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Thursday, February 24, 2011

LEGOLAND Review

Ryu (6) and Kira (3) were going to LEGOLAND at the Streets of Woodfield for their post birthday celebrations so we tagged along too.  I’m still new to taking kids out and am figuring out how to be best prepared.  But here are my thoughts on this crazy place:
  1. Buy your tickets online and check the special offers. Standard price at the door is $19/adult and $15/kid!! DO NOT PAY FULL PRICE! We bought midweek tickets online for $10/adult or kid.
  2. Pack lightly. It was a very cold day so everyone was bundled up. But then it was super warm inside, with nowhere to put your coats/bags! Luckily we had 4 adults and 3 kids, because one person lugged around all 7 coats and 5 bags/purses/camera bags. They need a locker system or something. The only time I noticed a place to put your coats was at the EXIT, as I was leaving! And they were just hangers, like a kindergarten classroom. That looks like a mixup waiting to happen.
  3. It is chaos. Partly because it was a holiday. And perhaps this type of scenario is normal and it was just shocking to my rookie parent eyes. Downstairs there was an organized flow and one direction of traffic since you just view huge Lego displays, similar to a museum setup. Upstairs it was a complete free for all for kids to run amuck!  There’s a movie, workshop, and a factory all in the same vicinity with no clear waiting areas which caused lots of congestion. Then on the other side past the café is a play ground, multiple lego tables, a big foam lego area, car ramps, and a carnival ride (that they probably waited 30 minutes for).
  4. Don’t bring a stroller. A few people did, but I personally would not want to navigate through the tight areas with legos and kids strewn everywhere.
Liza put it best when she said, “I’m so glad this is our first and last time here.” Don’t get me wrong, the kids had fun, but definitely no desire to go back on our end.

On a photography note, I am still confused with lighting and getting my white balance right. Similar to the Children’s Museum at Navy Pier, I could not get my shots to look right with the fluorescent/halogen/overhead/natural light combination. Blech. Let me know if you have any tips! I also need to learn how to be consistent with my post processing, hmmm...
                                            
                                          rawwwr...jungle scene                                   ok so the Chicago exhibit was pretty cool...
 
 
Check out his cool shirt! He told me it was from Target.
Heeeeeey! I want to be your friend!!! Come play with meeeeee!
 

2 comments:

stinertrev said...

Thanks for the tips. I've always wondered if it would be fun to go. Maybe we'll wait until the boys are a little bit older :)!

Mrs.Jacks said...

your photos look great :)