NewOrleans Food Lover

It's kind of pricey to get in. There are a couple of hidden costs that you have to watch out for. They funnel you through the gift shop. After playing with Legos for hours, the kids beg for some as you leave, and Legos have gotten incredibly expensive. They also hold you hostage once you enter. The kids get hungry, so can you leave to go to the nice food court... NOPE. Once you leave, you can not re-enter. I was forced to pay an additional 13$ for a hot dog and tasteless pretzel. The 4D movie was interesting, but the lights were out by a couple of seconds. They would shoot the laser, then 3-4 seconds later you you see a flash in the room. The weather effects were cool. That was a first for me. There were a couple of play areas with no instructions and few Legos, we did not know what we were supposed to do. We spent a couple of hours in the car build/race area. Most of the parents were bored, just standing around the parimeter. My kids had fun for 5 hours, so I bumped my score up to 3 stars.

Nice walk through the woods. There is a small parking area, but with so few people walking here, I do not see it filling up. Most the paths are clearly marked. But a few seem to be missing. We walked to make a loop going by the lake, but the last segment was not maintained, and we had to bushwack to get to the trail again. Giant benches for resting. We scared up a dear that decided to lie down just feet from the path. She jumped up, snorted, and bounded through the woods. Gave us a scare.

A solid place to spend the day with kids. I enjoyed "nerding" out with the staff about minerals and the geologic history of the area. My kid had fun and spent hours playing with the exhibits. My only complaint was the tour. The tour guide was good, but it was not what I was expecting. I have had tours of working mines before; this was more a stage where you are guided from one scene to another. All flashing light and TV sets.