legoland windsor
Author
Discussion

petemurphy

Original Poster:

10,923 posts

213 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
so my 7 year old wants to go next week - we've never been before

any tips on saving money / beating queues / whats best etc etc?

bar not going that is..


stongle

5,910 posts

192 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
petemurphy said:
so my 7 year old wants to go next week - we've never been before

any tips on saving money / beating queues / whats best etc etc?

bar not going that is..
Send someone in your place, you miserable sod.

're saving money, seems to be vouchers on various kids cereals or Cadbury products I think (buy 1 get 1 Free adult).

Otherwise, it gets quieter later in the day AND the sets are cheaper on Amazon or John Lewis don't buy there!

cs174

1,271 posts

250 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
Use a Tesco Clubcard, if you have one, to buy tickets. They are much cheaper this way

Blakeatron

2,566 posts

203 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
Went last friday and used the kellogs vouchers so £126 for 4 of us (£6 parking).

Got there at 9, ticket booths opened at 9.20, through the gate at 9.30.
Then you arent allowed in the park until 10 - but the shops are open..

Longest wait was ninjago and that was 50mins, found that the waiting times were quite out. Most said 30mins but were only actually 15.

Did all the big rides and quite a few small ones, maybe 15 in total.

For lunch we went to the friends area as there is an all you can eat pizza/pasta place.
We got 1 adults and 1 childrens and then shared so saved £24!

Generally had a great time, miniland is looking tired and grubby and the trains and cars dont really work.
The park and rides were clean and tidy and the staff were all excellent.

We left around 5.30

Samcat

505 posts

253 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all

+1 on the Tesco Clubcard, go in the week during school holidays, might be a bit quieter

Seven is a great age for LEGOLAND, my twins loved it.

David87

7,025 posts

242 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
Yep, don't ever pay full price - use the Tesco points to get in for free / cheap. Food is expensive once you're in and so if you can be arsed, I'd recommend taking a packed lunch. Avoid the massive shop unless you want your wallet to be completely emptied. biggrin

MYOB

5,126 posts

168 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
I went last year - it was the worst day out ever for us. We only managed to get on 3 rides in the whole day due to the ridiculous queues.

We must have gone on the worst day possible...

We did one of those "hotel" deals where we stayed overnight in a hotel and got tickets included.

Edited by MYOB on Wednesday 22 August 12:37

Alucidnation

16,810 posts

200 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
Out of all the places to go, Lego land is certainly not one of them but, the kids will love it.

Horrendous place, so just go with a very relaxed attitude and you should just about survive.

I can, however, guarantee that you will never want to go again.

petemurphy

Original Poster:

10,923 posts

213 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
Thanks all I can’t wait..

Spare tyre

12,566 posts

160 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
I was scared about going there, I was bricking it

Chris Type R

8,945 posts

279 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
Went on a Saturday at the beginning of the school holidays. Lovely sunny day - worst family outing ever.

In terms of saving money, take a picnic lunch with you, and your own drinks. It's a day of queues, frustration and eye watering prices.


petemurphy

Original Poster:

10,923 posts

213 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
hmmm a season pass is 45 yet a day ticket 52? am i missing something?

https://www.legoland.co.uk/tickets-and-passes/annu...


although have aa membership that is 35 for a day ticket - any better deals?

Chris Type R

8,945 posts

279 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
petemurphy said:
hmmm a season pass is 45 yet a day ticket 52? am i missing something?

https://www.legoland.co.uk/tickets-and-passes/annu...

although have aa membership that is 35 for a day ticket - any better deals?
... and the £90 Q-Bot Ultimate pp.

havoc

33,397 posts

265 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
- As above, pay with Clubcard tokens or with the Cadbury 2-for-1 vouchers. Full-price is a rip-off.

- Aim to do the most popular / biggest rides* at the start or end of the day - the first 30mins is as quiet as the morning gets, but often from 4.30 / 5pm the crowds start thinning-out. Queues are usually worst immediately after lunch - say 1.30pm to 3pm or so...

- Put the Legoland App on your phone - instant access to queue times. As above, they're not always reliable though, but it's better than nothing.

- At the end of the day, it's the QUEUES that close at 6pm - the rides remain open until that queue has all passed through. So joining a queue at 5.55pm is absolutely fine.

- Talking of queues, don't try to drive out of the park anywhere between 6pm and 6.45pm - it's mayhem. Either decide you've had enough and leave early, or do what I said above and take a late ride, then have a leisurely walk back to the car via Miniland (I'd only visit here during the hectic post-lunch period or after the rides close), and then maybe via Big Shop at the top (which is open I think until 7pm).

- If you've a long drive and are staying late, consider stopping somewhere local for a quick dinner (Prince Albert pub closest and certainly not inedible, or Maidenhead is ~10-20min drive and they've a few chain options), then tuck the kids under a blanket in the back if they'll sleep in the car on the way home.

- Star Wars exhibit at the top is worth a walk-round for a change of scene, unless none of you like Star Wars. Cinema also another distraction from rides when busy...avoid the centre benches though!

- Food there is expensive and often mediocre, so take a picnic if you can be bothered to carry it around with you. Also half the places close at 3pm and the rest by 5pm (except Hilltop Cafe I think), so you won't be able to get a late meal there. Pirate Burger joint probably the safest bet, that or Fish & Chips.

- Q-Bots are a great way to spend a lot more money. You sort-of need to decide before you arrive whether you're going to double-up on the spend (or more) to get a Q-Bot (and then plan carefully what you're going to set the Q-bot waiting for while you go on a ride with a shorter queue), or whether not to spend that much cash and just be patient. Q-Bots also don't do Ninjago ride...

- Lakeside show is cheesy as hell but if you've young kids they'll enjoy it, and it's a good way to spend lunchtime without doing nothing (IYSWIM). The Friends one is saccharine and bloody awful, the pirate one is tolerable.

- Lego in the shops is at full-price so try to avoid buying anything except minifigures, polybags and trinkets like keyrings.


(As you can probably tell, have been quite a bit as my lad is Lego-obsessed - personally think Chessington is better and Drayton Manner better VFM than both, but there you go... Go in with your relaxed head on, accept the queues, the untrained staff (remember they're on minimum wage and Merlin don't seem to bother with training) and the naff food, and enjoy the rides and the surroundings.)


* Ninjago, Dragon, Coastguard HQ, probably Laser Raiders, Fire Academy and L-Drivers too, possibly the log flume and rapids if a nice day.

Chris Type R

8,945 posts

279 months

Thursday 23rd August 2018
quotequote all
petemurphy said:
hmmm a season pass is 45 yet a day ticket 52? am i missing something?

https://www.legoland.co.uk/tickets-and-passes/annu...


although have aa membership that is 35 for a day ticket - any better deals?
I think there's some sort of recycle a plastic bottle for 50% off voucher going on at present - https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/legoland-w...

Tim2k9

132 posts

109 months

Thursday 23rd August 2018
quotequote all
Last time I went the first day was terrible, managed about 3 or 4 rides all day because of cues. Ended up going round the mini Lego models instead of spending another hour and a half in a que. Most annoying this was you would be really close but your que wasnt moving as all the que Jump people were been let on and filling the ride up.

Second day paid for the q-bot and must’ve went on about 15 rides.

The ques seem to be set up so that if you want to do rides you really need to paid for the q-bot, I wouldn’t go again without factoring that into the price

Dr Doofenshmirtz

16,952 posts

230 months

Thursday 23rd August 2018
quotequote all
If there's an inset day at the school, go then. Otherwise it'll be stupid busy during the holidays.

easytiger123

2,711 posts

239 months

Thursday 23rd August 2018
quotequote all
Spare tyre said:
I was scared about going there, I was bricking it
clap



Puggit

49,804 posts

278 months

Thursday 23rd August 2018
quotequote all
Dr Doofenshmirtz said:
If there's an inset day at the school, go then. Otherwise it'll be stupid busy during the holidays.
If the local schools are on inset days, then it can still be spectacularly busy.

Avoid when Berkshire is enjoying an inset.

The Ferret

1,290 posts

190 months

Thursday 23rd August 2018
quotequote all
Puggit said:
If the local schools are on inset days, then it can still be spectacularly busy.

Avoid when Berkshire is enjoying an inset.
^this

Avoid at all costs on an inset day, we made this mistake and literally sat for 2 hours waiting to get in, then ended up managing 6 rides in the enitre day despite buying q-bot

It's the single worst day trip we've ever done. Been before and it was better, but after the latest visit we've vowed to never go again.