Inside the Legoland Discovery Centre in Manchester I ride on laser chariots, constructed intricate buildings and vehicles, saw the local area in astonishing miniature detail in lego miniland, experienced an extra dimension of entertainment in the lego studios 4D cinema and – most importantly – discovered the power of my own imagination. This was integral to the Legoland brand ethos and is what made this visit to very relevant to my studies.
The Discovery Centre is used for children’s birthday parties and educational activities or just for everyday/rainy day fun with the family. Upon first entering Legoland I was a little concerned that this was just a glorified gift shop, however I soon learnt that this certainly was not the case.
The whole atmosphere was very jolly and jovial, with the staff clearly very children-friendly, and the general fixtures and fittings being painted in primary colours to set the tone for a very youth-orientated attraction. I went through a tunnel containing different pots of lego for me to craft shapes and buildings etc out of at my leisure.
I then went up to the lift and played in a lego ‘ball pool’ type fixture, then suddenly saw a countdown for the doors opposite opening. Before I knew it the professor of the lego factory was greeting me. He was dressed from head to toe as the very crazy professor and really got into character as he discussed the whole process of making a lego brick. I was then provided with a free lego brick to commemorate the day (a nifty little form of promotion).
The 4D cinema used 3D technology, with extra effects such as water, wind and snow (foam bubbles), this really helped to enhance the experience and was great value for money. It was the unexpectedness of this which really ‘made’ the whole experience for me, for example – I was ushered onto the lava ride without even knowing of its presence. This was Legoland’s USP, as you never knew what would be around the next corner.
Overall, I would say that I learn from this that spontaneity is used without this adventure park to encourage the use of imagination and every opportunity. This is an invaluable piece of primary research which I will use to enhance the development of my product/service. I took photographs while in the Legoland Discovery Centre which I will annotate for my sketchbook accordingly.
What next? I will now look into any other adventure parks in the area / anything which will encourage the development of children’s minds/creativity and also their cognitive development. I will annotate the research thus far and continue to make use of sites such as Trend Hunter and Spring Wise to search out any innovative ideas for services/products which may be inspirational.
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