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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

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Original poster

Sorry legoland booking advice...

16 replies

Rosvita · 30/10/2013 21:43

Hi,
Am planning on taking Ds to legoland for his 6th birthday next year and am after advice from people who have been before (I went when I was about 8yo but can't remember much!).
Anyway due to lack of inset days in spring/summer I am restricted to school holidays or weekends.ds' birthday is just before school breaks up so was thinking of going thurs 24th or that weekend.
Have been looking at deals online-is it worth going 2 days as opposed to 1?is it worth paying £279 for 1night/2days in the LL hotel or is it not really worth it as I could get another local hotel for around £150?Qbot needed?
What makes me want to stay in the LL hotel other than the themeing,early park entry etc is so I don't have to worry about all the crowds trying to leave on their cars at the end of the day.But is it worth the extra? Any advice on best way to do it would be great thanks!

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Original poster

Rosvita · 30/10/2013 23:02

And if going for an off-site hotel-which would you recommend,especially in terms of getting to/from legoland with as little congestion as possible!-premier inn Heathrow,holiday inn Heathrow t5,Hilton Bracknell or Novotel Heathrow?thanks

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Thiscoukdbeme · 30/10/2013 23:14

Funnily enough we've just got back from a trip to legoland. We stayed at the Thistle at Heathrow. It's not a bad hotel, has an ok restaurant and parking for £10 a night.
It took about 20 mins to get from there to legoland & there wasn't really much traffic.
I can't really comment about traffic when leaving as we left long before the park closed (we arrived at 10 so we're exhausted by 5!) but we payed slightly extra (I think £8 instead of £4) to use the priority
parking. It means you're a bit closer to the park and I'm assuming it's easier to get out of.
Have fun!

Thiscoukdbeme · 30/10/2013 23:17

Also we paid about £150 for two family rooms with 3 beds in each (there are lots if us!) at the Thistle.

bsc · 30/10/2013 23:19

Holiday Inn Slough is good- just under 4 miles away, nice straight route to the park. Geared up for children too- we've stayed there a number of times now. Parking included in your stay (we booked through Legoland site though, so don't know about if booked separately)
I would love to go and stay at the legoland on-site hotel, but it's always fully booked!

Can you book for next year yet? I tried a couple of weeks ago, and nothing after NYE this year.

LEMisafucker · 30/10/2013 23:23

We stayed at the royal Berkshire hotel at 210 for the package two adults one child. Much nicer than the ll hotel and five mins drive. Take a picnic though food is astronomical and not great. We went on the first two days of the holiday queurs were bad but didn't spoil the days. Dd would have spent all the time in splash and play area but we went on really hot days.

mamababa · 30/10/2013 23:36

Holiday inn Bracknell and def 2 days if going at busy time. If you can afford ll hotel why not? For the experience etc

Original poster

Rosvita · 30/10/2013 23:39

Bsc- yes got email from legoland today with prices for next year-coming out at £279 for family of 4 1 night/2days at LL hotel for dates I wanted. £149 for each of the off-site hotels I mentioned above.seriously tempted by LL hotel but if I'm then going to need to buy qbots on top of that then it's getting a bit £££ to stay there.but is it worth the extra cost to get early access to park and not get involved in horrendous queues to leave the park at the end of the day?...

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Original poster

Rosvita · 30/10/2013 23:42

And thanks to all for your opinions.mamababa if I went for LL hotel Ds would definitely have to forgo having any birthday party!

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Thiscoukdbeme · 30/10/2013 23:45

The legoland hotel did look great so I would definitely go for that given the choice. We only didn't because it was a last minute thing & they were fully booked. When I looked at prices online I worked out that it's not much more expensive as it includes 2 days at the park. Although, as someone else said, I expect it all adds up after you've got food!

frazzled74 · 30/10/2013 23:51

Ive been in the height of summer every year and as long as you go for 2 days you wont need qbots. Legoland hotel is worth the extra money and if it is only £130 more for 4 people then i would definitely go for it!

bsc · 31/10/2013 00:15

Thanks rosvita... will take a look!

jojane · 31/10/2013 00:22

We went past year and stayed at the legoland hotel, we loved it, it really made the trip extra special, everything was themed right down to the chips being shaped likemlego bricks! We got into the park early and walked straight onto 5 rides before the crowds reached our side of the park. Parking was right by hotel and less of a traffic jam, my dd loved the talking sinks in the ladies loo on the hotel, fridge in room meant we could store packed lunch stuff overnight, was worth the extra money just to get into park early. We didn't bother with q bots, being there 2 days meant we didn't feel pressure to go on every ride the first day.

Original poster

Rosvita · 31/10/2013 07:54

Oh you guys!you're persuading me to go for the LL hotel!Fo you think the price will jump up massively as the months go on?could put it on my 0% card which has until next spring to pay off or is I wait til towards end of November I could pay for it outright then.with regards to Qbot should I just play it by ear and try without for the 1st day and then can always get for 2nd day if needed.are there likely to be any left to buy on the day if people can book then in advance on line?

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Original poster

Rosvita · 31/10/2013 07:54

Apologies for typos-silly phone!

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Mama1980 · 31/10/2013 08:09

We stayed at the lego land hotel, it was amazing my ds 5 was so thrilled by it he practically hyperventilated with excitement the whole weekend it has many amazing little touches that just helped make the weekend really. The early mornings did make a difference too, ds really wanted to see the Star Wars stuff and it was empty for him as everyone else had gone for the rides. It was well worth the extra IMO.

LittleRobots · 31/10/2013 08:18

We stayed near by and used a q bot and did it in one day.!

We got there about an hour early and parked ever so close (a minutes walk -literally could see the car as you walked out the park) there wasn't any point paying for priority parking if you arrive early.

In the first hour there were no queues, we went on several rides including Atlantis and the riding school then.

We loved the queue bot though. Around midday, early afternoon the queues started to get to about an hour long even for less exciting rides. We went on everything we wanted to, several things twice, nurserybrook three times as the baby liked it. We also saw the pirate show, played with Lego, saw a puppet show and saw a 3d show.

I can see why a second day would be fun but ours were really happy with one well planned day. I honestly wouldn't go peak season without a queue bot though. It made it so much easier. We were up at the crack or dawn and back exhausted too having had a fab day so I'd prioritise queue bots for one of the days, then float around the second day over the hotel.

Having said that if you've got lots of money spare then the hotel did look fun.

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