PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. — Over spring break, I took my 8 year old son to Legoland Discovery Center Philadelphia. Like many kids, he loves playing with his Legos, so this seemed like a good way to give him a little adventure.
Legoland Discovery Center is one of the anchors of Plymouth Meeting Mall. There are several zones for different ages. Here are a few thing we did:
- Imagination Express – a short “train” ride with laser wand challenges
- Miniland – Philadelphia landmarks in Lego; I really liked it
- Pirate Adventure Island – an indoor playground; great for to burn off some energy
- The Great LEGO® Race – a VR “ride” that we enjoyed
- Lego characters
- Lego racers build & test – build cars and race them down slides; fun
- Ninjago training camp – a quick little activity
- A Lego “mountain” for kids to build on
There are also Friends, Duplo sections and classes. Food is also available inside.
Legoland Discovery Centers are targeted towards kids between 3-12. I think the sweet spot is probably 4-7 year olds. There are also a bunch of extras you can get. We didn’t use the digital photo pass or the activity pack, though that could be of interest to younger kids.
We were there about three hours which is what Legoland says is the typical visit. We paid about $40 a head.
There are also adults only sessions monthly in the evening.
[flickr : Legoland Discovery Center Philadelphia album]
Directions
Legoland Philly is located near the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-276), Schuykill Expressway (I-76) and the Blue Route (I-476). It took us about 2.5 hours from Alexandria with some morning rush hour traffic around DC. The route includes tolls.
Coming to Northern Virginia
Good news everyone, this summer, a Legoland LEGO Discovery Center Washington DC is coming. It is scheduled to open at Springfield Town Center (nee Mall) just outside the Capital Beltway. It’ll have many of the same features and is close by. In short, if you are in the DC area, it may be worth waiting rather than going to the Philly area.
I think my son, who will be 9 by the time the Legoland DC location opens, will be up for one visit. Maybe two, but I sense he’s aging out. Oh, to have had this for him and his older brother when they were younger! Or me when I was a kid!
More: LEGO Discovery Center Washington, DC to open in August – WRC
National Building Museum has a Lego exhibit
Open now through Spring 2025, Brick City at the National Building Museum has another Lego adventure.
The exhibition offers a chance to discover new buildings as well as some more recognizable icons—spotting surprising common ground between buildings thousands of years and miles apart, such as the Roman Colosseum and the 2012 Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. The magnificent centerpiece of the exhibition is London’s St. Pancras Station, measuring 12-feet-long and built from over 180,000 standard LEGO® bricks.
Builders young and old can channel their creativity in an interactive area where they can build their own masterpieces out of LEGO® bricks.
I know we’ll check that out some time this summer too.