Journey to LEGOLAND®, New York

At one point, every room in my house had a Lego build in progress. That was how obsessed my daughter was with Legos. As she got older, her interests have widened but Legos still holds a special place in her heart and continues to cover her bedroom floor. It is still her safe retreat when she gets overwhelmed with the pressures of being a tweenager or the consistent loudness of her little brother. She still lights up when she finds out Lego Masters is on T.V. When I discovered a way for our family to get free LEGOLAND® tickets during the summer of 2024, I had to apply.

Merlin’s Magic Wand is an independent children’s charity that partners with Merlin Entertainment to offer families of children who are facing challenging circumstances the opportunity to visit one of Merlin Entertainment’s 140+ attractions across the globe. LEGOLAND®, Madame Tussauds, and SEA LIFE Aquariums are some of the brands included in this partnership. The application process is simple. Everything is online, but you will need to upload proof of eligibility. Please note that if you have more than one child who qualifies, your family can only apply once for this program. You can learn more about the program and how to apply at the Merlin’s Magic Wand website.

During the application process, you must select your location. When USA is selected, only options based in the US will show up for you to choose. For instance, LEGOLAND® UK was not an option for us to choose. We decided to go to LEGOLAND® New York because it was a five-hour drive from our home. Between work travel and credit card points, I also had enough points for a two-night stay at a hotel less than five minutes from the park. Yes, LEGOLAND® does have a themed hotel next to the park where we could have stayed. This is where you have to make some tough decisions. The program gave us 4 free one-day tickets and a free parking pass. Since I also had the means to get a free hotel stay, I did not want to spend $700 to stay at the park’s hotel. Would the themed hotel stay have enhanced the trip? Yes, it would have. The kids would have loved it, but we had just ended a summer of extensive travel and school was starting the next week. A $700 hotel stay was not in the budget. Food, tolls, and gas were our only out-of-pocket expenses for this trip.

We visited the park at the end of August and could not have asked for better weather. The temperature was 71 degrees with a slight breeze and overcast, but no rain. I must admit that I dropped the ball in planning this trip. I am normally very organized and would have researched all facets of the park and the Goshen, NY area. This trip was a last-minute add-on to our already packed summer and to be honest, I was just overwhelmed. I let the kids know that we were going to play it by ear and hope for the best.

LEGOLAND® NY is a Certified Autism Center according to their website. They provide certified staff, sensory guides, and a quiet room. I didn’t see anywhere on their website that they had a system like the Disney DAS program that allows you to skip the lines without paying for their Reserve & Ride service. Thankfully, the park wasn’t super busy, and we didn’t have very long wait times.

Remember when I said I didn’t do my normal research which would have included watching YouTube videos to help get a visual of the park layout and see the various attractions in action? Due to that error, we spent the first 30 minutes in line for what we thought was a ride, but it was a sky lift to get us to the lower end of the park. When we got down to the LEGO® Pirates area we realized that it was mostly water rides, and we didn’t want to get wet because it was chilly outside. Back up to the top, we went! After wandering for a bit we found our first ride, the LEGO® Factory Adventure Ride. At 35 minutes, this was the longest line we stood in all day. We also rode LEGO® NINJAGO® The Ride, The Dragon, and Jay’s Gravity Force Trainer during our visit. My kids love roller coasters. The park didn’t have the big thrill rides they craved, so they were underwhelmed by the rides. Honestly, I wish I had planned this trip two years earlier. From a ride perspective, my kids are at the point of aging out of what they would consider a “cool ride” at the New York location. I think the sweet spot age for this park is 6-8 years old.

Our hotel offered a breakfast buffet included with the stay, so we only ate lunch at the park. Hunger kicked in after we rode The Dragon, so we ate at Royal Feast. It is mobile order only and there are picnic tables with umbrellas to sit and eat. You are supposed to get a text when your food is ready, but I never received a text. When I decided to check on the food it was ready. We ordered two kids’ chicken tender meals, and my husband and I decided to split a double cheeseburger combo. Although the word combo implies a drink is included, it is not. The chicken tenders are served with chips and raisins, not fries. The kids’ food was fine, but our hamburger bun was cold and hard. There was no issue with exchanging it, and they also gave us another order of fries. The food was pricey but was quite good for park food. We were pleasantly surprised. We also tried veggie dumplings at Ninja Kitchen. These were also very good. As a foodie, I would have loved to sample more but didn’t have time. The park was only open 10 am – 6 pm. We arrived close to 11 am and with the ride wait times and getting oriented to where we were going, 6 pm came quickly.

There did seem to be a fair number of opportunities to build but my daughter is a germaphobe. She saw the smaller kids playing in the bins and was immediately turned off. We managed to catch a 4D movie at the Palace Cinema. It was a LEGO® Friends movie which pleased my daughter. Those are her favorite characters. When you go into the 4D cinema, prepare to have your senses ignited at every level. You are given 3D glasses as you enter. The cinema seats do everything from shaking, buzzing, and splashing you with wind and water. Depending on where you sit, you can get soaked.

By 6 pm we were beat! The park is not flat and there are many inclines and steps to traverse. The kids purchased some LEGO® sets with their allowance money before we left the park and went to the hotel. We had some authentic New York-style pizza delivered to the hotel from a local restaurant and slept like babies that night.

Finding a quiet place on this trip was a bit of a struggle. Thankfully my family members are not early risers, and I could have the bathroom all to myself in the wee hours of the morning. A hotel bathroom is not the most comfortable place to have your Daily Divine Date, but in a pinch, it will provide a peaceful retreat prior to starting a busy day.

Could this trip have gone better? Sure, but at the end of the day, we made some great memories and didn’t break the bank doing it. After experiencing LEGOLAND® NY, I’m curious to see if the California and Florida parks have a few more thrill rides geared toward older kids. Stay tuned for those and more adventures as we journey across the globe!

*Donna’s Travel Tip: If you want to combine a LEGOLAND® NY visit with a New York City trip, transportation can be arranged via COACH USA bus. There are roundtrip departures between Midtown Manhattan and LEGOLAND® NY during the park’s open season. More information on this service can be found here.