Building Memories at LEGOLAND Discovery Center

This is an update to my original Legoland Discover Center Post from Summer 2021.

I first took my kids to LDC Philadelphia (it’s in Plymouth Meeting Mall) 2 years ago when they were 4 and 3, and they were big fans right away. We’ve since been back many times and Henry even had a membership from age 5-6.

Currently, (August 2023) Legoland Discovery Center just premiered its DREAMZzz event with a new 4D movie, a themed LEGO build in the Creative Workshop, creatures hidden in MINILAND Philadelphia, photo ops and more! Henry and Charlotte really enjoyed these themed additions, especially because they’ve enjoyed watching the new LEGO DREAMZzz: Trails of the Dream Chasers show on Netflix!

LEGO DREAMZzz will run now through September 4, 2023.

Also, during the month of August: Teachers get free admission and 40% off additional tickets!

*We were hosted by Legoland Discovery Center for our most recent visit in August 2023. All other visits were paid for by us and all opinions are my own!

These seasonal changes are also what makes repeat visits (and annual memberships) worth it. Since LDC is completely indoors, it’s a great activity in any type of weather. We’ve really enjoyed visiting on hot summer days, during Halloween, and during the Christmas season!

The below details are from the blog post I wrote after our first visit. I have updated to remove anything that isn’t current in 2023:

After ordering our timed tickets online, we headed to the Plymouth Meeting Mall. When you first enter the Discovery Center, there’s a small ride, Imagination Express. You hop into a LEGO train where each person has a star wand with a button to shoot at various things that appear on screens as you make your way through the ride. Was it Disney World quality? No. But it entertained Henry and Charlotte, even though neither one of them really got the hang of aiming with the wand laser! Since there was next to no line the entire time, we rode it twice; once at the beginning and once at the end.

After going through the ride, the exit leads you right to the main floor. Henry immediately ran to a building station and got to work making cars and trains and pushing them around the tracks. Right next to this station, there were slides where children are encouraged to race their creations while sliding down themselves. Charlotte wasn’t that interested in building with the LEGOs, but she was happy to go down the slide over and over while Henry built.

That’s how a lot of the afternoon went, but it worked out just fine. Henry absolutely loved moving around the Discovery Center and stopping to build wherever he saw stations to do so. While Charlotte will play LEGOs at home with Henry, she didn’t really want to stay in any one spot too long, and she was more interested in moving around. Luckily, there was enough of a mixture of activities to keep both kids happy. The place wasn’t big or crowded enough that I felt like it was unsafe it they weren’t RIGHT next to each other at all times, so I felt comfortable letting each kid do their own thing as long as all 3 of us were in the same area of the Discovery Center. (NOTE: I’m sure this could be more difficult if you have more than two kids, or if it was a crowded weekend.)

One of the reasons we haven’t visited LEGOLAND sooner was that I was concerned the kids would be too young to really enjoy it. I think their current ages (almost 5 and 3.5) worked out really well. If you have a toddler that still puts things in his/her mouth, WAIT unless you plan to baby wear! There are bins of loose LEGO bricks throughout the entire Discovery Center, and they’re all at a level than any standing toddler can reach. There is a toddler area where there are giant blocks, Duplo and a slide. And a toddler could enjoy the 4D movies and the ride. While my kids loved the Pirate Play Center, even that would probably be overwhelming for a child under 3, and adults aren’t allowed within the play area. (There are benches outside that you can watch them from.) Overall, I wouldn’t take a child under 3 unless you have older children they’re tagging along with. For a mixed-age family outing, you’d be able to find something for everyone. But if you just have a toddler, there are better attractions in the area for that age. (Click HERE to read about Bucks County Children’s Museum or HERE to read about Playpad Bucks.)

Henry and Charlotte first got really into LEGOs after watching The LEGO Movie with Emmet and Lucy, they then became obsessed with Ninjago. The kids were really excited to see that there was an entire corner dedicated to Ninjago. They got to pose with some of their favorite characters built out of bricks, test their Ninja reaction skills, and even go through a laser maze.

In the center of the Discovery Center is MINILAND Philadelphia, where you can walk around and view recreations of some of Philly’s most iconic landmarks. This is also an area that gets changed seasonally, as they often hide special characters throughout the city for guests to find. They even change the lighting every so often to make it go from daytime to night.

LEGO Friend Fans will want to head to the back right of the LEGOLAND Discovery Center. Here, there were more building stations with loose LEGO bricks and a town to add your creation to. Plus, there were several of the LEGO Friends made out of bricks. Charlotte enjoyed checking them all out and posing with each one. Back beyond LEGO Friends was the 4D theater. There are typically 2-3 movies playing. The movies alternated with one playing every every 20 minutes or so. Each movie was about 12 minutes long. You wear 3D glasses, and there were special effects like water spraying, fake snow and bubbles.

Right outside of the theater, there is an arctic room with a big polar bear made out of LEGO and a building station with screens that showed how to build different creations.

We spent the entire afternoon at LEGOLAND Discovery Center, and I actually had to SHOW Henry that they had lowered the bars outside of the center to get him to believe me that we NEEDED to leave. While writing this post, I noticed that the website says something about a 2-3 hour visit, but that’s not something that is enforced. We arrived around 1, and we stayed until closing at 5.

Overall Impressions/Tips

Favorites:

Henry basically loved the entire place, but he claims his most favorite attractions were the Ninjago laser maze, the 4D movies, the train ride, and building trains and cars to use on the slide and tracks.

Charlotte’s favorites were the giant pirate ship play zone, the DUPLO rainbow slide and giant blocks, and the train ride.

My favorites were the train ride, 4D movies, and MINILAND Philadelphia.

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms were in the back right corner of the attraction. They are very clean. Low sink meant the kids could wash their hands without me holding them up. And the toilets are push-button, not automatic. (My kids hate those!) Each stall had a different LEGO scene on the door, which the kids thought was super funny.

Food:

There is a sign when you enter saying that outside food isn’t allowed because of allergy concerns. No one checks your bags though, and I just always have water bottles whenever we leave the house. There is a small cafe with a limited food menu: hot dogs, pizza, soft pretzels, nachos, packaged snacks, and drinks. Note: LEGOLAND is located inside the Plymouth Meeting Mall, and there were a few food places right outside the entrance. We tend to grab a slice of pizza in the food court before entering. But I have bought them packaged ice cream inside LDC, and it was priced the same as an ice cream truck.

Tips:

• Buy your tickets online. It’ll make it easier when you’re there, and it’s also a few dollars cheaper. Children under 3 are free.
• When you purchase your tickets, there’s an option to add on a “collectible and activity pack.” The activity pack was a lanyard with a LEGO figure pamphlet that you could self-stamp as you visited the different areas. We’ve received these as gifts, and the kids love the lanyard, but I don’t think it’s worth the splurge unless your going for a special occasion. I’d rather let my kids pick out something small in the gift ship.
• LEGOLAND Discovery Center is currently cashless, so if you plan to buy snacks or a souvenir from the gift shop, make sure you have your credit card.
• As on 7/24/23, you can use coupon code 239900 to receive 1 free child ticket when you purchase an adult ticket. This is a great savings! I didn’t see an expiration date, but be sure to check retailmenot.com to see if there are other codes if that one doesn’t work. I ALWAYS check there/google coupon codes before I buy tickets to any attraction.
• Make sure the kids are wearing socks. Shoes are not allowed in Pirate Adventure Land.
• The best time to go is lunch or later. The place starts emptying out around 3/3:30.
• Take a look at the signs with times posted for the 4D movie and Builder Workshops. Even better, take a picture of the signs! The place isn’t big, but it’ll make it a lot easier to check that pic on your phone rather than running back to the sign.
• It’s dark in there. I know this isn’t a tip, but something I found surprising. I get that the lights get dim for the nighttime effects in MINILAND, but I don’t know why they’re so dim in the entire place!

If it was up to Henry, it would probably be a weekly outing. Given the distance from our house (35 minutes) and the price, it isn’t in our rotation as often as some other things. But we do go a few times a year, especially when we had passes! This makes a GREAT gift for any LEGO-loving kid! Click HERE to read my post about Experience Gifts.