Friday 18 May 2012

Legoland Windsor with 3 year olds and a 9 month old


What can I say... The day was filled with smiles and excitement from the moment we left our house to the moment our chaps went to bed – a 3rd birthday to remember! 









I had never been to Legoland, much to the distain of my now 26 year old! I never really understood what all the fuss was about and was always told it was just an expensive day out. However a new mummy friend went a few weeks ago and stayed in the hotel resort too. Her children were gushing with stories and so I decided to take our chap for his 3rd birthday with his best friend to see what all the fuss was about and we weren’t disappointed.

The excitement began the moment we woke, as we were travelling in one car and so the boys were sitting together. There was a jam on the M4 – surprise – but we managed to only add ½ hr on our journey time and arrived in good spirits, the weather was favourable too.

As you enter Legoland you are faced with a few buildings housing shops, eateries and toilets and a few Lego figures to wet your appetite and then as you enter the world beneath you are greeted with two enormous dragons (which happen to be one of Freddie’s favourite animals at the moment) and they matched the boys coats too so they decided they had one each!
From then on the day became a whirlwind of fun and excitement. Our first port of call was the Dragons Apprentice. A smallish roller coaster just enough for little people to get a thrill. The boys couldn’t go on together as we had a baby with us but enjoyed watching each other and this was the first of many squeals of delight. (note riders have to be at least a meter tall for many of the rides and some 1.3). The queue was pretty long, there is a Lego table for the kids to play half way which kept them entertained for a while, but the thought of queuing for more rides with 3 year olds and baby wasn’t something we were looking forward to, so we made the decision to purchase a Q-Bot. This made the day a breeze. It costs £15 a head but really is worth every penny as you can pre-book a ride and it does the queuing for you– leaving you to explore the park – it took all the pressure out of the day)
Back to Legoland itself...

I could write a full essay but know that this wouldn’t get read so here are some highlights that our boys especially enjoyed:

Atlantis
This new underwater voyage is a must for everyone! Freddie didn’t stop squeeling, SHARK MUMMY! LOOK FISH MUMMY! LOOK STINGRAY MUMMY! MUMMY! MUMMY! LOOK!  You cannot book this with your Q Bot but the queue keeps moving so you shouldn’t have to wait too long..

Pirate play ground
Brilliant pirate play ground for older children with rope bridges, wooden climbing frames and more...

Miniland
A whole world of miniature cities, land marks, rocket stations. trains and more.


Driving School
There are two areas for your little ones to learn to drive 3-5 year olds and over 6. The concentration was intense!

Theatre
We didn’t have time to catch the 4D experience but did watch a lovely little theatre show, which gave us time to sit and have a coffee!

Orient Expedition
Great little train ride around the Legoland park area where you can get a good view of all the activities, rides and Lego dragons and dinosaurs.

Pirates Splash
Has to be one of my favs, a slow boat ride passing pirates, parrots and treasure with a big drop at the end – you will get wet!

We went on lots of other rides and took part in different activities but really only touched the surface. We decided that we wanted to finish the day with a big finale, The Dragon, a faster meaner roller coaster than our boys had ever been on, our Q-Bot came good, and our time slot was perfect just 10 minutes before the rides close. It was a brilliant end to a fantastic day and we will be back for more – our boys will make sure of it!

Tot Friendly rating
There is plenty to do for under 5s and good baby changing facilities throughout the park, there are also little buggies to use if you want. If you want to go on rides and have young children we would suggest a Q-Bot, it really will make your visit that much more enjoyable allowing you to enjoy the park between rides. Be warned that you will have to face a lengthy queue at the end of your day as there is only one road out. We made sure we had some snacks available and our little chaps were very contended.

Price: At the moment you can get 40% off on-line here  full price can be a little expensive - but no more than other attractions of the same quality, and there are so many offers now that if you search the internet or keep an eye out on products and supermarkets you will find 2 for 1 and discount offers that will bring the price down.
Legoland Windsor is aimed at families with children under 12 and for the under 5s we give it 4.5 stars out of 5 but with a Q Bot we give it a 5!

A Tot-tastic day out!
Visit the Legoland Website for more details.



3 comments:

  1. So glad I came across this post. We are headed to Legoland in July so any tips are very much welcomed

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    Replies
    1. We had such a fab day, hope you guys do too! :) x

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  2. perfect. all the info I wanted. cheers

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