A Look at Grapevine’s Legoland

Even before I had a kid, I wanted to go to Legoland. The California theme park has dozens of rides and attractions, a water park, and acres and acres of amazing Lego sculptures. And there’s a new one opening in Florida, too. But since it will likely be a few years before my family can make the trip to either one, I was intrigued by the opening of a much smaller version of Legoland right in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. We decided to check it out.

Legoland Discovery Center in Grapevine, Texas, is an indoor attraction that’s attached to the supersized Grapevine Mills Mall. It’s not a theme park, but it is a pretty decent attraction, and it provided some solid family entertainment. (Note: It’s a good thing I do have a kid now, because the Discovery Center does not allow adults who aren’t with kids.)

Here are some of the highlights from our visit.

• Kingdom Quest: This is Legoland Grapevine’s featured attraction, and it gets prime real estate just past the main entrance. It’s a knights ‘n’ castles-themed ride that snakes a four-person car slowly through a winding path. Each rider is given a laser gun and encouraged to shoot goblins, spiders, and trolls that pop up on large video screens on the walls. The scary parts were a bit worrisome to our 3-year-old son, and he didn’t want to ride it again, but it didn’t really upset him. Two older kids (5 and 6) in our group had a good time blasting their enemies and saving the golden dragon eggs.
• Merlin’s Apprentice: The other ride at Legoland Grapevine is a pretty standard cars-whirling-around-a-center-axis deal. Each car is a two-seater, and each seat comes equipped with pedals that control your vertical position (i.e., the faster you pedal, the higher up your car goes). This one was a big hit with all the kids in our group.
• Legos Studio 4D Cinema: We enjoyed this 15-minute 3D film about Bob the Builder and his attempts to make a roller coaster out of building bricks. It’s short enough that kids won’t fidget much, and there are nicely paced popping-out-of-the-screen effects that wowed the young audience we were with. The “4D” comes in when water is spilled in the movie — a fine mist of water sprays over the audience, an effect that caused plenty of giggles. There are also some wind and snow effects.
• Miniland: This one may interest parents more than kids. It’s a room full of tiny Lego buildings and structures, mostly replicas of Dallas and Fort Worth landmarks. They’re wonderfully crafted, and for fans of miniatures like me, they’re fascinating. But despite some cute motion effects here and there, it’s not that exciting for most kids.
• Lego City Play Zone: Honestly, this is just like any other play center climbing structure. It’s big, and kids like it, but it’s nothing special.
• Other attractions: We didn’t check out the Princess Parlor (we had all boys with us), we bypassed the Lego Racers track (too crowded), and the Duplo Village warranted only a stop-by (although it’s a good place to chill out with a toddler). The Lego Factory is only accessible when you first enter the Discovery Center, and it’s just a brief look at a few cartoon-y machines that supposedly make Lego bricks, accompanied by cheesy narration from a supposed Lego “scientist.” Honestly, we were so ready to get inside that this part just felt like an annoying delay.

Things to note:

• Tickets are $19 per person, with a 15% discount for buying online. (You also get to go to the shorter entry line with online tickets.) It’s free for kids age 2 and under. Everything is included in the ticket price except food and whatever you inevitably purchase at the gift shop on the way out.
• There are height restrictions for the rides and for some attractions, and kids must wear socks to go into the Play Zone. (They’re very serious about the socks, and will do a sock inventory on your party before you enter, and will sell you socks for $1 if you need them.)
• There’s a Lego Cafe selling drinks and snack foods, but no one was visible manning the counter when we sat down at the adjacent tables for a break, so it was lucky we’d brought our own snacks. (Note: Outside food and drinks are officially not allowed. But we were not busted for passing out juice and crackers! Go ahead and bust me now, Legoland — I dare you!)
• Yes, you can do birthday parties there — they have some dedicated rooms behind the Cafe.

If you’re not already in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I wouldn’t say Legoland Discovery Center is a reason to travel. (And there are similar Discovery Centers in Chicago, Atlanta, and Kansas City that might be closer to you.) But if you happen to be in the area, it’s a fun way to spend a few hours with the kids — especially when the Texas heat makes anything indoors feel like an air conditioned dream.

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