Legoland Discovery - Revisited
After playing with our new Monster 4 LEGO board game all weekend, we decided to take a trip back to LEGOLAND to see what was new and interesting. LEGOLAND is in Schaumburg in the Streets of Woodfield Mall and showcases master LEGO creations, general LEGO toys and pieces, movies, and rides. Tickets are anywhere from $12-$22 a person depending on when you want to go, but unlimited access is only $32/year if you have a LEGO junkie.
The last time we visited LEGOLAND was right after they opened in Summer 2008. At the time we were very excited about the newaddition to the Chicago children’s scene. But I have to say many things have changed about LEGOLAND in the last year and a half, including my opinion of it.
The entire first floor that showcases amazing LEGO creations by Master LEGO Builders is very similar, if not identical to the way it was 2 years ago. It is educational, beautiful, and a highlight of the visit. You enter into Miniland Chicago. The LEGO people surveyed locals to find out which buildings were most iconic to Chicagoans and scaled them down perfectly. These replicas are stunning and it’s fun to go through and pick out your favorite architectural landmarks — brownstones, Sears Tower, John Hancock, and Museum of Contemporary Art are just a few. The space then flows into the Jungle Expedition, again a mind-boggling display of LEGO art. You can choose to pick up an age-appropriate scratch card so you can look around the Jungle and answer questions with your kids.
Next is the Hall of Fame with pop culture characters made of LEGOs, which brings you to the Dragon Ride, a tame amusement-parkish ride through a medievil world. It’s not scary, but does include a Dragon and a dark space with bats on the ceiling. Nothing looks too realistic since, of course, everything is made of LEGOs.
Upstairs is the LEGO Factory, which briefly and comically shows how LEGOs are made. All children get to take a souvenir LEGO as they exit. The 4-D movie is Bob the Builder and is an enjoyable 14 minutes. You wear 3-D glasses and the 4-D effects are added with blowing air, spraying water, and falling snow. The movie is very simple, but if your kids scare easily they may not like being surprised by the 4-D effects.
The LEGO Playzone, where all of the action is, has gone through major changes. All of which are negative. Where there used to be six different LEGO areas, organized by age, there are now only three. Gone are the areas for older builders, the “earthquake” zone, and the dedicated toddler area. The space is now being used for a weak revolving amusement park ride. Pretty disappointing considering this is LEGOLAND.
The car building area is different. Parents now have to hand over their ID to be given tires for your kid to build a car, so you’ll be watching like a hawk any time the car crashes and comes apart. There are a lot less options of LEGOS to build with as well. In the past you could make monster trucks and pull back cars, but all those pieces are no longer offered. There used to be car chassis, but now the kids just have LEGO to use. This isn’t inherently bad, but the cars do not stay together as well.
Kids still have a ton of fun in this area though. You can climb stairs to two different ramps to zoom your cars down. For little kids, you may want to help your kid out by standing at the bottom of the ramp to retrieve their car because it is quite competitive and kids swarm the cars at the bottom. Even better than the ramps is the race track. The race track is also a ramp with a silver gate that you place the cars behind. There are 5 or 6 slots for cars to race at a time. Pushing a button on the track causes a timer to count down from three. The light goes from red to green after the screen says 1, the silver gate lowers and the cars race down the track. Kids cheer on their cars, there are crashes, and the pandemonium to retrieve the car and place it back on the track for the next race is on. Sometimes, kids line up cars two or three deep for the race.
LEGO Girls has morphed into a girls area called Princess Palace. It is surprisingly isolated in it’s own little area. All of the LEGOs are some shade of pink, and cars are replaced with dolls, houses, and animals. I would not say that all of the girls were playing in Princess Palace, but definitely the majority. Right in this area is also a Model Workshop. Model builders will teach kids how to build complicated LEGO structures every 60 minutes or so. The climbing maze is still there as well.
The area with oversized LEGO’s is great, but I miss the dedicated toddler area. The day we were there, big kids were building forts and skyscrapers only to knock them over. There is no way it would have been safe for a little child to be in there with them.
Overall, my impression of LEGOLAND was not as good as it was two years ago. The rides and the 4-D movie are pretty lame. Kids might try them once, but they are no reason to visit LEGOLAND. Honestly, there is no way you come back to LEGOLAND for anything other then the LEGO Playzone, and they have made this area less family friendly then it was in the past. We had an enjoyable 1.5 hour visit, but I do not believe it is worth the entrance fees they charge. That being said, there are a lot of coupons for LEGOLAND out there. If you can get a 2 for 1 coupon or the $5 admission deal, you should go and see for yourself.
Donna