Thank you LEGO Duplo

I've got a lot of reason be grateful to LEGO Duplo.

Firstly we are LEGO Duplo experts. This means the boys will be testing Duplo - it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. They will also be having LEGO themed birthday parties. On top of that LEGO Duplo are sponsoring me to go to Cybermummy. They have bought my ticket and will be covering my travel and hotel costs.  

Secondly, if I want to boys to tidy up their toys I offer them the tub of Duplo as a reward. This always works.

Finally, they love playing with their Duplo. We were sent the Fishing Trip Set. This wasn't a huge hit as we're not a fishing family, but it is still played with. The boys mostly put the bear in the boat!

We were also sent the garbage truck and this is very popular. My boys like nothing more than 'something to brum', 'it's got a man in it' and 'you can put things in the back'. This ticks all the boxes. Luckily they were also given the ambulance for Christmas so they both have a similar toy. They both play imaginatively for long periods with their Duplo.

Here they have made a park with a swing and a slide. They're even playing together quite nicely. So thank you LEGO Duplo!

Thank you LEGO Duplo

It Wasn't Me!

Now, I don't usually post press releases...

...but...

..well, theft is theft!

LEGO® MINIFIGURES WALK OUT OF TRAFFORD CENTRE

3000 LEGO PIECES MISSING IN MANCHESTER

 

2000 missing LEGO MINIFIGURES

500 LEGO car wheels disappeared

23 pieces from the Selfridges Bullring gone

One entire Blackpool tram snaffled

 

 

Since opening almost two months ago, the LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre at the Trafford Centre in Manchester has lost almost 3000 significant pieces of LEGO.

This is not counting the thousands of standard bricks that have been lost or taken home by mistake.

Keen to reclaim these essential pieces, the attraction has launched an amnesty scheme to appeal to the people of Manchester to check their pockets for any items that may have mistakenly made their way back to visitor’s homes following an afternoon at the Centre.

The MINIFIGURES that have gone missing from MINILAND include a specially created Stig lookalike and a Wayne Rooney.

It is mainly MINILAND that has suffered with an entire tram from Blackpool going missing, but there have also been over 500 wheels replaced in the Build and Test area since the attraction opened.

Neil Crittenden, General Manager of LEGOLAND Discovery Centre said:

“We’ve enjoyed an incredibly successful launch period, and have to date welcomed thousands of keen LEGO fans!  However, it seems some of our visitors have enjoyed their visit so much that they have chosen to take a piece of the attraction home – perhaps to continue practicing their building skills. 

“Our Master Model Builder Alex has been constantly replenishing the attraction with MINIFIGURES, bricks and wheels to ensure guests have plenty to play with, but is wasn’t until this weekend’s audit that we realised the full extent of the missing stock.  We purposely wanted to ensure visitors could get as close as possible to the features of the Centre, but are now having to draw up plans to protect the buildings following guests getting a little too hands-on with the exhibits.  We’re now appealing for the safe return of our missing items, rewarding those honest Mancunians with a voucher for discounted entry”.

The LEGO amnesty box, which will of course be made of LEGO, will be placed in the attraction’s shop so that items can discreetly be posted back and re-homed back in the Centre.

Tickets for the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre cost from £9.30 when booked online at www.LEGOLANDDiscoveryCentre.co.uk.

The Centre is open from 10am seven days a week. Closing times vary from 5pm – see website for details.

Who on earth would steal LEGO bricks? Are we a nation of kleptomaniacs? What is wrong with people?

Go on, take it back you horrible lot!

.

It Wasn't Me!

Review: Legoland Discovery Centre, Manchester

We were lucky enough to be given review tickets for the hottest new family attraction in Manchester, the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre (LDC).

The LDC opened on 22nd March 2010 and judging by the queues it is staggeringly popular already. It's located in Barton Square at the Trafford Centre in Manchester.


We liked

The location. Ladies, it's at the North West shopping mecca that is the Trafford Centre!

The free parking.

Andy and I loved MINILAND where Northern landmarks had been recreated from LEGO. We could appreciate the skill involved. We wondered how much a professional LEGO builder was paid! The boys were fascinated by this area too, but were disappointed that they weren't allowed to touch any of the models.

The children loved the many areas where they could get their hands on some LEGO.

Here are Presley and Cash at the Earthquake Zone. The idea is you make a LEGO building and test it on the earthquake simulator.

We didn't like


The crowds and the queues. The LDC is a victim of its own success. We had trouble negotiating the main area with a double buggy. We couldn't even get to the DUPLO area. We also left the shop without buying the boys any new LEGO because the queue was too long.

The lack of signs. It wasn't made clear, for instance, that we could go straight into the main section. We queued for ages for the Kingdom Quest ride - that we had no intention of going on!

The map. I would have preferred a proper map, instead we were given a cartoon that was not representative of the LDC either in scale or layout.

There was little supervision of the activities. At the LEGO Racers Build and Test area wheels were in short supply.

Here is Presley holding on to a precious wheel!

I'm sure a lot of these issues are just teething problems that will be ironed out the longer the LDC is opened.


Summary

All the children we saw were clearly having a wonderful time. We overheard one little boy say to his mum that he was loving it.

Presley and Cash had a great time, even though a lot of the activities were for older children. We will go back, but only once the fuss has died down - if it ever does!


Facts and Figures


The LEGOLAND Discovery Centre,
Barton Square,
The Trafford Centre,
Manchester M17 8AS

Tickets are available on the door, but be prepared for queues:
Adults - £11.85
Children - £ 9.80
Age 2 and under - FREE

There are many other ticket options. You can book online and save 15%. This is recommended and the only way to guarantee entry, especially over the Easter holidays.

Review: Legoland Discovery Centre, Manchester

Here Lego!

Lego played a huge part in my childhood. I remember (through the rose-tinted spectacles of nostalgia) playing with it for weeks on end. Each morning my brother and I would go through the ritual of sharing it out, brick by brick, until we each had the exactly the same amount of Lego to work with. I would always build houses, he would build cars.

Lego was my husband's favourite toy too. His mum often tells the story of how each morning they knew when he was awake because they could hear him rummaging through the lego box.

Now Presley is old enough for Lego (yay!) we bought him this Duplo starter kit.

The box makes a good boat or seat and the lid has been used as some kind of space-mask, but the contents are a new favourite. Presley instinctlively knew what to do with the Lego. He had no trouble putting pieces together. He brings us tall towers for approval. He loves the little car. We made him a phone which he chats into. He holds it to our ears and to Cash's ear too. So sweet.

I'm not sure about the 'new' colours of light green and light blue, but I guess I'm just showing my age!

Do you know what the best thing about it is? Andy and I can't keep our hands off the stuff. It's so wonderful to hold, it fits together beautifully. It brings back memories. Don't tell anyone but I made a house!

The worst thing about Lego? I doesn't half hurt when you tread on it!

Here Lego!