My son is due to start school this year, and we thought that for a treat we would take him to Legoland Windsor. Having been there as a child when it was Windsor Safari Park, I had fond memories and was hoping that William (my son) would enjoy a big day out at a theme park. Before we went, I scoped out what we were getting ourselves in for by reading a few reviews, and found reactions to be mixed. Many were annoyed due to what they though was excessive queuing, others were overwhelmed by the amount to do and couldn't squeeze it all in. Everyone found it expensive, so, after fishing out some buy one get one free vouchers, we set off for Legoland early in the morning to ensure that we got there when it opened.
Legoland opens at 10am, and doesn't close until 7pm. While we were there, an announcement was made over the loudspeaker to say that they would be staying open an extra half an hour. As it was the last day proper of the school holidays, this didn't surprise us, as the park was teeming, and we heard some staff talking about it being the busiest day by far this summer.
Access to Legoland is simple enough. It is signposted once you get close to Windsor, and there wasn't really much of a queue. We were early enough that the traffic was flowing and we found ourselves a handy little parking space straight away. There is an option to park right next to the park, a mere stone's throw away, and this costs £6. However, the walk from where we were parked was only about minutes max anyway, so that would have been a waste. There were no queues to get in, and with the voucher, it cost £61 for the three of us - myself, my wife and William.
Immediately upon entry there is a shop or two and the option to buy a Q-Bot. This is a new electronic way of avoiding queues if this is what you want to do. You pay £10 per person, and you can then choose a time slot to go on one of the many rides. This is where you have to weigh up the options: do I pay an extra £30, or do I just put up with queuing for a bit each ride? We decided to queue. At the end of the day, we were there for William, not for ourselves, and as long as he was happy, then we were too. He doesn't mind queuing. He's quite happy to use Daddy as a climbing frame or pretend to be a kitten whilst cuddling Mummy - easily entertained!
Once you're inside, there are a number of things to do that avoid queuing, such as Lego construction rooms and a stage show. We went straight away to Sky Rider, which entailed a 20 minute queue to have a short ride around in a cart on a track about 6 or 7 metres up in the air. Our son loved it and it was a nice view. We had decided to go on about 5 or 6 of the rides, but spread them out a bit so William wasn't going from one queue to another, and throughout the day, we did just that.
The park is split into areas, and although it doesn't look like it, it does help to plan your route and your day. After a quick walk through Miniland, which is a mix of different countries around the world built out of Lego, we went to LegoCity and Will went on Digger Challenge. Again, there was a queue, around 20 minutes, and then you get a short demo and the kids get a chance to control a digger whilst wearing a hard hat and reflective clothing, etc. This only lasts for about five minutes, but this was fine.
Swiftly moving on, we wandered for half an hour or so, stopping to have a look at some of the amazing Lego constructions around the park and carefully avoiding some of the rides which had queues for over an hour - there was a limit to how long we would wait lol! Then we had lunch, just before 12. We were dreading the queues, but we seemed to time it perfectly. We went to have pizza, and it was £3.90 for a kids' pizza, with an apple and a drink, and £6.60 for an adults' pizza. Not bad, considering we were in a theme park and prices are naturally elevated as they have the monopoly somewhat.
After lunch, we carried on going round, and went to the Land of the Vikings. Will seemed a little unsure of the majority of the rides, so we didn't go on anything here, instead choosing to got through the maze, which he loved. Popping back to LegoCity, we queued for about half an hour to go on a short Dino Safari, which lasts about 3 minutes. Again, a long queue for a short ride, but it's a theme park - this will happen!
By this time, we were getting tired, and had to stop for a drink a little more frequently. It was a hot day even though the sun wasn't out, and fatigue was setting in. We took Will on Chopper Squadron in LegoCity (our favourite part of the park) and then let him have a go in the Driving School, which we had to wait about 45 minutes for, but he got a little driving licence for it and loved every second.
Thinking it would give us a break, we headed over to the far corner of the park for a nice quiet walk in the Enchanted Forest and Knights' Kingdom, where there was a big play castle for all the kids. However, when we got there read more