LEGOLAND Discovery Center Chicago with Kids
The Chicago LEGOLAND Discovery Center is an indoor attraction, which makes it the right call on a wet summer day and a questionable one on a perfect one. We went on a Thursday morning in July and came away with a list of things worth knowing before you go.
Before you go
Local library cards can be the cheapest way in. Several suburban systems lend buy-one-get-one passes for attractions including this one, and the code printed on the pass has to be entered at online checkout. Otherwise, buying online is cheaper than the door price, and the hours change by season, so check the specific date rather than assuming.
Arriving shortly after opening on a weekday is the quietest window. We had three school groups in the building and it still felt empty, because the groups moved as blocks and the rest of the floor stayed clear.
Food, and the allergy problem
If anyone in your group avoids gluten, bring food. The coffee shop keeps an allergen binder, but ours was out of date: a muffin listed as gluten free was not, once we checked the packaging in the office. The realistic options were a hot dog without a bun or a vegetable salad, and we took the salad.
Kids' meal deals run about six dollars for a sandwich, snack and drink, and around ten for a bigger sandwich or spread. For allergy families, the safe plan is a packed lunch and a conversation with a manager rather than a conversation with the menu.
The route we took
You start with a green screen family photo, available for purchase on the way out, then walk into Miniland, which is a brick-built downtown Chicago with a few surprises tucked into the skyline. From there it is a jungle expedition full of brick animals, then a Star Wars display next to a virtual reality race at six dollars a person, with a minimum age of six.
Kingdom Quest, a shooting ride to rescue a captured princess, frightened our three year old completely. Judge it by your own child, and know that there is no shame in walking past it.
Upstairs is where the time goes
The classroom upstairs runs builder sessions, and the friends zone next to it absorbed our daughter for over an hour of photographing models and assembling a jeep. The 4D cinema hands out glasses for a short film; a bug flying at the screen was enough to end that experience early for us, and there is a stated minimum age you can ask about in advance.
Merlin's Apprentice has no queue and a pedal mechanism that lifts the ride the faster you pedal. She rode it twice and stopped being nervous on the second lap. Pirate Adventure Island follows, with a climbing structure and a wheel to steer.
For the youngest visitors, the Duplo area is spacious, floored softly and has a small slide. The build and test ramp, where wheels are sent flying down a slope, was the surprise hit of the day, and every child there took turns without a single argument.
Leave the shop for last
The brick shop at the exit is organised in a way that deserves a photograph of its own. Budget a limit before you go in, because a room full of sorted parts will beat any list you brought with you.
What we would do differently
Arrive at opening rather than mid-morning, eat outside the building, and put the cinema earlier in the day so there is time to recover from it. Two hours is enough for the rides and the build areas; three is comfortable if your child wants a second pass at the workshops.
We left at lunchtime, and the nap that followed lasted longer than the visit itself.
Timing and tickets
Weekday mornings are the quietest, and the school groups that arrive mid-morning move as a single block, so the floor around them clears quickly. Online tickets are cheaper than the door, and library passes have to be entered as a code at checkout rather than shown at the desk.
Check the opening hours for your exact date, because they shift with the season and with school holidays. A two hour visit covers the rides, the build areas and one workshop; three hours is comfortable if your child wants a second go at the ramp.
What we would skip next time
The photo at the entrance and the cinema both take time that the build areas need more. We would do the workshops first, lunch outside the building, and leave the film for a day when the queue for it is short. Everything else earned its place, and the ramp where the wheels fly is still the thing everyone talks about afterwards.
Practical notes on the building itself
It sits inside a larger shopping complex, so parking is straightforward and there are places to eat beyond the coffee shop if you would rather not buy food inside. Lockers are available near the entrance, which is worth using if you are carrying a coat through a warm indoor space.
Toilets are on the same level as the build areas rather than downstairs, and there is a lift to the classroom floor, so a pushchair does not have to be folded for the upstairs rooms. Buggy parking outside the workshop door is clearly marked and we had no trouble finding a space mid-morning.
Weather, and why this one is different
Chicago in summer gives you two kinds of day, and this attraction only makes sense on the bad one. On a bright afternoon you will get more from the lakefront, the beach or a green space, and the indoor queue will be at its worst when every family in the city has had the same idea.
Check the forecast, and if there is a thunderstorm between eleven and two, this is where you take the children. Two dry hours inside beats an hour spent sheltering under a canopy with a pushchair and a plastic bag.