LEGOLAND Discovery Centre and SEA LIFE Manchester Review
LEGOLAND Discovery Centre and SEA LIFE Manchester
www.legolanddiscoverycentre.co.uk
www.visitsealife.com
Reviewed by Lisa Lambert
I visited LEGOLAND Discovery Centre and SEA LIFE Manchester yesterday with my children Kaitlin age 10, Jack who is 7 and the twins aged just 22 months. Both are based in Barton Square at the Intu Trafford Centre and are really easy to get to from the M60 or surrounding Manchester areas.
We arrived at 10am just as they were opening so the carpark was empty and really easy to park, but a point to note is if there is a big event on at event city next door or weekends I could imagine the carpark gets quite busy so allow extra time to find a space.
We decided to go to LEGOLAND Discovery Centre first and we were greeted by very friendly staff there was an issue with our booking but it was sorted very swiftly and tickets were issued to us straightaway.
We were offered to purchase for £3 a top secret mission card which has questions fact and missions to complete on your way round and you can collect stamps from the various rides and locations.
There was also a Halloween trail/questionnaire you could take part in and be entered to win prizes if you got all the answer correct, it was really simple and Kaitlin enjoyed this more than Jack as he was just keen to get on the rides and see the movies.
As you enter the experience you go into the LEGO factory and they tell you lots of facts about how LEGO is made so how its starts out as a LEGO goo and the temperature it is heated at and the pressure applied to make the LEGO shapes. They use audience participation in this and get the kids involved by making them power the machine to make LEGO bricks which are printed with the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre logo and each child gets one at the end of the factory experience. I think this is a nice little touch and even Edward and Euan got one to take home.
As you leave the factory you are direct to the ride Kingdom Quest and this is a ride that everyone can go on even the twins could have a go. You had to save the princess and using a laser gun as you go round you shoot the bad people to save the princess and you get a score. You sit in an electric car for this and there is a digital score for each gun 5 people can sit in any once cart so we all went on together and Kaitlin won on points.
Once you leave the Kingdom Quest you go through to Miniland and this is fab it’s all miniature sites from around the country made out of LEGO, some move as well and you can have a game of football Manchester City vs Manchester United. Alton towers is featured and has the oblivion ride which moves, we had to count the ghost on this one for the Halloween game. There is Blackpool tower, parts of Manchester, the Peak District and more to look at.
Once you leave Miniland you get to the main part of the Discovery Centre where all the rides are and the café so you can enjoy a coffee or some food. There is a soft play are in the centre which was great for the twins as well as DUPLO land in the far corner. They were too small for the rides but they did enjoy the 4d theatre.
Jack was just the right age and height for all the rides and really enjoyed going on the police cars and both Kaitlin and Jack enjoyed the flying witch cars. There is a LEGO Fiends area to the rear for the girls with karaoke and lots of LEGO building stations which are all over this are to let the children build their own creation and there’s a DUPLO station for the little ones as well.
The kids had a brilliant time they Kaitlin and Jack visited the 4d theatre and watched Chima and then me and the boys went with them to watch a 2nd show and they loved it even the boys sat and watched as they only lasted about 10 minutes and that was just the right length.
The café offer drinks and refreshments and these seemed reasonably priced especially for being inside and attraction, we were advised you couldn’t take a packed lunch in but we did see people with their own sandwiches and snacks some maybe worth checking again on what the policy is.
We actually left LEGOLAND Discovery Centre very happy after about 2½ hours of fun and we knew we had to option to go back in later that day should we wish to by just showing our tickets.
We popped over to the Orient in the Trafford centre for lunch before we went in to the SEA LIFE Centre and this was really easy to do using the connecting bridge.
We arrived at the SEA LIFE centre and again there was an issue with the booking but the staff sorted it very quickly and professionally and issued our tickets. We were given a booklet to complete on the way around the centre with questions and stamps you can get at various stations. Kaitlin enjoyed doing this but Jack was more interested in seeing this fish.
We proceeded into the attraction and we were greeted by a lady who asked would we like to see the projection show about turtles, to which we said yes. It was brilliant there was a projection onto sand and water and she told you all about turtles how they were born and how the migrate around the world. This was very informative and a great little show opener if you like.
We then progressed on and into to see the fishes and other sea life they have around the centre. The kids were amazed at the first stop how you could climb under a tank and pop your head in a dome and they thought this was brilliant. The fish were amazing. As you go round next to the tanks there are touch screen that tell you all about the species in each tanks and important facts I liked these are they were educational. You could also read boards that had key fact all around as you walked through.
When you reach the centre of the SEA LIFE there is a small soft play are which is great for Edward and Euan and a little break in between it all for them as it had been a long overwhelming day for them by this point and they enjoyed being able to run around for a while, you can grad a drink in this section as well while the kids play. There was also a well-equipped colouring station which the kids could do their own pictures so definitely something for all ages.
After playing for a while we moved on and you the next room which was all about crabs and had some hands on experiment to try which the kids liked as it was something different than just fish swimming. Once through here you could actually touch some crabs and star fish in a tank the kids seemed a bit stand-off at first but got their hands in and had a try.
At the end of the experience there is a giant interactive screen that you have to help the crabs by getting rid of all the rubbish and like any other 7 years old boy technology mad jack loved this and had 2 goes.
Once you leave the attraction you are taken into the SEA LIFE shop where you can buy lots of keepsakes to take home which I thought were reasonably priced.
Both LEGOLAND Discovery Centre and SEA LIFE take your pictures on arrival and you can purchase these and other that are taken on the rides, they have various offers and products you can buy like all attractions offer these day. We didn’t purchase any on this occasion as we didn’t like the pictures.
Overall we had a fantastic day and I know I will have missed some things out but we had a fab time and were so busy all day and the kids really enjoyed every second of it definitely something I will do again when the twins are a little bit older.
Rating: 5/5 
Combi tickets for LEGOLAND Discovery Centre and SEA LIFE Manchester cost £23 per person (£20 if booked online in advance).
For more information or to book tickets online visit www.legolanddiscoverycentre.co.uk or www.visitsealife.com.
Barton Square, The Trafford Centre, Manchester, M17 8AS
