Nexo Knights 4D Movie Experience Review

We (me, my partner Caz and our son Ryan) were asked if we would like to attend the premiere of the brand new LEGO Nexo Knights 4D Movie experience at the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre in Manchester. Having only ever been to the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre once previously (and it was packed solid) I gladly accepted as this gave us the perfect opportunity to get into the centre with early access to everything before the it opened to the general public. Plus it was FREE so bonus points!!

We were greeted by a member of staff at the general ticket sales stand who also handed us a bag with a few freebies in – obviously all Nexo Knights themed – for this event. This contained a Poster, Nexo Knights Pop Badge (which will look awesome on the lanyard we got from LEGOLAND Windsor last year) and a Codex of Honour Book. See picture below:

After this we were led straight into the first ride at the Discovery centre; The Kingdom Quest Laser Ride, which as a family we always compete on to see who can get the most points, and yes, I annihilated the rest of the family.

After the first ride it was then straight to the 4D Theatre for the premiere of the new Nexo Knights 4D short film. We were first in line so we managed to choose our preferred seats; you know, the ones where you can get a good amount of spray to enhance the 4D experience!

As far as 4D LEGO Movie short films go it was a good one. You’re never going to get something as good as the full length LEGO Movie but it was good, worth watching and certainly kept you drawn in the whole way through.
If you have ever watched any of the many 4D LEGO short films that have been produced over the years then you will know that time flies by as generally they are all pretty good and fairly entertaining for all of the family. The added fog, spray and wind effects were extremely well timed (unlike others I have experienced in the past) and definitely enhanced the experience. The 3D effects were also actually outstanding for a friendly cartoon film; actually they were a lot better than a lot of the newer multi-million pound movies that have been released recently!
I won’t go into too much detail on the story behind the film as that will then ruin it for others who are wanting to watch it on their next visit to either LEGOLAND or the Discovery Centre.

After the short film had finished we headed back out into the Discovery Centre to have a look around at all of the models on display (as this is extremely hard to do so when packed with the general public). My favourite definitely being the Ferris Wheel and Tower all lit up when the light went out. See picture below:

 

After a quick look around Ryan (our 10 year old son) went on a few of the other little rides that are at the Discovery Centre, which to be honest he was too big for really.

All in all, the excursion made for a good day out, we all really enjoyed ourselves and especially enjoyed the movie and the few things that there were to do at the discovery centre without anybody else barging by you.

On the way out we hit the shop, and hit it hard! We ended up picking up plenty of the new lines that LEGO weren’t supposed to release until a couple of days later, such as all of the new Marvel and DC lines, the new minifigure cake mould, and a few other little things. The minifigure cake mould looks awesome and we will be trying it out very soon indeed; everybody loves a bit of cake!

The shop staff were really well-mannered, friendly and welcoming, apart from a female who I can only guess was a manager as she was needed for a refund. Unfortunately this is when the whole experience just went from great to poor! I didn’t realise until after paying that there was a duplicated item and so I then asked for the lad on the till to refund this to me which he was happy to do so. He called over the female but she had such an attitude problem, it was unbelievable!!! This meant that we left with a sour taste in our mouths after such a great day out it was such a shame that one person had such poor customer service that it put such a downer on the whole experience. It doesn’t seem like this is a one-off either as lots of reviews about LDC all say the same sort of thing –  perhaps they need to look closely at their team!

Our verdict:

Q: Would we return to the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre again?
A: Yes, without a doubt if we’re around the area.

Q: Would I spend any money in the shop again with their management acting they way they did?
A: Never again, it’s their loss!