Legoland Discovery Centre, Manchester

Stuck for something to do with a 4 and 2 year old in the rain, we opted to try Legoland at the Trafford Centre. My parents were visiting for the weekend so there was a vast age range to try and entertain. We booked tickets online late the night before which were cheaper than paying on the door. I liked the fact we could choose a half an hour slot in which to arrive which is always a benefit when you have children to work around! We arrived a little early and the kids were thrilled to see an old fashioned horse carousel outside - not part of Legoland but for a couple pounds the kids had a ball. Initially we were disappointed with the size of Legoland once we got inside, on the internet map it looked much bigger. At that point I thought we would be there for an hour tops before the children got bored. But there was so much to do - from the man that showed us how to make Lego when we first arrived, to the 3D cinema that had both kids screaming with laughter at the water jets and in fear at the bats and spiders - before we knew it we had been there for two and a half hours without a single mention of "Mummy, I'm bored" or "can we go home now?" I'm not sure who had the most fun building and racing their own Lego car, my four year old son, Daddy or Grandad! As a finale, the kids played in the soft play area while the grown ups sat down for a well earned rest and a cuppa. The food selection isn't terrific so don't expect to get a full on lunch; but they do sell paninis, crisps, fruit and drinks etc so there is something for most tastes. We would definitely return - I would recommend buying tickets online (when we came out mid-afternoon the queues were horrendous!) and if the weather is a bit rubbish it's perfect to fill a couple of hours if you're local.

My little boy is a massive Lego fan so when we heard about this place we had to go. It is very easy to find and plenty of parking. There is plenty to do once inside with lots to look at too. We built cars and raced them down ramps, watched Bob the Builder in 3D which was fab and then built a figure and knocked it down with the wobble boards. You also get a tour at the beggining about how lego is made which my little boy and I joined in with. We felt welcome and had lots of fun. The food was a bit expensive and they didn't have a lot of choice but you can take your own. There is also a great lego shop at the end. A great day out in all.

We were excited to visit Legoland Discovery Centre after seeing advertised when we last went to visit our family in Manchester. They stay about 20 mins away so we decided to go one afternoon as Wee Z loves lego. I expected it to be bigger so I was surprised to see it slotted in beside M&S home and BHS stores just off the Trafford Centre itself. We didn't need to wait long to get in and luckily we had 2 for 1 vouchers or we'd have been looking at paying £45 for 3 of us to get in with Miss C being under 3 going free. Your outing starts with a tour of the lego factory where you can see how lego is made and you get some free lego when it's all done. It was an interactive tour with the guy Prof something or other asking the kids to help push buttons and pull levers. It lasted about 5 minutes. There were 2 rides, laser quest and then a flying ride based around Harry Potter. When you look at a map of the place it looks like everything is spaced out quite well but once we came out of the laser quest, everything just seemed to be squashed in together to make room for things. The displays of lego buildings were fantastic, it is really amazing to see what they can do with lego and puts my tower building to shame. The best part of our visit was going to see Bob the Builder in 4D. Wee Z loved it and MIss C sat transfixed. We spent about 2 hours in the discovery centre and at £16 each I don't think it was worth the money. I'd definitely recommend a visit, but make sure you have vouchers or discounts for the admission. And don't buy anything from the shop as it is seriously overpriced!

The Legoland Discovery Centre is located in Barton Square which is an extension of the well known Trafford Centre. It is open seven days a week from 10am until 7pm, last admission is at 5pm. The attached Lego store is also open until 7pm. There are passes and special offer tickets you can purchase online, however general entrance prices (as of 01/09/10) are £13.95 for adults and £10.95 for children over 2. Children under the age of two are free. The centre caters for school and group visits and also birthday parties. A Legoland Discovery Centre is NOT the same as Legoland Windsor. There are a few around the world and they are not gigantic theme parks and they aren't meant to be the same. If you go with the expectation that you are about to experience a Northern version of the main Legoland, you will be seriously disappointed. We had pre-booked tickets for when the attraction opened and we were the first to enter. Access from the till point was easy. First pit-stop was a photo session with a Lego Bob the Builder and Wendy. We bought the photograph upstairs. I think they were about £7. There is a buggy park just after the photo shoot so you can allow your children to walk around the centre. I found it easy to control my DS and felt comfortable regarding the safety and security in all areas of the attraction. There are stairs and lift access to the main floor. Your second port of call is the Lego Factory. I did think that this part of the visit was poor. The factory doesn't quite live up to its name. There are no working parts and you can't actually see anything being made. It is just a very simplistic demonstration of how a brick is produced. You do get a Legoland Lego brick at the end of the factory tour, it's pretty cool, but not worth the entrance fee! The laser shooting game, Kingdom Quest, is a similar set up to the Toy Story Mania ride in Orlando; you shoot objects to get points. The person with the highest score at the end of the ride wins. The ride lasts about five minutes. It's good fun, for Mummy and Daddy anyway. On from there is the Discovery Centre's Miniland, featuring Liverpool, Blackpool, parts of Alton Towers, Manchester and a couple of other lesser known areas. When walking around the models you are impressed at the detailing and accuracy but you feel like you're looking at a model. As opposed to feeling like a giant walking through a small world. My little boy liked looking at the mini boats and he enjoyed watching the Alton Tower's Oblivion Ride in action. There is also a Miniland underground Beatles tribute which plays Beatles songs whilst little Lego men play guitars and dance. The 4D cinema was showing two shorts. We went to see the Bob the Builder film and didn't hear which other was showing, but we were happy with the Bob one. It was very much like a TV Bob episode with 3D glasses and 4D water/wind effects. It was good. My toddler really liked it, it was a completely different experience for him and he wanted to watch it again straight away. Sadly the queues meant that he would have to give it a miss. Outside of the 4D cinema is a Duplo area with shaking bases to make building more challenging. I think he liked the challenge and it made it just a bit different from building at home. He had a good chat with a Legoland Supervisor, who was very engaging, polite and interacted with him in an appropriate manner for my little boy's age. I was impressed with the staff throughout the whole visit. There were other areas which we didn't use. There is a model building class called 'Master Model Builder' and a Build & Test section for older children to create cars and test them out on mini courses. This was using smaller lego bricks and wasn't really suitable for the age of our toddler. The café was well stocked with sandwiches, cake and there was a wide selection of hot and cold drinks available. The brew was decent for a standard café and the tables were positioned so that you could watch your children play in the soft play Fire Academy and Princess Palace areas whilst you have a minute. Toilets are clean and baby changing facilities are available. On the way out we went through what I believe is called Lego Universe. It is basically a tunnel which shows a simplistic video game and you have to stand on as many lights as you can to either knock down/build a wall. I can't quite remember which. The shop wasn't as well stocked as I'd hoped. We were looking to buy one of the new Toy Story 3 trains to put away from Christmas. We thought, out of everywhere, we'd be able to get hold of one at an official Lego Store. No such luck. We left empty handed. There was however some impressive models in the shop and a really cute 'pick-a-mix' style Lego stand where you could buy individual pieces of Lego by weight. It has disappointed a few people and I do think you should go to the Discovery Centre with the idea that it is at the most a morning or an afternoon out. It's not huge, but there are some interesting things for your kids to see and a couple of cool activities they'll probably enjoy taking part in. Not everywhere has to be massive and over-the-top, I was a little surprised with the small size of the place but I'm glad we went. If you have children of around 3-6 years old, I'd say it's worth giving it a try. You could do a lot, lot worse.

I recently entered a competition on Twitter to win the chance to do a 'tweet review' of the Legoland Discovery Centre in Manchester. And guess what? The lucky mother that I am - I won a family ticket! When we set out, we weren't sure what to expect. We had heard stories of horrendous queues and long waits for the attractions - but we went there with open minds. I have to say- I could tell that Chris was really excited, he loves Lego - but he was trying to be discreet about it. We arrived at LDC on Wednesday afternoon and, as the kids had all gone back to school, there were no queues at all and we walked straight in. Alex was really excited and we followed the signs to 'The Factory Tour'. We waited with baited breath as the timer counted down and the doors began to open. We were greeted by 'Mrs Brick-a-Brack' who promised to show us how real Lego bricks are made and she asked if Alex could help. He was more than happy to oblige and stepped up for the challenge. This involved Alex jumping on the spot, turning a wheel and pulling a lever in order to 'make' us all a special Lego brick to take away. It would be clear to older children that this wasn't a 'real' experience. Alex was keen to proceed to the next attraction... The Kingdom Quest ride This is a great ride for the kids but as we had a baby we were unable to go on as a family. You cannot go on the ride with a child on your knee. Anyway, you climb aboard your chariot on a quest to defeat skeletons and trolls using your on board laser gun and your mission is to rescue the princess. We were a little worried that Alex might be frightened as the ride is quite dark but he absolutely loved it and ended up going on it 3 times!!! MINILAND Miniland was fab - it's a miniature, moving, Lego version of the North West and uses nearly 1.5 million Lego bricks. There are buttons scattered around that you push to make things move. Fascinating! I don't think I could have the patience to build such masterpieces with tiny pieces of Lego! Next up was the 4D experience in the Lego Studios but not before Alex had a swim in what I'm calling 'the Lego pool'. LEGO Studios This was my favourite! My first 3D film, well I suppose it's 4D but I won't tell you why - you'll have to find out for yourself. There are 2 films to watch - Bob the Builder and Kingdom Quest. We watched Bob the Builder and we all loved it despite looking ridiculous in our 3D glasses! DUPLO Village Daddy's favourite! It is just a corner of the centre filled with 'big bricks'. My boys spent ages here building a house...Alex did help - honest! There are other areas too - Lego Racers: Build and Test - where you can build your own racing car and race it on a series of downhill slopes and the Model Builders Workshop - where you can learn all of the secrets of Lego building from the masters but, at 3 and a half years old, Alex was a bit too young to appreciate them. There is also the Princess Palace - a small area with lots of pink Lego for the girls to build with. Finally, Alex's favourite... LEGO City: Fire Academy This is an amazing soft play area that reaches up to the ceiling and has a helter-skelter slide. Alex loved it - I was terrified watching! We also had coffees and cakes in LEGO Cafe and, as usual for an attraction like this, we found the prices to be slightly inflated. The only thing that I was dissapointed in at LDC was the baby changing facility. When I took Ellissia in there to change her nappy, both bins were overflowing with dirty nappies and it stank - even though the sign on the wall clearly stated that it had just been checked. Not only that there had been a flood from the sink and when I put my changing bag on the floor it got soaked and it's ruined. On the way out we visited the LEGO shop and I was desperate to buy half the store. They had Lego head egg cups and Lego head salt and pepper pots but what I really wanted was some Lego brick and Lego man ice cube trays! So what's the verdict? We had a really fun afternoon at Legoland Discovery Centre and we think it isworth a visit but you need to be aware this is only a small place. If you go there expecting Legoland Windsor you will be dissapointed. It is not a full day out but a great afternoon adventure. (If you go after 4pm on a weekday you can get discounted tickets and it's open 'til 7pm) We all had great fun and we would recommend it to other young families. It will be nice to go again in a few years when Ellissia can appreciate it too - I don't suppose she'll remeber much at 17 days old!

The Legoland Discovery Centre in Manchester is a good place to take children for a couple of hours, as long as you bear in mind that it is not going to be the same as Legoland Windsor. There is one ride there and a small tour, there is also a 4d cinema and large area which is sectioned off into different areas where children can build Lego – this has a princess area, a car area, a duplo area and a general Lego building area. There is also a children’s soft play area here and a café which allows a welcome break for adults.

I totally echo the previous review. I used Tesco clubcard vouchers and thank goodness, I would have been even more upset had we paid full price. We had heard lots of bad reports but our son was desperate to go. What a disappointment. Crowded even at the quietest time due to the tiny layout and the way you get to the main parts of the 'attraction'. The cafe sold buns, juice, and old looking pasta and there was nowhere to sit. The soft play comprised of a big slide and that was it. As the previous reviewer said you can't find any parts to build the racers and then there are children being allowed to roam and climb all over the ramps. We never managed to get into the 4D cinema as it was so busy. My son enjoyed the ride but it was only a small loop shooting at some computer screens. Even he was suprised at how quickly it finished, For the money it is a total waste of time, even for the most avid of Lego fan, You would be better spending your £40 in the shop, it will entertain them for longer!

Dissappointing is the word to describe Legoland manchester! we did go a bout 3 weeks after it first opened but it is very expensive - it will cost you over £50 for 4 of you( I opted for an annual pass which worked out at £75 but you can use all year) The miniature models are impressive but not all the interactive ones were working!! The pink princess tower was nothing more than a few tables with lego and it was very hard to find wheels to build any racers at the race track. the cafe is far too small and nowhere near enough tables and chairs(partly because when your children are in teh play area there is only cafe to si,t so some tables and chairs were taken up by people who were not eating! Not a great selection of food either. The castle ride would have been good but on the day we went the laser guns wernt working which is the whole point of the ride, but my son still quite enjoyed pretending to shoot the baddies. the best bit by far was the 4d cinema(same as legoland windsor) which both my children loved so we went in there a few times. To be honest you can only really spend a couple of hours in there which is fine but not for £50!! maybe better now it's been opened a bit and possibly better out of school holidays. Personally I'd save to go to legoland Windsor.