10 tips for your first trip to Legoland

Planning a trip to Legoland Windsor with the kids? Check out my tips to save money, avoid queues and ensure that everyone is talking to each other at the end of the day.

Save on your Legoland tickets

The first thing to note about Legoland is that it’s pretty expensive and you should absolutely avoid paying the full price. Time to bring out those trusty Tesco vouchers you’ve been saving! If you’re not a Tesco shopper, you can still make great savings on the entrance fee as they frequently run promotional offers with brands such as Cadbury and Kellogg’s.

To check what deals are running currently, my go to website is always moneysavingexpert and not just for Legoland. If you need any financial advice, from choosing the best credit card, to advice on how to break free of debt, this website seriously rocks. You can also make a saving by booking in advance online and if you have a child under 5 who you are able to take during term time you can purchase a Duplo Day ticket, which is just £25 for an adult and child and £5 per additional child under 5.

Before you go

I definitely recommend checking out a park map before you go, to familiarise yourself with the layout. Legoland is a relatively big place, set on a steep hill and some of the signage is a bit confusing. We wasted time at the beginning of the day trying to get our bearings and getting spectacularly lost, thanks to a sign pointing in the wrong direction.

Once you arrive

To save yourself time at the end of the day I would suggest getting your parking ticket (£5 standard or £12 premium) as soon as you get to the park, otherwise expect to queue. If you plan to buy some lego from the big shop, it would be worthwhile getting this first too as once the rides have shut everyone has the same bright idea to pile into the shop.  

At the park

In hindsight, I would take the right hand path (in front of the Star Wars Experience) straight to Viking river splash, then the Dragon and Pirate Falls. These tend to be the rides you will queue the longest for. Then continue around the park anti-clockwise.

Most of the rides have height restrictions of at least 0.9m, so if you want the full Legoland experience it might be best to wait until your child is tall enough to go on most of the rides. Mia’s riding adventure has a height limit of 1.2m and Lego City Driving School is for ages 6-13, these were the only rides my 4 year old son wasn’t able to  go on.

If you’re planning on making use of the Duplo drench towers, bear in mind that if your child is under 6 then they will need to be supervised by an adult, also wearing swimwear. We didn’t use this and to be honest it would have taken a lot of time out of our day if we had, perhaps better for people that are visiting for multiple days.

We went to the Cinderella puppet show in Duplo Valley and the spectacular Pirates of Skeleton Bay stunt show at Heart Lake Harbour, which were both great. Definitely go to the Pirate one, try and arrive early to get a good seat. There are several shows throughout the day and I would aim for one around lunchtime, then you can have your lunch while you watch the show.

When it’s time to leave

At the end of the day, after the last ride entry time everyone seems to have the same idea – take the kids to the Duplo playground until they kick you out then, head towards the big shop and use the toilets. This is exactly what we attempted to do and next time I would definitely visit the big shop earlier in the day. There was no toilet paper left in the toilets by the entrance either, which I gather from reading other reviews is a regular occurrence, so to avoid this I would either come prepared with some in your bag or use the toilets further down the hill by Duplo Valley.

10 top tips for a great trip to Legoland

So let’s recap, here’s a roundup of my top tips for making the most of your trip to Legoland:

1. Take advantage of  an offer (or Tesco vouchers) to purchase tickets and make it more affordable.
2. Visit outside of the school holidays or if this unavoidable, try to go for a day when the weather forecast isn’t great.
3. Download the Legoland app, so that you can keep an eye on queue and show times.
4. If you want to buy Lego, do this first to avoid huge queues in the big shop.
5. While you’re at it, pay for you parking ticket when you arrive.
6. Work anti-clockwise around the park, going on the rides with the longest queues first.
7. Bring a picnic to save money.
8. Plan to see the Pirate show at lunchtime, arrive early for a good seat and eat your lunch watching the show.
9. Save Mini land for the end of the day, as you do not have to queue for this.
10. Bring toilet paper for the end of the day.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Legoland and would definitely go back again, as there’s still plenty that we didn’t get to do. If you’re planning on staying at the hotel, there is plenty to fill a couple of days without repeating anything if you don’t want to.

Have you been to Legoland? What would your top tip be? Let me know in the comments below.

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