Legoland Discovery Centre Manchester - Review for families

There's also a Legoland Discovery Centre in Birmingham if that's closer to you.

Best for:

Babies / Toddlers & Preschool / 5 – 8. It’s not really suitable for children younger than this.

Cost

£££. It is very expensive to pay on the door, but you’ll save up to 40% by booking 24 hours in advance online. Children under 2 go free. A single day ticket costs £9.95 - £14.95 online, depending on the time you visit. A toddler and parent ticket is valid for one adult and one 3 – 5 year old. It can be purchased online will set you back around £12.

What’s on offer

If your child likes LEGO, then this will be paradise. The visit starts with a tour of the LEGO Factory, which produces over 100k special bricks each year. The tour is by Professor Brick-a-Brack and your child can make a special brick, too. Once you’ve got creative, get ready for the 15minute 4D movie adventure featuring popular LEGO characters.

For adventurous children you can ride the Kingdom Quest Laser Ride or jump the lasers in the Ninja Laser Training Camp maze. There’s also a pedal ride called the Merlin Apprentice ride. There’s also the LEGO MINILAND, made from over 1.5million bricks and recreating some of Manchester’s most iconic landmarks. Watch night fall, morning rise and feel like a giant the whole time.

Other attractions include the Fire Academy soft play, LEGO Olivia House, Forest Pursuit, LEGO Racers, Construction Site soft play. There’s even a workshop from a master LEGO builder who will share his top tips and tricks with your little one.

For those children ready to test the strength of their LEGO creations, hop over to the Earthquake Tables. They’ll tell you whether your tower of bricks will stand the test of time after a few light tremors.

Children between the ages of 2 – 5 may feel a bit left behind, or even overwhelmed by all of the crazy colourful madness. That’s why the DUPLO village is ideal for these youngsters. DUPLO bricks are easy for tiny hands to pick up and play with, all the while developing important creative, concentration and co-ordination skills. The DUPLO village is located right next to the café, which is ideal as it’s quieter than the rest of the attraction.

Like all attractions, there is a gift shop. This isn’t just any gift shop – it only happens to be the largest LEGO shop in the entire North West of England. The Legoland Discovery Centre is very child-friendly and this is reflected in the fact the centre is pushchair friendly (with life access and a pushchair park) and has good baby-changing facilities and family toilets on site. Breastfeeding mums are openly welcome in the centre. There isn’t a dedicated nursing room, but staff will go out of their way to find you a quiet area.

Highlights

While it might not be a parent’s dream day out, children usually love it. They’ll rave about it, even. It often gets more praise from youngsters because they're able to play with and create things from the LEGO, instead of just being able to look at models of it. The Professor’s Factory Tour is also a very popular element to the attraction.

What to watch out for

• Expect for it to be busy and expect to queue for entrance and most of the attractions. Most TripAdvisor reviewers note that queuing ruined their experience. Your best bet is to go after 4pm for the quietest experience.

• There should be LEGO around to play with and children should be given an activity booklet whilst queuing for a longer period of time.

• It’s nothing like Legoland Windsor. The website is a bit enthusiastic and it’s less of a ‘land’ with most visitors describing it as a ‘large room’. Please do your own research before visiting, as there are some very mixed and negative reviews regarding families with high expectations.

• Adults cannot visit this centre without a child, though there are regular adults-without-kids evenings for older LEGO fans.

• Children between 90cm - 120cm must ride the Merlin Apprentice Ride with an adult.

• The Fire Academy soft play is suitable for children up to 140cm.

• Maximum height of 90cm allowed for the Construction Site.

• Please remember there is no crèche and the café doesn’t sell baby food.

• You can’t bring you own food to the centre, with the exception of baby food/milk and snacks for children with allergies.

MFM tips:

• The centre is quietest after 4pm, but the website recommends visiting as early as possible for the best experience. You’ll need 2 – 3 hours visiting time.

• If you do want to visit, don’t pay full price for this. Either use Tesco Clubcard vouchers or use Merlin passes, which allow you to visit this attraction for free.

What the owners say

“Explore one of Manchester's kids attractions, located in Barton Square at Intu Trafford Centre, and the UK's only LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre!”

Visit the official Legoland Discovery Centre website

More days out in Manchester....

MOSI
Heaton Park
Imperial War Museum North
Breakout Manchester
Abbotsfield Park Miniature Railway
Chester Zoo
Salford Museum & Art Gallery
Manchester United Stadium Tour

Fancy Legoland Windsor, too? Here's how to get the best deals on tickets