Legoland, California

I'll be the first to admit that I really wanted to visit Legoland as soon as I heard that the theme park was being built in Southern California. After all, as a youngster, I was a big fan of Lego toys, which I used to create my own urban geography, and it was a dream of mine to visit the Legoland, Billund theme park in Denmark, near Copenhagen. The second Legoland is located just west of London, England and is called Legoland, Windsor. The third and newest Lego theme park, Legoland, California, opened in March 1999, in Carlsbad, California (just north of San Diego).

A Lego bird sits atop Legoland's signpost.

For me, as a geographer, the highlight of Legoland was the scale models buildings and cities constructed from 20 million Lego bricks. This area of the theme park is known as Miniland, and is one of the nine sections of Legoland - other sections are all lego-themed, but include rides (from Lego-looking cars to a Lego-looking roller coaster).

The Taj Mahal constructed from Legos.

Miniland was a geographical delight. Portions of Washington D.C., New York City, and San Francisco are represented along with the Taj Mahal, the Sydney Opera House, and a New England fishing village, to name a few.

Sydney Opera House

The miniature villages are alive with moving Lego vehicles that drive down the road, people fill sidewalks, boats glide across the Lego lakes, and the subway pulls into Grand Central Station.

New York City skyline

Legoland uses icons of the most popular tourist destinations to represent their global village. You'll see Chinatown and Ghirardelli Square in mini-San Francisco but you won't see a single mini-tree out of whack - a full-time landscaper keeps the mini-trees and mini-bushes of Miniland trim and proper.

Times Square, Lego style

Designed for two to twelve year-olds, Legoland will greatly appeal to that age group. However, adults will surely find interest in the impressive representation of our cultural icons of the built environment.

Taxis line the street near Rockefeller Center

When the Empire State Building is only about ten feet tall, you'll be impressed as to how much like King Kong you feel! :)

• Legoland, California from About.com California for Visitor's Site
• About.com's Theme Parks GuideSite

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