BayLUG members Chris C. and family attended, and provided us with this report.

The later half of 2023 has been a very busy year for the LEGOLAND Discovery Center Bay Area with a number of updates, changes, new experiences and special events. Historically over the first few years of the Discovery Center’s opening, there hasn’t been a lot of updates to the experience other than the occasional seasonal themed minifig hunt or special classes. The second half of 2023 however introduced us to a few major changes to the location experiences.

Dreamzzz

In summer 2023 LEGO kicked off a new line of LEGO branded Dreamzzz. This line not only launched a series of new sets but also was aligned with a new TV show that aired on Netflix, Hulu and many other streaming services to get as much awareness as possible. In addition, locations like the Discovery Center had special events and new experiences. The first new experience that was added this summer was the Dreamzzz 4D movie experience. My kids were hyped about the show and the sets and they loved them but when it came to the 4D show it was really lacking and uninteresting. There are very few lines in the show (only the character names) and there is no clear story line just kids having a dance party that gets attacked. This show is probably the least interesting out of all of the 4D experiences. This is still worth seeing but is not worth the hype and was disappointing. Given how interesting the TV show is, it is a bit disappointing to see this show as it lacks in creativity but be sure to check out the show on Netflix as its well worth the watch. The kids were disappointed with this one and we would rate this 4D show 4/10

Dots

Also this summer the Discovery Center added a new Dots experience where attendees can design dots patches to be displayed at the center on a totem pole style display which gets reset every few days. In addition, kids can take an 8×8 plate home with a dots design that they make at the center. This is a great time burner and is a nice addition to the brick playing areas as it’s a different approach to play and creativity. The kids really enjoyed this and this would be rated at an 8/10

Other Updates

There have been a number of other updates over the last few months and here is a short breakdown with ratings:

• Dreamzzz branding and photo ops (5/10)
• New LEGO Friends life-size build displays (7/10)
• Removal of less used brick pits for giant fuzzy bricks (2/10)
• New activity workshop builds and events (8/10)
• New Minifig search and find events and buttons (7/10)
• Brick Built Board games (checkers / tik-tak-toe etc.) (6/10)
• Giant working roller coaster display (9/10)
• More active minifig trading (10/10) the kids love this!

Sales and Tickets

For those of you who have not yet visited the Discovery Center we would highly recommend it. There are special events every few months and fun activities for kids. For those of you older fans their Adult Nights are also fun activities where you can compete in build events and experience other scheduled activities in addition to experiencing the other offerings of the center. We have season passes for the family as the kids love the fun activities and events and if you act quick you may be able to get some sweet discounts with their Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals so be sure to check around for those discounts or on the back of your most recent poly bags 😊

In partnership with Fairy Bricks, BayLUG was able to donate over 200 new LEGO® sets to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in San Francisco and Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera this last year.

“We were down to our last 3 boxes of LEGO®, but that definitely is not the case now. Thank you for the amazing connection to Fairy Bricks and a very generously sized donation,” said Cindy Kwong, Community and Volunteer Liaison for Child Life Services at UCSF.

Fairy Bricks is a U.K.-based charity that was founded in 2012 solely to give LEGO to children in hospitals and hospices. BayLUG began partnering with the organization in 2021 during the pandemic.

“It’s just great that we can help get LEGO into the hands of children who really love and appreciate it,” said Russell Clark, President of BayLUG. “We’re working with Kevin [at Fairy Bricks] to see if we can fundraise and donate to additional hospitals each year.”

If you would like to help expand the number of sets available to donate, please consider a gift of funds during BayLUG events.

 

BayLUG members Chris C. and family attended, and provided us with this report.

From July 18^th to Aug 14^th 2022 the Legoland Discovery Center was host to their second Ninjago Training Camp. This camp hosted a collection of special interactive and upgraded experiences at the Discovery Center for Ninja of all ages to enjoy during the summer season. Similarly to their other annual events, this event hosted a number of small change to their normal offerings as well as a few smaller but new activities as “The path we seek is never a straight line”…MW

When you first enter the Center you are welcomed with a special themed photo opportunity and you are presented with special Ninja headbands representing the various characters from Ninjago. This helps sets the stage as once you enter the main center, you will notice that there are Ninjago themed decorations and music playing throughout the venue but don’t worry there are no snakes around as you can “Never trust a snake”… MW

In addition to the normal attractions, there are a few new or revised attractions for the event. One of the main events is a “Hide and Seek” style event where you can search for the 7 main characters from Ninjago who are hiding in Miniland to earn yourself a special Ninjago collectible token. In addition, the Ninjago 4D attraction seems to be scheduled more often and there are Ninjago themed posters and branding throughout the other attractions trying to apply a virtue of Ninjago to that activity to tie it to the event. The Ninjago section of the Center also seems to be refreshed with new brick and additional figs for guests to play with as well as a new “balance the scales” activity which is basically just a scale built out of lego that you can mess around with which can be tricky but “Ninja never quit.”… MW

@djhelsing

Hide and go seek #ninjago at the #legolanddiscoverycenter #lego #legos #afol #bayarea

♬ LEGO Ninjago Overture (Original Score) – Ninjago Music & Jay Vincent & Michael Kramer

The Ninja Training Camp also hosts various Master Wu meet and greets throughout the day including a “Training Class” where children jump around like ninja and are awarded with another headband and certificate for training with the Mater himself as “Iron sharpens iron.”…MW

The build events were traditional mini builds and some were themed with dragons. Also, on the weekend they host a mosaic build where guests can build a specific piece of a large Ninjago mosaic and work together as a team to complete the mosaic but guests need to be careful that they don’t make a mistake and should remember Master Wu’s teaching “Change anything, change everything.”…MW

@djhelsing

Check out the #lego #ninjago #ninjatraining #legodiscoverycenter event! We had alot of fun, definatly check it iut if in the #bayarea

♬ LEGO Ninjago Overture (Original Score) – Ninjago Music & Jay Vincent & Michael Kramer

In general the other attractions are all the same with no major revisions or changes. We have attended the center for over a year now with season passes and noticed a few other general changes as well. The Miniland has grown a lot over the past year, the main buildings are the same but there is considerably more details now all throughout the land which is nice. The café layout was also adjusted and we noticed some new offerings. The staff mostly did not have any minifigs for trade though which was a big bummer and very unfortunate as the kids always love trading at the center. Also the retail store was much more stocked then in the past and the Pick a Brick wall was fully stocked which was great.

In general it was a fun event with some small thematic edits and changes to change up the venue a bit to help drive repeat guests and provide more value for season pass holders. We had a great time and for anyone who is wondering if they should go, “Never put off until tomorrow, what can be done today.”…MW