LEGOLAND Discovery Center Opens in Atlanta

If you love the LEGO toys, you’re going to LOVE LEGOLAND Discovery Center, in Atlanta at Phipps Plaza.  This should not be confused with the LEGOLAND amusement parks in Florida and California.  I would describe LEGOLAND Discovery Center as a (35-thousand square foot) massive toybox of lego bricks, in every shape and size, from the typical little bricks you traditionally use to bigger lunchbox-sized bricks that feel more like foam than plastic.  On a crowded day it may get overwhelming, but it’s just the right size for a few hours of fun.  There are some important things for you to know before you go, so be sure to watch the video with the General Manager at the very end of this article.

We took the tour of the new LEGOLAND Discovery Center with our four children, aged six to 17, and they each liked something different.  I personally liked the first stop on the tour, where they explain how bricks are built, letting the children help operate the machinery and then take home a collector brick.  They could find out what they weigh with the number computed in brick-weight, along with brick height if they wanted to measure themselves.

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The next stop on the tour is the Kingdom Quest, which is a cool ride for kids of all ages, where you get to shoot your laser gun at bad guy targets throughout the room.  My oldest son liked this best.

After that, you enter Miniland, where Joshua, the Master Lego Builder has recreated several Atlanta landmarks in miniature with lego bricks.  I think I could have stood in this room for hours.  My older daughter really loved this room, with its replica of the Fox Theatre, the Georgia Dome, Philips Arena (complete with Falcons football players who can move), Stone Mountain, the Varsity, MARTA, and so much more.

Then you enter a massive play space filled with Merlin’s Apprentice (a ride where you have to physically pedal to make your car go higher into flight), Racers Build & Test zone where you can build your own LEGO cars and race against each other (I think this was my husband’s favorite spot), LEGO Fire Academy and City Construction Site (where my younger son said he had the most fun chasing my daughter around for a good hour…coincidentally, this is my youngest daughter’s favorite spot, too), LEGO friends for Girls and a Cafe, along with a Master Builder Academy (we missed this part).

There’s also a really, really cool 4-D Studio where you can watch a movie that will leave you feeling the moisture from being sprayed by a runaway fire hydrant hose and dragon spit,  the heat of his fire and the chill of the breeze from a helicopter blade whipping in the wind.

Oh, and there’s a gift shop at the end.

We loved the entire experience.

If you’re an adult and want to check it out you’re going to need to bring a kid along.  Those are the rules.  There is an option for adults who want to play on designated adult nights.  It’s the ideal spot for a birthday party (bookings will be allowed starting with June parties) and annual passes are available if you think you’ll be able to go a couple times a year.

I spoke with the General Manager about the entire experience in the interview below.

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