It has been a while since we visited LEGOLAND Discovery Centre in Manchester. Once they removed the soft play structure they effectively removed anything that the younger children could do. This was removed to make room for new attractions including the new LEGO® Ninjago City Adventure play feature.
Now that the renovations are done we decided to go back and pay a visit and see if it was any better or worse and if the younger children could enjoy LDC again. When we arrived the queue to get in was quite long but as we are Merlin Annual Pass holders we could join the priority queue and got in very quickly. We could only stay an hour due to another commitment which I thought would be enough time to see the changes. I was wrong as the kids disappeared in the play structure and when time to leave I had to go in and retrieve them.
The Ninjago play area is a 3 storey structure allowing kids to climb through, run about and even practice their ninja skills. The floors are hard so shoes are required at all times (although this wasn’t immediately obvious and everyone was taking their shoes off assuming it was a soft play area. Better signage or more obvious signs would help improve this).
Outside of the Ninjago play structure a new rotating climbing wall has been added. The new feature allows kids to practice their ninja climbing skills. You can climb the wall by using the horizontal bars that go up it or it using the foot/hand holds if the bars are too easy. This is supervised by staff and the speed of the rotating wall seems to be controlled by the staff member to match the climber’s ability.
As we only had a hour we didn’t get to explore the rest of the centre and any additions or changes, but we will be coming back to do so in the near future.
While there have been some new additions the old favourites are still there; LEGO Factory Tour, Kingdom Quest Laser Ride, Miniland, LEGO 4D Cinema and the café has been extended and made into a much better facility offering fresh sandwiches from £2.50 and kids meal deals at £6 (Includes either a ham or cheese sandwich, choice of sweet snack, choice of fruity snack or yoghurt and a choice of drinks. Exclusive pop badge with every kids meal bought) and Costa coffee for the adults!
As for the time spent on the new Ninjago play feature, the boys loved it. When I retrieved them from the structure they were both hot and tired from running about and clearly enjoyed themselves. So a big thumbs up from them. As for me, signs could do with improving and seating for waiting adults could be improved (although there is now a lot more seating as part of the new café/coffee shop).
We will be going back to LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester very soon to explore some more. As an annual pass holder we can visit as often as required as well as all the other Merlin attractions around the country.
Rating: 4/5
Tickets for LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester cost from £15 (from £11 if booked online 24 hours in advance). For more information or to book tickets online visit www.legolanddiscoverycentre.co.uk.
A Merlin Annual Pass costs from £139 per person. For more information or to buy a pass visit www.merlinannualpass.co.uk.
LEGOLAND Discovery Centre, Barton Square, The Trafford Centre, Manchester, M17 8AS
Images courtesy of Merlin Entertainments / LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester
