Are you planning a visit to LEGOLAND NY? This guide to LEGOLAND New York includes LEGOLAND NY tips and how to plan your day at the theme park.
The LEGOLAND New York resort consists of the LEGOLAND theme park and the LEGOLAND hotel.
We had our first visit to LEGOLAND New York and my first impression was really great! The park is best for kids 10 and under. It is very clean and the layout is easy to navigate.
Little kids will love this park! There are LEGO bricks to play with around every turn and the rides at LEGOLAND NY are very kid friendly.
This is our third LEGOLAND park to visit and it is a great addition to the already awesome attractions in New York state.
Expect hands-on exhibits where kids can build their own LEGO creations as well as rides and attractions themed around your favorite LEGO characters.
One of my favorite rides is LEGO Ninjago The Ride in LEGO Ninjago World. Guests help fight to save the world of Ninjago in this all-ages attraction.
Planning Your Day at LEGOLAND New York
LEGOLAND New York is a relatively small and easy park to navigate. It is located on a hill and can be a lot of walking but it has an overall small footprint.
There is also a NINJAGO World, LEGO Castle, LEGO City, LEGO Pirates, and Bricktopia.
Before you arrive at LEGOLAND NY be sure to purchase tickets and check the park times for the day you are planning on visiting.
If you are pushing a stroller or have mobility issues be prepared for a lot of ramps winding up the hill. The park is divided into different lands and includes a miniland area.
Hotels at the LEGOLAND Resort New York
The LEGOLAND Hotel is located next to the LEGOLAND park entrance and is the best place to stay if you are visiting LEGOLAND NY. It offers themed rooms, on-site dining, and activities.
The hotel can be a bit pricey during peak season but they often offer vacation packages that include admission to the parks and free breakfast.
If you are looking to stay off-site you will need to stay in Goshen and then drive to the park. Be sure to price out parking and consider convenience when deciding where to stay.
LEGOLAND NY hotel is walking distance to the park making it very easy to take a mid-day break. They have 4 themed rooms that include: NINJAGO, LEGO Friends, Pirates, and Knights.
Rides at LEGOLAND New York
We have visited the LEGOLAND Florida and LEGOLAND California parks and felt LEGOLAND NY had less attractions. This could also be because my kids were getting older and looking for more thrill rides and roller coasters.
Either way the rides they do have at LEGOLAND NY were family fun and we had a good time.
The best rides at LEGOLAND NY are: LEGO Ninjago The Ride, The Dragon, Splash Battle and the LEGO City Theater. There is also a LEGO Factory Adventure Ride that is unique to this park and is worth riding at least once.
The entire park can be done in a day and there are indoor attractions and outdoor attractions.
In summer of 2023 a new water playground was added to the amusement park. Guests need to make a reservation for the water playground on the day of your visit.
LEGOLAND Rides and Height Requirements
When planning a visit to LEGOLAND New York it is important to check the ride height requirements to make sure your group can ride the attractions you want. It is not worth planning a big trip to find out your kids are too small to ride.
Here is an overview of the rides at LEGOLAND NY with height requirements:
- Brick Party (Carousel) Must ride with an adult if under 44″
- DJ’s Dizzy Disco Spin Must ride with an adult if under 42″
- Duplo Express (Train) Must ride with an adult if under 34″
- LEGO Factory Adventure Ride Must ride with an adult if under 52″
- Jay’s Gravity Force Trainer Must be 42″ to ride, must have an adult if under 52″
- LEGO NINJAGO The Ride Must ride with an adult if under 52″
- Merlin’s Flying Machines Must be 36″ to ride, must have an adult if under 48″
- Dragon’s Apprentice Must be 36″ to ride, must have an adult if under 42″
- The Dragon Must be 48″ to ride alone, Must have an adult if 42″
- Tower Climb Tournament Must be 38″ to ride, Must have an adult if under 52″
- Junior Driving School (Ages 3-5)
- Driving School (Ages 6-13)
- Coast Guard Academy Must be 34″ to ride, 52″ with adult
- Fire Academy Must be 34″ to ride, must have adult if under 44″
- Anchors Away Must be 36″ to ride, must have adult if under 42″
- Splash Battle Must have an adult if under 52″
- Rogue Riders Must be 42″ to ride, must have an adult if under 52″
Expected Wait Times at LEGOLAND NY
Wait times during our visit got longer as the day progressed making it very important to do the most popular attractions first.
Surprisingly to us the LEGO City attractions had some of the longest wait times. If they are on your list to ride the best time would be at park opening or later in the evening.
This is because these rides have very slow load time and capacity. They can only put so many guests through the attraction. The longest wait time of our day was 100 minutes for Coast Guard Academy.
This is a boat ride that is very slow. If you want to ride this head over there within the first few hours of park opening. I share our itinerary later in the post of how we avoided waiting for rides.
LEGOLAND NY Tickets
LEGOLAND NY offers ticket bundles for park and hotel on their website. I would start here and then compare prices. I have found buy one get one deals but they are random. It is best to do a quick “buy one, get one LEGOLAND NY ” google search to find one that is available.
Dining at LEGOLAND New York
You never know what you are going to get when it comes to meal options at a theme park but LEGOLAND New York had great choices for families.
There are 17 different options to choose from. These range in restaurant sit down dining, food stands and food carts. We opted for sit down meals for lunch and dinner. The restaurants in the park are counter service with a large sitting area.
We ate at Brickolini’s Pizza & Pasta for lunch and Smokey’s Brick-B-Que for dinner.
We are a family of five and the cost of feeding our family at a theme park can often be pricey but LEGOLAND NY was pretty good for families. For lunch we ordered the family 4 pack. This came with a large pizza, a order of pasta, a salad, and 4 drinks. It was $59.99 and fed our family of five.
For dinner we ordered the platters and there was plenty to share. We did not order drinks with our meal and opted for the free water cups.
Our dinner was $74.00 and came with plenty of food. If you are trying to save a bit you can share these meals.
One of the “famous” snacks at LEGOLAND New York are the Granny’s Apple Fries. These were green for the Halloween event going on during our visit and they were okay.
I have had these at the other LEGOLAND California and LEGOLAND Florida parks and loved them. This time they were not as good. I do not know if it was the green dye that made them a bit soggy or just a not so great batch.
Either way they are worth trying for yourself. They come with caramel and whip cream dipping sauce!
Shows and Entertainment at LEGOLAND NY
At LEGOLAND NY guests can meet characters and see shows. We visited during the Halloween Brick or Treat event and the characters were in costume.
There are also singing and dancing shows and hands-on activity building through out the park. Meeting characters at LEGOLAND is so much fun!
LEGOLAND New York Tips
Arrive early to the park. I suggest purchasing tickets ahead of time and arriving 30 minutes before official park opening. This will ensure you are among the first at the park.
Be prepared that your kids will want to be elbow deep in LEGO! That is part of the fun of visiting but it might be helpful to pack your own hand sanitizer.
There were stations throughout the park but I find keeping our own close hand is best.
Most kids are familiar with LEGO but if you want to watch LEGO City or LEGO Ninjago before your visit it will help them know who some of the characters are. It is also a fun way to build up excitement for the trip.
How Many Days do You Need at LEGOLAND New York?
One day is enough to tour the entire LEGOLAND park.
What age is Legoland New York best for?
LEGOLAND NY is best for kids 10 and under. The attractions and activities are geared towards younger kids. There are playgrounds through the park and most attractions are all ages.
2 and 3 year old’s will enjoy this park but older kids may not find enough thrill rides. My kids are at the top age for the park.
How close to NYC is Legoland NY?
LEGOLAND NY is a little over an hour drive from New York City without traffic. It is 69 miles and the drive will be dependent on traffic.
We found that there is not a lot to do in the town LEGOLAND is in. If you are planning a visit consider adding a night in NYC or staying at the LEGOLAND resort for your entire visit.
Is there a water park at LEGOLAND New York?
There is not a water park at LEGOLAND New York but there is a water playground. This is a splash bucket climbing structure and is best for kids under 10.
Expect to wear bathing suits and bring towels. Guests also must reserve time during their park day to experience the water area.
The LEGOLAND Hotel also has an outdoor pool.
Do you need LEGOLAND Reserve n Ride Pass?
The Reserve n Ride pass is an add-on to your admission ticket and offers an option to skip the lines. I don’t think it is necessary if you arrive early on the day of your visit but it might be helpful on busy days and if you want to sleep in.
Special Events at LEGOLAND New York
Is Legoland New York open all year? No it is not but there are special events at LEGOLAND New York that you can take advantage of during the off-season.
LEGOLAND has Brick or Treat and the Holiday Bricktacular. These seasonal events are included with your admission ticket. There are specialty food and character meet and greets.
During the Halloween event there is trick or treating as well as a special LEGO 3D show. The park is decorated for the season and it is a fun event.
LEGOLAND NY Itinerary
I prefer to have a plan when we visit any theme park because honestly, they cost a lot of money to visit and I want to see and do everything we can.
We had a very flexible plan when visiting LEGOLAND NY and I wanted to share it to help you plan your visit.
We only had one day and the park was open 10:00-5:00. We also were coming from an overnight in New York City and planning to drive home to Rochester after the day.
We arrived about 30 minutes before park opening and planned to do the most popular attractions first and then do a second loop of the park with the attractions we missed.
Our day looked like this:
- Ride Brick Factory Adventure
- Ride NINJAGO the Ride (2x)
- Ride The Dragon (2x)
- Driving School
- Coast Guard Academy
- Fire Academy
- Lunch at Pizza & Pasta
- LEGO City Theater (2x) They have 4 different shows that run every 15 minutes.
- Anchors Away
- Rogue Riders
- Granny Apple Fries Snack (This is located in LEGO City. My husband went to order as the kids rode Anchors Away)
- Explored Mini-Land and made our way back to the start of the park.
- Brick Party
- DJ’s Dizzy Disco Spin
- This is a good time to go into any activity buildings you may have skipped and to take your time exploring each land. Play at the playgrounds, take pictures with the LEGO statues.
- We did one last loop and rode any attractions that had short lines.
- Before we left the park we had an early dinner at Smokey’s Brick-B-Que
Overall we fit a lot in for our day at LEGOLAND NY. I hope these LEGOLAND NY tips help you plan an awesome day at the park.
Read Next: 17 Family Vacation Itineraries to Start Planning Today
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