Family Holidays: Legoland, Windsor, family days out

Take the Family holiday rating 5 stars out of 5

Why

A great day out, even for the parents - it is a little gentler than the roller-coasting frenzy of most parks. It is expensive, be warned (child £22 for one day and adult £24), but most families seem to think it is worth it. It is aimed at children between 6 and 12 realistically and although younger (and older children) can go on most of the rides, it is not really recommended and adults have to accompany any child under 130 cms. Parents seem particularly impressed by the friendliness of the staff, the number of toilets (always important) the quality of the food and picnic areas, the variety and quality of the rides and the care in the planning – for example, slides have been placed near steps so that children can ride while adults plod and the fact that there are rides for every age-group with plenty for the scaredy- cat parents who prefer to pretend to be firemen, than risk death on an upside down killer ride.

Top left: Legoland Driving School
Top middle: Legoland Pirate Falls
Top right: Legoland Jungle Coaster

Bottom left: Legoland Take the Digger Challenge!
Bottom right: Legoland The start of an exciting day

Best for

Legoland is brilliant fun for younger children, particularly between the ages of 6 and 12. Children under 3 are free to get in!

When

Open 17 Mar-3 Nov 2007, (except 24-25 Apr, 1-2, 8-9, 15-16, 22-23 May, 11-12, 18-19, 25-26 Sep, 2-3, 9-10, 16-17, 29-31 Oct & 1-2 Nov).

Opening times vary from 10am - 5pm/6pm or 7pm.
TIP: Although the park itself opens at 10am, it is advisable, (to help to avoid queues), to arrive at 9;30 when the car park, pay points, the Lego shop and the hill top restaurant opens. Another tip is to book tickets online, avoid more potential queues, and head straight for The Beginning.

Do

We recommend: –

Miniland – a collection of cities from around the world, the kids like the moving parts and the adults can wonder how they managed to make the Leaning Tower of Pisa out of Lego.

Driving school – for children as young as 6, the chance to drive ‘real’ cars and learn how to stop at red lights, zebra crossings etc. Give your joy-rider a head start.

Fire Academy – we saw almost as many dads on this as children, this is as close as it gets to being a real fireman, the whole family can act as a team to put out a fire. Mums invariably have to work the pump whilst the male members of her family get to leap into tottering buildings with hoses. Great team building fun.

Dragon Coaster – for smaller children and parents who don’t enjoy being hurtled around a track upside down.

Jungle Coaster – the biggest and scariest of the rides, not for those of a nervous disposition, but seems to fulfil all that large boys need in life.

Pirate Goldwash – on a personal note, I have always wanted to pan for gold and this was my chance, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

There are many other attractions, of varying degrees of danger and fun.

Eat

Hot dog stalls, popcorn stalls, baguette bar, Knight's Table Rotisserie, Pit Stop Cafe and so on. We have had good responses about the baguette bar in particular, but we also recommend bringing your own picnic, there are several rather nice picnic areas and you can always top up with sweetie treats as you go along.