Bricks By The Bay

Because you, dear reader, are one of my favorite people, I’ll tell you this–
FOR THE LOVE OF BRICKSBURG, BUY THE VIP TICKETS FOR THE SUNDAY EXPO.
You will not spend as long here as you think you will— so have a plan of attack for the vendor hall. Buy your T-​shirts and pins ASAP as they seem to sell out of certain sizes/​styles rather fast. Bring cash for those purchases, and for the vendor hall as well as quite a few of those folks do not take plastic.
Just relax and move with the crowds, not against them. Have fun!!!

I would give this event 10 stars simply for the customer service. I had a donation voucher for four tickets. In order to redeem the tickets, it said to contact Bill Ward, the President of Bricks by the Bay. I forgot to contact Bill in advance. Frantically, the morning of the event, I sent an email to Bricks by the Bay left a message on Bill’s general phone contact that was listed on the website. I was hoping to redeem my tickets. Within an hour of sending my email, Bill Ward sent me a text message. I was surprised that I even received a response because it was so last minute and I know that being the President of the company, he had to be busy. After exchanging a few text messages, he contacted the event staff and told them to expect me and he also gave me the name of another staff person in case I had any issues. Bill Ward is a superstar and the rest of his staff must be like him because Bricks by the Way was a fantastic and fun event.

Tickets: Okay, so this a 4 day event and you can buy badges for the entire convention and they start at $ 60, and go up by $ 10 depending on when you purchase them. There are 150 deluxe badges and you get a shirt, pin, and event kit. Also, the number of full weekend badges are limited to 600. However, if you want to just go for one day, it is open on the Sunday. One day badges are $ 12 if you buy them early, and go up to $ 15. Still with me? Complicated, I know. Workshops are an extra $ 15 per workshop and might include additional fees for materials. I think there is a discount if you stay at the hotels that have a partnership with the convention.
Parking: Since this is located in the Santa Clara convention center, there was plenty of parking. We went on a Sunday and it was free so they just waved us through and we were able to find a spot close to one of the entrances to the convention center.
Wait time: We waited in line for 30 minutes to get in. We went right before the convention started and there was still a line snaking inside in the convention center. They only had two ticket scanners at the front, but it’s okay– they were pretty nice and were apologetic for the long wait. I sorta feel bad for the kids around us though since they were complaining a lot. The convention center had a lot of free water stations around us, so that was nice.
Exhibits: There are two main rooms, and it took us an hour to go through each room. It was really cute to see the work of builders of all ages. We took tons of pictures, and we chatted with a bunch of exhibitors and learned a lot. Tons of builds to see.
Vendors: Scattered through both rooms. BRING CASH. Some vendors do accept card, but it’s still pretty rare. There are ATMs, but yeah– fees up the wazoo. We saw tons of old sets, loose bricks, lego accessories, t-​shirts, custom minifigures, and even lego candy! Good variety of vendors.
Crowds: My fiancé and I were a little out place as being one of the only couples there without kids. We still had a lot of fun though. It was pretty crowded though and some people didn’t move for a long time at certain exhibits which was irritating.
TLDR: Really good convention to bring kids, but they are probably going to outgrow this event space soon. It was awesome to see such passionate brickaholics though. Great people.

Very, very fun. Incredible LEGO builds, with astounding detail. Very open to participation from young kids, teens, and adults. If you’re an AFOL (Adult Fan Of Lego) you should definitely come check this out.
If you have children that like LEGO, you should at least bring them on Sunday (very cheap admission, but bigger crowds). If they’re really into LEGO, register for the full conference and bring them on Saturday (and even Friday!). They’ll walk away with an incredible array of new ideas, and you’ll probably be inspired to join them in some LEGO building.

This is a great Bay Area Convention, that had it’s beginnings as at tiny event in Fremont four years ago. My son is a LEGO addict, has been since age 5 and when we heard of a local LEGO focused event, we went! If you want to be inspired as to what can be built with LEGOs, this is the place to go!
Outstanding projects made of simple bricks ranging from tiny vehicles to a nine foot tall diorama of a scene from «Lord of the Rings». It can get really crowded on the Public Viewing day, so I recommend joining the convention where you have three days to see everything at a much more leisurely pace, with plenty of room to spare.
I’ve been to dozens of different conventions over the last 35 years and this one is a great, family friendly and oriented event that is on the upward cycle of growing each year and I can tell the staff is doing everything they can to make sure everyone has a great time.
Comparisons to LEGOland are just not relevant. I’ve been, took my LEGO obsessed son, and he was greatly underwhelmed. But that is another review.

This show is amazing. I’ve gone the last 2 years and the displays are incredible. There is something to see here for everyone. If you’re a life long LEGO fan, or your kids are just getting into LEGO, there are models that will inspire all levels of builder.
Just as great as the displays are the vendors. You can buy new and used parts and sets that you won’t find anywhere else. There are also tons of great accessories like shirts, jewelry, and more… all focused on LEGO.
Don’t Miss It!

I thought the Lego sculptures were fabulous! Our family really enjoyed it. It was really crowded though. I think they should cap it off at a certain number of people, or they should make two sessions, morning/​afternoon. By the time noon came around, there want any room to walk anywhere. We wanted to buy some Lego people, but we couldn’t because the crowds were too much.
Also, prices for Legos weren’t any cheaper than at the store or on amazon. I think a lot of it was used Legos as well.
8 bux for tickets, children 2 and under free.

Went to this on Sunday, March 18. Yes, it was really crowded and we had to wait in line for 20 minutes to purchase the $ 8 tickets. I recommend buying online, which was available up until the day before the event. There was no line to wait to get in if tickets were purchased online. Basically, if you have been to Legoland, you can skip this event. Legoland is much more amazing.