Top ten tips for visiting Legoland, Windsor

We visited Legoland, Windsor midweek at the beginning of June to make the most of Charlie still being a preschooler and therefore not having to visit during the school holidays.  Legoland has something on offer for the entire family, it is a great family attraction.  These ten top tips for visiting Legoland should ensure you also have a memorable visit… 

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1.  Invest time in some research and buy your tickets in advance.  It is no secret that a family day out at a visitor attraction can be expensive however, by saving on your entrance tickets you will ensure you have enough money left over for ice creams and a visit to the Lego shop! 

You can save 25% by buying your tickets online via the Legoland website a minimum of seven days prior to your visit.  Visitor attraction tickets can usually be purchased at a discounted rate, Legoland tickets are no exception, you just need to be a little savvy and do some research beforehand.  Check out Groupon, VoucherCloud, cereal boxes and even consider using your supermarket loyalty points (Tesco Clubcard and Nectar etc).   We planned our visit to Legoland as we had two complimentary adult tickets via being subscribers to The Sunday Times*

* We have found our subscription to be excellent value for money as we are entitled to apply for member only events, offers and extras.  We have saved nearly £250 in the last couple of months just through obtaining two complimentary adult tickets to Legoland, two complimentary adult tickets to Warwick Castle, discounted meals via the Times Plus scheme plus numerous complimentary coffees at The Sunday Times sponsored events.  (We also get Spotify premium for free through our subscription). All for the same cost as purchasing a weekly Sunday Times.  I would definitely recommend subscribing even if (like me!) you do not have time to read an entire Sunday Times due to running around like a headless chicken looking after your children all week!

2.  Measure your child’s height at home.  This will allow you to research in advance what rides he/she will be able to enjoy and make the most of your time at the attraction.  Although if you forget to do this the resort map is excellent and shows visitors very clearly what rides/attractions they can enjoy.  I was not expecting Harry who is only one to have many ride options but there are 20 rides/attractions at Legoland which are suitable for under 3’s with no minimum height restriction.  Just look out for the red and white teddy bear logo on the map.

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3.  Pack your kiddies bathing suits.  I failed to realise there was a water play area (Duplo Valley) at Legoland.  (I know… I need to practice what I preach and research before visiting an attraction!)  It looked great fun, I would have liked to have jumped in myself as it was such a hot day!

4.  Consider paying extra for a Q-Bot (a ride reservation device) if you have no choice but to visit the park during peak times.  We were really lucky having the option to visit during term time and Legoland was relatively quiet with queues for only the most popular rides.  There are different Q-Bot packages available costing from £15 to £75.  The least expensive option provides you with a reserved ride time leaving you to explore the resort rather than wait in line and the most expensive gives you instant access to 21 rides and attractions. 

5. Work your way from back to front.  As with most attractions, if you arrive as it opens it is worth going straight to the back of the park (Knights Kingdom, Pirate Shores and Kingdom of the Pharaohs) and work your way forward, therefore going against the crowds.  This is all great in theory however I must admit I have never fully managed to do this, although we have attempted to on many occasions.  Charlie is always understandably so excited to be there he wants to go on the first ride he stumbles across.

6.  Mix it up! Mix up the queuing for rides by watching one of the shows; enjoying a walk around Miniland (scenes from the US and Europe built out of Lego bricks – London was our favourite); letting your children run off some steam in the fabulous playground or enjoying some retail therapy in the Lego shops.

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7.  Do not miss the Atlantis Submarine Voyage.  For any sea creature enthusiasts this ride is a must!  Charlie is an Octonauts fan, he loves reciting facts about sea creatures.  Imagine his delight therefore at being able to Captain a submarine and view numerous sharks, stingrays and fish.  I did not think he was ever going to allow us to leave… After a couple of turns we encouraged him to leave his ‘vessel’ to go and buy an ice-cream!

8.  Save valuable time and money by taking a picnic. In the summer months we tend to take a picnic everywhere we go. There are plenty of grassy spaces to enjoy a family picnic, we sat close to Miniland which was perfect as Charlie could run off and play guess the country! 

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9.  Consider staying overnight. Although we only had to travel 1.5 hours we decided to extend our visit by staying overnight.  We stayed at the  Holiday Inn in Windsor.  I can thoroughly recommend the hotel – it was modern, clean and great value for money at approx. £80 B&B for the four of us.  The following day we enjoyed the main sights in Windsor including the changing of the guard and a stroll across to Eton College. 

If your budget permits there is a resort hotel located next door to the attraction which I must say looks fantastic.  (I have this on my wish list for our next visit!)  They offer packages which include a free second day at the resort which is definitely useful as it is impossible to enjoy all the attractions the park has to offer in one day.

10.  Upgrade to an annual pass. If you enjoy your visit there is the option to upgrade to an annual pass (you will have your day passes refunded).  If we lived closer to Windsor I would definitely purchase annual passes as the attraction truly does offer something for everyone. 

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Have you visited Legoland?  Can you add any of your own top tips?

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15 Comments

  1. 18th September 2015 / 9:54 am

    These are great tips Lisa. We went last year and I wish I had known about teh Q-Bot! Will definitely do that next time round. It’s a great day out, but so big… I think we could have spend a whole week in there! Thanks for linking up with #MondayEscapes

    • Lisa Jane
      Author
      24th September 2015 / 10:42 pm

      Yes I agree you could spend all week at Legoland Ting! There is so much to do, especially if you want to see every show and visit the water splash park. Thanks for stopping by!

  2. 27th August 2015 / 4:35 pm

    Great tips – although I’m quite close, we still haven’t been, and it always seems like there’s so much to do it’s a bit overwhelming! Good tip about the Sunday Times (I have whole sections piled up for a spare moment sometimes) #mondayescapes

    • Lisa Jane
      Author
      27th August 2015 / 8:02 pm

      Thanks for reading Cathy. If you live close by I would look into getting an annual pass rather than trying to fit it all into one visit as there is a lot to do! You could easily spend half a day with Minnie in the water area – Splash Safari.
      I’m glad I’m not the only one collecting Sunday Times! The travel sections are collecting dust under my coffee table but I am determined to read them when I get a child free moment! #MondayEscapes

  3. 25th August 2015 / 1:31 pm

    Legoland is soooo cool! I have never been to one, apparently there is one here in Germany too.
    I always see you guys from the UK writing about it, I am starting to think I need to check it out :D

    Great tips that helps save a lot of time!

    #MondayEscapes

    • Lisa Jane
      Author
      27th August 2015 / 2:44 pm

      It is a cool place!! You definitely need to check it out :-) #MondayEscapes

  4. 24th August 2015 / 9:17 pm

    I keep hearing about this Legoland! We don’t have any in Australia but it was just announced this week that there will be an indoor version of Legoland opening here in Melbourne in 2017. Looks fun!

    • Lisa Jane
      Author
      27th August 2015 / 2:47 pm

      It is fun! Great news that they are opening up in Melbourne Natalie. Thanks for reading :-)

  5. 24th August 2015 / 6:01 pm

    Great tips. We have been to LEGOLAND many times as we used to have Merlin cards but sadly our kids are now too old for LEGOLAND. We have never stayed in the hotel but we used to pop in during the afternoon for a sit down and well deserved cold drink (just so I could have a good old nosey around) !!

    • Lisa Jane
      Author
      27th August 2015 / 2:49 pm

      That sounds like my perfect afternoon Tracey… a drink and people watching!! Thanks for reading

  6. 24th August 2015 / 3:11 pm

    The first tip got me really really curious, you got all those things just from subscribing to the Sunday Times? Wow! Can I subscribe from Qatar? Lol.

    • Lisa Jane
      Author
      27th August 2015 / 2:50 pm

      Ha ha, you could give it a shot Pinay! Yes we are very impressed with our Sunday Times my plus subscription, it has been well worth the money :-) Thanks for reading #MondayEscapes

  7. Sole
    14th August 2015 / 10:50 am

    Great tips! It’s definitely a good idea to gave a plan to make the most of the park! Bringing your own picnic sounds good too as most of the food offered at the park is over priced! I would definitely recommend investing in a QBot! Well worth the money if you don’t wish to spend half of your day queueing!

    • Lisa Jane
      Author
      14th August 2015 / 9:42 pm

      Thanks for reading Sole. We were lucky not to experience queues but I would invest in a QBot to make the most of our day if we visited during peak times:-)

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