I am CanCan, known on the internet as Mom Most Traveled.
I live in New York City and parent two young Lego fanatics. Somehow, through the power of child word-of-mouth, they found out about the Legoland Discovery Center in Westchester, NY, before I did.
The Legoland Discovery Center is a distilled Lego experience; something like “hands on museum” meets “Lego store”. There are Legoland Discovery Centers in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Toronto, Berlin, Oberhausen, Manchester, and Tokyo. These are different from the Legoland theme parks and are good for about three hours of fun.
Here is how we spent our time:
LEGO® 4D Cinema features 15 minute long seasonal films; the theatre seats jiggle and shake and viewers are sprayed with mist, wind, and bubbles. The boys and I enjoyed the film, but there was a screaming baby in our midst.
Kingdom Quest is one of two rides at Lego Discovery Center.
We had laser guns with which we had to zap baddies for points. You have a running total of points on your dashboard, but who knows what is going on really, just hold the trigger down and laser everything!
MINILAND® is an exhibit of recognizable landmarks built in Lego form. I attempted to draw meaningful connections for the boys by pointing out things we had seen “in real life” before, and took lots of photos to inspire their creativity once they were back home with their own Lego stash.
Merlin’s Apprentice Ride is for guests 36 inches and taller, as it involves being strapped onto a seat with bicycle pedals and being lifted high into the air…with a sorcery theme. This was a fun ride.
Pro-tip: the seats are 2 by 2. As a party of three, my boys sat together and then I sat by myself next to a broken seat.
The LEGO® Construction Site is a great place to burn some energy. Kids are admitted by the parent, and the parent also has to be there for them to exit the…(for lack of a better word) fun-cage. To enter the fun-cage, your child must remove their shoes. To enter the fun-cage, your child must have socks on.
My kids aren’t big sock wearers, so we didn’t have socks, and had to buy some at the concession stand. They were too small, but at least gained entry into the fun-cage, where fun was indeed had.
Pro-tip: Bring socks for each child who wishes to play in the LEGO® Construction Site.
DUPLO® Village is a kid-sized world with (of course) DUPLO blocks, and neat stuff like toy refrigerators and toy food. My younger child (age 5) had a great time in there, and was being completely adorable, serving me toy ice cream cones.
Unawesomely, some disengaged spectator parents were harshing his cute vibe.
We of course paid our dues at the LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Shop; I found the prices to be the same as at other Lego retailers and so didn’t feel gouged. I gave each child a limit of $15 and didn’t feel like a miser.
My kids are both big eaters, and I can’t guarantee a child portion will fill them up. Unless it is a screaming good deal, I usually just get them grown-up dishes.
Legoland Discovery Center, Westchester is in a large mall called Ridge Hill. We walked outside and were able to pick from a variety of dining establishments.
Pro-tip: pack a lunch for your crew, or plan on eating outside of the Discovery Center, unless you are hankerin‘ for concession-stand fare.
We had a great time at Legoland Discovery Center, Westchester!
We will go back again soon, and in the meantime, continue celebrating every kid gift-giving occasion with infinite Lego purchases! Everything is awesome!
Angela Hendricks
Sunday 22nd of November 2015
Thanks for this great post! I've been wanting to take my kids there & found this to be super helpful!