Whoa! It’s official guys – Melbourne is getting a Legoland Discovery Centre in 2017! Confirmed by Inside Retail, the Legoland Discovery Centre is slated to open at Chadstone Shopping Centre in Autumn 2017!
Chadstone Shopping Centre is currently undergoing major redevelopment which is slated to increase the retail capacity of the shopping centre, and having a solid opening date scheduled will be of great news to Australian LEGO fans.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Legoland Discovery Centre will be located next to the cinema. The map above illustrates the planned location.
Not to be confused with traditional Legoland Theme Parks, Legoland Discovery Centres are essentially mini versions of Legoland, usually containing a mix of indoor, outdoor and interactive attractions.
According to Inside Retail, expect rides, special party rooms for birthdays and other celebrations, a 4D cinema, and ‘Miniland’ which will include both buildings from the city’s [Melbourne] impressive skyline and landmarks from the surrounding area, nominated by the local community.
“We are delighted to announce that the first Legoland Discovery Centre in the southern hemisphere will be opening at Chadstone Shopping Centre during 2017,” said Federation Centres CEO, Angus McNaughton.
“This unique 2800sqm indoor attraction will be a great addition to our world class shopping destination.”
John Jakobsen, Merlin’s chief new openings officer, said Australia and Asia are very important development areas for the business.
“The Legoland Discovery Centre concept has been a huge success across the globe, particularly as part of a family day out of shopping and dining,” he said. “We have no doubt that the Centre will be popular in Melbourne, and we are delighted to be working with Federation Centres on this exciting new project.
“Chadstone Shopping Centre is not only the most popular shopping centre in Melbourne but the number one retail destination in Australia, attracting both local and international visitors with its exciting mix of retail, dining and entertainment, making it the ideal location for Legoland Discovery Centre Melbourne,” Jakobsen said.
There are Legoland Discovery Centres all over the world in locations such as Manchester, UK; Berlin and Oberhausen, Germany; Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas Fort Worth, Kansas City, and Westchester, USA; Toronto, Canada; and Tokyo, Japan.
I’ve never personally visited a Legoland Discovery Centre before, so I’m afraid I can’t share my own experience at one.
You should also know that in certain Legoland Discovery Centres across the world, adults are not allowed to visit unless accompanied by a child.
I feel it’s a slightly draconian rule, but at this stage, it will be interesting to know if this will be the case in Melbourne’s Legoland Discovery Centre. Do note that there are occasional ‘Adult Nights‘ held by Legoland Discovery Centres meant for older fans.
With a sizable (and growing) AFOL population in Australia, I surely hope that this isn’t the case with Melbourne. If you want to be heard, please leave a comment here or share your thoughts with Merlin Entertaintainments via their Contact Us page to help them reconsider their policy.
Curious to know what a Legoland Discovery Centre might look like? Here are a few examples taken from Wikipedia.
Legoland Discovery Centre Duisburg (no longer open)
Legoland Discovery Centre Berlin
Legoland Discovery Centre Toronto
Still, pretty exciting news for Australia and Melbourne! Another exciting thing to look forward to is an enhanced LEGO retail experience as this might be the closest thing we’ll ever get to an Official or Certified LEGO Store down under!
It wouldn’t be too much to expect LEGO Store staples like a Pick A Brick Wall or a yearlong supply of exclusives and hard to find items! I’m so excited!
Big news eh? Let me know your thoughts on this in the comments below!
That is the best news! Thankfully I have kids. We are currently in the US on holiday and have been lucky enough to visit both the Lego shop at Disneyland (we got the castle, which was selling out twice a week in five minutes) and Legoland. I tell you people, Legoland itself is worth the 14 hour flight. It is the best thing I have ever seen.
I myself went to the Toronto one with 2 of my friends for one’s birthday. It was really fun! I really enjoyed it.
Can’t wait! Though “adults are not allowed to visit unless accompanied by a child. ” would be discrimination against those who can’t have kids. 😛
Oh I didn’t think about it being like that. I guess there’s a pretty good reason for that – the rides and stuff will probably just be geared towards the 3-10 year old crowd. As long as I can access the store, I’ll be happy 🙂
Oh my goodness! I am beyond excited! Chadstone is not far away from me so I will be very eagerly awaiting the opening. 2017 has never seemed so far away, lol!
I’ve been meaning to check out Inside the Brick because I’ve heard you can buy individual bricks there, but it’s always such an effort to trek across the city that I haven’t made it there yet – do you know if the Legoland Discovery Centre is likely to have such an area?
Me too! I go to Chaddy all the time too so it’s pretty cool. I’ve never been to Inside The Brick as I prefer going to I’m Rick James Bricks.
Too early to tell if there’ll be Pick A Brick but I’m very hopeful that there will be! It would be silly to not have one 🙂
LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Duisburg (Germany) no longer exists. It has moved to Oberhausen (same area, but other town) and adults are not allowed to visit this centre unless accompanied by a child. Same rules as in Berlin.
Oh interesting, thanks for the heads up! Yeah that seems to be the rule worldwide which I think is a little silly. Anyway, do the rules apply to the store as well or is that okay for adults to shop at?
No, you can enter the store as an adult without a child. In most places (I’ve visited so far) the store is seperated from the indoor playground area.
Oh neat! That’s really reassuring!
Fantastic news- thanks for sharing!
It is! Finally, Australia gets some love!