At the end of May, we visited Legoland Windsor: my first visit in nearly 30 years. I was surprised to see some of the original rides (such as Fairytale Brook and Driving School) still there – of course, with plenty of newer additions too.
While I did plenty of planning before we went, there are certainly things I’d do differently next time. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but here are some of my Legoland Windsor tips.
1. Research Legoland discounts in advance
You’ll always find places offering discounted Legoland tickets – don’t pay full price if you don’t have to! I managed to get cheaper Legoland tickets using codes on Kellogg’s cereal boxes, and I know others who have visited cheaper through promotions with Cadbury, Kids Pass, Sky and Tesco Clubcard vouchers. There’s no denying it’s an expensive day out, so why not make it a little more affordable if you can?
2. Plan your parking
Booking your car parking space in advance saves a little more money – and it seems like there’s no real point in paying for priority parking. If you can, one of my Legoland Windsor tips is to park as close as possible to the car park exit as the queues when you leave on busy days are horrendous. Alternatively, consider leaving the park before the rides close, or stay a little while after they close to explore Miniland and the shops before leaving.
3. Choose your “must-rides”
Third on my list of Legoland Windsor tips is being realistic. If you’re only going for a day, you’ll never get round the whole park! Instead of trying to do so, make a note of a few rides you DEFINITELY want to go on during your visit. For us, it was Flight of the Sky Lion (which absolutely lived up to the hype) and Minifigure Speedway. Head to those as soon as the park opens and get them done – queues can get longer in the afternoons so don’t wait!
Which brings me onto…
4. Be prepared to queue
There’s no getting away from the queues, if you’re visiting at a weekend or during the school holidays – and for some rides, the queues can be over an hour. Changover times between riders were VERY slow when we went – even on the smaller rides – which makes queuing time even longer.
Some rides – like Flight of the Sky Lion – have in-queue entertainment (there are quizzes on a big screen in the queuing area). For others, you’ll just have to suck it up. For younger kids, it may make sense to take something to keep them entertained while they wait…
5. Download the Legoland Windsor app
The Legoland Windsor app does drain your phone battery quite a bit, but it’s pretty handy! As well as offering a map of the park – which includes rides, facilities, food and drink spots and more – it also gives queuing times for each ride. They’re not always massively accurate (a claimed 10-minute queue for Aero Nomad turned into about half an hour), but it’s useful for planning your day.
You can buy Reserve and Ride passes via the app, which allow you to wait “virtually” in a queue, allowing you to do other things in the meantime. And, if you click on an attraction, you can get walking directions that you can follow in real-time.
6. Bring your own food and drink!
There are loads of places to buy food and drink at Legoland – and the cups that you can refill at fizzy drink stations around the park seem popular.
We chose to bring refillable water bottles (there are water fountains dotted throughout), and a little bottle of squeezy squash to mix things up a bit.
We also brought snacky bits to fuel us throughout the day. The food choices within the park aren’t particularly inspiring (burgers, fish and chips, hot dogs etc) and there wasn’t really much to suit the members of our party who are trying to eat more healthily. The prices are as high as you’d expect, too!
We didn’t want to waste ride time by sitting down to eat, either! We ate our main “lunch” while queuing for the Ninjago ride and snacked on cereal bars, crisps and fruit throughout the day. If you don’t want to carry your lunch around all day, there are lockers in two locations – and with most rides, there are areas where you can leave bags while you ride.
7. Dress appropriately
Next on my list of Legoland Windsor tips: prepare to do a LOT of walking while you’re there – I think I did about 20,000 steps on the day of our visit! Make sure to wear comfortable shoes, and bear in mind that the park is VERY hilly, which could be exhausting for younger children. While there’s a Hill Train to take you around the park, the queues can be enormous to get back to the top of the hill at the end of the day.
Dress for the weather. It was a surprisingly warm day when we went and we annoyingly forgot the suncream (there are dispensers around the park, though, which is handy!)
If you’re planning on going on any of the watery rides (or if there’s a chance of rain and you don’t want to bring a massive coat), take a poncho – we found some in Poundland at £1.50 for a pack of two – far cheaper than they sell them in the park.
8. Enjoy!
Like any big day out, planning certain things in advance definitely makes things easier! Do you have any other Legoland Windsor tips that would be useful for first-time visitors? Let me know in the comments!