The newest addition to the LEGOLAND resorts family in the United States, is LEGOLAND New York. LEGOLAND NY is the 3rd LEGOLAND resort in the United States, joining California and Florida. As of 2023, all three US locations are Certified Austim Centers. Although our autism-friendly visit to LEGOLAND New York came before the certification, even then it was a positive experience!
There are a total of ten LEGOLAND Parks across the globe. LEGOLAND Hotel onsite is part of the resort property. 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 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. The parks are not huge, but there is a good amount of walking done for the day. We did explore all seven lands. We spent about 4 hours 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. The first ride of the day you see will be 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.
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 to feed all our of us!
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. You can
Welcome to LEGO City Driving School
The highlight of LEGO City for my kids were Driving School and Junior Driving School. After looking at YouTube videos of the park before visiting, we had already determined that those were the rides they wanted to experience most along with the Fire Academy Ride. Sadly, the Fire Academy wasn’t opened due to staffing. Previewing the rides online and on Youtube is always important for us to decide where to go when we arrive. We essentially create our own social story when we visit new places.
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 allow 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 Coat Guard Academy. Also, the newest addition the Water Playground will open in May 2024 is in LEGO City.
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 Dragon Coaster is open to guests who are at least 4 years old and 42 inches tall. Although the coaster looks pretty tame, at that point the 4-year old wasn’t up for standing in line. It’s a great first coaster for kids, and we will be riding it when we go back. If you have a smaller little, the Dragon’s Apprentice is for riders as small as 36 inches tall.
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. Thee 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 put his shades and ear buds.
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.
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.
I purchased tickets through an employee portal at work at a nice discount! 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.
Although the LEGOLAND Hotel looks awesome, it was a little pricey for the amount of time we would be there. We stayed at a nearby Fairfield Inn which hosted a lot of families visiting LEGOLAND that week. 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.
Perfect Timing for a Visit
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, day of week and many people still not knowing it was open at the time.
The park was very clean and well stocked with hand sanitizer at rides, at bathrooms and throughout the park.
LEGOLAND is completely cashless. You can use credit cards or Apple pay only, which limits contact. Entering the park you can print your tickets to be scanned or just download your tickets to your phone to be scanned.
Unfortunately, there were a few rides closed due to staffing issues. Also, it seemed like the rides that were operational, went very fast. The rides lasted 45 seconds to 2 min. Since there was only one person to operate the ride and do the safety check, I feel like they sped things up to keep it moving.
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.
