If you are traveling with toddlers or elementary-school-aged kids this Chol Hamoed, you already know that escape rooms and historical walking tours are a recipe for meltdowns. You need an attraction where they can run, touch everything, and burn off energy—and ideally, one that is entirely indoors in case the weather turns on you.
Enter LEGOLAND Discovery Center Philadelphia.
Located just outside the city in the Plymouth Meeting Mall, this isn’t a massive outdoor theme park. It is a highly curated, 33,000-square-foot indoor playground specifically designed for the younger crowd. It is colorful, it is interactive, and it is entirely built around everyone’s favorite plastic bricks.
What to Expect Inside
From the moment you walk through the giant LEGO-shaped doors, the entire space is designed to be hands-on. Here is how the center breaks down:
1. MINILAND Philadelphia
Before you get to the rides, you walk through MINILAND. It is a massive, incredibly detailed recreation of the Philadelphia skyline and historic landmarks built entirely out of over 1.5 million LEGO bricks. The room cycles through “day and night,” with the buildings lighting up and interactive buttons that let kids control mini-figures and vehicles throughout the city.
2. The Interactive Rides
There is an actual amusement park ride right in the middle of the center called the Imagination Express. Your family climbs into a multi-passenger train car equipped with magic wands. As the car moves through a dark, glowing tunnel, you use your wands to blast targets on massive screens to score points.
3. The LEGO 4D Cinema
When the kids need a break from running, you can grab seats in the 4D theater. They cycle through several different short (15-minute) LEGO movies starring characters from Ninjago and the LEGO City universe. It’s “4D” because the theater blasts you with physical effects—you will feel the wind blowing, rain misting, and even “snow” falling from the ceiling to match the action on the screen.
4. The Build & Test Zones
This is where kids spend the most time. There are massive pits of loose bricks where kids are encouraged to build custom race cars. Once built, they can take their cars to the steep, gravity-fed test tracks to race against other kids and see whose design survives the crash at the bottom.
5. DUPLO Park
If you have toddlers who are too small for the main attractions, there is a dedicated DUPLO Park featuring larger, softer bricks, a slide, and a farmhouse play area so they can safely explore without getting trampled by the older kids.
Pro Tips for Your Visit
- Book Online & Lock in Your Time: Do not just show up to the box office. During busy weeks like Chol Hamoed, they heavily enforce timed-entry tickets to prevent the center from getting dangerously overcrowded. Book your time slot online a few days in advance to secure your spot (and save a few dollars off the walk-up price).
- Bring Socks! There is a massive, multi-level jungle gym in the center called the Ninja Training Camp. Kids are required to take their shoes off to climb in it, but they must have socks on. Don’t be the parent who has to buy overpriced emergency socks at the gift shop.
- The “Two-for-One” Mall Strategy: Because LEGOLAND is located inside the Plymouth Meeting Mall, parking is massive, free, and incredibly easy. Even better? There is a massive Dave & Buster’s in the exact same mall. If you are traveling with a mixed age group, you can do LEGOLAND for the little kids in the morning, grab lunch, and then walk right over to Dave & Buster’s so the teenagers get their arcade time—all without ever moving your car!
