Luxury two-room villas with full kitchens Three lush pools with day and evening activities Luxurious spa with kids' services 150 kid steps to entrance of LEGOLAND Florida Toytel packed with LEGO bricks and elaborate play spaces Model build sessions with a LEGO master builder Shuttle to theme parks Spray fountains at the pool Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek Minutes from local attractions Holiday Inn Winter Haven BEST WESTERN Auburndale Inn & Suites Holiday Inn Express Lake Wales Fridge and microwave in every room Nicely designed outdoor pool Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Lots of recreational activities Children's activity program and babysitting availableTraveling north from Ohio for the holidays is not ideal but it’s what I have to do until I can convince my relatives to move to a southern, warmer climate. I had to make as much out of the situation as possible so my wife and I took our three year old son, Henry, to Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills, Michigan to the closest thing to a theme park we could find: the Legoland Discovery Center.
Before we even arrived my expectations were low thanks to the mostly bad reviews on Google. We used a coupon to get Henry in for free but even then is was $47 for my wife and I to enter. Would it be a good value? The attraction starts out great. You wait through a short pre-show video before the doors are opened and a group of maybe 20 people are allowed to enter. You proceed to enter a dark, circular room where you find outward facing control panels. A few short videos showing how LEGOs are made is shown. Interactive segments have us using joysticks to create our own LEGO characters. Next, we move into the next room and get in line for the star attraction of the Legoland Discovery center, Kingdom Quest. Thanks to @esainton on Twitter, I found out the ride system is by ETF, media by Threshold, and the integration and shooting by Alterface. For a dark ride inside of a shopping mall, it’s very well done. There is a nice mix of physical props and screens. The vehicles are trackless, and while the ride path is very short, the car pauses in front of some of the scenes to prolong the experience.
We opted to do the 4D show which turned out to be the biggest time consumer of the afternoon. They play at least three different movies and I sincerely hope the other two are better than Chima. The animation, 3D effects, and in-theater effects were all really, really well done. My complaint is the story and characters were terrible. I know the target age group is low but can we at least get a coherent storyline where the characters have a clear goal? Something not completely forgettable? Is that too much to ask for? After roughly spending two hours in the Michigan Legoland Discovery Center we had to depart so as not to miss our dinner reservation. Was it worth $47 for two hours of entertainment? The attraction starts out great and the anticipation builds as you move through the first couple rooms. But when you’re dumped into the large combined room you quickly realize what you can see is all you’re going to get. I am wondering if the real reason behind the steep admission prices is simply to try to limit the crowds.
They already use timed entry to keep the wait times down. I wonder what the total hourly capacity of the center is? A quick search through the other Legoland Discovery Center’s websites shows they are all mostly the same, with some having maybe one additional ride or play area. With Legoland Discovery Center, SeaLife Aquarium, and Rainforest Cafe, Great Lakes Crossing offers a small dose of themed entertainment experiences for those that can’t make it to an actual theme park. However, the steep admission prices may not make the experience worth it for everyone. Have you ever been to a Legoland Discovery Center? Which one and what did you think? Was it worth the price of admission?Access to RetailMeNot from your current location has been blocked. If you are accessing RetailMeNot from a public place like work, school or the library, please try again from a different location. If you feel that you have reached this page in error, please do not hesitate toIf you’ve seen The Lego Movie and are concerned that a trip to Legoland will be like stumbling into Emmet’s world, one in which a simple-minded hero takes on the evil of corporate domination in Lord Business, then relax.
Legoland California opened 15 years ago before mini-figures were imbued with personality and is, as far as amusement parks go, remarkably low stress. With more than 60 attractions, Legoland is part entertainment — there are mild-mannered roller coasters, such as Coastersaurus, and water-fighting pirate ships. It is part inspiration, with elaborate sculptures in Miniland USA created with millions of rectangular blocks. And like the Danish blocks themselves, which have become one of the most popular toys ever made, Legoland is about kids’ imagination. If your kids would happily turn your home into Bricksburg, Legoland is a must-do at some point during their childhood. Here are some tips for saving money (and precious time) so you will feel less like Bad Cop guarding your wallet from those seeking to empty it. (We'd love to hear your Legoland tips as well; please add them in comments!) The first thing to know about Legoland pricing is that it is not straightforward — think something between a predictable movie ticket and a wildly varying airline ticket.
Spend some time on the resort website researching different options. Make sure you buy at least seven days in advance as prices increase the closer to your visit dates. More than a week out, adult admission (not including the Sea Life Aquarium or water park) is $76, children ages 3-12 years old are $66. However, if you wait until the day or two beforehand, you will pay $83 per adult (same as the walk-up admission price) and $73 per child. Kids under 3 are free at Legoland, though you will have to buy them a separate ticket for entrance to the water park. If you suspect one day at Legoland is not enough, it is inexpensive to add more days, but make those purchases up front as well. You can also check the website of the nearby Costco on Palomar Airport Road as it sometimes sells discounted tickets. And AAA members can get reduced tickets. If you don't yet subscribe to the Lego Club Magazine and are planning your trip a couple of months out, make sure to subscribe to the bi-monthly publications, which include "Kids Go Free" coupons where one child can go free with a full-price adult admission.
Coupons include a discount code that can be used when purchasing online. For lodging, you could try a vacation package, whether at the adjacent Legoland Hotel, which offers early park admission and inclusive breakfast buffets, or the nearby Sheraton, which has its own entrance to Legoland. Because we have three children and often travel with extended family, we have many mouths to feed. So our family typically rents a house or condo with full kitchens near downtown Carlsbad. Besides Costco, there is an Albertson’s right off I-5 that allows us to eat in for all of our breakfasts and for many of our dinners. Staying near the beach and watching the sunset also allows for some nice decompression after a day at the park. Three websites we have had good luck with are VRBO, HomeAway and BeachFront Only. If you are staying off site, rather than showing up promptly for the park’s 10 a.m. opening, wait until around 10:30 a.m. to avoid the long line at the entrance. Also, by arriving after the mass of vehicles, you may find excellent general parking up near the premiere parking rows.
Instead of paying $25, you can end up pay $15 for general parking while walking roughly 12 more feet. The "Lego Movie Experience" exhibit at Legoland is a new and popular draw. Fans will queue up for more than an hour to see the giant city in Will Ferrell's character’s basement, the set on which the animated action sequences are based. Rather than waiting in line, we gambled on the timing and sure enough, by mid-afternoon we were able to walk right in. If your family has seen the movie, it is interesting to seek out details like the monorail or vehicles from battle scenes. But if you have not seen the movie or don’t particularly care about film staging, make sure you go when there is no line, likely later in the day. Unlike Disney resorts, Legoland doesn't have a FastPass system. So plan on waiting in line for popular attractions such as the Project X roller coaster. Lines may not look long, but on certain attractions such as Knight’s Tournament, which spins riders up, down and every which way, very few riders go at a time.
Over the years we've found that the best time to hit these popular rides is when everyone else is either eating lunch or back at the hotel during naptime. Those two rides are your best bets for older children seeking an adrenaline rush, and they appreciate when fewer strollers and small kids are in their way. You can also pick rides that have other activities around as you wait, such as Sky Cruiser, where you pedal along a track above Miniland and which loops the line around a kids' play area. So rather than being restless during the wait, children are building or racing LEGOs. Legoland’s official policy reads that outside food and drinks are not allowed. But there are lockers in the front of the park, and we have seen people storing coolers. In our four visits to Legoland, we have brought in water bottles and snacks with no questions asked. The staff at Legoland is very accommodating. Unlike some places you visit where you feel nickel-and-dimed, this park feels friendly.
We asked for extra cups so we could get more water and were not charged. You can also share meals and snacks. Go ahead and splurge on the Granny’s Apple Fries, and dip them in vanilla-flavored whipped cream. But share an order or two. Even the normal restaurant fare at the Garden Cafe or Walk 'n' Bowl Ramen is well-proportioned so splitting adult meals may work well for children. Bring a small dehydrated towel in your purse or bag: Many of the rides like Splash Battle in Pirate’s Cove and Aquazone set riders up to get doused. (It is usually by people you do not know, so don’t take it personally!) The Swabbies Deck and Water Works sections, where kids can play in fountains, are also fun if it’s hot, so it’s helpful to have something to pat them down. Alternatively you can pay $5 to get inside the family dryer. Families who have not been to Legoland before might wonder if it is worth spending the extra $10 for the Sea Life Aquarium. If your kids are big LEGO fans and that is why you are there, the aquarium is easy to skip.