I Was Evacuated From Ride at LEGOLAND New York and it was Awesome

On a recent trip to LEGOLAND New York in Goshen, our family got stuck on a ride. What happened next was magical.

LEGOLAND New York just opened for the season so my wife and I decided to take our son to the park on what turned out to be a busy spring break afternoon. Upon entry, there were a few rides temporarily shut down for maintenance. With plenty of other rides and attractions to visit,  we simply skipped the closed rides and had an amazing time exploring the rest of the park.

One of the closed rides was the LEGO Factory Tour, an attraction that my son really wanted to go on. As we were leaving the park we noticed that the ride had just reopened and there was only a short line of people waiting so we enthusiastically headed inside.

The LEGO Factory Tour is a LEGOLAND first. It's a marvel of technology and storytelling. Instead of a track, the vehicles drive themselves following sensors embedded in the floor. They spin, jump and rock according to the action going on around them as visitors are treated to a tour of an imaginary LEGO factory.

At one point in the ride, you're transformed into a LEGO Minifigure that looks just like you. As you stare into a "mirror" you can see yourself as a Minifigure that matches your every movement. It's really cool.

Unfortunately, just as our family was being turned into our LEGO doppelgangers something unexpected happened. The ride abruptly stopped and an announcement came over loudspeakers explaining that we were experiencing a brief delay. It's not uncommon for rides at theme parks to temporarily pause in order to assist people on and off, so we didn't think anything of it.

Luckily we were seated in a calm part of the ride. Directly behind us were three vehicles that were stopped in front of a huge screen that made them feel like they were riding on a dizzying conveyor belt. That didn't look like much fun.

After a few moments, the automated announcement was followed by a live person speaking over a microphone telling people to remain in their seats as the ride was being looked at. It appeared that this wasn't a usual hiccup, but something a little more serious.

The music and sound effects of the ride continued to play as people started chatting away with each other in their vehicles, waiting patiently for the ride to start back up again. Suddenly a worker began yelling into the microphone frantically telling people to remain in their seats. We couldn't see what was going on in the other rooms of the ride, but it appeared that someone became impatient and was trying to leave.

After a few more minutes the music stopped and we heard a huge hiss followed by the click of our restraints. The ride had completely been turned off and our safety bar became unlocked. An announcement again urged everyone to stay in their seats and not move.

A little while later an employee casually walked into the room and explained that he would be personally escorting each party off of their vehicles and that we needed to wait patiently for our turns. My son turned to me and said, "This is AWESOME!" Since we happened to be in a spot that was the furthest from the entrance, we would get a full behind-the-scenes walking tour of the ride.

I documented the whole thing on video (see the TikTok above) as we walked past the empty vehicles, screens and props. Walking on the floor of the ride, where very few people had ever been allowed, was truly something special and an experience my son won't soon forget.

Eventually, we were helped up onto the loading platform and greeted by another employee who personally apologized for the situation. Our family was confused why they would be apologizing because this was the coolest experience we've ever had at a theme park. To top it off, we were presented with a special pass that would allow us to cut the line on any other ride at the park.

What may have been a bummer for some people turned out to be the best part of our day. And the LEGOLAND staff was amazing, making us feel happy and safe the entire time.

On our way home my son was already talking about taking our next trip back to LEGOLAND. When we asked him which ride he wanted to visit first, he told us he didn't care as long as it broke down and we got to walk through it again.