Out And About: LEGOLAND
On a rainy weekend in April, I visited LEGOLAND in Goshen, NY, with my husband and two sons, ages 4 and 9. My oldest wanted to visit LEGOLAND and spend the night in the new hotel, in honor of his birthday. Because there is so much to write about, I am dividing my review into three sections: the LEGOLAND Hotel Experience, the LEGOLAND Theme Park Experience, and Was it Worth It?
The LEGOLAND Hotel Experience
We stayed in the NINJAGO themed room, much to the surprise of my oldest, who loves NINJAGO! I loved every detail in the room, from the Lego-shaped soap to the TV screens with a welcome message made out in our family name. This level of personalization was refreshing.
There was a scavenger hunt that revealed the code to open the safe. My oldest son got the code right and inside the safe were two sealed packages of Legos.
Near the bunkbed, there was a set of built-in Lego stations, which was very convenient. There was an extra mattress that pulls out from the bottom bunk.
There were refreshments for us and a Google voice-enabled tablet that kept our little one occupied.
The Bricks Family Restaurant, located in the lobby, served buffy-style breakfast. The pizza was mediocre and had more sauce than I cared for. The margarita on the other hand, that hit the spot!
In the middle of the lobby, there was a huge castle and pirate ship. This was a plus, considering it was raining out. There was also an arcade area nearby with enough games to play.
The elevators had disco lights and played music – no kidding! Each time we rode in the elevator, we sang and danced.
The LEGOLAND Theme Park Experience
The park sits on 500 acers of land and is divided into 7 sections. The scenery is beautiful. It is a long walk going uphill, but coming back, it was easier.
The first stop was MINILAND, which boasted the 5 boroughs of New York. Highlights include World Trade Center and the 9/11 Memorial and a Coney Island tribute, just to name a few.
I loved the interactive features where you can make figurines move, play music from a turntable, and so much more. There was even a subway station underground that had a moving train!
The rides are located at the bottom of the park, including Lego Pirates, with automated water cannons. Just like in the hotel, there were statues throughout the park.
We passed Lego City fire trucks, where a fire was displayed on LCD screens that families had to put out by working together.
The Driving School was a hit with my oldest son. He rode an electric car and had his picture taken for his driver license.
The park had a wide selection of food – and it was good!
NINJAGOLAND was the main attraction and featured a fun ride.
Bricktopia, the final destination, had additional interactive features including stepping tunes that play music when you stop in front of it. There is also a build and test where you can build cars and a creative workshop where you can make your own Lego characters.
Was It Worth It?
Our Legoland experience was full of fun and at each stop, we were met with friendly staff that had smiling faces. They even cheered for us at certain points – like when we unknowingly stepped on/passed something that caused a tune to play. There are lots of things for families to do together and I appreciated the thought that went into this, but it was pricey. For a family of four at a one-night stay, cost was a little over 1K and included tickets to the theme park for 2 days.
All things considered, coming out of the pandemic, we have been focusing on making memorable moments for our family and seeing the smiles on the faces of our boys makes this trip all worth it. And that is even with the rain!
