When we finally arrived at the convention center it was easy to find the Lego Kidfest event. There were clearly marked signs pointing the way to the proper area. Since we had pre-purchased our tickets, we were able to bypass the line and went straight to the entrance. The ticket handler quickly scanned our tickets and granted us entry to a waiting area. We were early, and had about a ten minute wait.
When the Kidsfest event finally began the ropes that restricted entry to the main event area were removed. This resulted in a stampede which jammed the entrance with fans, each eager to be the first into the event. Whoever designed the waiting area hadn’t taken into consideration how much energy or excitement would build up in the eager Lego fans.
Once the doors opened we made our way into the event. The first thing we saw were Brickscapes of various scenes created by combining Legos and Duplo sets. Some were rather ingenious like one that had combined a modern bunker scene with a Pirate Ship stuck in a tree. Another that was rather imaginative was a penguin filled winter landscape.
The next area held the Lego Model Gallery. There were around forty models, and they were all made of Legos. One that I thought was particularly well done was the Batman model. He’s posed on a corner of wall and the bricks in the wall look realistic from a distance. When you look closely, though, you’d see that the bricks were all made of Legos!
Following this area are a series of building areas. You can build a race car and race it down a ramp against others. You can show off your building skills at monochromatic building stations. Here the design of the object really shines as there are no colors to delineate areas or provide shading. You could also make a creation to add to a huge map of the country or fill in the colors on a base to help fill in a mystery mural. Of course, there was a Lego Shop that had many hard-to-find items on sale.
Only one thing detracted from the experience. The Lego Universe MMO game station was very popular as those who’d never tried out the MMO before were given a free opportunity. If they liked what they tried and bought a copy of the game, then they would get a unique mini-figure and a code to enter in the game. The code gave them a special Lego Kidsfest outfit for their in-game character to wear. This is great unless you’ve already bought the game as the mini-figure and code were given only with purchase. We already have 3 copies of the game, and I wasn’t about to buy another copy simply to get the mini-figure and code. I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. Many other fans who already had the game were voicing their displeasure that a purchase was required. I do understand why they were doing this. It was a “thank-you” to those who decided to buy the game after trying it at the Kidfest.
Despite the one let-down with the mini-figure and code, we all had a great time. There was something for everyone to do and it was reasonably priced. It is definitely an event I would recommend to anyone who likes Legos.
Credit where credit is due:
Lego Group & LIFE Marketing & Events (2011) Lego kidsfest Retrieved from http://www.legokidsfest.com/ (Link broken as of February 2023.)
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