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.

It's hugely wanky, isn't it!

It actually smacks of the green eyed monster and/or snobbery - I can't out my finger on which.

Trying to make people feel that their theme park tickets/pizza/Christmas presents are somehow inferior for having been bought cheaper.

Well, I've obviously touched a nerve.

I suppose I don't like vouchers because big supermarkets and so forth use them to manipulate more buying! Quelle surprise!

And I have been with friends who say "lets go to X I've got Tesco vouchers" and I'm wondering which came first. In the marketing mind, its hard to tell...

Reminds me of a Woody Allen joke. A old couple having a meal in a New York restaurant: Husband: "This food is awful". Wife: "Yes, and such small portions!

Just another way of looking at it, that's all.

I've haven't been to lego land for about 10 years, I loved it though and so did DS.

I don't think I've ever read anything quite so ridiculous as Tesco vouchers being creepy

Obviously I don't know how Clubcards work (Shoot me!)

Arealdame your attempts to justify your comment is just naking you like a bit of an idiot really.

But let's get back to the quality of the toilets ... .

Please don't call me names on an internet website, it makes you look tacky LEM

I do know what someone upthread means about the perma-sale status of some places.

DH laughs at me that I don't like to eat in Pizza Express without a voucher - whereas I'd happily spend the same at another restaurant. I've grown habituated to viewing 'one main course free' as the proper price for pizza express - and see the menu price as a mark up for bank holidays and morons.

Well I have to shop somewhere and I choose Tesco because of the clubcard points, if they stopped the scheme I would possibly shop somewhere else.

I'm not a fool, I know exactly why Tesco operate the scheme but if it means we get to take our children on the ferry to France and have a night in Le Touquet then I'm quite happy to be sucked in.

We had a great time there this weekend from 10 am to 7.30pm. We had two free tickets from the Sun, two reduced tickets using Tesco vouchers. With the money we saved we splashed out on the QBots as the queues are very long, the rides extremely short and there's no way my 7 year old and 3 year old would queue patiently. We didn't find the wasps very bad and the staff are very quick to keep the place clean.

Eh? No one said they didn't have any money.

DH and I both work. We have three DC. We want them to have variety of experiences. So we go to the beach, to lakes, to cities, and to theme parks. If we can go to theme parks for half the price, using vouchers, then we will because it means we can then spend the money we have saved on something else.

It's what normal families who have to budget do.

Some families can't afford theme parks etc, even with vouchers. Some don't need to think about vouchers, and can afford to pay full price without noticing an extra £100 here or there.

But most people using MN can afford the odd trip to a theme park, and may well use vouchers. But they also hope to have a nice, clean, entertaining day out, and can feel ripped of if they haven't used vouchers and been provided with less than sparkling service.

The entrance fee to Legoland for DH, I and three DC, would be a large chunk of our family budget, and we earn above average between us.

I am actually pretty cynical about vouchers myself . I am not niave enough to think im getting a bargain but I definitely dont shop more just to get vouchers but we do have them so id be a bit of a twat not to use them. I refuse to go to places like pizza express without vouchers or an offer because I know the price is boosted to cover this. I know this. Im not an idiot I did however feel my free holiday last year was a bargain though

I loved Legoland the two times we went with DS, but my friend went in the hols and said it was getting a bit tatty.

Oh and I use Tesco vouchers or half price ones - doesn't everyone?

I did not call you names I merely pointed out that your arguments were making you look like an idiot. If I were being tacky id have called you a cunt

That's great if you don't think you're an idiot LEM. Its just really not very nice to call other people idiots when you disagree with them, even on MN. Its kind of nasty and rude, especially over something so trivial.

Anyway, I'm off. I don't know what was so controversial about what I said. Marketing are thrilled either way.

Oh dear the C word. Very classy. I think you are the one sounding a bit like that ...

You don't need Tesco vouchers (I don't shop at Tesco), vouchers seem to be on lots of things.

Although in the days I did shop at Tescos, DH and I got a Merlin pass, and had a fun year, but DC1 is too young to remember.

But I will move. Don't need to spend my time with such awful people ...

I meant move on!

Just me sniggering at tacky and cunt in the same sentence?

ARealDame .

You get 1% of your tesco spending accrued into a rewards account. You can spend this on groceries for face value. Alternatively you can exchange it for a voucher of your choice. Typically, on the voucher route, you get 2X or 4X face value - so most people choose that.

You may then exchange it on: travel tickets, theme park vouchers, eating out vouchers, car insurance, cinema tickets, magazine subscriptions, gift items, wine cases & so on.

It is perfectly rational - from the point of view of financial planning and from the point of view of not spending too much time on organising it - to allow the reward account to accumulate towards a time of year when you expect to have higher expenditure (e.g. holidays and Christmas).

You didn't say they were a marketing ploy,which we all know they are,in your first post.

You said they were creepy, which makes you sound a bit odd tbh.

I am proper classy me! I was just trying to stop you making a fool of yourself with your creepy voucher comments. Off you skip back to waitrose

Ok I get that you don't like voucher schemes, fair enough. But how are they CREEPY?! I am going to be pondering this for days!

You sure sound classy. With your LEGOLAND vouchers and calling strangers idiots and c*s, you sound nasty and abusive.