LEGOLAND New York the 3rd LEGOLAND resort in the United States, joining California and Florida. As of 2023, all three US locations are Certified Austim Centers. Our visit took place before the certification was earned.
There are a total of ten LEGOLAND Parks across the globe. Designed for kids age 2-12, LEGOLAND delivers on the fun for this age group. Even if your kids are not LEGO fanatics (mines are not), there is something for all adults and kids alike. You know because at LEGOLAND, everything is awesome (pun intended). LEGOLAND Hotel onsite is part of the resort property.
LEGOLAND Certified Autism Centers
To receive the certification, LEGOLAND had to meet requirements set by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards. To acheive the accreditation, at least 80 percent of LEGOLAND’s staff has recieved specalized training and is certified in the field of autism. That means that the LEGOLAND NY staff and the LEGOLAND Hotel staff trained to ensure guests on the autism spectrum or with other sensory disorders can enjoy the kids-friendly theme park.
They have developed extensive sensory guides for all attractions so you can understand what the attraction experience is like. These guides rate the sensory level of the attraction regarding touch, taste, sound, smell and sight. These guides were not available on our first trip to LEGOLAND which lead to bit of an overstimulation experience on one of the rides I’ll share a little later.
Other autism-friendly options for guests include a quiet room, companion rest rooms, quiet-rooms and the Assisted Access Pass for guests who have difficulties waiting in line.
Exploring the LEGOLAND lands
LEGOLAND NY has seven themed lands spread across 150 acres: Brickstreet, Bricktopia, LEGO NINJAGO World, LEGO Castle, LEGO City, LEGO Pirates and Miniland. We exploreed all seven lands. We spent about 4 hours total at the park. The majority of our time was spent in LEGO Pirates, Miniland and LEGO City.
You enter the park on Brickstreet and you are greeted by the LEGO store, or The BIG Shop as it is called. There you can find unique LEGO sets and items that are only available in the store. I fully intended to purchase sets for the kids but they didn’t seem too interested. The prices weren’t too bad.
Brickstreet is also where you can find things like stroller rentals, locker rentals and guest services. On entry the first ride was saw was Brick Party, or what most people would call a merry-go-round. It was our first ride of the day.
We then moved into Bricktopia where we enjoyed the Duplo Express train. I’m pretty short so I was able to squeeze onto it with the kids. On our way out of the park, after we’d seen everything we set out to see, we made another pass through Bricktopia to ride a few more attractions.
Preparing for our LEGOLAND visit with a sensory story
A few weeks before our trip I pulled up LEGOLAND videos on YouTube for the kids to watch. IT helps when planning trips to new places or experiences for my son to see videos or pictures. Knowing what he may see and experience helps reduce some anxiety. We essentially create our own social story before we visit new places.
Based on those videos my kids were able to see the rides and decide which ones they wanted to ride most. Previewing the rides online and on Youtube is always important for us to decide where to go when we arrive. The Driving School and the Fire Academy Ride caught his attention the most in LEGO City. The highlight of LEGO City for my kids were Driving School and Junior Driving School. Sadly, the Fire Academy wasn’t opened due to staffing.
The Driving School is for ages 6-13 while Junior Driving School is for ages 3-5. I had one child in each age range. The attractions allows little drivers to make their way around and through obstacles all while driving mini cars. At the end, they get their “driver’s license”.
LEGO City also had neat attractions like the Ocean Explorer and Coast Guard Academy. Also, the Water Playground that opened in May 2024 is in LEGO City.
The monuments in Miniland
Miniland is a collection of miniature LEGO builds of landmark places in the world. The monuments in Miniland take you to the San Fransisco Bay Bridge, the Las Vegas Strip, Washington DC, Mount Rushmore and more! It was my favorite of the parks. The details, the intricate nature of the builds, the complexity was so good! Even while walking slowly and taking your time, it’s just so much to take in.
LEGO City Pizza and other eats
Pizza is a safe food around our house. So, no surprise, eating at Brickolini’s Pizza and Pasta found in LEGO City was pretty much our only choice. The pizza and pasta restaurant is a buffet. It cost a little over $50 for the four of us to access the buffet and unlimited soft drinks. A bit pricey considering the day before we had 2 slices of NYC pizza for $9 that fed us all!
The pizza selection was good and pretty tasty. I found the pasta to be bland. They do have Coke machines that let you create and mix any flavor of Coke products you like. I wasn’t too impressed by the dessert options either. The food definitely wasn’t the high point for me.
There are other dining options in the park including Ninja Kitchen, Everything Taco, City Dogs and others. I’ve heard great things about the famous Granny’s Apple Fries, but unfortunately didn’t get to try them.
The land of LEGO Pirates
In the land of LEGO Pirate you might get a little wet, but that is part of the fun. We didn’t get on Splash Battle, the ride is set up so that you can engage with the riders. They can spray you with water cannons and you can try and spray them at the same time. It was a fun way to interact with the ride without going through a line.
The other pirate themed rides like Anchor’s Away! and Rouge Riders looked fun as well. The kids spent a fair amount of time running through the Shiver Me Bricks playground.
The Dragon Coaster
LEGLOAND was made for smaller kids, so you won’t find a bunch of big thrill rides but you will find the Dragon Coaster. If you are into thrill rides and coasters, check out my review of Cedar Point Amusement park, the roller coaster capital of the world.
The other rides in LEGO Castle like Merlin’s Flying Machines and Tower Climb look like fun too. We did explore the gift shop in the castle to find a few keepsakes. Also, there was another food court in this section of the park
Unfortunately, many of the smaller food stands throughout the park that have drinks, popcorn and ice cream were closed due to understaffing at the time of our visit.
Ninjago World and back to Bricktopia
When we reached Ninjago World, we didn’t spend a lot of time there. The rides just weren’t as interesting for my kids. In the Ninjago World is also were we had an unexpected experience on one of the rides.
The LEGO Factory Adventure Ride is exclusive to LEGOLAND NY and found in Bricktopia. You get to experience what it’s like to be a LEGO toy, getting boxed and shipped to your new home. While waiting to get to the ride, The Factory has neat Lego builds that make you feel like you are in the Lego factory. We didn’t see the actual ride until we reached the boarding area for the car that takes you through the ride.
When we reached the ride (which was quick because there was almost no line) we were immediately concerned. We didn’t know that the ride was dark and loud. For most kids, that’s fun but for some kids with sensory processing challenges or autism it can be quickly overwhelming. We checked with my son to see if he was willing to try and he agreed. We were able to give him my shades and cover his ears with ear buds (this was before he started wearing ear defenders).
He snuggled in next to dad for the whole ride but made it through okay with no tears or meltdown. The ride itself was pretty cool and my husbands favorite part, but a perfect example of how the since added sensory signs would have helped us know what to expect. We would have likely just taken turns and let my son skip. These signs are so valuable to special needs visitors!
This particular ride on a scale of 1-10 is rated 4 for touch, 0 for taste, 8 for sound, 9 for sight and 3 for smell. The sensory guide will be super helpful for future visits when we return.
Arrival at LEGOLAND New York
We arrived a few minutes before the park opened. Although there was a line to get inside, it moved rather quickly. You have to go though the security scanner of course. We were able to bring into the park a backpack with two water bottles and some snacks with no problems.
Parking was simple and easy. You actually just drive right into LEGOLAND and follow the directions and parking lot attendants to the next open spot. At the time of our visit, parking was $20 when pre-paid and $25 if you paid on exit. If you pre-pay, you just scan the barcode on your receipt to get out of the lot, otherwise you can use a debit/credit card to pay and exit.
Perfect timing for a Visit to LEGOLAND
Our family visit was in late August, about a month after the park opened in 2021. We chose to spend a few days in the Hudson Valley region of New York State and dedicated a full-day to LEGOLAND. We went on a Tuesday because it’s usually less crowded. Also, there was also a promotion on tickets for Tuesday visits at the time.
Tickets for adults (13+) were $79.99 and ages 3-12 $69.99. Ticket prices can vary by day and month so do your research. Also, there are commonly discounts and promotions on the LEGOLAND website. There are also two cateories of annual passes available. You can also get a discount when you book a package with a stay at Legoland Hotel. We did not stay at the LEGOLAND hotel for this visit but chose one of their partner hotels, a nearby Fairfield Inn. It was only about 1.5 miles away. There are a number of partner hotels within a few miles of the park that offer ticket packages.
I purchased tickets through an employee portal at work at a nice discount (ticketsatwork.com). I paid $188 for all four tickets (including tax and an administrative fee). That was by far the best deal I found.
Visiting the Hudson Valley and LEGOLAND
Located in Goshen, NY, LEGOLAND is just 60 miles north of New York City. You can catch a flight to any of the major New York City or New Jersey airports and drive to the park in 1-2 hours (traffic varies). You can easily extend your trip and spend some extra time in NYC or in the gorgeous green Hudson Valley.
We actually drove to past LEGOLAND to make a very quick pit stop in New York City. It was my kids first NYC experience. Like most people on their first time the city, the bright lights and big buildings left them in awe. The highlight seeing the Empire State building of course, an authentic slice of NYC pizza. We drove back up to LEGOLAND and checked into our hotel in the Hudson Valley.
During our visit to the park in late August, it was busy but not crowded and very hot. We were able to move freely without being shoulder to shoulder with large groups of people. I attribute the lack of crowds to the time of year and day of week.
We do our best to visit places during non-peak visit times of day or year. Smaller crowds are easier to navigate and usually result in shorter lines.
Overall, we had a good time at LEGOLAND and we plan on going back. Even prior to becoming a Certified Autism Center I felt that it was an austim-friendly destination.
