Learning the rules of the road at Legoland.Photo: Sarah Goodyear
When I was a kid, the first amusement park I ever went to was Disneyland. One of my favorite attractions was Autopia — the race-track style driving course where you “steer” a car along a track that looks suspiciously like an interstate highway. (Sponsored by Chevron!)
Well, last weekend I went to Legoland California with my 9-year-old son, and I discovered just how differently the Danes (they’re the ones who invented Lego) see driving. The driving attraction at Legoland is an urban streetscape in which the kids are actually in control of the course they set — and in which they are also responsible for stopping at traffic lights and stop signs.
The “Volvo Driving School,” as it’s called, also has a vibrant streetscape, including pedestrians, vendors, and a transit stop — all things that are kind of hard to come by in the park’s immediate vicinity, which is typical sprawl development (albeit with a surprising number of sidewalks).
I’m just guessing, but I have a feeling the Legoland Driving School wasn’t designed by Americans.
Hey, why not take transit instead?Photo: Sarah Goodyear
