A woman visiting Toronto from the U.S. said she was "embarrassed and humiliated" when she was denied entry to the Legoland Discovery Centre because she didn't have a child with her.

Alice DeFriez said she was visiting Toronto from Utah last week, and saw a brochure in her hotel for the attraction at Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre.

DeFriez describes herself as an enthusiast who runs a Lego club at the Wasatch County Library in Heber City, Utah, and hosts a building contest every year.

"I started playing with Lego at age 12 and at one time wanted to be an architect," she wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca on Friday.

She purchased a ticket online, then rented a car to make the 25-kilometre drive from her hotel near Toronto Pearson International Airport to the mall in Vaughan, Ont.

When she arrived, she was told she was not allowed in because she didn't have a child with her.

The adult admission policy is listed on Legoland Discovery Centre's website, but prospective visitors must click on a link for "More information" when they are purchasing tickets online.

According to the Legoland policy, children 17 and under must be accompanied by an adult supervisor who is at least 18 years old, and "Adults 18 and older will not be admitted without a child, with the exception of Adult Only Nights."

The nights geared for adult visitors are held once a month.

DeFriez said, although her money was refunded, she felt discriminated against as a childless woman in her 30s.

"I know plenty of adults who go to Disneyland who aren't kids and don't have kids and they aren't turned away, embarrassed and humiliated," DeFriez wrote.

"What harm is an adult doing? I bet an adult Lego enthusiast such as myself would get more out of it than a child."

DeFriez also pointed to the case of a 63-year-old man who travelled from Windsor, Ont. to Toronto to fulfil a lifelong dream of visiting the centre in July 2013.

John St-Onge, a self-described "Lego fanatic" said he was crushed when he was denied entry to the centre.

"It made me feel awful. I felt discriminated against. I thought what the heck is the reason for this? If they gave me a reason maybe I could understand but they gave me no reason," he said.

At the time, a marketing manager at the Legoland said it was unfortunate, but defended the policy.

"It is a child attraction so we do have this in place to protect the families and the children that visit," she said.

Representatives of Legoland did not immediately respond to CTVNews.ca's request for comment on Friday.