Imagine a playground filled with Lego, where imagination knows no bounds. LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester is inside Trafford Palazzo at the Trafford Centre. You’ll also find Sea Life there. Both are Merlin attractions and if you buy entry to both at the same time you can get a massive 33% discount (you must visit the second attraction within 90 days, so plenty of time) .
We visited in January when it was cold and wet out. It’s the perfect attraction for those sorts of days as it’s 100% inside, and there is plenty to do for 2-3 hours.
What’s inside Lego Discovery Centre Manchester
- Kingdom Quest ride
- Merlin’s Apprentice ride
- Soft play areas for under 5s and over 5s
- Watch a Lego 4d mini movie
- Climb the Ninjago wall
- Race car building and track test
- Lego city displays
- Under 5s playarea
- VR experience at extra cost
- Creative Workshop at extra cost
Legoland Discovery Centre Manchester is aimed at 3-12 year olds. But I think if you are into your Lego then it would be suitable for older children. My 12 year old loved building a car to test out on the road test area and spent a massive 90 minutes building a house for the “Mini Master Model Builder” competition.
When we visited there was an extra event on. The “Mini Master Model Builder” competition is an event running on every weekend between 6th Jan – 4th Feb 2024. It’s a nation wide compeition so it was really fun to have the chance to enter. Both girls build a house and spent ages building their creations. The prize is 4 gold Merlin annual passes and £500 to spend on Lego so a really amazing prize.
All about Legoland Discovery Centre Manchester
Kingdom’s Quest Ride
These are cars that take you around the knight’s kingdom & you have to shoot targets, trolls &skeletons with a laser gun. The ride is only a couple of minutes long but you can go on as many times as you want.
Lego Mini Land
Next, you go through the Lego Mini-land. Here is impressive lego cities which I can only imagine how long it took to build. It was great to see cities that we knew, Manchester, Liverpool and Blackpool.
Lego Building
Finally, you’re in the main area filled with Lego Play Pits and Lego walls. The play pits are like ball pools but full of thousands of lego pieces. Children can literally get in with the lego or sit outside and delve in to find the piece they need. Its just the simple act of free play which i love, the children can make whatever they want.
Lego Car Building
Also in this area is the car building section. There are again bins of lego filled with wheels, axels and all the parts you need to build a car. There are instructions on the wall to help you. Then once your master piece is finished you can teat it out on amaingly cool ramps. Climb up the steps, ait you can at the top of the ramp and let go. Watch it glide down, hoping it does break on landing. My eldest really loved this concept and took on the challenge very seriously.
Duplo Building For younger guests
In a seperate area in the cafe there is a large Duplo building area with a play area for under 5s.
Lego Studios 4D Cinema
This is where you watch a Lego film with 3D glasses and a few other effects. We really enjoyed this, it got our attention straight away and was very entertaining. I would reccomend making sure you see this on your visit. The film plays every 20 minutes.
Lego Ninjago City Adventure!
All about training your self to being a Ninja Warrior. With a treadmil climbing wall which is a really cool feature ive not seen anywhere else. And walls filled with puzzles and things to test your reactions.
My girls went running off inside the 3 storeys of awesome play area. I didnt go inside but was reported back that there is a mega fast slide inside so was a winner.
Merlin’s Apprentice
Another ride at Legoland Discovery Centre is Merlin’s Apprentice. Hop in and pedal as ast as you can to fly higher. Again this is a nice simple ride but a nice addition to the experience.
The great Lego Race VR experience
This is an extra cost to your entry ticket and can be added on at the time of booking or on arrival. It’s £6 per person. Racers will enter the virtual world and be the star of a rollicking race against several Lego Minifigure competitors including a pirate, wizard, surfer and pharaoh
Eating at the Discovery Centre
There is a cafe with a coffee shop selling Costa drinks. They have burgers, kids lego lunch boxes and sandwiches. We just got a hot drink on our visit and waited till our session had finished to get something to eat at the Trafford Centre, as the girls were too busy playing to eat.
Our Opinion
This was a good, inside family activity. The extra building compeition meant the girls really thought about what they were making and even us parents were on the “finding certain pieces job” which made it a family effort. I would always try to book your entry with any discount or offer running as it makes it a much cheaper day out. Otherwise it’s on the dearer side. There is an option to get a years pass which would be good if you wanted to visit quite often.
