Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think Legoland was a load of shite

169 replies

Tireddotcom4 · 11/04/2018 13:50

Have NC'd as I've been complaining to anyone who will listen.

We went to Legoland for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Really looking forward to it, DDs really looking forward to it, loads of recommendations from friends and acquaintances. I was so disappointed. It was overpriced (vastly! £15 for four ‘99’ ice creams), dirty and tired looking, completely disinterested staff. Six of the rides were out of service and one broke while we were on it – not even an apology for that. The train up and down the hill was out of service so smallest DD really struggled with getting back up the hill after 6 hours of walking around the park. Staff in the shop were really rude and completely unhelpful.

Even DDs have said they don’t want to go back again.

I’m probably in the minority as I’ve always seen really positive things said about it on MN but I can’t justify the cost and the experience we did have to ever go back and give it another chance.

OP posts:
Barbie222 · 11/04/2018 16:00

I agree, we went this week and all rides broken etc as you describe.
I have passes and really like it in the summer when we can be the first into the water park and then get going when it's too busy. The annual passes mean our family of five can eat for under 30 at the all you can eat pasta. The pirate show is much better in the summer too when they dive in from the lighthouse.

MyBoysAndI · 11/04/2018 16:02

Ds1 has ASD and we have been to Legoland every year since he was 6yrs...he is now 14yrs and still insisting we go this year kill me now. I'm also one of the "lucky" one's who get the exit passes - however that doesn't negate queueing..

Have also been to the Manchester one. Ds1 was 9yrs and was only just small enough to go on the rides

Budsbeginingspringinsite · 11/04/2018 16:05

@mia1415

Look into annual pass and staying off site

Singlebutmarried · 11/04/2018 16:06

We went last year and it was awful.

Spent a total of £150 (entrance and some food only 3 of us and we had vouchers) and got on 3 rides all day.

Almost everything we queued for broke as we got to the front, the arcade things swallowed money and didn’t spit the balls out (we weren’t given our money back for these). Went to complain and the complaints queue was as long as that for the rides.

Never again.

AnnPerkins · 11/04/2018 16:06

We took 8yo DS and his friend last year. It did look tired and in need of some TLC but the boys didn't notice. They were so excited about the Ninjago 'ride' and insisted on queuing for it twice, but I must say I was a bit Confused about what was so great about it.

We took a picnic and sat in a playground to have lunch, had trouble dragging the boys away from that. The only extras we bought were ice creams and cups of tea so didn't feel too fleeced.

The best thing about it was the app, though. I had us running in zigzags over the park to get to the rides with the shortest queues. The best entertainment I've had in ages.

I don't plan on going again because DS is getting too old now, but I would still rather pay the extra for LL than ever to to Gullivers again.

Mummyoflittledragon · 11/04/2018 16:10

Loved the link to trip advisor. Took dd last year. It was during her school holiday but most children were at school. It was still pretty busy. I wouldn’t like to go in the holidays, it must be manic. Won’t be going back.

CatherineCawood · 11/04/2018 16:27

We went last Halloween, if it wasn't for the extra halloween stuff I think that the kids would have been dissappointed. I also thought it was v tired looking, shabby and stuff out of order.

Kids did get to go on quite a few rides, we had a q jumper pass as DS's best friend has an ASD diagnosis so didn't have to queue which made a huge difference.

I wouldn't hurry back though. 15 years ago it was an amazing day out shame they haven't kept on with the maintenance.

FleurDelacoeur · 11/04/2018 16:57

YANBU.

We went a couple of years ago and it was dire.

We are perhaps coloured in our judgement by our experiences at Disney and Universal in Florida where the staff are proactive and friendly, and they are constantly upgrading, renewing, picking up litter, gardening - the whole place is immaculate and they are open 365 days a year in contrast with Legoland which shuts down for 3 months.

We found that the predominantly teenage staff at Legoland were surly, lazy and stood chatting among themselves. There was none of the American "let's get these people loaded onto the ride asap" attitude, they were happy to leave you to wait. The Miniland was quite frankly an embarrassment with stagnant water, filthy buildings and it had quite clearly not been maintained in years. Even the first impressions are poor - the figures and letters as you drive up to the car park are all faded and haven't been replaced since the park opened.

Legoland isn't trying to be Disney/Universal and I get that, but they could do so much more in staff training and attitude. It's piss poor and we won't be back.

AlwaysSpellingMyName · 11/04/2018 17:11

We went to the Windsor Legoland 6 years ago with DS1 and it was fantastic. We spent two days in the park and all the rides were open.

We went to Orlando Legoland last year and it was the biggest waste of money. Half the park was shut off, the water park was disgusting and we all left with food poisoning. Horrible end to our holiday.

Reading the recent reviews about Windsor, I think we'll give it a miss with DS2

autumnkate · 11/04/2018 17:14

I used to work there in my uni summer holidays and they treat their staff appallingly. Be kind to the ice cream sellers!

Pinkvoid · 11/04/2018 17:18

I haven’t been for about sixteen years but I thought it was shite even then. Yanbu at all. The rides and train really should be working, that’s such poor service.

The ice creams- meh. They’re priced that across the board nowadays unless it’s just your regular ice cream van that drives around. I spent similar on three ice creams and an ice lolly in York a few months ago.

frankchickens · 11/04/2018 17:22

YANBU it was very average when we went. Where the hell do people get the money for these things? I thought I was quite well paid until we went there.

leccybill · 11/04/2018 20:42

When did it open? It was never really on my radar until the last couple of years. Is it thrill rides etc? Or for younger ones mainly? What is its closest comparison in the UK?

leccybill · 11/04/2018 20:44

A '99' from my local ice cream van is £1.20.

I paid £2 at Windermere at the weekend and thought that was expensive! I'm clearly very Northern.

PerfectlySymmetricalButtocks · 11/04/2018 20:45

Before my elder DC were old enough to go, so the 90's?

MorningsEleven · 11/04/2018 20:45

It's shit. We've been twice, the second time was just after we'd been to Disneyland Paris and that really highlighted how tired and miserable Legoland is.

MorningsEleven · 11/04/2018 20:47

I spent similar on three ice creams and an ice lolly in York a few months ago

You know the locals in the parks because they've come prepared with a pack of lollies from Costcutter

trilbydoll · 11/04/2018 20:53

We went last year in term time and had a fab time. We are going tomorrow and I'm worried about how busy it's going to be, I'm hoping for terrible weather to put everyone else off!

We got two tickets from the times for £12 and one with Tesco clubcard vouchers. So if it's awful we can come home and it hasn't cost loads.

Plainlycrackers · 11/04/2018 21:46

Legoland got a big thumbs down from us too... hell getting there and was a painfully expensive handful of hours of being underwhelmed... we would have struggled to occupy the kids for more than an hour if we hadn’t waited for a particularly rubbish ride (& we were not expecting it to be an Adrenalin rush type... expectations were low to start with and even then it failed to deliver!) for an hour and eaten lunch there... the world/city models were dirty and generally looked uncared for and some were even broken which really disappointed Lego fanatic DS... absolutely no wow factor at all... never ever again.

KendalMintCakey · 11/04/2018 21:52

we stopped going after I saw a furry legged thing with a long tail...

KendalMintCakey · 11/04/2018 21:55

leccybill - £2! We'd have said no..

enpointeredshoes · 11/04/2018 21:59

We had free tickets and I still thought it was waste of a day. Grin If I won tickets I would throw them away a complete hovel - overpriced, overcrowded dump - to put it politely.

boatyardblues · 11/04/2018 22:03

They charge premium theme park prices for an end of the pier experience.

^ this, with bells on! I am also mystified by families who have been more than once. We stayed in the hotel, which was ££££ and not all that. Fortunately the car park is immediately adjacent so you can quickly get off site for dinner in the evening.

Oly5 · 11/04/2018 22:09

We adore it... and Disneyland Paris! Not sure what you’re complaining about

Riversleep · 11/04/2018 22:15

We went a couple of weeks ago too. It was ok but I'm glad we did the Times vouchers because it was massively overpriced. The think that I thought was horrendous was the food place. It was just a chicken shop so not a vast menu. I'm the first day of the Easter holidays at lunchtime, they had one person at the full. We were there for about 20 minutes when someone complained. They got one of the 20 people who we could see hanging around out back and trained them on the till with a huge queue of people out the door looking on incredulously! They then mixed up a load of orders. It was ridiculous. The prices Merlin charge they could at least train their staff. After they did look miserable. The Ninjago ride is basically a queue to join a queue to join a queue for a 2 minute ride.