With two boys, aged nine and five, our house if full of LEGO. Every Christmas and birthday for some time now has featured all kinds of LEGO sets on their lists so we jumped at the chance to visit the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Birmingham during the October half term holiday.
LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Birmingham is based in the Brindley Place part of the city on the canal – close to the Utilita Arena and the National Sea Life Centre.
There is a multi story car park right next door or like us, you can catch the train which takes just over an hour from Northampton station or Long Buckby is just under an hour.
It’s a fairy easy walk from New Street Station to Brindley Place – we chose to go through the Mailbox and out onto the canal. We felt safe with the little ones even later in the day when it was starting to get dark.
LEGOLAND Discovery Centre opened in Birmingham in 2018, following on from Manchester in 2010.
Best suited for families with little ones aged 3-10, the discovery centre in Birmingham features a Midlands-themed model city built from millions of LEGO bricks displaying 45 local and regional landmarks (including the Bull Ring, BT Tower, and the world's smallest Primark store) with day-to-night lighting effects.
The boys loved this area – particularly the interactive displays with their favourite being Villa Park – but all the models are seriously impressive.
The discovery centre features two magical rides – Kingdom Quest (a dark ride where you rescue a captured princess) and Merlin's Apprentice (a pedal-to-fly spinning ride).
Both were great fun for all the family and we didn’t have to queue for too long either.
Other attractions include the 4D cinema with special effects like wind, rain, and snow, the LEGO CITY soft play area, build and test zones (including earthquake simulation tables) and several different ramps which are hugely popular to send your creations on wheels flying down.
The discovery is in a relatively small area which is a good thing – little ones are free and safe to roam and play while grown ups can get involved with as much or as little as you like.
There is a coffee shop which is always a bonus and we easily filled three hours of fun going on the rides, watching the film, climbing in soft play, building cars and making huge towers.
I think they’d have happily stayed all day but we managed to drag them out with a quick visit to the LEGO store on the way out.
The LEGOLAND Discovery Centre is great value for money when you grab a deal from the website including adult and pre-schooler tickets and bundles to include the SEA LIFE Centre.
If you’re making the effort to travel to Birmingham for the day I’d recommend combining the SEA LIFE Centre to get the best value for money and as it’s right next door then it’s an easy win.
There is something quite magical about SEA LIFE and with Christmas around the corner, there is an extra bit of sparkle for visitors.
Families can enjoy afestive underwater adventure this Christmas with the chance to meet Santa in his magical grotto beneath the waves.
As part of the experience, visitors can explore thousands of fascinating marine creatures, including sharks, rays, tropical fish and sea turtles, before stepping into Santa's enchanting winter wonderland. There, children can share their Christmas wishes with Santa and his cheerful elves before receiving a special festive gift to take home and enjoy.
There is also a family activity trail – The Sea Star Search with The Elf on the Shelf – running from November 20 to December 24.
Visit the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre and National SEA LIFE Centre websites for more information.
