Moms’ Guide to Legoland Discovery Center Kansas City

When you’re planning your summer stops, make sure Legoland Discovery Center in Kansas City is built into your schedule. From racing high-speed, kid-made cars to flying on a magical ride, there’s plenty to keep your kids (and you) entertained.

Planning Your Visit

child watching rock concert made out of LegosLegoland Kansas City is in the Crown Center complex at 2475 Grand Avenue. If you park in the Crown Center parking garages, Legoland will give you a validation good for six hours of free parking. It’s also an easy walk from the Kansas City Streetcar stop at Union Station — just take The Link through Union Station to Crown Center, walk to Halls, and at the back of the store, you’ll find directions and an elevator to take you down to the Legoland entrance. Legoland is connected to Sea Life Aquarium, and if you visit both in the same day, you get a significant discount on admission! Right now, Legoland does not accept cash, so bring your card or visit Crown Center guest services to purchase a gift card you can use at Legoland. Legoland is open from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. on the weekends. Plan to spend about 2-3 hours inside.

Special Attractions and Everyday Fun

child in front of Ninjago Curiosity posterA trip to Legoland is always special, thanks to a rotating program of fun, seasonal events and programs! Be sure to check the Legoland website to find out who special events are occurring during your visit.

Legoland also features plenty of entertaining attractions no matter when you visit. There are two permanent rides in the building, Kingdom Quest and Merlin’s Apprentice. Both feature appropriate thrills for all ages, but kids must be at least 3 feet tall to ride with an adult on Merlin’s Apprentice and at least 30 inches tall to ride with an adult on Kingdom Quest. Dad and son riding Legoland attractionOlder kids (ages 6 and up) can try a LEGO VR racing experience, and kids of all ages can enjoy a 4D movie with 3D glasses and special effects like wind and rain in the LEGO 4D Cinema.

For the kid who needs to blow off some energy, there’s a play structure with tunnels, slides, and a rotating cylinder, including a separate toddler play area. A permanent Ninjago game lets kids race through obstacles. For younger kids, a DUPLO area has lots of large, soft blocks, a truck, and larger DUPLO blocks to play with. KC residents and guests alike will marvel at Miniland, a LEGO recreation of local favorites like Downtown Kansas City, a Wizard of Oz scene, and local sports arenas. Make sure to look for the buttons to try out each scene’s special effects.

And, of course, there are lots of opportunities for your kids to build their own LEGO creations — a race car creation and racing station, a city full of buildings, a train track, a pizza shop, and an art gallery all wait for your kiddo to add their own flair with the provided LEGO bricks.

Food Options

child making his own lego pizza in a lego brick ovenLegoland doesn’t allow outside food and drinks, so plan for those rumbling tummies in advance. Legoland has its own café right inside with snacks like nachos and drinks like Starbucks coffee and sodas. If you’re hungry for a bigger meal, Crown Center has lots of family-friendly restaurants like Fritz’s, Spin!, and Unforked nearby. A trip to Legoland is also a great excuse to visit Chip’s for some of their famous fudge.

Mom Tips for Legoland

  • Plan to spend some time (and money) in Legoland’s gift shop. Legoland’s shop offers much more than your average souvenirs, including advanced LEGO build kits, characters from franchises like Harry Potter and Star Wars, and lots of bricks!child in Legoland gift shop
  • Single strollers are welcome, but the building itself isn’t very large, so a smaller stroller or baby carrier might be your best bet.
  • Make sure you bring socks for Legoland’s playground.
  • If your kids have sensory issues, Legoland has lots of noises and quite a bit of foot traffic. They do have a Quiet Zone if you ask staff, and your best bet is visiting on a weekday if you’d like to avoid the crowds.
  • With small bricks everywhere, be cautious with young toddlers and babies in Legoland. There’s nothing faster than a wild toddler with a handful of LEGOs and an open mouth. The sweet spot for bringing your kids to Legoland is ages 3-10.
  • Build with your kids! Ask them questions about their creations, make your own LEGO art for the gallery wall, and race a car next to your kid. It makes the trip feel more special for them and helps time pass a little more quickly for you.
Valerie Stark
A firm believer that the Midwest is all that and a tator tot casserole, Valerie moved to KC after graduating from Mizzou in 2013. She’s been married to her husband Josh since 2015, and together they’re raising two adorable, tiny human fireworks: a preschooler named Finnian and baby Olliver. Valerie spends her workdays making greeting cards while Josh wins at the stay-at-home-dad game by teaching the Stark brothers words like “yee-haw” and going on field trips for Costco rotisserie chicken. When she isn’t tracking down a new place to drag her family to, you can find her blasting showtunes, sharing (very poorly) wine with friends, reading, listening to true crime podcasts, or near cheese. You can’t find her playing kickball, so don’t even try. Valerie, Josh, Finn, and Ollie shoot for put-together, but settle for put-on-pants—and they love every second of their reasonably-chaotic life.