TOP TIPS FOR VISITING LEGOLAND

Legoland Windsor is a firm favourite with our mini Chiltern Chatterer’s ☺ We’ve visited the theme park too many times to mention! To help you get the most out of your trip, we’ve compiled our top tips to help make a trip to Legoland enjoyable for everyone.

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1. Buy your tickets in advance! Whether you buy your tickets direct from Legoland website or by redeeming supermarket loyalty points, you will definitely save money. Tesco Clubcard points or Nectar points can be used to buy either an Annual pass or Day ticket. You will need more than one day to see and do everything in the park, so an Annual Pass is a good investment.

2. Getting there! If you can, approach Legoland from the South, not through Windsor. The road access to the theme park gets very congested especially in the summer, so try to avoid driving through the centre of Windsor whenever possible. Plan your route before leaving home, and bring some distractions for the kids in the car to avoid the constant ‘when will be there’ questions from the backseat.

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3. Get there early! The park itself opens at 10am, however you can purchase tickets and enter the beginning area (which has shops, toilets, a restaurant, buggy hire and customer services area) from 9:30am. We recommend being in the park before the opening time and ready to move down to the main area of the park when you are allowed. Getting there before 10am means you will also miss lots of traffic and long queues of people entering the park.

4. Age appropriate. Children aged between 3 and 12 years will get the most out of Legoland. The rides may be a bit ‘tame’ for older kids, although there’s still plenty of things to see. There’s not a huge amount of things to do for under 3’s, although they get into the park for FREE.

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5. Start at the back of the park and work your way back up. Most people stop at the first things they come to such as, the Imagination Centre or Miniland, but if you do the opposite and head to the bottom of the park, you’ll find the rides fairly quiet.

6. Remember to pack the kids’ swimming costumes and a towel. Duplo Valley is a massive water play area. Trust us, your kids will want to join in, whatever the weather. Your hopes of keeping your kids out of this area are practically zero, so be prepared for them to get wet (and need drying).

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7. Food is not cheap – bring a picnic (Legoland allows picnics ☺). As you can probably guess, the food tends to be pricey, and with a couple of growing kids in tow, it can be pretty expensive to keep them fed and watered. There are plenty of areas to sit and have a picnic, the grass around Miniland is particularly popular. There’s also a designated picnic area at the back of the park in Adventure Land. If you do fancy grabbing a bite to eat at one of the restaurants and you have an annual pass, make sure you flash your pass before ordering as you’ll get 20% off your bill.

8. Bring your buggy if your little one sometimes uses it. Legoland is built on a steep hill and enthusiastic little legs at the start of your day don’t always want to make their way back up to the exit at the end. You can also hire buggies from guest services near the entrance.

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9. Plan your visit and be realistic. There are over 50 rides and attractions in the park – it’s impossible to ‘do’ everything in one day. Dragon Ride (rollercoaster), Pirate Falls, Atlantis Submarine Voyage, Boating school and Driving school are some to the really popular rides. Decide which ones are on your ‘hit’ list for the day and head there first. Pick up a park guide leaflet when you enter the park, it gives you all the show-times, details of height restrictions and a map to help you navigate the park.

10. Use the ‘Lost Parents” stickers – these stickers are free and available from guest services. They’re a great idea if visiting the park with young children, who wouldn’t know what to do if they get lost. You fill in your mobile number and stick it on your child’s back. If they should be separated from you a member of the Legoland team can call the number and reunite you.

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11. Plenty of things to do that don’t involve much queuing. See the Pirates show. It’s well worth seeing – grab an ice cream and have a well earned rest for 20 minutes. Take a meander around Miniland, it’s what makes Legoland special. The Imagination theatre run several show through the day, good entertainment and a chance to sit down, check the times on the park guide

12. Visit the park on an off-peak day. The park is much quieter if you visit out of school holidays or weekends. Or if the weather is not looking so good, it may be a good day to visit the park as others won’t.

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13. Stay late if you can muster the energy. Most people don’t stay late, so in the late afternoon the park empties and the queues get shorter. It’s also quicker to exit the carpark later in the evening as most people have already left.

14. If you’re feeling flush, or it’s a special birthday treat, then stay at the Legoland Hotel and get ‘Guest Only’ entry to the park. Be warned it is expensive to stay at the hotel but everything about it screams LEGO, from the rooms, swimming pool, restaurant and kids entertainment.

And last of all have a great time ☺