Is it possible to have a good day out at Legoland in the summer holidays?

[Abouteffingtime]

We have never been, had planned to bunk off school for a day last month but couldnt quite bring myself to do it.

Im so worried about going and it being a let down for dc due to the busyness/queues. Is there plenty to do aside from rides for 9 and 10 yr olds?

Why not recreate the experience at home by getting your family to stand in a line for three hours on your driveway in the rain, while you burn £20 notes?

Last time we went was an inset day at the end of the summer holidays with heavily discounted tickets from a local PTA offer. Kids were about 6 and 9 at the time and it still gets mentioned as a rubbish day out - the queues were still really long and various rides kept breaking down.

Depending on where you are, would recommend Paulton's Park instead - we've never done the Peppa Pig world bit, but the rest of the park is great. We've never queued for more than 15 minutes for any of the rides, they don't charge you to park and it's just a nicer experience

Of all the days out we took our kids on, this was the worst. We went on a Monday as it was an INSET day in Wales. The queues were shocking. We managed 4 rides in total after nearly two hours of queuing for EACH ride. The rides were about 2 minutes long and very, very tame. The little shops were overpriced. The coffee stand was grubby and covered in dried ketchup. You couldn't move for people.

The splash park was okay but there was a huge demand for changing rooms and I was told off when I accidentally tried to go in one, not realising there was a queue I hadn't seen yet (had queued once).

The model village was passable in so far as there wasn't a queue, you could just walk around it.

The wasps loved it. They took the whole family.

DS loves Lego and had good memories of going when he was 5 or so. Went again this year (he was 12) and he didn’t like it. No rides for him, and the ones he would go on either had very long queues or closed as we were queuing. The train that takes you up and down the hill closed very early with no warning to everyone queuing, for no clear reason. Seemed mad.

He liked the shop, but agreed the shop on our home city was better, and Amazon was cheaper! Not sure he’s in a rush to go back.

We went last year and I found it a very stressful day out. My kids just aren't champion queuers, I'm afraid.

My son had an unexpected asthma attack a couple of days after and the three of us (me, son and younger DC) ended up spending 11 hours in hospital being transferred between paediatric A&E and the outpatients department, as they couldn't decide which department should see us. There was a small play area in both, and both kids voted it a better day out than Legoland. Trying to break into the vending-machine was more fun than any of the rides we managed to get on, apparently. And it was much more relaxing for me.

There used to be a Mumsnet Legoland Survival Guide.

We went in August 10 years ago, with dc age nearly 4 and nearly 6, and it was ok! mostly what i remember:

Get there early and head straight for driving school
The rides aimed at smaller kids are less busy - we went round and round the submarine ride without ever queuing
There are two Dragon Rides - get the right one (one is a scary roller coaster in a castle, one is an undulating roundabout)
Take a picnic and eat it in the long queues
The onsite food is very expensive
My two spent ages in the splash park

Billund is much better, and more rides that can be enjoyed by older children. Also has the benefit of Lego House which is fab. We went to Windsor a couple of times many years ago but stayed in the Legoland hotel. Took advantage of early entry to the rides near the hotel then raced to the rides near the entrance once the park opened. Got on the rides/attractions near the entrance before if started getting busy and worked our way back. Back to hotel to chill at peak time then wandered back through the park when the crowds started to die down.

My daughter and I LOVED Legoland when she was little. Get the fastpass on the app that tells you when to come back to the queue. Then you won't have to queue.

It's quite a magical place and the Legoland hotel is one of the best hotels I have ever stayed at.

Go to Billund! It is only 90 minutes on a plane and then a few minutes on the bus. You can get the flights for about the cost of an icecream in Windsor. It is much nicer and you don't get all the potty mouthed brits, you might get potty mouthed Danes but unless you speak Danish you won't know....

@tiramisualwaystiramisu I actually saw an ad for Paultons Park and thought it looked pretty good, not what I expected

We went on a grey drizzly day at the end of July, and it was actually OK!

It's been ages since we visited, but I don't remember it being any worse than say Disneyland Paris, but the opening hours are significantly shorter than Disney's. We did a 2 day visit, instead of paying for fast passes and managed to get round all the rides with a few repeats. I think we did skip one of the rides in Duploland.

Agree the Danish Legoland is so much better. Go in May half term when the Danish schools are not on holiday and there are barely any queues at all!

We’ve been several times, in both Windsor and Billund, and the dc loved it but I found it horrendous. The sensory overload is extreme. The bloody awful music is inescapable: on every ride, in every restaurant and blaring from speakers under or near every bench. Definitely bring earplugs or ear defenders for anyone who has noise sensitivity. If you stay in the campsite in Billind you get to listen to the music all night as well.