is, but they also list all the previous classified “rainy days” on their website. With Legoland’s Rainy Day promise you can bring your ticket with you on your next visit for free admittance (provided that you visited on one of their designated “rainy days”.
what to do on a rainy day at Legoland California
rides that stay open on a rainy day
Typically the following rides will remain open in light rain (* indicates an indoor or covered ride):
- LEGO NINJAGO The Ride*
- Lost Kingdom Adventure*
- Beetle Bounce
- Skipper School
- Driving School
- Junior Driving School
- Kid Power Tower
- Queen Watevra’s Carousel
- LEGOLAND Express
- Fairy Tale Brook
- Coastersaurus
- LEGO City Deep Sea Adventure*
indoor experiences to check out on a rainy day
The following areas are great places to spend time warm and dry indoors:
- Imagination Zone
- LEGO Show Place 4D Theater
- LEGO Life Zone
- Factory Tour
- Adventurer’s Club
- SEA LIFE Aquarium (requires a separate ticket)
tips for rainy days at other theme parks
Planning on visiting other theme parks in the rain? These are my general tips that apply to any theme park!
- Get there when the park first opens! When rain is on the forecast lots of people will wait it out to see if the rain clears. Meanwhile you could be in the park walking right onto every ride that’s open. And if the rain does clear than you’re already there to hop on all the rides while the rest of the crowds are just arriving! This is especially helpful at theme parks like Six Flags or Knott’s Berry Farm where many rides and attractions are outdoors!
- Make sure to bring a poncho or a rain coat. An umbrella isn’t as handy when you’re at a theme park going from ride to ride. The exception would be if you have a stroller with you–we used our umbrella to help keep the stroller extra dry for baby girl.
- The other umbrella exception? They make for cute pictures! So although a rain coat or poncho is more practical, nothing beats an umbrella for rainy day pictures! Disneyland especially has a lot of magical photo ops when you’ve got an umbrella in hand.
- Know the covered rides or dry areas ahead of time. That way you can make the most of your day by knowing what areas to go to when it’s raining and where to go when it’s dry. Fantasyland at Disneyland is a great area to escape the rain because you can easily dart from ride to ride and they’re mostly indoors or covered.