My husband has always loved Legos, and has wanted to visit LEGOLAND Discovery Center Kansas City since it opened a few years ago. When Baby finally dropped his morning nap, we were excited to take him with us for a visit.

While my husband grew up playing with Legos, I was less of a fan. I looked forward to watching him enjoy the day but didn’t really expect to love it myself. Lo and behold, after an hour and a half of Lego play, wonder, and adventure, I was having so much fun that I wanted to stay for longer. Unfortunately, nap time called.

LEGOLAND had two rides, Kingdom Quest near the entrance and Merlin’s Apprentice at the end. Kingdom Quest was fun and interactive story ride. Our carriage included laser guns to shoot the bad guys and kept score for hitting the targets (I won, but to be fair my husband was trying to play for himself and Baby). To ride, tots must be able to walk and sit on the seat (no lap sitting). It was a tiny struggle to get Baby settled in at first, but then he sat still between my husband and me. At the end, Merlin’s Apprentice looked awesome. It was like a carnival ride that rotated in a circle while the seats went up and down. Riders needed to be at least four feet tall, so we skipped that one for now.

Throughout LEGOLAND, I was mesmerized by all of the small details of each Lego structure, especially the ones that moved and lit up. I loved the Kansas City room, with it’s Lego replicas of many Kansas City landmarks, stadiums, fountains, and majestic Wizard of Oz scenes. My favorite part was when the overhead lights turned off, and all of the buildings were lit up from inside.

My husband thought LEGOLAND was really fun, but that Baby needed to be a little older so that he could do everything (i.e. play with little Legos and not choke, understand how Legos work, play in the big kids play area, interact more with the first ride, be tall enough for the second ride, etc).

Baby may not have understood or been able to participate in everything fully, but he still discovered and explored many things that helped promote his fine and gross motor development. Baby enjoyed going on the Kingdom Quest and watching the different scenes and figures light up and move.  He loved diving into the pools of Lego bricks throughout the center. He would climb into each baby pool sized pit, pull apart structures other kids left behind, and examine all the pieces (tasting many of them). He found every button in the exhibit and pushed it (even if he didn’t notice that the buttons made the legos behind the glass move), and we had to eventually carry him away against his protests from the big slide in the toddler area.

As we left, I picked up a copy of Lego Club Junior magazine, which was filled with Lego comics, word searches, connect the dots, and other fun puzzles. I learned that Lego Club and Lego Club Junior was more than just a magazine, but a program for kids to access games on the Lego Club website, Lego Club meetings at their local LEGO Store, receive six magazines a year in the mail, and learn about other fun events and activities. If you have or know a child who loves Legos, you can sign them up for Lego Club for free online.

All in all, LEGOLAND Discovery Center kept my toddler busy for over an hour, while we both had fun learning and exploring. Sometimes an hour of entertainment provided by someone else is exactly what this mama needs!

Have you been to a LEGOLAND Discovery Center? What “kids” attraction has been lots of fun for you as well?