Legoland is great for toddlers. Depending on your son, 8 is borderline. When my son was about that age, Legoland changed from the coolest place ever to "lame".

That said, the rides are very safe and carefully maintained....think Disney rather than the traveling carnival in the local mall parking lot. If your son is into Legos (especially Bionicles) he will love the place. The food is a bit pricey but if you aren't into pizza and fries, there are healthy items on the menu.

I think it will be fine for a timid 8year old.

It is not all about "thrill" rides. Why don't you look at the web site together and discuss the possible activities so he will feel comfortable. You can let him choose what he'd like to do and what he'd prefer to skip.

I assume you son plays with Legos ...

Legoland is a great park for the pre-junior high crowd, and even older kids can have fun if they let themselves go. My daughter is 9 and we have had season passes since she was one. She still loves the place and I still like taking her to the park.

The park is not rowdy or loud ... it will be crowded over Christmas vacation but nothing like Disneyland.

If you are a AAA member you get a discounted admission, or you can buy discounted tickets at Costco, There is a Costco almost immediately across the street from the park.

While the park is mainly for elementary school age kids, by almost 12 year old still has fun. He loves miniland and all the Lego interaction areas (of course he is a Lego geek). The park is very clam and safe. There are a handful of "crazier" rides, but most of the rides are extremely tame and fun. The park can get crowded, but again, not with yelling and screaming - just with lots of little kids.

Legoland is not safe for anyone over 11 years old, it is mind numbingly boring.

Jeremy- LOL, my son thought it was the coolest place on earth when he was 8 or 9. The next year he was bored and called it "lame". It's definitely geared towards 8-10 and under, although every kid is different. (BTW as an adult I enjoy many aspects of LL more than Disneyland).

Maybe "safe" is the wrong word? Just asking?

If safety is your main concern, perhaps you should visit this link:

http://www.legoland.com/park/rides/safety.htm

AFter spending 2 days in disney and then going to Legoland for a day with a 4 1/2 and 6 year old would they be disappointed? The prices of disney are high enough so instead of going 3 days disney we thought we could do 2 days and then 1 at legoland. Or we could skip it all together and spend more time doing NON ride SD attractions.