Legoland movie event draws youngsters, families to Crown Center

At 11 a.m. Sunday, Crown Center’s courtyard looked like a scene from “Frozen,” with icicles sparkling on a fence by the fountain and snow dusting the pavement like powdered sugar.

Inside the Legoland Discovery Center, everything was awesome for young fans attending “The Lego Movie” event weekend. The event featured movie-themed displays and scavenger hunts and a chance to mingle with live action versions of main characters Emmet Brickowski and WyldStyle.

Karen and Donny Lane of Smithville surprised sons Sawyer, 6, and Harrison, 2, with a visit to Legoland on Sunday morning.

The excited boys stood beside 3-foot models of Emmet and WyldStyle as their parents snapped photos. The models, on loan for the weekend, each took Lego master builders 40 hours and more than 13,000 bricks to construct.

Emmet’s blocky head wobbled slightly as Overland Park buddies Nico Viazzoli, 7, and Luke Thomlinson, 8, leaned in for a picture snapped by Nico’s dad, Michael Viazzoli.

“Be careful,” warned Michael Viazzoli. “Don’t break it.”

“I wouldn’t do that!” Nico said.

Sophie Atkinson, 23 months, shuffled in tiny brown cowboy boots as she sifted through pink and purple bricks at a special display built by Legoland master builder Jeremiah Boehr that emulated the movie’s Cloud Cuckoo Land.

Kids were encouraged to add bricks and other Lego accessories — pink umbrellas, green trees, cars, airplanes — to make Cloud Cuckoo Land more cuckoo. But Sophie was more into sifting than building.

“She can’t click them together quite yet,” said Sophie’s mom, Jeanette Atkinson of Webb City, Mo.

Nearby, 10-year-old Emerson Maher of Leawood reached into a bin, grabbed a car with wings attached to it, and zoomed it by her 3-year-old brother.

“Whoa, Beckett, look!” she said. “I made a car fly!”

The meet and greet started when 6-foot versions of Emmet and WyldStyle walked out of Legoland’s cafe and into the play area. Emmet’s costume involved an orange construction vest; WyldStyle donned a black zip-up hoodie and pink and blue streaks in her sideswept hair.

The smiling characters danced with one another and waved their hooked hands in the air as kids slowly and shyly gathered around.

Emerson Maher, wearing a “Most likely to smile” shirt, flashed a huge grin and gave two thumbs up as she posed for a photo with WyldStyle.

Sawyer and Harrison Lane — who own “The Lego Movie” DVD and lots of Lego toys — were more timid. They stood close together as they inched toward Emmet.

“I want to hug him,” Harrison whispered. But when he got close to Emmet, he just stared up in silent awe.

Sawyer was bolder: He wrapped his arms around WyldStyle before grabbing Emmet’s hooked yellow hand in his.

“They’re so excited,” Karen Lane said. “They don’t even like ‘Frozen’ — they’re all about Lego.”

This story was originally published November 16, 2014 at 3:32 PM with the headline "Legoland movie event draws youngsters, families to Crown Center."