Legoland Discovery Centre & Sealife Manchester

Last weekend we took a lovely trip to the attractions at the Trafford Centre in Manchester.
Both attractions are located in Barton Square in what can only be described as the outside part of the Trafford Centre and the same place where you can find Santa at Christmas time. Both attractions are clearly signposted throughout the Trafford Centre.

LEGOLAND DISCOVERY CENTRE
Ryan had been asking me to take him here for a long time. Like any boy he loves his bricks and Lego.
The queues for this attraction do get very long. Luckily we had fast tickets but it’s probably a good idea to her there as early as possible as the queue was really long.
After checking in, we arrived in a room which resembled a small version of a Santas workshop with lots of brightly coloured strange machines. We were awaiting the arrival of Mr Brick and whilst waiting there were a few activity stations dotted about for kids to play on.

After a few minutes wait Mr a Brick arrived and gave us a demonstration of how Lego bricks are made. Jordanna even got to help out and special bricks were given out.
Next onto the Kingdom Quest Laser Ride. It’s like a ghost train where we sit in a car and go round in the dark. Instead of ghosts and monsters we shoot at lasers with guns to get points.

. Even the young ones can go on this. I was a little unsure about taking Izebella on but she was fine and loved it.

After our exciting laser ride we walked through a large room full of magnificent attractions made of Lego (MINILAND). These mini attractions are quite spectacular and it’s hard to believe they are created from Lego.

We then walked through to what appears to be the Main hall in the discovery centre. This is a huge room with a soft play area, Lego play stations, and a few fun rides: all of which are included in the ticket price. There are no extra charges. There is even an area where children can have their face painted for free and several rooms where certain talks and activities happen at certain times of the day. Kids can even get up and do Karaoke or sit down and draw if they wish. Everything is provided and there is so much to do.

Ryan and Jordanna loved all the rides which they went on over and over again. Jordanna had her face painted and Izebella happily sat in a pit of Lego and refused to come out.

A cafe can also be found in the main area. A selection of sandwiches, snacks and drinks are available. Like most attraction food outlets it can be a little pricey and especially with 3 children. However we don’t get to go out often so I didn’t mind too much. The children’s lunch boxes cost £4.50 each and consist of a sandwich of choice, drink, fruit and crisps.

The 4D cinema hosts regular shows and fits a fair few people in. You are given special glasses and the show lasts about 20 minutes with various fun effects including water, air and snow. You may get wet depending on where you sit.
The newest attraction is Ninjago Laser training camp which we found at the very end. This attraction consists of various degrees of laser wire difficulties which kids will have lots of fun getting under or over, and all in the dark too.

We all really enjoyed the Legoland Discovery Centre. We were not expecting so much in one place and think we were there for 2-3 hours.
On the way out there is a shop for souvenirs. Various professional family photographs are taken throughout the attraction which can be purchased at the end.

Visit Legoland Manchester for more information.

Sealife Manchester
After our Lego Discoveryland trip, it was time for our second attraction. Sealife is right opposite Discoveryland and combined tickets can be purchased to allow you to visit both.
Sealife is an amazing underwater world with all sorts of amazing sea creatures.
When we entered we were given a short talk on turtles and there was this fascinating globe light which just seemed to be bobbing around on it’s own

Then onto some very magically looking aquariums containing a varying array of beautiful marine life. Many of them very bright and colourful. Different fish, sponge and sea anemone.

Some of these fish were very very big.
I spotted an amazing colourful tank which had round domed glass and it almost looked like the fish were in 3D.
The underwater tunnel is a great experience. It’s a tunnel you walk through and the fish and sharks are all around and above you. It’s great looking up and spotting a shark or turtle above our heads.
Throughout the day there are are certain times: several talks or feeding shows.
For £60 you can even get in with the marine life on a Sea Trek five experience. This is something I would love to do in the future.
For now Ryan and Jordanna were happy getting as close as they could in the various interactive tanks.

Sealife Manchester boasts over 5000 different marine creatures including seahorses, jellyfish, octopus, turtles and sharks. There is also a small play area and a interactive rock pool where crabs and starfish can be touched. The whole walk around takes about an hour and is truly and wonderful and educational experience for all.

More information can be found at Sealife Manchester

Combination tickets for both Lego Discovery and Sealife start at £19 online. Special promotions can be found at certain times of the year.
If visiting during Easter holidays you should try and get there as early as possible to avoid large queues or pre book your tickets to get in the priority queue.

Legoland discovery opens at 9am-7pm with last admission at 5pm daily.
Sealife opens 10am-7pm, last admission 6pm.

We had a very enjoyable day out. Kids loved both attractions. Izebella surprisingly stayed awake throughout the whole day. She didn’t want to miss a thing and finally fell asleep on the bus home.
If you live in the North West, this would make a great day out. There are many bus services running to and from the Trafford Centre from numerous locations. The Trafford Centre itself is of course an amazing place for shopping too if your not too worn out by these two fabulous attractions.