So there's going to be one of these events within a couple of hours of us, and we received a postcard for it. I checked around on the boards here and couldn't find any comments about it. I also checked out the website for the event, and the longer I looked at it the more I recalled reading so-so reviews from past attendees. So my questions to those who have been to one:
- What was it like?
- Would it be worth a couple hour's drive to attend?
- Are the morning or evening sessions better to attend?
All insights would be VERY much appreciated - thanks much!
Anyone here attended Lego KidsFest?
Re: Anyone here attended Lego KidsFest?
Hello.
I wrote a review about it here on the forums almost two months ago while the memory was still fresh.
Review of Lego Kidsfest Hartford, CT
After I wrote it I took a quick glance online at other places to see if people felt the same. They most certainly don't. It seems when people are angry these days they turn to the internet and tell the world.
My quick tips (should you not want to read the whole thing):
You have to be able to handle crowds and the child/children you are with. There are many many many people at these things.
You have to be able to wait. A lot of the booths/activities have a line. So does the Lego store. We planned out a route where we hit a wait event then did a non-wait event.
Pack a lunch. It's one less line to wait in.
The morning sessions seem to work better for us two years running as not everyone who plans to attend shows up right away. We've had an hour to an hour and a half of smaller crowds because we get there right when the gates (ummm...I mean doors) open.
We travel a little over an hour both ways and I can't wait for the one next year. I'm one of the minority but hear me ROAR!
Jared
I wrote a review about it here on the forums almost two months ago while the memory was still fresh.
Review of Lego Kidsfest Hartford, CT
After I wrote it I took a quick glance online at other places to see if people felt the same. They most certainly don't. It seems when people are angry these days they turn to the internet and tell the world.
My quick tips (should you not want to read the whole thing):
You have to be able to handle crowds and the child/children you are with. There are many many many people at these things.
You have to be able to wait. A lot of the booths/activities have a line. So does the Lego store. We planned out a route where we hit a wait event then did a non-wait event.
Pack a lunch. It's one less line to wait in.
The morning sessions seem to work better for us two years running as not everyone who plans to attend shows up right away. We've had an hour to an hour and a half of smaller crowds because we get there right when the gates (ummm...I mean doors) open.
We travel a little over an hour both ways and I can't wait for the one next year. I'm one of the minority but hear me ROAR!
Jared
Re: Anyone here attended Lego KidsFest?
We went to the Boston one a couple of years ago and it was HORRIBLE! It was very poorly run in my opinion. But to their defense it was one of the first ones they had (one year they had it in CT, this was the first year for Boston and other cities), hopefully it has improved.
The crowds were huge. And the lines were not that well organized (no ropes, just a bunch of people trying to form a line). It is a 3rd party running the event and a lot of the "helpers" are college kids or other temporary employees and were "clueless".
This venue had a ton of events you had to pay extra for (train ride, kids carnival type games). It also had a lot of booths with a "trade show" feel - Honda Odyssey, timeshares, Boston Duck Tours and other vendors trying to give you info and get your e-mail/phone so they can harass you later.
The worst part was that they had this passport program where you got a stamp at each booth and were awarded a prize. They gave my daughter a temporary tattoo from one of the vendors (that was giving them away anyway). They were supposed to be giving away a minifigure. It was a mess, no one knew what the heck was going on. They claimed they ran out, but we were there the first day.
We tried doing some of the builds, but it was a million bricks dumped on the floor and kids had to climb on top of each other to get them. We could have done that at home.
I complained to LEGO (and they sent my daughter something) and to the company that ran it and they refunded our money. Honestly I thought it made LEGO look very bad, even though they hired a 3rd party to organize it.
Now they might have improved it since then (this was 2010), but I would not go again. I'd rather save my money and buy LEGO sets. I only had to travel 30 minutes. I personally would not travel a few hours for it. My daughter was only 5 at the time so she was a little young and it was hard to participate in some of the events.
They were running Club meetings, but I'd rather do it at the Store (and you paid extra). The models were cool. Honestly, the crowds were worse than Disney and just a disorganized mess.
If you google, you should be able to find some reviews, hopefully the more current ones are more positive.
I agree with legogod, bring your own food (ours was at a convention center that sold $5 pretzels) and keep in mind if you have to pay for parking too.
The crowds were huge. And the lines were not that well organized (no ropes, just a bunch of people trying to form a line). It is a 3rd party running the event and a lot of the "helpers" are college kids or other temporary employees and were "clueless".
This venue had a ton of events you had to pay extra for (train ride, kids carnival type games). It also had a lot of booths with a "trade show" feel - Honda Odyssey, timeshares, Boston Duck Tours and other vendors trying to give you info and get your e-mail/phone so they can harass you later.
The worst part was that they had this passport program where you got a stamp at each booth and were awarded a prize. They gave my daughter a temporary tattoo from one of the vendors (that was giving them away anyway). They were supposed to be giving away a minifigure. It was a mess, no one knew what the heck was going on. They claimed they ran out, but we were there the first day.
We tried doing some of the builds, but it was a million bricks dumped on the floor and kids had to climb on top of each other to get them. We could have done that at home.
I complained to LEGO (and they sent my daughter something) and to the company that ran it and they refunded our money. Honestly I thought it made LEGO look very bad, even though they hired a 3rd party to organize it.
Now they might have improved it since then (this was 2010), but I would not go again. I'd rather save my money and buy LEGO sets. I only had to travel 30 minutes. I personally would not travel a few hours for it. My daughter was only 5 at the time so she was a little young and it was hard to participate in some of the events.
They were running Club meetings, but I'd rather do it at the Store (and you paid extra). The models were cool. Honestly, the crowds were worse than Disney and just a disorganized mess.
If you google, you should be able to find some reviews, hopefully the more current ones are more positive.
I agree with legogod, bring your own food (ours was at a convention center that sold $5 pretzels) and keep in mind if you have to pay for parking too.
Re: Anyone here attended Lego KidsFest?
Thanks for the tremendous insights! Based on these reviews - and my disdain for big crowds - I think we'll save what we would have spent on going and use it in the Lego isle at Target on some rainy Saturday! Thanks.
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