Family Day Out at LEGOLAND Discovery Centre in Manchester (REVIEW)

With a weekend in Manchester planned for the family, the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre was a place on the list that the boys were looking forward to visiting. They have been to LEGOLAND Windsor, and as the Manchester site is not a theme park, I made sure the boys knew this before we headed there for our family day out, but I needn’t have been worried. 

Although my eldest, now 10 is probably reaching the top end of the age group LEGOLAND Manchester is aimed at, he and his brother (8) had a brilliant time. Four hours later we only left because the visitor attraction was closing!

Where is LEGOLAND Discovery Centre?

LEGOLAND Discovery Centre is located at the intu Trafford Centre in Manchester. It is well signposted and just a short distance from the M60. It was less than a three-hour drive from Newcastle, and that was with quite heavy traffic once we hit Greater Manchester.

I have to say parking was not easy. It was a rainy Saturday and lots of people had headed to the shopping centre. In addition, an event was also taking place adding to the congestion in the car park. We waited but eventually found a spot but once at the attraction were informed that if you park close to Boots in the main shopping centre car park rather than right outside LEGOLAND, it’s just a short walk. Good to know if we come again.

Although it was early afternoon on a Saturday there was no queue when we arrived and after picking up our tickets we were inside in just a matter of minutes. You can have your photograph taken as you enter but the boys were too eager to actually get in and didn’t want to wait in line, so we headed up the stair (there is a lift if required) and waited for the Factory Tour to begin.

Our visit to the attraction started with a Factory Tour where as a group you get to walk past the test tubes filled with LEGO bricks, meet Professor Brick-a-Brack and help him make some LEGO bricks! Over 100,000 special bricks are made in the factory every year. It’s a short intro and the kids seem to really like it. They got to keep a special LEGO brick too.

What is there to do at LEGOLAND Discovery Centre?

Once you have gone in the lift or up the stairs all of the attractions are indoors and on one floor.

LEGO Ninjago City Adventure – A ‘soft play’ area where you don’t take your shoes off. This wasn’t that clear and there were lots of shoes on the mats outside. But this area does have lots of fun things to do inside including a crisscross maze and vertical rope climb, a spiral slide of lights, crawl through a tunnel, ball pool, sky wheels, bash bags, lightening buzzer bars, Spinjitzu tornado. Next to it was the rotating climbing wall which also looked lots of fun. I was quite tempted myself ... As my boys are slightly older this was a great place for them to run around on their own, but parents and guardians can sit close by to check all is ok.

Miniland – Over 1.5 million bricks have been used to create miniland's of Manchester, Blackpool and the Peak District. Although they are not landmarks that my boys are massively aware of they did enjoy looking at the football ground, playing football and watching the lights come on at Blackpool Tower. There is also an old-fashioned horse race which really captured their imaginations.

Kingdom Quest – This is a laser game where you shoot as you travel around the ride in a four/five seater chariot. The boys could have gone on together but with a chariot for four we went on as a family. Each laser scores separately so you can see who won (it was me!) but I’m not sure that all the lasers were working and it was to tell when you had got a hit. But the boys had fun. We did queu for this ride but there are 'LEGO' stations en route to pass the time away.

Lego 4D Cinema – Somehow we timed it just right for the 4D ride and joined the back of the queue just before it was due to be shown. It’s always fun having to put on 3D glasses, but these ones are definitely more child sized than adult sized. That said it didn’t prevent me from seeing the 3D experience and then on top of that, there were wind, rain and snow too.

Merlin’s Apprentice Ride – On this ride the faster you pedal the higher you go. A great ride for mums and dads – although it was mainly dads and their kids that I saw on this ride. Our youngest didn’t fancy this one so the 10-year-old flew around with hubby. They both seemed to enjoy its lots!

LEGO City Forest Ranger Pursuit – This a pedal car ride for those 4 years old and over although there is a height restriction of 150cm, so older children may be too tall. My 10-year-old was fine though. They had to queue the longest for this ride and although it’s pretty simple they really enjoyed it.

LEGO Racers Build & Test - There are thousands of bricks in tubs just waiting to be used to build cars to race down tracks. Children were making friends and playing with strangers as they tested their cars together. This was definitely the most interactive part of LEGOLAND. 

There were other attractions too including the Duplo Farm more suited to younger visitors and the workshops which we didn’t have time to do.

What about Food & Drink at LEGOLAND Discovery Centre?

There is a Costa coffee shop serving fresh foods and snacks, however, you are also able to take your own food inside LEGOLAND. We’d had our picnic in the car but we did buy the Coca-Cola Freestyle refillable drinks and for £3.50 were able to choose from 100 flavours all afternoon. Kids’ meals are also available from £6. You can also leave the attraction and return on the same day meaning that all of the food outlets in the intu Trafford Centre and nearby supermarkets are also accessible.

How long is a visit to LEGOLAND Discovery Centre?

LEGOLAND says to allow at least 2 - 3 hours for your visit, although you are welcome to stay as long as you like. They open at 10 am with the last admission at 5 pm before it closes at 6:30 pm. The shop, however, is open until 7 pm. In total, we were there for nearly four hours.

How much are tickets and where do I get them?

You can buy tickets on the day but they are more expensive and entry is not guaranteed. For the best ticket prices book online at least 24 hours in advance of your visit. Prices are from: Adults £15 Children aged 3-17 £11 Under 3’s go free. There are also joint attraction tickets with Sealife which is located next to LEGOLAND and annual passes too. There are often promotional codes or vouchers to collect too which makes admission cheaper.

So is LEGOLAND Discovery Centre in Manchester Worth a Visit?

The Manchester kid’s attraction is advertised as ‘Family fun with 3 rides, LEGO build & play zones, a 4D cinema & much more’. Yes, there are rides but this is not a theme park, but having said that the boys enjoyed each of the rides. They absolutely loved the build & test section and easily spent a few hours building LEGO – the way I remember LEGO as a child – using your imagination to create rather than following instructions. 

It's very different to Legoland in Windsor - read EmmysMummys review of it here - and a totally different day out. It is also an indoor attraction meaning that the rain can't spoil your fun.

The boys were really entertained in the cinema and enjoyed the 4D experience, and the new Ninjago Play area and climbing wall were brilliant – a great place to let off steam. It was busy, but never too busy that we as parents couldn’t find somewhere to sit close to the boys, and the longest queue they waited for one of the rides was about 15 minutes. If you are looking for a family day out in Manchester then it ticks all the boxes. 

Overall I’d say the kids had a brilliant time and it was also quite enjoyable as a parent too. 

Have you been to LEGOLAND Discovery Centre in Manchester?

Deb x

Disclosure: We received complimentary admission for a family of four in return for an honest review.