LEGOLAND Discovery Center Westchester — Attraction in City of Yonkers

You’re prompted to pay more around every corner. Literally. And there’s not that many corners. On the website one price will be offered and revoked (sorry that tempting ‘online-only’ pricing only applies after... 4PM! Hah. Bait and switch). At the front desk you’ll be told that you forgot to pay for ‘activities’, we declined and I don’t feel like we missed anything important. In the first room you’re prompted to take a photo of your kid so you can buy it! A room later your photo is taken on a ride, available for purchase! A room after that you’ll be prompted to pay for a VR experience! And then it’s the gift shop, where Legos remain as (rightfully) expensive as ever. It’s very easy to foresee yourself spending $40 for a kid and parent to visit only for that to balloon by a hundred dollars.

And is a steep entry price (compared to local aquariums and play places) of $28 a head worth it? The rides are so lackluster, one is basically a carnival ride with less bells and whistles, the other is a laser gun challenge with blasters that are too bulky for a kid under the age of 6 to use. The best part is the room filled with detailed models of NYC’s biggest landmarks, it is pretty grimy... hard to clean LEGO’s I guess... but it’s also something I wouldn’t pay for, maybe I’d expect to see it at JFK arrivals or something. Many exhibits seem to be long abandoned by corporate for repairs. The first room is supposed to be an interactive look at how LEGOS are made but it has broken pipes, an iPad with a non working button, a mold press that doesn’t really press all the way, and I found a staff storage area open for kids to poke into. The thing feels like it has enough wear and tear that it was constructed in 2005 but apparently it’s broken down this bad since only 2013.

Which brings us to the big playroom. There’s 3 playplaces (geared towards young, old, and female kids) but they didn’t wow my kid more than any free park playground, they’re barely LEGO themed. You’d expect immersive decor with so many rich worlds to draw from but most of the time you’d forget that areas have anything to do with Legos. The second best area for us was a zone where you could choose car parts, then send assembled LEGO cars down ramps, to race fellow kids. There oddly wasn’t a flat low area with lots of table space to assemble the parts so most kids did so... on the floor 😵😵

So, would you spend more than 50 bucks to see a NYC replica and build LEGO cars to go down ramps? We have way more fun with Legos at home. We’re...

Just Ok. I’ll start with the positive: staff mentioned checking Groupon for discount at payment counter (that was appreciated since kids were priced the same as adults. We got 40% off per ticket with the Groupon. Total was just under $100 for the 4 of us), restrooms were clean and creatively decorated, hand sanitizer placed stations throughout, the variety of activities seemed good when we researched it (two rides and a VR experience at an additional cost), a play area, build stations, a car racing station, an “earthquake” area to test the strength of what you build, 4D movies and a lego friends Karaoke experience. However, while the description was accurate the actual experience was “meh”. Here’s why: The movies were short (15 minutes) and lame. Our grandkids liked the first one because the experience was different but they were bored by the second one, so we didn’t bother to see the other two). The “rides” were just ok: Merlin’s Apprentice just went around in a circle and the height changed based on how fast you peddle, the other laser blast ride allows you to shoot at targets. That was ok. The interactive displays were underwhelming — you press a button and are “rewarded” with a small car moving or flashing lights on a police car. Our 4 year old grandson’s response: “that’s it?” The overall experience was over complicated and confusing — “find the hidden objects using a magnifying glass” throughout the discovery experience, but there were no instructions on where to find the magnifiers (maybe they were hidden too lol?), there were “punch” stations throughout but no instructions on what to punch or what each punch means in the experience, etc. Karaoke area was a bust. Broken microphone, hard to hear the music and limited song selection. The play area was a hit with the grandkids but you can’t see the kids once they “disappear” which honestly made us a bit nervous and there was no staff supervision and no emergency exits. Speaking of exits, when you depart you’re taken right through the Lego store. Not unexpected but you’ll need to be strong willed if you don’t want to shop. Generally our takeaway was the experience that was designed seemed like a series of good ideas that were poorly executed. Overall, I’d say to skip it and maybe try the Lego NY Resort which seems to have...

I visited this place with my son and his friend. They had an amazing time! They had so much fun. The only reason why I am giving it 3 stars was because of one employee, which is very unfortunate because everyone there was wonderful with the exception of one staff member near the cafe area. My son and his friend got up to throw their garbage out (they're both 5) and all of a sudden I hear a girl yelling at my son's friend. She says why didnt you see that I just changed the garbage bag, whats wromg qith you! Damn kid that was rude! My son's friend threw his trash out in the garbage that had a fresh bag in it and apparently he got yelled at for this. When I said hey, hes only 5, he didnt realize you just changed the bag 10 seconds ago, she shook her head and walked away. This same employee not 5 minutes later went to clean up a spot on the floor, looked at a man and his child dead in the face and said move your feet you're in my way..like a bully. It was then that I waited to speak to a manager about this crazy persons behavior. I figured it wasn't worth an argument, but there is no reason to treat people like that. If that's the case, she should find a different setting to work at. This incident really turned me off. She was angry, mean and downright disrespectful. I should've told my kids to leave their trash on the table. I didnt know they would get scolded for throwing their trash out and doing the right thing. Im sure LEGOLAND knows who this employee is because of how she was talking to everyone. Im sure this wasn't the first incident with her and definitely...