legoland windsor is overpriced, overcrowded and dirty

[crumpledinside]

And overrun by wasps.

I'd seen maybe 4 or 5 wasps all summer until our trip to legoland today. Then had wasps on me and the kids all day with dd getting stung. The toilets were rank, the entry fee was massive, the markup on everything was huge and it was so seethingly full of people you couldn't go on tbe rides after midday and could hardly move in the play areas. The lego models looked weathered and tatty, and seemed to be an afterthought on many attractions.

That's £££ I won't be spending again.

[Goldenhandshake]

I went during the week in March last year, as DD was not at school yet and it was the best theme park experience I have ever had! No queues, hardly anyone around, brilliant.

I expect every theme park is hell on earth at this time of year, which is why I don't go in peak season.

[niceguy2]

I've no idea why people go during the 6 weeks holiday. You just know it's going to be hell on earth! I remember going once during a school holiday but we paid entry using Tesco clubcard vouchers then bought the QBot's.

Without those you really are just going to stand around all day for 30 seconds of 'fun'.

No thanks

[Goldenhandshake]

Sovery I will aim for teacher training days when DD is at school or Easter Sunday etc if I want to go to a theme park. They will be avoided like the plague during the summer holidays.

[Mckayz]

Niceguy, when do you suggest I take my school age children?

[CockyFox]

We only go in the school holidays for two reasons
1: DS's birthday is in August and he likes a day out rather than a party.
2: The Children have to go to school.

I honestly wish we had a Disneyland here, as I don't like going abroad but went to Florida as a teenager and loved every minute of it.

[Titsalinabumsquash]

We've booked go for 2 days stay and play this coming weekend. I'm kind of thinking its not going to be that great now. :(

[fluffyanimal]

I don't really know what can be done about wasps BTW - late August and early September they will simply be everywhere - they are bound to be attracted to any area where there are loads of tourists eating ice creams and fizzy drinks (and what self-respecting wasp wouldn't prefer that to a wasp catcher? - useless unsightly contraptions).

[Blatherskite]

We bought annual passes using clubcard vouchers last year and only paid £22 each for what turned out to be 6 or 7 visits. We went mostly in term time weekends and it was fine, no enormous queues. Everything was clean.

Agree about the Lego models looking tired though. We went on opening weekend and they were already looking dirty and tired. I'd expected them to have been cleaned and maintained over the closed period. Also agree on the food. We all quite liked the pizza hut-style all you can eat place but all of the other outlets were rubbish, especially the one in Duplo land where everything is swimming in grease.

[MildredIsMyAlterEgo]

We went to LEGOLAND last year and it seemed a little bit shabby around the edges.

We took DS to LONGLEAT in March - OMG it was so cold, we didn't do a lot of the stuff like the maze and the play fort area as it was just too cold but on a nice day I would say it's a good day out. I was disappointed with the Postman Pat Village, really grubby, peeling paint etc. The park had only just opened for the season and I couldn't believe they hadn't done some work during the closure.

For little children I recommend DRAYTON MANOR. As well as Thomas Land (which has got a good variety of rides, no bloody teacups hooray), the whole park is surprisingly small, so you can get around it really easily and go back to things if you want.
The play area is fab, I think DS would have happily spent all day on that alone, there's also a small zoo and a dinosaur walk through trail.
And the thrill rides are not bad either.

Can't wait to take DS to Orlando's Islands of Adventure when he's a bit older. Now that is a good theme park, shame it's so far away

[goldenlula]

To those saying how clean Euro Disney is, I agree in the park itself, no litter etc but we have just come back and the toilets were disgusting every time we used them, even early in the day. Oh and there were plenty of wasps too. Ds2 actually got stung while we were out there, but at our hotel.

[celticclan]

We used our clubcard vouchers so it didn't cost us anything and we live nearby. I said to dh that I feel sorry for people who have travelled long distances and paid for the entry fee.

Legoland has to be the most overhyped tourist destination in the UK. It is just a theme park and really nothing special at all. We went at the beginning of the season when it was supposed to be quiet. We still had to queue for hours. The rides are nothing special at all.

We prefer Gullivers in Milton Keynes, less than a quarter of the price and you hardly queue at all.

It has really put me off going somewhere like Orlando for a holiday. Queueing for an hour for a 1 minute ride is not a holiday.

[celticclan]

Titsalina, whereabouts are you staying? I seriously would consider going somewhere else.

[Doyouthinktheysaurus]

Haven't been to Legoland for a few years but while we did love it, the rides aren't great and it is a lot of queuing. We used to get tickets via Tesco vouchers and then get qbots, the only way to get the ost out of it really.

Warwick castle is utter shite though, they really have ruined a stunning castle! We went in December 2000 on our honeymoon and had a wonderful trip. Went back with the dses last year and it was crap, the castle was almost incidental to all the other crap going on.

Caenarfon castle is my favourite castle ever, it is, go there instead. It's very reasonable to get in too.

[madamginger]

We were there 2 weeks ago, yes it was busy but not horrendously, it was clean and I didn't notice that many wasps.
we had parent swap as we have 3DC, on a couple of rides a member of staff even rode with DD.
The kids loved it.

[BalloonSlayer]

We love Legoland and go often as we are just over an hour away. We have Merlin passes so don't feel we have to get our money's worth on any particular day - if it's busy we cut our losses and come home early. On days like that I feel really sorry for people who have paid £100 for the whole family and (you can tell by their accents) travelled miles to get there.

Last time we went (a couple of weeks ago?) it was horrendously hot but I didn't see many wasps.

One thing that always gets me are the lego models, as others have said. They really ought to be scrubbed every week and re-painted every year. They are SO dirty and faded, the letter ones that you see as you drive up look dreadful, they are the first thing you see, FFS!

Agree about the parking charge. Utter piss-taking.

[BalloonSlayer]

Titsalina don't worry - you'll have a great time.

You are staying locally yeah? Get there early, before it opens, (it opens at 10, I really would suggest arriving at 9.15 so you can get in, go to the loo, have a coffee etc before it opens at 10.00) then as soon as you are allowed in you can belt down and get on a good few rides before the queues build up. When the queues start pissing you off, go to the water splash area or miniland, and watch the show at lunchtime. As the afternoon wears on people start leaving and the queues die down. Anything you liked the look of but decided the queue was too long, you can make No.1 on your list for the next day.

[Quangle]

Yes hideous. I just didn't get it - at all. It's just a massive fairground except with huge queues and enormous entry fee. Why wouldn't you just wait for the local fair to arrive, pay £2 per ride and not have to queue?

Also when I was there I lost DD who was then 3.5. Obviously that was my fault but the staff were useless while I was running around screaming like a mad thing. It took finding a manager before they could radio around to find her at the lost child centre and that was the worst 30 minutes of my life, shrieking at gormless teenagers. I suppose I would have assumed they would have training for the lost child scenario.

[bumbletoes]

We went last week for a few days. Yes, queues were awful but dh got q bots after day 1 and these made it much better. Still had to wait an hour approximately for each ride but could go and watch a show or play in the adventure playground while waiting instead of queuing. I hate wasps and had no trouble with them at all. Found the toilets to be clean but wished we could q bot those too. Staff were lovely and the flowers too. I was expecting to hate it (not a theme park fan) but the kids had such a fantastic time I ended up loving it too. Will admit that day 1, with all the queuing in the heat, was horrible. It is a shame we had to pay so much more to make it better with the q bots and I am aware this is not an option for loads of people so I didn't like the unfairness of that. It was our main holiday this year though, so that is how we justified it. If you expect it to be awful, you may be pleasantly surprised. We also did Warwick Castle and that was incredibly busy. Not a massive amount to recommend it in August but the jousting was great. Must admit we loved Legoland... But the queues are horrific, truly.

[bumbletoes]

Forgot- took our own food and drinks. The food there is very expensive and agree the kiosk in the Atlantis queue is a really cynical move on Legoland's part. Providing free water would be a better move. Also avoid the shop at the top any time after 11 am in August.

It did take a day to acclimatise to the whole thing, I'll admit.

[ChocsAwayInMyGob]

YANBU.

I hate Legoland and I went on a school day (a Monday) in term time in early June (teacher training).

The queues were nothing short of unpleasant and stressful. I felt completely exploited and ripped off.

I thought most of the rides were seaside fairground standard and the Dinosaur Safari went round so fast you couldn't even take a non blurred photo. Atlantis was Ok but very quick indeed.

I just felt like I'd been mugged by Dick Turpin, chewed up and spat out.

[hermioneweasley]

I hate the way Merlin Group really gouge you and everything seems to be sponsored and about money. It's like they take no pride in providing a great experience or want things to be fun, it's just how can they get the most money out of you. Even EuroDisney doesn't feel like that!

[Alliwantisaroomsomewhere]

I would rather have root canal treatment without anaesthetic than go to Legoland again.

[Tiredemma]

We went about 11 years ago and I vowed never to go back. Complete hell hole.