Legoland UK with Kids – A Great Family Day Out
Arrival at Legoland
Written pre Covid-19, some details may change – check their website for up to date information.
One of our local Theme Parks is Legoland,near Windsor (UK). We often visit and have been since our youngest was 2 years old. We have a Merlin Pass which allows us free access to this and 32 other attractions around the UK, many of which are local to us so we get a lot of benefit from it. As with most theme parks, visiting Legoland UK with kids can be quite expensive, so do some research beforehand and look for promotions, particularly around the school holidays.
This is a review based on numerous trips with my children, aged 1 and 4 and will hopefully provide some tips and tricks about how to get the most from your day. The theme park is designed for children aged between 2-12 and under 2’s get in free.
When you visit Legoland UK with kids, be sure to get there early…this is key if you want to get parking anywhere near the park and makes for a stress free exit at the end of the day. The Beginning and Miniland (the first two areas of the park you come to) open at 9.30am and if you get there for this time you can walk down to the park gates ready to get in when the rest of the park opens at 10am. This is particularly worthwhile on busy days (such as school holidays and weekends), but Legoland is always popular so this is always a good idea if you can get there early enough.
Tickets and how we bought our Merlin Passes
If you can buy tickets in advance you get a cheaper rate and this will avoid the (sometimes long) queue to buy tickets on the day. Look out for 2-4-1 deals (these can be found on cereal packets and other confectionary) as this will make your ticket price a lot more reasonable. If you are considering Merlin Passes then visit their website to find out more.
We got ours using our Tesco Club-card points and I then upgraded my pass to a Premium Pass so that we get free parking throughout the year. There are restrictions on some dates if you have a standard pass (mostly during August for the attractions near us) but as our eldest isn’t in school yet we can easily avoid these this year. Full details on their website. For us they’re great and we’ve made our money back and more already.
The rides
How you approach the rides is up to you but generally we aim to do the busy rides either first thing or last thing. Some of the queues can get insane! Coastguard HQ is popular, as is the Atlantis submarine and Laser Raiders so good ones to prioritise.
There is an abundance of rides suitable for young children, many of which you can go on alone with two children should you be the only adult (often the case for me). In Duplo Valley (the area dedicated to the smallest ones) there are loads of options that are still favourites even for our 4 year old. From the Fairy Tale Brook boat ride to the Duplo Train these relaxed rides are enjoyed by all.
Our eldest is now tall enough, and sometimes brave enough, to enjoy some of the slightly older rides. These include Knights Quest (a fast spinning carousel ride) and Dragons Apprentice (a rollercoaster especially for young children). The choice of rides for her is truly never ending and I don’t think we’ve ever managed to get on all of them in one day.
The Shows
If you’re visiting Legoland UK with kids, then the Duplo valley theatre is a must. They certainly know how to put on a show and throughout the day there are numerous to choose from. In Duplo Valley they have the Duplo Valley Theatre which has shows throughout the day. We have watched both Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Rupunzel there and the girls thoroughly enjoyed both.
One of our favourites is the Return to Skeleton Bay Pirate Stunt Show which is very popular (so get there early for a good seat!) and includes lots of stunts, water tricks and dancing. We usually go to the midday show and if we have a picnic, we eat it whilst we watch.
What to eat
There are loads of food outlets in the park ranging from full on sit down meals to little cabins selling hot dogs and ice cream. There are also lots of picnic tables dotted around for you to eat a picnic.
Generally we take a picnic and eat it at midday whilst watching the pirate show but occasionally we’ve done the all you can eat Pizza and Pasta buffet and the Fish and Chips. As expected, these are not cheap, so we tend to mix it up.
Anything else?
There is a handy app that you can download that has ride times (these arent always accurate but are useful for a ball park figure), a live map (so you can see where you are and get directions to rides – exceptionally helpful!) and details on what rides and shows there are. It’s a great tool. It drains your battery though, I warn you!
Our 4 year old struggles to walk the entire day around the park so I always take the buggy with a buggy board attached. If you don’t have one and think your little one might struggle, you can hire buggies at the main gates. They charge £10 for a single and £15 for a double.
Plan ahead as much as you can. Consider what rides you want to prioritise, as on a busy day you might struggle to get on them all. Also it is handy to know your child’s height so you can see which rides they’ll be able to go on.
The toilet facilities throughout the park are excellent and you are never far away from some. The baby change facilities are plentiful and clean.
If your children are into Lego, there are loads of places to buy it or simply play with it – building characters using lego or even using the computer. My eldest really enjoys the Lego Reef where you can design a fish to go into the Reef.
Summary
A trip to legoland UK with kids is a great day day out for the whole family and we always enjoy visiting. With planning, and an element of luck (you can’t guarantee what the weather will be like, if any rides will be in maintenance or how busy it’ll be!) you can have a fantastic time.
For more on Theme Parks within the UK check out our blog posts on visiting Chessington World of Adventures with Children here. Also our post on visiting Alton Towers with children here.
