VMLY&R and LEGOLAND reinvented the GPS experience for kids. Using Google Maps, they brought LEGOLAND stories together with GPS data to transform a phone’s GPS into an immersive LEGOLAND adventure.

The GPS experience is mapped in real time using Google Maps data, adjusting to any changes in the route. Every trip is based on a specific route, just as with a traditional GPS, but what kids see in the app is unique to their trip.
By integrating real-world destinations into imaginary storylines and games, every trip is a unique adventure. Not only are kids informed about their trip’s progress, but they’re also engaged and entertained by their surroundings. As kids share new discoveries with their parents, the trip becomes an interactive and educational game.

The GPS experience uses Google Maps data and manually identifies the exact geo-coordinates of more than 5,450 landmarks across the US. When a user enters their starting location, the app plans a route to LEGOLAND, pulling in 60 points of interest along the way. Each landmark is then matched with an activity — from fun facts and quizzes to themed games. As kids travel and progress on their route, they discover the landmarks around them and unlock games to progress in the story.

Within four months, the app recorded that 36,385 landmark milestones had been generated, 23,296 pieces of trivia had been read, 9,866 quizzes had been taken and 1,422 games had been played. That’s 785 hours of blissfully ‘Are we there yet’–less travel time, proving that by giving kids the right information about their environment and stimulating their cognitive thinking, long car journeys don’t have to be a problem.