Now you might be wondering why Legoland Discovery Centre is having a launch. If you live in the Northwest area you’ll probably realise that Legoland Discovery Centre has been there for many years already. Even a fantastic place like Legoland Discovery Centre needs a facelift every so often!

This week we were kindly invited down to a VIP launch night for Legoland Discovery Centre. Keen showcase it fabulous attractions including the new Lego Ninjago City adventure.

As existing Merlin Annual Pass holders, we have been regulars visitors to the Legoland Discovery Centre. We live quite close so are lucky that we can pop in frequently. The Legoland Discovery Centre can be found at Barton Square (part of the Trafford Centre).

You may think that the attraction being based at a shopping centre wouldn’t be that big but you’d be wrong. You initially enter via the ground floor but are quickly directed upstairs and through the Lego factory tour where Professor Brick explains all about how lego is made. This is possibly my eldest favourite part, he knows it word for word he’s been through that many times. He still always wants to watch though. I won’t describe the whole process as I don’t want to spoil it for your first visit!

Once through the factory the first thing you will come across is the Lego Ride. It’s a good idea to ride it at this point. Although you can go back once inside the main area the children probably won’t want to leave!

What’s New?

This is the first time we’ve been back to Legoland Discovery Centre since the fantastic refurb and the boys were impressed. A whole new soft play area. The previous one was looking tired and a change is always great. It’s now Ninjago themed with a great ballpool area.

We were also surprised to see a moving climbing wall has been installed too, this looks like great fun.

The other thing thats been updated is the cafe. Previously the cafe offered a range of sandwiches, sweet treats and drinks. With an eating area just adjacent to the cafe.

Theres a new seating area too which looks much nicer than the older picnic bench style seating.

We were very glad to see that old favourites were still there, the go kart ride and the wizard ride as well as the build and race area.

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And one of the boys favourite the 4D cinema!

New attractions alongside the new play area also include a Creative Workshop and a Circus area. We didn’t get chance to do either on the launch night as we ran out of time. The play area really did keep their attention for quite a while!

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Of course any day out wouldn’t be complete with a visit to the gift shop and as you’d expect the Legoland Discovery Centre shop is floor to ceiling lego. With something for every budget you’re sure to find so the right thing to come home with to remember your trip.

Thanks to Legoland Discovery Centre for inviting us down to see the new attractions, we’ll be back soon!

The Legoland Discovery Centre does get busy at weekends and school holidays so I’d advise you to book online to guarantee entry. Prices start from just £11 per child and £15 per adult when purchased in advance online. For more information and to buy tickets, please visit the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre website.

Last night we were invited to the opening of Winter Wonderland Manchester 2015! It is in the huge exhibition space at Eventcity next to the Trafford Centre. I had been last year for a nosey around to see what it was like but didn’t take the children, so I knew what to expect and knew the boy would love it. I certainly wasn’t wrong!

The entrance built the excitement for the rest of the evening, the pretend snow was a hit with both boys and the grand sign certainly looked the part!

Winter Wonderland Manchester

 

 

Winter Wonderland Manchester

The boy was practically dragging us over the entrance to get inside. It is advertised as the UK’s largest indoor theme park and it certainly is big. I believe there are over 40 rides. I’d say about 75% of the rides at Winter Wonderland Manchester are for younger children between about 4 and 12. There are some for the older ones but not too many. The boys seemed the perfect age to get the most out of the evening.

Winter Wonderland Manchester – The Rides

Winter Wonderland Manchester

Winter Wonderland Manchester

His first ride was teacups which we already know he loves, this one like many of the rides was children only. We enjoyed watching his face light up on each ride, it really was lovely to see!

Winter Wonderland Manchester

Winter Wonderland Manchester

Winter Wonderland Manchester

I have to admit my heart was in my mouth a little when he asked to go on a ginormous inflatable slide. He’s not been on one before and I had imagined I’d be clambering up after him to bring him down when he got to the top and chickened out. I explained that once he was at the top he’d have to come down the slide and he seemed completely up for it. I needn’t have worried, he flew away from us at speed, up the ladder and down the massive slide many times. Way too fast for me to capture a decent photo!

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There were a lot of inflatable attractions, which was great as it meant none of them were crowded and you could usually just get straight on. Some of them were timed so that everyone got a set amount of time but it never seemed too long before he was on for a play.

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Refreshments

As it was an evening session and past the boys bedtime (all be it a Friday night) we didn’t want to stay too long as tears had already happened a couple of times, so we decided to stop for a quick refreshment before finishing the evening with the sooty show and a couple of rides. There is quite a lot of choice, from the usual fairground fare to the more unusual things that you wouldn’t expect like noodles. We had already had dinner earlier in the evening so we just looked for a snack. The boy choose a snowman muffin which I asked to but cut in half for them to share, at £2.50 it certainly wasn’t a cheap snack but I had a nibble and it was pretty tasty. The sugar hit kept him going long enough to have a good end to the evening.

Sooty Show

There were quite a few different shows advertised for the entertainment but the one the boy didn’t want to miss was Sooty, such a classic! It had him laughing out loud with the usual slapstick comedy style. There were lots of children at the front dancing and joining in but it’s not my boys style, he’d much prefer to sit and watch, so that’s exactly what we did.

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Once the show was over I put a limit of two more rides before it was time to leave. He picked a flying balloon ride and one that goes round quite quickly ( I have no other way to describe it!)

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By now it was way past bedtime for both of the boys (Flixster had spent the evening enjoying the lights sounds and attractions from his buggy…oh and half a muffin!!) so tired and happy we headed back home for bed. On the way home the boy asked if we could go again next year. I think that was a resounding hit with him then!

Winter Wonderland is open from now until 3rd January at Eventcity next to the Trafford Centre Manchester. Being at the Trafford Centre theres loads of free parking. The day is split into a morning session and an afternoon session.Each session lasts 4 hours and include all rides, The Sooty Show, the Christmas Circus, a Magic Show and a Meet & Greet with Santa!

Tickets & Prices – Winter Wonderland Manchester EventCity

Adult £19.50
Child (3 – 16) £19.50
Family £64.00
OAP £14.00
Child (Under 3s) Free – Ticket not required

Tickets  to Winter Wonderland Manchester can be booked online here or bought on the door.