Everything Is Awesome: The "Lego Movie" Exhibit at Legoland

We're living in a Lego world, and that's just fine with the blogger kids. "The Lego Movie" was a big hit in the Franklin Avenue household, and our recent visit to Legoland and the Legoland Hotel (more on that in another post) was probably one of the best moments of their young lives.

One of the highlights from this most recent Legoland trip was visiting the actual Lego sets as seen in the live-action tail-end of the movie. Pivotal scenes and characters were also depicted in what would truly be the most amazing personal Lego collection of all times. (Hey listen, I can relate to Will Ferrell's character in the movie. I'd want to try and keep my kids from destroying this world as well.) Some other pics:



Entrance to the "Lego Movie" exhibit



Everyone loves 1980-something space guy. Here's his space ship!



A Wild West display, along with a stern warning like the one in the movie.



The ominous Octan tower.



One of the climactic scenes from the movie.



A sweeping view of Lego city.



Emmett's construction site.



Will Ferrell's work table.



The Lego Movie skyline.

Rate-A-Restaurant #281: Sushi House

Restaurant: Sushi House

Location: 214 North El Camino Real (Encinitas)

Type of restaurant: Sushi

We stipulated: We were staying at the nearby La Costa resort, and were looking for some reasonably priced sushi nearby. Sushi House had earned decent reviews on Yelp, so we decided to check it out.



They stipulated: "Fresh fish, fair priced, friendly service."

What we ordered: Fire engine roll ($16.50); shrimp tempura roll ($10); spicy tuna roll ($7); California roll (for the kids; $4.75)



High point: The fire engine sushi was pretty good. (Worth the price though? That's another story.)

Low point: Rude waitress -- when I asked about their specialties, she told me to look at the menu. Then, I ordered a beer, and without asking, she brought out the large bottle. (I asked her to come back with a regular size one.) Also, we ordered the black cod, only to discover they didn't have it.

Overall impression: Located in a strip mall, and with loud TVs blasting, this is not a high-end experience. You know that going in. Yet the rolls are priced way too high for what should be an economical sushi joint.

Chance we'll go back: Even if we're back in Carlsbad, probably not.

Rate-A-Restaurant #278: Tin Leaf

Restaurant: Tin Leaf

Location: 6985 El Camino Real (Carlsbad)

Type of restaurant: Fast casual

We stipulated: Staying at a nearby hotel in Carlsbad, we wanted to carry out a fast but decent dinner to enjoy as a picnic..

They stipulated: Tin Leaf kitchen touts its "fast, casual, affordably priced, chef-quality food."



What we ordered: Sesame-crusted ahi plate ($12.95), which comes with two sides; we chose spicy Asian green beans and mac and cheese. Also: "Mom's meatloaf" ($12.95) with two sides; we chose sage stuffing and mac and cheese. Plus fresh-cut Belgian-style fries (order for two, $4.95) with two sauces: house spicy aioli and basil mayo.



High point: The fries sauces were homemade and great. The meals were also well-done for a fast casual spot and worth the expense. There was enough food there for the four of us, which meant we didn't have to order additional food for the kids (although Tin Leaf does offer a kids menu).

Low point: In a supreme screw up, they gave our order away to another person by mistake. Which meant I had to wait as they rushed a whole new order. Later, the other guy came back, and they gave him his much bigger order -- and didn't make him pay the difference. So he benefited from the inconvenience. Did they offer me anything for my troubles? No.



Overall impression: Right now Tin Leaf is just a single store, but I see potential in it opening other locations -- it's exactly the kind of upscale fast casual place you won't feel guilty about taking the kids to. And for lunch, the lesser-priced sandwich options look pretty good too.



Chance we'll go back: If we're back in Carlsbad (perhaps the next time we hit Legoland).

A Day at Legoland, Including First Look: The New Star Wars Miniland

Blogger Kid's definitely in the Legoland sweet spot at the moment -- He's 6, after all, so it's all-Legos-all-the-time at our house (which is kinda cool by me). So as we pulled up to the Legoland amusement park in Carlsbad this weekend, the BK couldn't contain his excitement.

"YES. YES. LOVE IT. LOVE. IT."

I'm not sure when Evan started talking like a 16 year-old girl, but hey, I could appreciate the enthusiasm. It was our second trip to the park, and this time was extra exciting for Blogger Kid and Blogger Toddler 2.0: We had made the trip with their two cousins (and their parents). (Read all about our first trip here.)

The eight of us arrived, unfortunately, just days before Legoland's new Star Wars miniland opened to the public... but with most of the work already done, we were able to sneak some peeks:







Here's more info:

Guests can enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action STAR WARS movies, as well as a scene from the animated series STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale.

Guests will be further immersed into the STAR WARS experience as they pose with life-size LEGO models of Chewbacca, R2-D2 and Darth Vader.

Following a chronological path through the STAR WARS timeline, LEGOLAND guests retrace the major events of the beloved Saga. Some of the 2,000 LEGO models will be more than 6-feet-tall. Interactive buttons will allow children to activate animations throughout the scenes.

The individual film scenes were selected after careful consultation with Lucasfilm Ltd. Pictures and drawings of the figures, spacecraft, vehicles, landscapes, etc. were taken as the basis for the detailed construction blueprints. The model designers used a special LEGO drawing paper for this, on which one square is equivalent to one LEGO knob. In the next step, they calculated how many bricks and which colors and forms would be needed for the models. For particularly difficult model parts, prototypes are first built, before the model is constructed brick by brick. To help the LEGO models last longer, all of the bricks are glued together and then sprayed with a special UV coating.

Of course, Blogger Kid and his cousins enjoyed the rides -- particularly the Volvo Cars, which (unlike Disneyland's Autopia) run without a track. Evan may only be 6, but he's a stickler for rules -- and obeyed the rules of the road while driving. It was a treat to watch -- he stopped at the proper points, stayed in his lane and drove cautiously.

But Blogger Kid's favorite part of the park remains the Minilands. New York City, New Orleans, Washington, San Francisco, Vegas and more -- all built with Legos. Some shots of the Lego creations found there and throughout the park:


Lego Washington gets his ears cleaned (look for the Lego guys using a Lego Q-tip on his left ear)


Lego Sydney Concert Hall (featuring a real duck terrorizing the harbor)


Lego Pharoah


Lego New York


Lego Hollywood Bowl and Lego Griffith Observatory


Lego Vegas Wedding Chapel


Lego Grauman's Chinese Theatre


Blogger Kid and Cousin watch the Lego Boats


Lego Times Square

An Overnight Trip to the Land of Legos

Now that he's 5, Blogger Kid is suddenly in the sweet spot for a lot of things we could previously ignore -- including Legoland.

For the longest time, Evan believed that the Lego retail store at the Glendale Galleria was, indeed, "Legoland." And perhaps we could have kept him believing that -- and letting him tell his little preschool pals that yes, indeed, he had been to Legoland. Many times.

But the truth was eventually going to come out. And besides, I must admit I've been intrigued over the idea of a Legoland theme park as well. (My parents just recently shipped my old box of Legos to Blogger Kid, greatly expanding his collection.)

Earlier this year we finally made the journey to Carlsbad, where the California Legoland is located -- and followed a few theme park rules: (A) Never go on a weekend and (B) try to go during the off-season.

As a result, the park wasn't too packed, allowing us to hop from ride to ride with little wait. The rides themselves were perfectly suited for little ones between 4 and 11, although kids older than that may find themselves a tad bored. For Evan, the park was just right.

In the end, Evan's favorite part of Legoland wasn't a ride at all, but rather the miniature replicas of New York, Washington, San Francisco and Las Vegas. (He especially got a kick out of the operating Lego subway seen below the Gotham skyline.) Sadly, Los Angeles only gets love for Griffith Observatory, Hollywood Bowl and Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Under the suggestion of our friends Jeff and Jess, we stayed at the nearby West Inn and Suites, where the rooms are large and the breakfast is free.

Will we be back at Legoland and the West Inn? I can pretty much assure you we will, several times, before both Blogger Kid and Blogger Baby grow out of the target demo.

A round up of shots from our day at Legoland: