Adult Lego Fans Complain About Age Discriminaion Over Kids-Only Lego Discovery Center

Lego is great for people of all ages, but some grown-up Lego fans in Australia are livid to learn that the new Legoland Discovery Center in Melbourne is just for kids, and at least one claims to be filing an official complaint on the grounds that the park is committing age discrimination by not allowing grown-ups to enter.

According to The Guardian, the Legoland Discovery Center is designed for kids ages three through 10. Children are required to be accompanied by an adult, and nobody over the age of 17 is allowed to enter without being accompanied by a child.

”Absolutely disgusted to hear that you will discriminate on grounds of age,” wrote furious Lego fan Mark Robinson on the center’s Facebook page.

”Lego is something that is enjoyed across all the ages I personally have thousands of dollars worth of the creator and architecture series and it’s clear that many adults without children will want to experience the attractions.”

Robinson says he’s filing a complaint with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, which says that age discrimination is illegal, except in “reasonable” situations. The office has no commented on the situation, but it seems likely that they would rule a children’s playground to be a “reasonable” place to exclude adults.

Robinson may own thousands of dollars of difficult, high-end adult Lego sets, but he does not seem to be entirely clued-in to the “Adult Fans of Lego” community, where it is apparently common knowledge that the Legoland Discovery Centers are kids-only Lego-themed playgrounds designed to be interesting to kids between three and 10.  It is not the same thing as a Legoland amusement park, which are accessible to everybody. The Discovery Centers are designed as children’s playgrounds, and there are 17 of them around the world that are just for kids. The play equipment has a maximum height requirement, so adults wouldn’t really be able to enjoy it even if they were so inclined. They have a ride or two, but they’re slow-moving rides appropriate for 3-year-olds, so it’s not exactly like the adult fans are being kept out of any great excitement.

There are a lot of adult Lego fans in the world, and at least one stopped into the comment fray on the site’s Facebook page to opine that any “real Adult Fan of Lego” already knows that the Discovery Centers are for kids and don’t mind. Legoland and all the Lego stores are available for grown-ups, and much more exciting anyway.

The Melbourne one includes a Duplo play area, a couple kid-sized rides, and a mini model of the city of Melbourne. It’s attached to a Lego store, which is accessible to adults of all ages.

Lego said the Discovery Center was a ”small, indoor attraction designed to provide safe and fun environments for families with children aged 3-10” that was ”not suitable for grown adults.”

Robinson is not alone in his distress, though. A fair number of adult Australian Lego fans ought tickets and were upset to find they couldn’t go to the Discover Center. One was turned away during a pre-opening preview, and some had purchased annual passes. If Lego wasn’t clear enough that the Discovery Center  is just for kids, it makes sense that people who bought full-year passes without knowing that they couldn’t enter would be angry. If Lego didn’t make that clear, Lego should give these fans their money back.

A number of adults were confused and angry, and Lego would do them a good turn by refunding the ticket prices for those who didn’t understand what the park was and bought annual passes. But really, it’s designed for kids and isn’t going to be fun for adults, and acting like a baby isn’t going to change anybody’s mind.

Do you think this is really discrimination? Let us know in the comments.