Earlier last week we visited the much awaited Legoland Dubai for its grand opening, the first of many attractions to open in Dubai Parks & Resorts. Legoland Dubai is a theme park dedicated to children between 2-12 years old and their families, with Lego themed adventures including interactive rides, attractions and building experiences.

We arrived bright and early on the day of the Opening, and enjoyed the grand unveiling that came complete with a loud Boom and plenty of confetti! It was so colourful and appealing the moment we stepped through the gates, and Baby Z particularly enjoyed posing with the toddler sized mini Lego figures, all of which were unique and dotted around the theme park.

Legoland Dubai consists of six separate areas which are Adventure, Imagination, Miniland, Kingdom, Lego City and the Factory. As you enter, the Factory can be spotted right away, leading you to Miniland, from which the remaining four areas can be accessed.

Legoland Indoor

Our first stop was of course the Miniland, the main attraction so to speak at any Legoland. Legoland Dubai’s Miniland features predominantly Middle Eastern landmarks, the most impressive of which is the entire lego constructed Sheikh Zayed Road. Equally stunning is the Burj Khalifa with a mesmerising miniature dancing fountain show of its own. I could name so many more builds that left me amazed such as the Grand Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Mall of Emirates, the Dubai Airport and not forgetting the infamous Taj Mahal. The attention to detail is astounding, but watching the animations of vehicles such as the Metro train was the highlight for Baby Z. He would run from one end to the other, attempting to follow the Metro as it whizzed past him. Being able to press the buttons to activate the animations is undeniably a great source of entertainment for all the kids visiting.

As Miniland is the largest air conditioned area within Legoland Dubai, I appreciated the seats encircling the dome on the inside as well as the small building stations next to them where children can build their own creations. It proved a great hit with Baby Z for sure.

Legoland Outdoor

Much of the rest of Legoland Dubai is outdoors, though they are shaded in most parts, with a few indoor air conditioned rooms with activities in each area. Also, not all the rides and activity areas were open at the time of our visit, which was a little disappointing as I was eager to experience everything. There are also height restrictions on all the rides, and sadly the ones aimed at the youngest age bracket were not yet open so Baby Z was unable to ride any. Therefore, if you are planning a trip to Legoland Dubai soon and would like to avail the full value of your ticket price, I would suggest you wait for it to get a little cooler (which I very much hope it does soon!) and also confirm that all the rides are open. Keri from Baby Globetrotters has a great post on Legoland Dubai, which is being updated regularly to let you know this exact information so I would encourage you to check it out here!

Fortunately, there are no age restriction when it comes to building with lego bricks, and Baby Z had a great time in the Imagination realm, in one of the indoor play areas, where he was able to build his own cars and then race them against others on a very cool racing track. At one point he was racing his car with teenagers triple his size and was completely unfazed by it, gleefully cheering on his Lego creation even if it was the last to finish. Baby Z was pretty content with spending all his time there, and with seating area for parents and enthusiastic staff to oversee the fun, it makes for the perfect play area.

Food and other Attractions

I found the food at Legoland Dubai to be quite expensive, though I was expecting that to be the case. I was also warned beforehand by friends who visited the soft opening and therefore came prepared with plenty of snacks from home. Snacks can be enjoyed almost everywhere in the theme park and there are plenty of dustbins around for you to dispose of your trash if you are looking to do the same.

Just as we were about to head out, we managed to be on time for a 4D show which was extremely entertaining, though fair warning there is a chance of getting a little wet during the show due to the 4D effects. I would highly recommend the shows though, so make sure to check the timings beforehand so you can plan accordingly. There is also a Puppet show performed live at City Stage, which we sadly missed, but hope to catch on our next visit.

Walking back towards the exit, you can’t help but drop into The Big Shop, but be warned there is a lot of amazing looking Lego for sale that is enough to cause a toddler tantrum or two, so if you step in, you will most definitely not be stepping back out empty handed. We managed to grab a few Lego memorabilia merchandise at reasonable prices, so I think The Big Shop does well to cater to all budgets.

Overall, I think Legoland Dubai has great potential to be one of the favourite family adventure parks in the region, especially for younger children, once all the rides are open including the Legoland Waterpark that is set to open later on this year. I think it is best visited during the cooler months so you are able to enjoy the outdoor area too, and would recommend you reserve the majority of your day towards it if visiting as it needs a few hours to be explored completely and leisurely.

Tickets cost AED 295 per person for a full day, and Annual Passes as well as VIP passes are also available. For more details, head on over to the Legoland Dubai website to know more. Also, read all about our family day out at Legoland Water Park here!

Check out the video below to see snapshots from our day at Legoland Dubai! Enjoy! 

Note: We were invited to visit Legoland Dubai for the Opening Ceremony. However, all views and opinions expressed above are honest and solely my own.