We arrived around 9:05 for the sensory friendly event scheduled for 5/5 at 9am and waited outside with another family. Meanwhile,

Around 9:10 an associate came out to ask if we ‘needed anything’. We explained we were there for the sensory hour event.

It’s no exaggeration when I tell you she was a deer in headlights. She said “uhhh….. let me get my manager.” The manager came out and said ‘there was no sensory times in May. We were mistaken. The next one was June. They didn’t have the staffing to accommodate it today. We could come back for 10am, however no advertised sensory accommodations would be available. Our tickets would be refunded. He recommended we go get a coffee and come back.’

Mind you the tickets the other family had booked were 5/5 at 9am.

I understand nothing could be done, but If you have any experience with an autistic child, you know how turbulent this change of plans can be. And to get something to eat at some random place that might not have a single thing he would eat would once again be turbulent. We found a place, $50 later, with no available seating, and an unhappy little boy who couldn’t eat anything. Once again, this isn’t a Legolands issue, but we would have prepared to avoided situation like this if we had known.

At 10, we waited outside and greeted by staff. Upon arrival, they offered to refund us. I was thankful to hear this. I explained we had a Merlin pass, and they would need to refund the charity. Again, deer in headlights. She had no idea what I was taking about. She said she never heard of Merlin’s magic day out. She did take record of it so they could process the refund. On the way out we saw a poster for the charity in the elevator.

I asked if there was any sensory accommodations inside we should be aware of. She said she didn’t know. I asked about the sensory bags, which was a very kind offering, and what was inside. She said she didn’t know again but offered to look. Inside there was a set of noise cancelling headphones and a plastic emotions card. We deferred the bag.

We arrived early enough so it wasn’t too busy. The kids loved the ride and climbing area. They loved looking at the little city and playing with the interactive areas.

A lot of the Lego stations were lacking pieces needed (the cars didn’t have enough wheels, flowers didn’t have stems, rockets needed more blocks etc.) when you first come in you get to create a little Lego person. It was pretty bare for just opening for the morning.

For legoland we are very disappointed. The last thing I want is to sound ungrateful But this should never happen to another special needs child. We have higher expectations from a business that claims to be autism friendly.

You can’t claim to be autism friendly when you forget to open or have enough staff to accommodate advertised sensory friendly mornings. Staff need access to more training for autism accommodations. Refund was kind, but it’s not about the money. It’s about the deregulation caused to our son. We went for the sensory accommodations. We also came from the Cape.