LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Ninjago City Adventure Review
Reviewed by David Savage
It has been a while since we visited LEGOLAND Discovery Centre in the intu Trafford Centre, Manchester, as once they removed the soft play frame this didn’t leave much for the younger, smaller children to do. This was removed while the centre was being redesigned and new attractions put in place.
As we are Merlin Annual Pass holders we recently went back for a quick visit (we only had a spare hour so will be going back to explore some more very soon) after a 3 month absence, and while the children miss the soft play the additions have been well received. Along with some of the old familiar LEGO Factory Tour, Kingdom Quest ride, Miniland, LEGO 4D Cinema attractions LEGOLAND Discovery Centre have extended the eating area and added LEGO® Ninjago™ City Adventure play feature, and the kids loved this!
The new play area is 3 storeys of fun (please note that this is not a soft play area. The floors are hard so shoes are required to be left on. This wasn’t made quite clear when we visited and everybody was taking their shoes off – better signage may be needed). This three-tiered Ninjago themed temple saw the children (4 year old twins) disappear for the hour and when I had to go in and retrieve them they were visibly happy and tired from running around the structure.
Also added, is a rotating climbing wall (Treadwall) which allows children to practice their climbing skills using either the bars on foot and hand holds. 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 the children spent all the time in the Ninjago play area we didn’t get time to try anything else but the enjoyed themselves and had a great time and we will be back soon to try out the rest of the centre.
So for our brief visit the kids loved it. While the children miss the soft play the improved play area is going down very well. I would say that signage needs to be improved regarding shoes issue and more seating could be put in place for waiting adults (there is plenty of seating in the café area if you are eating or drinking).
We hope to be back in the next week or two to explore some more and as an annual pass holder we can visit as often as required and explore at our leisure as well as visiting all the other Merlin attractions around the country.
Rating: 4/5
Tickets for LEGOLAND Discovery Center 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
