A little pissed off at Lego

[JohnsLegos]

Hi all! I know I haven't posted in a while but I need to vent a little about my experience at a Lego Discovery Center. On July 2nd I planned a little Lego-ing trip and basically I wanted to see the Lego store at the King Of Prussia Mall near Philadelphia, Pa. here in the U.S. . I did a search on my phone for the directions a few days before but for some reason I wanted to look at the map a little bigger so I pulled it up on my home computer. As I zoomed in on the map I saw a Lego Discovery Center which was on way so I added it to the trip. As I got there (about a 2 and a half hour drive from where I live) I went in and looked around a little and asked about doing one of the tours. Well it was just me (I have no kids) and the employee said I could not go in unless I had a child with me. I could not believe it. Just because I don't have a kid I could not get in. The attendant said they have an AFOL day (which I did not know about going there) I pretty much thought anyone could go in with or without a child. Needless to say I did not hang around there very long due to being upset so I went to the Lego store and looked around there for a while. Still peeved at what happened earlier in the day, I looked again at the Lego site and I could not find ANYTHING that says you need a child to enter (I looked 3 times and could not find anything....). Did I miss something here?? I did some deep searching and see there is an AFOL day in October (for 3 hours and is later in the day...) but after the first time going there it left a bad taste in my mouth and I don't know if I will go then as it is the only thing I would go down for. I even called a lawyer to see if there is come king of age discrimination case I could get Lego for and unfortunately there is not much I can do as they say they open it to adults (yeah...once a year big woopee....) I mean they are missing out on making a lot of money there if they opened it to all ages all the time (unless Lego don't care...). I mean, what if I was a college kid, 18 years old with no kids and was on break when the AFOL day rolled around or was in my 70's and was in the mall shopping and have no kids or grandkids that do not live near there and wanted to see it and was just in the area visiting friends?? Lego is really losing out here my friends. Any thoughts on this?

[MAB]

Do you not see something like this under plan your visit ...

And under the tickets section ...

And in the FAQs ...

 

 

Given the nature of the activities, it is sensible not to allow adult only groups. The ones here are really for pre-teens and possibly very young teenagers. I wouldn't want competitive adults in the child-focused play areas, or even worse, groups of adults competing against themselves ruining it for kids.

Edited July 11, 2023 by MAB

[karrit]

No Discovery Centers anywhere near me.  And as posted above it is noted in several places on the website that adults must be accompanied by a child.  From what I could find when I researched it looked like the only thing adults can do if they don't have a child with them is shop in the store.  I've heard the prices are higher than elsewhere but sometimes hard to find polybags may be available.

Edited July 11, 2023 by karrit

[Feuer Zug]

The Discovery Centres are, as you regretfully found out, pretty much kids only. They are run by the entertainment side of the house from what I understand. I visited one, once. I got a bad taste from the experience as well.

[JohnsLegos]

3 hours ago, MAB said:

Do you not see something like this under plan your visit ...

And under the tickets section ...

And in the FAQs ...

 

 

Given the nature of the activities, it is sensible not to allow adult only groups. The ones here are really for pre-teens and possibly very young teenagers. I wouldn't want competitive adults in the child-focused play areas, or even worse, groups of adults competing against themselves ruining it for kids.

I did not see alot of this stuff until AFTER I got home. I planned my trip after doing a basic search of the site. Some of this stuff you have to some digging to find, which I did not do.

[Alexandrina]

36 minutes ago, JohnsLegos said:

I did not see alot of this stuff until AFTER I got home. I planned my trip after doing a basic search of the site. Some of this stuff you have to some digging to find, which I did not do.

Without intending to be rude, if the information is on their website in multiple places and you just didn't look hard enough, that's not Lego's fault.

I used to work at a shop with a post office attached (that closed earlier than the shop) and people often turned up wanting to use the post office out of hours. The opening hours were listed online, though; it wasn't my fault, nor the post office's, that these customers hadn't checked before they travelled.

[MAB]

12 hours ago, JohnsLegos said:

I did not see alot of this stuff until AFTER I got home. I planned my trip after doing a basic search of the site. Some of this stuff you have to some digging to find, which I did not do.

Maybe you look at different sections of their website. If I was planning a visit, I'd look at "plan your visit" then "during your day" to see what is available and whether there are time restrictions to events or activities and so on. I'd also look at the FAQ before making a trip. I might also look at the tickets section. They'd all show the warning. If I saw the information that the centre is for 3-10 year olds I'd check in a bit more detail what activities were available and again that is likely to throw up the no unaccompanied adults warning.

[JohnsLegos]

I did a iittle more searching and see that the AFOL thing is only for 3 hours and is on a Friday. I wonder why they can't make it on a weekend where they might get more business?? And due to the way I work, the day they are open is in October on a Friday. Even if I worked a 9 to 5 job I woudn't make it there to enjoy it (I would be there for maybe a half an hour....) so there goes that idea...

[Driver Brandon Grumman]

Yeah! I just found that out. It makes sense though given that the activities are mostly for kids. I finally puffed up the courage to ask my crush if she'd like to meet up at the new one here in Virginia and she told me that we had to have someone under 18 accompanying us. 

[JohnsLegos]

33 minutes ago, The Brick Boss said:

Yeah! I just found that out. It makes sense though given that the activities are mostly for kids. I finally puffed up the courage to ask my crush if she'd like to meet up at the new one here in Virginia and she told me that we had to have someone under 18 accompanying us. 

The bad thing is for me I have no one in my family under the age of 18 to go with me and like I said in the previous comment, they only open the center to AFOL's a couple times a year and when I can't go....go figure

[Lion King]

23 hours ago, Alexandrina said:

Without intending to be rude, if the information is on their website in multiple places and you just didn't look hard enough, that's not Lego's fault.

Sorry but no offense - your “you just didn’t look hard” response sems kinda stiingy. mean, I get it that everyone make their mistake and learn from them. It happens to you, it happens to me, it happens to everyone.  when I read this thread, I had no idea that Discovery Cennters don’t allow adults in without any kids. And you never know if you directly speak to a visual impaired or blind AFOL (like me) here.  Just offering you my perspective, I’m not here to police you. 

Edited July 12, 2023 by Lion King

[Alexandrina]

1 minute ago, Lion King said:

Sorry but no offense - your “you just didn’t look hard” response sems kinda stiingy. mean, I get it that everyone make their mistake and learn from them. It happens to you, it happens to me, it happens to everyone.  when I read this thread, I had no idea that Discovery Cennters don’t allow adults in without any kids.

I get that too (and I'd never even heard of a Discovery Centre before this thread) but when I've made a mistake, not realised somewhere was closed, I groan and blame myself. I wouldn't take to the internet to complain about the business I wanted to patronise, if the information was available and I just hadn't seen it.

And again, at no point was I trying to be rude. It's just that this situation isn't Lego's fault.

[Lion King]

7 minutes ago, Alexandrina said:

I get that too (and I'd never even heard of a Discovery Centre before this thread) but when I've made a mistake, not realised somewhere was closed, I groan and blame myself. I wouldn't take to the internet to complain about the business I wanted to patronise, if the information was available and I just hadn't seen it.

And again, at no point was I trying to be rude. It's just that this situation isn't Lego's fault.

No worries at all, I know ou never intended to be rude. 

[Driver Brandon Grumman]

3 hours ago, JohnsLegos said:

The bad thing is for me I have no one in my family under the age of 18 to go with me and like I said in the previous comment, they only open the center to AFOL's a couple times a year and when I can't go....go figure

The only people in my family who are under 18 are my two nieces and my nephew. But they live so far away (OH and PA respectively). 

Edited July 12, 2023 by The Brick Boss

[MAB]

4 hours ago, JohnsLegos said:

I did a iittle more searching and see that the AFOL thing is only for 3 hours and is on a Friday. I wonder why they can't make it on a weekend where they might get more business?? And due to the way I work, the day they are open is in October on a Friday. Even if I worked a 9 to 5 job I woudn't make it there to enjoy it (I would be there for maybe a half an hour....) so there goes that idea...

Presumably because they lose business as families with kids are then excluded on weekend evenings. I expect Friday afternoons are reasonably empty compared to weekends and so not much turn around time is needed between closing it to families and getting ready for AFOLs.

 

Plus you shouldn't really be annoyed at LEGO as the LDC is nothing to do with them. It is run by Merlin, which is part owned by the investment company set up by the family that own LEGO, but the LEGO company do not control the LDCs.

Edited July 12, 2023 by MAB

[Toastie]

50 minutes ago, MAB said:

Plus you shouldn't really be annoyed at LEGO as the LDC is nothing to do with them. It is run by Merlin, which is part owned by the investment company set up by the family that own LEGO, but the LEGO company do not control the LDCs.

I read that a couple of times ... so we have LEGO, LDC, the LEGO company, the family that owns LEGO, an investment company; and one should not really be annoyed at LEGO? When the LEGO logo is all over the place? Wow. That requires some deep knowledge on the business relationships the family, LEGO, TLG, LDC, and who ever else is playing cards here, maybe an investment company set up by the family that owns LEGO. And Merlin of course. 

I'd be simply annoyed at LEGO. Merlin or not.

Best,
Thorsten

 

[danth]

5 hours ago, Toastie said:

That requires some deep knowledge on the business relationships the family. 

I'd be simply annoyed at LEGO. Merlin or not.

Would you like to become a Lego Ambassador™️? It's easy!

• Show up in every thread where there is any sort of complaint
• Blame the fan
• If the fan wants anything, the fan is wrong
• Say "It's Not Lego's Fault!"
• Have a little bit too much insider info
• Post from a corporate perspective, not a fan perspective

9 hours ago, The Brick Boss said:

Yeah! I just found that out. It makes sense though given that the activities are mostly for kids. I finally puffed up the courage to ask my crush if she'd like to meet up at the new one here in Virginia and she told me that we had to have someone under 18 accompanying us. 

8 hours ago, JohnsLegos said:

The bad thing is for me I have no one in my family under the age of 18 to go with me and like I said in the previous comment, they only open the center to AFOL's a couple times a year and when I can't go....go figure

You guys aren't missing out, don't worry. I seriously doubt the Lego Discovery Centers are going to have much to interest AFOLs.

[Mikdun]

7 hours ago, Toastie said:

(...) and one should not really be annoyed at LEGO? When the LEGO logo is all over the place?

My thoughts exactly. LEGO can protect their IP in a big way, they should take more care about all places that carry their logo as well.

BTW: I looked at the web page of LDC and it is not so obvious that there must be kid involved. One can browse for a while without single information about it. It's not like it is placed on the front page right in front of you.

[Driver Brandon Grumman]

5 hours ago, danth said:

You guys aren't missing out, don't worry. I seriously doubt the Lego Discovery Centers are going to have much to interest AFOLs.

Yeah! We just decided to meet at the Lego store instead. 

[Peppermint_M]

Since they opened, the Discovery Centres always made it clear that no unaccompanied adults. As such, my only family member who went took his best mate and that said best mate's little brother, at 20, they were both too old, but a 13 year old was welcome. Apparently the bigger builds were nice enough but the experiences were "okay". I sometimes consider stealing my little cousin (9) or my friend (he is 13 but already way taller than me so might not work!) but the nearest is in Birmingham and if I as going to drive two hours for LEGO experiences then I would head to Windsor.

Merlin has come under fire for disallowing all adults without a child, a few that advocate for those who have a reduced mental capacity (ergo a much more childlike mindset and understanding) mostly family members who are "furious" that the person in question was denied entry. Which I agree with, let groups and individuals enter even if you need to pre-book the access (like accessible tickets at a concert or in the UK many places offer a free or reduced ticket for a Carer to attend with someone). Surely School Day times could be quiet enough.

[JohnsLegos]

Just out of curiosity...........(and I did not look yet) are the Legoland parks the same was?? Do you need a child to enter or are they "adult friendly"??

[Alexandrina]

19 hours ago, danth said:

Have a little bit too much insider info

Knowing Merlin is separate from Lego doesn't seem like it should count as "too much insider info". It feels like a pretty obvious thing to figure out from the fact that Legoland appears on all the same cereal boxes as Alton Towers and Chessington and the Merlin Entertainments lot, and is tied into those same promotions, yet doesn't give VIP points at the shop. (I must admit I didn't know Lego were part of the consortium that bought Merlin, but to be fair that was a £5 billion deal that was reported on BBC News when it happened - not exactly secret knowledge)

[Peppermint_M]

15 hours ago, JohnsLegos said:

Just out of curiosity...........(and I did not look yet) are the Legoland parks the same was?? Do you need a child to enter or are they "adult friendly"??

Nah, anyone can enter with a ticket! They are foundations of the Eurobrick's Event and let us mad AFOLs in no problem. A few parks even have "Shopping" Tickets that allow half hour refunded entry so you can make purchases in the shops and then get your entry fee back.

Also, I hasten to add to my previous post: The 13 year old friend of mine is the nephew of one of my best friends, so I have not exactly gone out and procured a teenaged friend! 

[MAB]

On 7/13/2023 at 6:34 AM, Mikdun said:

BTW: I looked at the web page of LDC and it is not so obvious that there must be kid involved. One can browse for a while without single information about it. It's not like it is placed on the front page right in front of you.

I went to https://www.legolanddiscoverycenter.com/philadelphia/

The first thing I noticed was a black banner with "Hi Builders! Buy tickets online now to lock-in your price and guarantee your admission entry time. " and if you click on it you see the statement about no unaccompanied adults. The first menu item at the top is about ... tickets, and again clicking it shows the statement. If you click the big red button with "book now" again you see the statement. If you are at the bottom of the page, and click "ways to visit" again you are shown the statement.

Do people really travel reasonable distances to such attractions without looking at online information about ticket availability,  pricing, and so on. 

[Mikdun]

23 minutes ago, MAB said:

I went to https://www.legolanddiscoverycenter.com/philadelphia/

The first thing I noticed was a black banner with "Hi Builders! Buy tickets online now to lock-in your price and guarantee your admission entry time. " and if you click on it you see the statement about no unaccompanied adults. The first menu item at the top is about ... tickets, and again clicking it shows the statement. If you click the big red button with "book now" again you see the statement. If you are at the bottom of the page, and click "ways to visit" again you are shown the statement.

Do people really travel reasonable distances to such attractions without looking at online information about ticket availability,  pricing, and so on. 

Not a single remark about "no unaccompanied adult" on the front page. None on the page about "What's inside/Overview".

Sure, it is clear while buying tickets, but if you just browsing to check what's there, you're gonna miss it.

If I was going there I would check the ticketing and FAQ, so it will be clear.