Did you know that there’s a Legoland in New York? Yeah, neither did we until I was doing some research for our Lego rental company, and the link for New York came up. I’ve known about Legoland in Florida and California, but I never realized we had another one in the US!
I immediately booked our stay for our 2024 Fall Break. I knew it would still be too cold for the waterpark to be open (hint: the water park generally opens in May!), but we would be there on their opening day for the 2024 season!
If you want a quick breakdown, here are my likes and dislikes
Likes: the proximity of the hotel to the park, the hotel being incredibly kid-friendly and themed, the park being built into the side of a mountain, aka incredible views, friendly staff, and fun activities.
Dislikes: Food options, the ‘arcade’ area, lack of playscapes for kids in and around the hotel, inability to earn Lego points in the theme park, and secluded location.
While we visited Legoland California many years ago, we hadn’t had the pleasure of staying in the Lego-themed hotel. Because the park is located near a few other hotels, we decided to stay at the Lego hotel next to the park. Each floor has a theme, so be sure to visit all of them when you stay! Just riding the elevator is a fun and hilarious experience.
When we arrived it was clear that this was the hotel’s first day being open for the season. There were few cars in the parking lot and an abundance of workers welcoming the guests that were slowly filtering in.
We were in awe of the massive Lego castle that stood past the check in desk as the ‘moat’ section was filled with free to play with LEGO. We promised our little ones that we would come back to check it out once we’d dropped off our luggage in our themed room. The hotel has four different themes for their rooms, Kingdom, Pirate, Lego Ninjago, & Lego Friends.
For this trip, we opted for the kingdom-themed room, and it did not disappoint. There are so many fun details that you find walking towards and in your room! Did you know that there is also a treasure hunt in EVERY room for your kids (or you) to solve? Once solved, you get to open a treasure chest, which will reveal Lego-themed items for you to keep!
Each room has a separate kids’ area with free-range Lego for your kids to build with while you work to unpack and unwind. The TV in their area also has a special section that allows them to choose from a variety of Lego shows. During this trip, we became addicted to Lego Dreamzzz.
After our girls finished their treasure hunt and rejoiced in the new Lego and comic book they received, they remembered our promise to check out the massive Lego castle back in the hotel’s main area.
We walked back out and marveled at all the massive Lego statues that were dispersed around the hotel. Some even talked to us as we passed by! They had some of our favorite Lego Friends characters and also had some sets that were created on Lego Masters! When we arrived at the massive Lego castle, I noticed that right next to the play area was a bar seating area (serious bonus points to whoever designed this!). This meant that parents could watch their kiddos playing while sipping on something fun for themselves or getting meals delivered to their table. Thankfully, even though the area was small, it kept our kids entertained for the rest of the evening. Lego does a fun event before the end of the night where a worker leads the kids through different activities (dancing, running, etc), which helps get them ready for bed and is also fun for the entire family to engage in. The hotel also has fire pits outside; you can purchase smores kits from the tiny Lego store in the lobby. The only complaints I had about the hotel were that there are no outside playscapes for kids to enjoy and the arcade leaves so much to be desired.
Since the park is in such a secluded area, we knew most of our meals were going to be at the hotel or the park, but having visited Legoland California as vegans, we expected that it would be easy to eat at Legoland New York now that we were vegetarians. Boy, were we wrong. The food was so lackluster, and because the hotel had just reopened for the season, there were so many pain points that the staff were working through. It just made an already frustrating situation worse. I’m really hoping that they bring back more actual cooking and less microwaving meals.
The park itself was so much fun. During the opening ceremony, you were taught how to wave like a proper Lego person, and a lucky person was chosen from the crowd to pull the lever that ‘turns on the park.’
You’ll immediately hear kids asking workers if they’ve “Seen Mr. Gold?” This is another fun activity. The goal is to find the Legoland worker who has “Mr. Gold,” an illusive figure. If you find the right worker, you’ll receive a token that you can take to the ticket booth to receive a prize.
Another fun thing is that if you’ve brought a minifigure with you (or purchased one onsite), you can trade with workers and others who are willing to trade. It’s so fun to see the different creations that kids and adults create!
In total, we spent two days at the park, and we felt that this was enough time to enjoy all that it had to offer at that time. We were able to walk through the entire park, enjoy the different sections, and ride all the rides more than once. The second day, we focused on the rides that the girls wanted to do more than once, and we ended the trip with a massive purchase at the Lego store inside the theme park (my wallet is still mad at me).
I hope this breakdown provides some insight for you if you decide to take your family to this really fun place! I’m always happy to chat, so don’t hesitate to leave a comment with your question!
