Amusement Park News

Legoland New York, Located on 150 acres in upstate Goshen, New York, added a resort hotel last year and expanded again for 2023 with a new water playground.

The park, which opened in 2021 has seven themed lands, and now – a water playground as well as two new entertainment stages – are now a part of its hilly landscape.

The LEGOLAND® New York Resort Water Playground proved to be a hit, with New York summers often scorching, and visitors eager to have fun and keep cool, according to Legoland New York Resort divisional director Stephanie Johnson. It features four waterslides and “new creative building opportunities for kids.” The new park area opened Memorial Weekend.

The Water Playground is certainly be a good place for kids and their families to cool off, with a mega water bucket holding 318-gallons of water, LEGO boat racing and building, and the water slides. There is also be a comfortable changing area, allowing guests to move seamlessly from the waterpark, which is located in the Lego City area of the park.  “New York summers are hot, which is one of the reasons we're so excited to give families a place to cool off,” Johnson relates.



The new water playground also includes attractions such as a Lego boat building and racing experience, in which participants can race their boats down a water track. A splash wave will also be a part of the area.

LEGOLAND New York's new stages are a part of Lego City and Lego Pirates. Performances will include shows “Academy of Arrrrr,” “Detective Trace,” and “Earth Beat.”

Along with the major summer introduction of the stages and waterpark, by the March opening day for the park, LEGOLAND New York was deemed an official Certified Autism Center. Working with the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES), the theme park trained staff to serve guests with autism and their families. Additionally, each ride has a posted Sensory Guide that provides information about the attraction, such as whether bright lights, loud sounds, or other plan-around features are a part of the ride. Sometimes stimulation such as these can make guests with autism averse to experiencing the attraction.  There is also both online and paper sensory guides to help out, and the park will continue to offer a relaxing quiet room for children with sensory needs or challenges. The quiet room serves to combat overstimulation or anxiousness, and offers dim lighting, friendly, touch-sensitive toys, and even weighted blankets to help kids and their parents relax.

Many new events and returning beloved experiences are present at LEGOLAND New York this year.

One new event was NINJAGO Days, running on April and May weekends. The event challenges visitors to “unlock their ‘inner ninja.' There were meet n' greets with LEGO heroes, interactive ninja-LEGO themed activities, and entertainment. It served as a good tie-in to the Ninjago-themed hotel rooms at the adjoining hotel resort.

Returning for its second year, fan favorite Red, White, and BOOM!, a July 4th themed celebration, offered five full nights of fireworks; Summer Saturdays returned for July and August as well, providing family-friendly live music performances.



Come fall, Brick-or-Treat returns with a Monster Party billed as the state's biggest for children. It will run every weekend mid-September through Halloween. Finally, the Holiday Bricktacular event will also return for seasonal festivities in November and December, with a LEGO Santa Claus and holiday themed builds.

LEGOLAND opened March 31st this year, but the LEGOLAND Hotel, newly opened just last year, has already been offering weekend getaways with activities for kids such as building experiences, dance parties, meet n' greets with characters, story time and LEGO challenges. For the uninitiated, the “challenge” portion of the getaway is a new-for-2023 immersive experience for kids, that asks them to follow the primary mini figure to create “wacky builds” and “super-secret tasks.”

The hotel lobby features LEGO models and a full-wall of mini-figures; it also includes a large, central play area, with a castle theme and play pits that contain LEGO bricks. Parents can comfortably observe kids from an adjacent bar area. The themed hotel rooms include LEGO models and imagery tied to a room's theme, such as Ninja, Lego Friends, Kingdom, or Pirate. Kids have their own separate area in the rooms, with a separate television and more building bricks. Room sizes cater to families, and each comes with a Google Nest, capable of placing room service orders and even telling bedtime stories to kids or starting them on a scavenger hunt in the room.  

LEGOLAND New York tickets start at $59 this year; park admission plus an overnight hotel stay begin at $87. The park now offers seven themed LEGO lands: Brick Street, Bricktopia, LEGO® NINJAGO® World, LEGO Castle, LEGO City, MINILAND and LEGO Pirates. The park includes over 50 rides and some 30 million LEGO bricks. It is a digital and cashless resort.