Whenever I have my nieces or nephews visiting me, I always end up taking them to Great Lakes Crossing. Why? There are so many things to do at Great Lakes Crossing with kids, and we always have a fabulous time spending the day there. We have gone so much that it has now become our go-to place for fun activities.

Getting There

The Great Lakes Crossing Outlets is located right off of I-75 with accessible on/off exits at either Baldwin or Joslyn roads in Auburn Hills, Michigan. If you are staying anywhere in the Metro-Detroit area, the mall is very easy to reach. It is open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-9 p.m., and on Sunday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. You can choose any entrance as the mall is a giant oval a little over 1 mile long. The outlet mall has over 185 stores throughout nine districts and over 20 that are only found in Michigan. If you happen to be traveling from over 50 miles, you can receive a “Passport to Shopping” which has discounts from over 100 retailers. Pick up your passport from the visitor center in District 4. 
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Sea Life Michigan Aquarium

The Sea Life Aquarium is a beautiful small-sized aquarium right in Great Lakes Crossing. You can find the aquarium right next to the Rainforest Café, within District 7. You can save money if you buy your tickets online. One adult online ticket is $18.95. But, if you are planning on going to Legoland (see below), the combo ticket is $34.95.

Sea Life has 12 interactive exhibits showcasing over 250 species of marine life, including sharks, manta rays, and seahorses. You can spend an hour going through this quickly or a couple of hours enjoying each exhibit. It all depends on what you prefer. Lines to enter the aquarium can get long in the afternoon and on the weekends so; I would book early and go first thing when they open. There will be fewer crowds, and you will be able to get some good photos of the marine animals.

Legoland

Legoland is jammed packed with legos and activities pertaining to legos. You can save money if you buy your tickets online. One adult online ticket is $24.95. You start by entering Legoland by completing the Kingdom Quest. Once you finish there, you have free reign to the whole place. There is a 4D Lego cinema, Lego play zone, meet your favorite lego characters, rides and of course lots of legos for you to build your creations to your heart’s content. There is also a great lego display of Detroit (at least when I was there). I’m always surprised at the amount of work that goes into some of these lego masterpieces. Have you built any of them?

Round 1

Round 1 is the newest addition to Great Lakes Crossing. It is a cross between a bowling alley, Chuck E Cheese, and Dave & Busters all rolled into one. This is a great place to do birthday parties or just have some fun for an afternoon. Prices for bowling, billiards, karaoke, and others are here. The games are interesting as a lot of them seem to be from Asia. There are some familiar ones as well sprinkled throughout the room.  And for the adult kid in you, there is an area for you in Round 1 as well. There is a large billiards area next to a bar, and there are several karaoke rooms that you can reserve. Round 1 stays open until 2 a.m. every day. Plenty of things for the entire family to do at Round 1.

Summary

Great Lakes Crossing has a lot to offer families and especially aunts/uncles who love to spoil their nieces and nephews for an afternoon. You can do all of this in one day, but I would recommend choosing what you want to do. We’ve done the Sea Life and Legoland together. You can always save the Round 1 for a separate day. Don’t forget that in addition to these fun places, there is Bass Pro Shop, the food court with the merry-go-round and play area and my favorite movie theater AMC. There is plenty of things to do at Great Lakes Crossing with kids. Come and spend the day here!

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Further Reading

If you are coming to the Detroit area of Michigan for a visit, check out these posts for more travel inspiration:

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