We’ve now visited Legoland, New York, twice with our kiddos, so I thought I’d put together a little guide to some of our favorite things to do at Legoland with kids under 4. I’ll be focusing on which rides and activities at Legoland NY are best for little kids. We also stayed the night at the Legoland Resort, so I’ll include my review of the hotel as well.
The Best Rides at Legoland for Little Kids
Bricktopia: When you first enter the park, you’ll be in Bricktopia, which is the best overall land for little kids. The design here is based off of Duplos, the Lego blocks for little ones. There’s a carousel, the Duplo Express train, and a tea cup-like ride called DJ’s Disco Spin, all of which are appropriate for all ages. There’s also a fun musical fountain. Throughout the entire park you’ll find amazing Lego creations, another aspect of Legoland that can be enjoyed by anyone. There are also character meetups in all the lands, which our toddler loved too.
Ninjago World: If you have an older or more adventurous toddler between the ages of 3 and 5, this land can be a lot of fun. Our older child’s two favorite rides were in this land. He loved Ninjago The Ride, which is a 3D interactive ninja battle. Kids of any age can go on this ride (our 1-year-old even tagged along), but kids who are afraid of the dark, loud noises, or scary characters should skip it. He also really loved Jay’s Gravity Force Trainer, but your child must be at least 42″ to ride. It’s a bit daring for a little kid, so if you have a more sensitive toddler, skip it. It’s faster than a carousel but not quite as fast at the Dragon’s Apprentice (more on that to come).
Lego Castle: The rides in this land are mostly for older kids. Toddlers can do Merlin’s Flying Machine if an adult rides with them (you have to pedal like a bicycle, hence the adult power needed). Our 4-year-old very bravely tried The Dragon’s Apprentice, the smaller version of the park’s main roller coaster. He did not like it this year—too fast and scary—but I bet he’ll be ready for it in a year or two.
Lego City: One of our favorite lands, Lego City has a lot to offer, for both little kids and older ones. It’s a land you can grow into. One of its best features: The Wharf, a playground featuring a Coast Guard station and boat. Our toddler also likes Junior Driving School, a Lego go-kart course for kids 3-5. (There’s a separate bigger course for big kids.) There’s also Coast Guard Academy, where you steer a boat around various obstacles. There’s also the Palace Cinema. Movies at theme parks aren’t really our thing, so we’ve never been, but they show various 4D movies throughout the day.
Lego Pirates: My favorite ride is here in Lego Pirates: Splash Battle! This ride is appropriate for all ages. Man a pirate ship and shoot water cannons at Lego animatronic and other riders! You will get wet, so make sure your kiddo is ready for that. Our other favorite activity in this land is the giant pirate ship playground.
Miniland: As you walk back toward the park entrance, you’ll wind through amazing Lego landscapes based off of major American cities. Our favorite is New York City, of course.
Food: My biggest complaint overall about Legoland is the food options. There is usually a long wait for food, it’s quite expensive, and it’s fairly average in quality. I recommend packing and bringing your own lunch! There’s no rule against carrying food into the park and you’ll save SO much time and money by packing your own lunch and snacks. Bring lots of water as well!
What Can Babies Do: This time, our littlest was one year old. He went on the Carousel, Lego Factory Adventure, Lego Ninjago Ride, and Splash Battle with us, and played in all the playgrounds. Babies can go on any ride listed as all ages, but there’s one important thing to note: they cannot ride on your lap. I had to sit him in the seat next to me and just wrap my arms around him to hold him in place. He is a baby who likes to sit in a lap, so he did not always like this. I honestly think he would have been safer in my lap, but understand that’s the rule they have in place. So just keep that in mind as you are planning your trip. You’ll either need a parent to hang back with the baby while big kids ride or baby needs to be able to sit in a seat for the whole ride.
Legoland Hotel: For this trip, we stayed one night at the Legoland Hotel. Each of the four floors is themed—you can choose the Lego Friends, Lego Kingdom, Pirates, or Ninjas. We booked a Pirate room. Each room has a separate kids area with bunk beds and a trundle bed, as well as Legos for the kids to play with. There’s also an in-room scavenger hunt—ours opened a safe to reveal a small Lego set for each kiddo to keep. The resort is really well done overall—everything caters to kids and there are lots of nice little touches and fun surprises for them to enjoy. The elevator even plays disco music with every ride so you can have a dance party. The pool is also nice for young kids.
While I thought the hotel was very well done, I did honestly think it was overpriced. It’s on par with a Disney vacation resort: a cool experience but really expensive. I probably would not do more than one night, but it was very special for the kids and I could tell they loved it.
Caitlin Kenney Smith 