There's no doubt that Disneyland is the premium attraction. But is it better?

In a nutshell... No, it's not better. It's not even as good. The reason is that besides the rides, characters and attractions, each theme park is teaching your child a lesson. Legoland teaches a better lesson.

The Feel
When you visit Disneyland, you feel constantly pressured to buy more. It's all about merchandising. Disneyland isn't a theme park. It's a merchandising "kill box." There is a tremendous effort to latch on to and worship the latest Disney incarnation and buy products that endorse it. The lesson it teaches is Disney. Buy Disney. Watch Disney. Buy Disney. There's also rides and food and stuff. But they seem so ancillary there.

Legoland is entirely different. Sure when you first enter, you feel the same merchandising overkill that you do from Disneyland. But then you realize, "They really aren't trying to sell me anything. They just want me to have a nice time."

Yes. There are lots of Legos to buy. But, you can play with them for free everywhere inside the park. There are Legos for the kids to play with while you are in line for a ride. Lego's to trade for free (if you brought some of your own) and Robotics Classes that you can take to teach basic engineering for ages 9 and up.

Later you realize that they don't just want you to buy Legos. They are constantly teaching lessons about building together, working together, and solving problems together.  After all, from it's inception - Legos are an Educational Toy.

Pulled Pork Sandwich for $5.45?! Yeah.

The Food
When it's finally time to eat you look around. Although some of the food is amusement park crap (Burgers, Pizza, etc.) Most of it isn't. It's stir fry. Real Texas Bar-B-Que and more. And I mean, it really is the best Bar-B-Que I've had in California. (that's not saying a lot as California is more about tofu and less about beef) But it's really good. And it's reasonably priced. We got a pulled pork sandwich - big enough for two adults for $6.95. Plus I got $1.40 off for being a season pass holder. I fed two adults for $2.75 a piece at a theme park! OMG!

The Costs
This is a comparison of equivalent and unrestricted season passes.

Feature	Legoland	Disneyland
Cost	$269/yr*	$779/yr
Parking	Free	Free
Parking Location	Near	Far
Food Quality	Many Organic and Healthy Choices	Mixed Reviews and More Junky
Educational Emphasis	Throughout the Park	Yes, back in the 1950's and 1960's

*But Legoland has a buy 3 get 1 free deal, dropping the price to $201.

The Verdict
In fairness, Disneyland was founded with very similar principles as Legoland holds. You might think that given time, Lego will slip into the same abyss that Disney is in. Only Lego has been around about the same amount of time. They've just kept a better focus. Legoland conveys an environment that is all about kids - not all about the Benjamins. It even closes early - especially on school nights, because it's healthier for your kids. Disneyland is open to 9 or 10 every night. Not that staying open late is wrong for Disneyland, it's just shows a difference in focus.

When you leave Disneyland or Legoland - your family will have had a great time. But when you leave Legoland - you'll leave with a better family.

You see, you can't help feel that from every pore, from every ride, from every dance, event, or play - there is a lesson and a love for children underneath it. There are no crazy rides to talk about. There are fun rides that you shared with your son or daughter.

Sure, to you the rides may have been a bit slow or even boring. But when you get off the ride that you shared with your child and realize that every aspect of it was aimed at them - and not you - you'll understand. You'll see Lego's focus.

Legoland is geared towards the under 13 crowd. There's an aquarium that is perfectly geared for kids. There is a truly amazing water park with different sections geared from 1 to 13 years old.

When we go to Legoland (from more than 100 miles away) it generally costs us about the same as staying home for a weekend (not including hotel room if we go for two days) or the season passes. We'll go 8 or 9 times in a year, making the per visit season pass cost about $20/weekend.

Disneyland is great. But while your kids are still impressionable - and while it's more important for them to spend time with you and not some creation of the Disney Corporation - do yourself a favor and invest in your family instead of merchandising. You'll be glad you did.

What are your experiences? Be a part of the Robin's Nest Cottage Community and let us know in the comments below! Dave Hampton

Thrift Store shopping in Ventura, Ca.

So many of us love to "Thrift" at second hand stores. You might live in an area that has some good spots around the corner. But you might need to travel to the area "hot spot" 20 - 50 miles away. Regardless of where you go, you need to develop some "Mad Thrifting Skillz" to take your game to the next level.

Here's your game plan for coming out ahead.

Know what you want
You can't just go and look around. If you want to redo a room - or a wardrobe - or a kitchen, make a list of items that you need and have in mind the "look and feel" you're after.

Look up and research the brands. For example, if you want a toaster - research the ones you want. Cusininart? Dualit? Krups? Figure out what brands and models you want and what you're willing to pay.

I wanted a $400 Dualit Toaster from England for our Kitchen. 8 months later, it's on our counter for an outlay of $9. Nice.

Know where to go
In our area, north of Los Angeles, there are three distinct Thrift "hubs". Those cities that somehow seem to specialize in a certain type of item. Here, its Santa Monica for Furniture and Decor; Burbank for trendy clothes; and Ventura for a catch-all of kitchen, kids clothes and Target clearance items. Don't forget to check out garage sales and to keep a constant scan on Craigslist.

$1,150 Italian Coffee Grinder

My Husband wanted a new Coffee Grinder - because his $80 Krups wasn't "good enough." He had his eye on a $190 Conical Burr Grinder he had seen on Amazon. Seriously,  I can do better. Craigslist turned up a $1,150 Italian made commercial grinder. I turned up and nabbed it for $75. Best coffee I ever had...

How things are priced depends on where you shop. From low to high:
Patience is a virtue
Thrift stores don't stock what you need. They stock what they got. So once you've visualized what you're after - you can jump at the deals when one comes around.

I was looking for an 8' x 10' Wool Rug for our family room. It needed to be good quality and the right color palette. I found some new ones online for $1,500 - $4,500. Beautiful - but I'm a thrifter. I can do better.
And Better I did. It was an 8 month hunt before I finally found the perfect rug. It retailed for around $2,400 - but it was mine for $90. Score.

Know When to say When
Things get dropped off at thrift stores on a predictable schedule. Unwanted household appliances in January and February. These are the Espresso Machines and Food Processors that people didn't want for Christmas.

Rugs, Bedding, Household furniture shows up in late spring - because people are either finally cleaning up - or moving.

Kid's Clothes show up year round for the under 4 crowd. For 4+, about a month after the season changes from hot to cold or vice versa. Kids outgrow clothes and when they take them out of the closet 6 months later, the clothes get dumped at the local Thrift Store.

A friends vacuum was on the fritz. She was going to drop $500 on a new Dyson. Now a Dyson is a great machine. The best part is that all the parts are easily replaceable online. Used ones usually need a new filter, belt and roller brush (about $40 total) and they are as good as new. Knowing when to go helped me grab a late model Dyson for $19.

Don't be deterred
Some Thrift stores are nasty. Bad carpet or cement floors. No Air Conditioning. Smells Funny. But hidden in that wrecked Spanish Galleon of a store is the buried treasure you're after. So don't run away. It's best to take a friend for moral support.

Sometimes you might see this:

Twilight meets Mark Cuban Statuette

I know. You can't un-see that. It was worse in person, because there were two of them. What were they for? Who is that. My best guess is that it's a some sort of "Twilight meets Mark Cuban Commemorative Statuette."

Thrifting with Kids
If the kids are coming along on the trip, make it a treasure hunt! We pick out a book series that we want to collect. Maybe Harry Potter, Magic Treehouse, or A Series of Unfortunate Events. The kids get to scour the book sections until they complete the set. Make sure you put a price limit on the books - I wouldn't pay more than $2 for any hardback...

We wanted the Lemony Snicket series. It took about 4 outings - but eventually we had pieced together two sets! One for us and one for the cousins. Total cost for both sets? $21.84. Not bad for 26 books.

Do you have any tips? Let us know in the comments below - and Happy Thrifting! Diane Rodriguez

It may seem daunting at first, but installing your own brick paver pathway is easy if you have a plan. Welcome to your plan. Plus, the best part about doing it yourself is that you can add those extra details, like lighting and irrigation, that could put the bill through the roof if you hired a crew to do it for you.

3. Edge Prep: 

Tips:

Tools:

Dave Hampton