LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Westchester

Reviews 3

DA

Danielle Boudet

When planning this visit, I read many negative reviews stating how overpriced the place was, that it wasnt that big, that it isnt that engaging, and basically that it simply is not worth the price. My son LOVES Lego so we decided to go anyway, thinking it couldnt be that bad. I figured it would be worth it for him and so I tried to set my expectations accordingly. Nothing could have prepared me for how bad this place really is. We were very disappointed in our entire experience at the Legoland Discovery Center. It is very expensive for what it is, and there isnt that much to actually do. The beginning of the tour is the “factory” where there are 4 or 5 stations to “learn” about how Legos are made. They are not at all engaging for children, and when my husband and I tried to engage our son by showing him what to do we found that most of the “factory” did not function. Physical parts were broken off of one station. Several others did not work properly. We werent even sure what they were supposed to do. We just moved on. You then go on a “ride.” A car takes you through a course where you can shoot the bad guys with a laser gun. It was mildly entertaining, but sadly it wasnt until near the end that I realized that my sons gun wasnt working half the time. You know something is wrong when a six-year-old boy isnt all that into shooting stuff with a gun. Mini-land is kind of cool, a Lego model of New York City. Each scene had a panel of buttons one could push to make various things within the scene happen. Unfortunately, half of the buttons failed to produce any results. After Mini-land you walk out into the supposed main attraction, a large play area with various stations. The main focus was a large central climbing gym, which wasnt even Lego-themed. This was particularly disappointing for us as our son never liked these types of things and even if he did, I can pay $7.50 for him to play in a such a gym at a Childrens play center near our house. We went because our son LOVES Legos, so to have such a main focus that had nothing to do with Legos was extremely dissatisfying. There were a few places where you could actually build something with traditional Lego bricks, like the car racing ramp where the kids can build their own Lego car and race it. Then there were scheduled “Lego Academy Classes” where the kids were given a bag with about 20 different lego pieces. They then were instructed to build something step-by-step. But you cant keep what you build, unless you pay another $5. Other than these two stations, there were not that many Lego-based activities. Much of what you could do involved oversized soft block or Duplos. There was one other ride which was... meh... The block “pits” were filthy underneath the blocks. They had a small move theater where they advertised a 4D Clutch Powers film. My son LOVES this character and so we were really looking forward to that. Unfortunately, the film was not Clutch Powers, nor was it even Lego-themed. We didnt eat in the cafe there as $8 for a nasty-looking hotdog is beyond my sensibility. When you realize youve seen it all, and that youre bored, you exit through the Lego Store, where it is mostly overpriced kits and a very limited (and overpriced) selection of loose blocks. The least they could do is offer a discount to Discovery Center visitors. But no, you get a better price and selection on Amazon... and in some cases even at Walmart... that is just sad! I wouldnt recommend wasting your money on any of it--the Discovery Center or the Lego Store. Youre better off taking all that cash and putting it toward a nice set of Legos (or another brand) for your child. That being said, this entire experience has soured my impression of the Lego brand. I used to buy Lego exclusively, but I will now consider putting my money toward some of the competitors brands.

GO

Golden Boxer

The signs to get to LEGOLAND are scarce so we started by driving around trying to find it and parking in a garage far from the store. We get to the store and for myself and my two girls (ages 6 and 9) I pay $67.00 to enter. We see people walk thru a corridor so I say to the salesperson is there a map? How do we know where to go? She hands me a map. We wait on line on a Friday afternoon about 1pm for about ten minutes, not really sure where we are. We get on a small ride that goes in a circle and is not impressive to me or the kids. The ride has laser guns shooting lego people. It lasts about 5 minutes. We then are led by another corridor to an indoor gym with slides and climbing area and are told my kids cant get in because they are not wearing socks (its August in NY). I say I was on your website and it didnt tell me to bring socks! The staff tells me I can buy socks, across the store for $2 each child. We decide too many kids in the playground and its not worth $4 of socks so we skip it. We now wait on line for another ride and the line doesnt move. We wait about 5 minutes and leave. We go down another corridor to see some building displays that were large and nice but some of the interactive buttons dont work. There is a cafeteria option but we ate beforehand and it didnt look so clean and it was typical overpriced menu for kids. We now go to the store to buy lego friends for my 9 year old. The 3 or four shelves are all stocked with old products. The newest products are not there. I ask the sales person and he says what you see is all we have. I say we are looking for new products that are out in stores and he repeats what you see is what we have. We are disappointed to say the least. The website says you need 3 hours to go thru the place and we spent about 25 minutes (with about 15 minutes waiting). I was in lego land in England and you cannot compare. Way better. This trip was such a disappointment for my kids. We ended up driving to White Plains to a lego store to buy all of the new lego friends products. Lego land yonkers was not clean, not staffed with anyone who cared about the customers, long lines, too expensive and no value for your money. Never again will I go there.

HE

Helene Klimoski

My daughter, grandson and I just returned from Legoland. I purchased our tickets online (overpriced for the experience), arrived at about 20 after 10am and just walked in. No lines!!! My grandson is 6. When we entered we were asked if we wanted out picture taken. By this time a large group had formed and after about 5 minutes we were escorted into the "factory". The kids were shown how Legos were made in a kid friendly way. Unfortunately out of the 5 displays they had only 3 worked. Next we waited on line to go on the first ride. It was fun for all 3 of us. We made our way through the amazing buildings, bridges and statues made of legos, then onto a large room where you could make cars, trucks, etc. There is a play area (dont forget your sox) which the kids all seemed to have fun in. In this area there is also a duplo area for the little ones, and a play area for them. There is another ride that my grandson enjoyed. then onto the food area.....holy smokes.....they are expensive!!!!! Last but not least on your way out you have to exit through the gift shop. You would think there would be a discount.....no way. Kids working there were helpful, although we asked for a certain kit and was told they didnt have them, only to find them up by the register. My overall experience: Ok. Lots of little ones. I dont think kids over the age of 7 or 8 would be interested. Bring your own food or eat at the variety of restaurants outside. Our parking ticket was validated at legoland and we paid around $1.79. We ate at the cheescake factory and their validation is for free parking. I think Legoland is overpriced for what they have. Guess I just expected more for the entrance fee.

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