Local mom Andrea Beam shares her family’s experience at LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Atlanta. Read her review! For more travel options near the Upstate, be sure to consult our Travel Near Greenville page.
My son decided he wanted to have his birthday dinner at Hard Rock Café in Atlanta. What 11 year old does that? Hey, it was cheaper than most venues, so count me in! We decided to turn it into an overnight trip and check out LEGOLAND Discovery Center while there. The overnight stay was an added bonus for our family, but LEGOLAND is completely doable as a day-trip.
I visited Trip Advisor and several other sites and found mixed reviews. I had no idea what to expect.
LEGOLAND is located at Phipps Plaza. I plugged the address into my Google GPS and had no problem. Driving through Atlanta is never high on my “To Do” list, but we survived. You’ll want to avoid morning rush hour traffic. If you don’t, pack a picnic because you’ll be eating lunch on 85!
We parked on the upper parking deck of the mall and entered through the door of one of the department stores. LEGO Land is located in the middle of the mall on the third floor. It doesn’t matter which door you use. Take the escalators. If your kids are anything like ours, they’ll enjoy this as much as the rides inside the building. Doors open at 10 am.
What to expect
The lines were well organized. Once you pay and walk through the front door, you’re pretty much on your own. Pick up a brochure/map at the entrance. There is SO MUCH to see! Most everything is interactive and hands on.
Space Mission is the newest addition and was a BIG hit with our crew. There are stations for the littles (and not-so littles) to build spaceships and a “control center” where they can fly their own ship. None of those compare to the space ship that actually launches every five minutes, complete with smoke and a countdown! I caught this magic on video. The boys have watched it multiple times.
Mini Land was really cool. While it’s not hands-on, we had fun looking at the replicas of the historical places around Atlanta. I had to keep reminding myself that everything is actually built out of LEGOS. It’s unreal.
Duplo Village is the perfect destination for the smallest visitors. There is a play zone as well as soft/hard blocks. Because my kids are older, we didn’t spend time here, but I poked my head in to see what it was about. Everything looked clean and kids were having a good time.
4D Cinema offers multiple movies featuring your favorite LEGO characters! Photos/videos are not allowed during the movie. This is unfortunate because the smiles on our kids’ faces were priceless. They LOVED getting wet! Oops… I hope I didn’t give anything away!
Rides are located inside LEGOLAND. I can’t tell you how impressed I was with the Merlin’s Apprentice. For a brief moment, I felt like I was at Disney World. Okay, that may be a stretch, but it was super cute. At one point a few of the adults were on the ride with NO children. To protect the identity of the guilty (or pitiful) I won’t list names.
Your kiddos will love the Build & Test area. This is the spot where you build your own car to race down the ramps.
If you asked our kids to tell you their favorite thing about LEGOLAND, Pirate Adventure Island would be the unanimous choice. You could easily spend half a day in this play area. There is a huge water table, a slide and several climbing sections. This area reminded me of The Children’s Museum of the Upstate.
One of the biggest complaints in the online reviews was how expensive the food is in the Café. There is another option – a Food Court right outside the entrance and we ate there. An employee, stationed at the exit, will stamp your hand for reentry. There is not an extensive selection of restaurants to choose from but it’s certainly the best option. There is a Moe’s and everyone loves Moe’s, right?!
Before you hit the road, click here to purchase your tickets. You’ll pay more at the door.
Plan your own trip to LEGO Land
LEGOLAND® Discovery Center
3500 Peachtree Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30326
404.848.9252
Monday – Friday, 10 am – 7 pm (last entry 5 pm)
Saturday, 10 am – 9 pm (last entry 7 pm)
Sunday, 10 am – 7 pm (last entry 5 pm)
Visit their website.
Follow LEGOLAND on Facebook.
Online tickets start at $12.50 (prices may vary by time and date).
Has your family ever visited LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Atlanta?
Andrea Beam works for the Greenville County School System, but her passion is writing! Greenville has always been her home. Her family enjoys exploring everything the town has to offer. In addition to Kidding Around Greenville, she blogs at Sunshine & Rain.
I’ve taken my children there and they loved it!