This is my first trip to San Diego and our main purpose is to experience Legoland. Has anyone stayed at one of the hotels around the area? Any recommendations? We will probably have a car with us. Thank you in advance.

We stayed at the Best Western (on the sea or something) in Carlsbad last March. It was a nice hotel. It was an all-suite hotel which was great for the kids. Our deck was right over the water. If you are going to Lego-land, it really is for kids 8 and under. Our 10 year old really was too old for it, and our teenager tolerated it for her brother's sake. I thought it was pretty overpriced and the activities were pretty slow. The recreated cities however, were pretty amazing. You are also close enough to Disneyland to visit it for a full day - we had a great time there.

Grand Pacific Palisades resort is directly across the road from, and within easy walking distance to the Logoland Park. Also, the Carlsbad Hilton Garden Inn is a very short drive, and right across the street from the ocean/beach.

...the Hilton has a frig and microwave in all rooms.

We stopped at Legoland on our way from San Diego to Anaheim. Don't miss Disney
if you're in the area. My 4 year old son loved Legoland and my 9 year old daughter thought it was ok. My husband and I enjoyed it and we spent basically the whole day (10-4) having fun. The kids loved the autobahns. Its worth the stop but there are a ton of other things to see in the area.

Thanks for all your replies. We will have a 91/2 year old kid with us and it will be his first trip. Seeing from all your replies, it sounds as though it is a one day trip, not two days. He's not a lego fan or anything and we wanted to take him somewhere before school starts.

If it's a one day trip, maybe we are better off staying in downtown San Diego instead.

Any of you experience the Wild Park?

Thank you again for your responses!!!!

Abby: The Wild Animal Park is terrific. Your son will like it, and you and your husband will probably enjoy it more than Legoland. You can get a good idea of what's going on at the Park during the summer by taking a look at their web site www.sdzoo.com. One word of caution, the temperature at the Park can be very high in the summer so you do have to be prepared for that.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestion Barbara!

I will definitely try and fit the park in.

We stayed at the Embassy Suites in LaJolla and visited both the Wild Animal Park and Legoland. The drive from Lajolla to Legoland was simple. I don't remember exactly how long it took, but it couldn't have been more than 20-30 minutes. Our family enjoyed Legoland and the Wild Animal Park is not to be missed!

Hi antmaril!

Thanks for your reply.

How far is LaJolla from the San Diego Downtown and Mission Valley area? After reading several responses, we are now definitely thinking of NOT staying near Legoland (because we are going for a day and then to Wild Animal Park) and staying in either Downtown, Mission Valley or LaJolla area. The problem is half of the group is flying and the other is driving down to San Diego and we want to make it convenient for everyone. We do have reservations booked at Bristol Hotel for now. We plan to stay for three days. Yes, this is a last minute planning trip! =)

You can drive to La Jolla in about 20 minutes from both areas if you use the I-5 North.

Thanks Emily for the estimations. I know with a car, I can't go wrong.

Regarding the Wild Animal Park and temperatures - we visited there last August and found that arriving about 2 p.m. and staying til closing worked well. We took a late afternoon tram ride (lasts almost an hour) and by the time we finished it was cooling off. Had 6 people ages 8 to 60 in our group and everyone had a terrific time.

Thanks Patg! I didn't even think about that. We were planning to go to the Wild Animal Park sometime during the day. I'll check their website for the tram ride schedule.So, maybe we will see the Zoo or take the trolley tour downtown before heading the Wild Animal Park then. Thanks again.