No. 2 theme park pick: Legoland

Most theme parks offer great shows and rides, but give kids too few opportunities to run around and just ... play. Not Legoland. Kids here can live out their fantasies of being pirates, knights, firefighters, racecar drivers, explorers. ... You'll take back every nasty word ever uttered about the Legos you stepped on while walking across your kid's bedroom floor at midnight.

AGE APPROPRIATE

Ages 3 and up. Legoland's aimed at kids big enough to walk, run and climb their way through the day, not just to sit in a boat and watch a bunch of singing dolls float by. Teens will probably consider themselves “too cool” for much of it, but don't be surprised if they linger over a Mindstorms set.

TOO MUCH FUN

Both little kids and their older siblings can enjoy custom thrill rides on Knight's Tournament, a “robocoaster” where riders sit in chairs mounted on the end of a robot arm. The whole family can work together in a “Survivor”-style team challenge at the Fun Town Fire Academy. Parents can sneak in a little lesson about physics by letting their kids pull them to the top of the Kid Power Tower. (“That's called a 'pulley,' dear ...”) And everyone in the family can get soaking wet at Pirate Shores.

BEST ADVENTURE

Check out the Lost Kingdom Adventure -- debuting this spring. Legoland's first indoor ride puts kids in an ancient temple ruin, where they fight their way out using their own laser blasters.

KEEP 'EM HAPPY

Flash forward to your kids' teen years as they get their first chance to sit behind the wheel of a car. Legoland's Driving School puts kids ages 6-13 on a closed city-street grid, where they'll learn to stop, go, yield ... and obey traffic laws. Kids even get their own “driver's license” when they finish. The best part for Mom and Dad? No insurance premiums! At least not yet.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Come between March and early May and you can add a trip to see the wildly colorful ranunculus, roses and poinsettias in the Carlsbad Flower Fields, located next door to Legoland. Note that Legoland is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the school year and that most SoCal schools take summer vacation from mid-June through early September.

AVOID THE CROWDS

Check Legoland's Web site for seasonal breakfast buffet deals. The park's Sports Cafe offers a tasty spread of breakfast favorites, coupled with early admission to the park and no-wait rides on some of the park's more popular attractions.

CAN'T MISS

Miniland. Even the most jaded visitors are left stunned by Lego's re-creation of famous landmarks, from the U.S. Capitol to the Taj Mahal. Sharp-eyed adults ought to pay close attention to details created just for them. Just what are those little Lego folk doing on that street corner in Lego New Orleans?  (This is, after all, a European park, with branches in home country Denmark, as well as the UK and Germany.)

BARGAIN LODGING/DINING

Carlsbad offers a large number of affordable chain hotels and restaurants, most within a few blocks of Legoland and the beach. The family-friendly Grand Pacific Palisades Resort (grandpacificpalisades.com, 800-725-4723) overlooks the Flower Fields and lies within walking distance of Legoland's front gate. There's also a huge outlet mall right next door.

INSIDE TRACK

Keep your eyes peeled for Prince Charming ... making a cell phone call. That's Legoland attitude, for ya.

-- Robert Niles, founder/editor of ThemeParkInsider.com