The LEGOLAND 2014 thread all your tips and questions answered here!!

[HRHQueenMe]

link to the 2013 thread here

Starting afresh for the new season! The new pirate playground is not yet built (what have they been doing all winter????) but the park has been pruned and tidied and looked lovely yesterday! Xbox room is still closed as well.

The new Pirate Captain Birdsnest is a bit more of an eyecandy man for us mums than last years young man, so thats an improvement, and the lovely pirate Georgie is back in all her glory, still as charming as ever!

Please add your hints and tips, and there is a few of us LL regulars who come on here and will happily answer all your questions!!

Lastly, there is a new burger joint under construction, so that will be a great improvement (as long as they keep the prices reasonable). The coffeeshop in the harbour still does great latte!

Enjoy!

Kiwi dreamer-you couldn't choose your parking area when paying in advance online, but I would still say worth doing as one less thing to queue to do on the day! We were in car park b and was fine.

Kiwi, no need to pay for anything other than the basic qbot. You can start 'queuing' for the next ride as soon as you have been scanned into theprevious one, then by the time you have walked to the next ride you will be almost ready to ride. If its a longer queue there are plenty of other things to do, for instance you can work out what the longest 'queue' is then select that one while you watch the pirate show.

kiwi with a 6yo start with Boating School and Driving School (which is from 6yo, perfect!). They are next to each other, so very easy to nip from one to the other. Personally I would do Boating School first as that is where everyone heads.

Then do Atlantis next. I know the queues there can get huge, but I've never experienced big queues in that first hour.

What you do from there will depend on how much of a thrill-seeker the birthday child is! My 6yo loves the Dragon and Pirate Falls, but some days is perfectly content at the splash park and Duploland playground.

And the pirate show is a must, good to sit and eat your lunch whilst watching. Excellent.

Basic QBots should be ok but if the weather is hot and sunny and the car park heaving you might want to contemplate the £30 ones.

If you get there at 9am you should be able to get into car park B or C no problem.

Bssh, the LL hotel was great - a real special treat. We got a decent deal but the prices vary from day to day so you'd need to check the website for prices.

Does anyone know if I can pay for a pre school annual pass with nectar points? The nectar website talks about using points for annual passes but does not mention the pre school pass.
I have exactly the needed points for a pass so would make a very cheap day out
TIA

For those of you with kids Tesco points are the best for days out!!! We have LL annual passes yearly and use the points for all days out, zoo parks stately homes restaurants etc which makes our days out cheap!
The trick is to get loads of points! Use all your point vouchers, use Tesco for all your petrol, and get a clubcard plus ( pre pay a set amount each month with direct debit, use it for all your shopping and get double points on it all) have a Tesco Credit card (points on everything) get points on your insurance and utilities, and any large purchases put them on the Tesco creditcard for points then pay them off straight away. Then enjoy all your days out!
Nectar points are rubbish IMHO, unless you shop at argos...

We are staying at the Premier Inn, bath road. What is our best road to drive to LEGOLAND as we don't know the area at all?
Also is there anywhere we could buy sandwiches/picnic stuff as will be in the hotel for a day before we got to LEGOLAND so can't make our own picnic.
Thanks

Feebee, follow the bath road towards slough, just keep going straight until you hit the Honda Roundabout. (Jct 5 on M5, Honda headquaters) you will pass several bp stations on the way.
When you hit jct 5 take the first exit towards DATCHET. Follow this road into Datchet village and go straight across the two mini roundabouts , over the railway line and take a left when you hit the Thames.
Keep going along the Queens land past Windsor farmshop. Big roundabout go towards WINDSOR. Enjoy views of the castle and long walk, big roundabout go first left towards ASCOT. Enjoy the stunning great park. You are now on the Alternative legoland route and just follow the signs.

There is a large waitrose/tesco in windsor to detour to, or a massive Tesco/Sainsburys in Slough or a massive Tesco on the hayes bypass jct on the M4. I would pick up a few bits from bp on the way. Datchet Village has a nice Tesco Express if you take a left at the first miniroundabout by Datchet church, go straight and its on your right. Look up the route above on a map and it will makesense!

Great thread.

Boring parking question - is it £4 the same whether you buy online or at the park?

I could have sworn it was only £2 last year...

Which is the best map to use to get about if you don't know your way around Legoland. Also is there a list of rides with ages/height restrictions (which do they use?).

I have a 12 yr old & a 6 yr old. Can the older one accompany the 6yr old or does it need to be an adult? Only asking as we could halve the q bot cost then.

With these ages (not too daredevil type!) girls what's the best order to do the main/best rides? What are the "not to be missed" rides?

Finally coming from m4 Eastbound on Friday (aiming for 9am by making a crazy early start!) what's the best route?

So far I know we need
Picnic
Buggy
Grab bag
Swim stuff inc towels
Waterproofs (cagoule & waterproof trousers ok?)
A map and a plan - which is where I need your help please!

Hello helpful people. We're going on Wednesday - any idea how busy it will be? I'm assuming that by this time of the year we will need a Q-bot.

Also, do the Q-bots run out, so should I book one in advance? (Am getting one ticket in advance, two more with kellogs vouchers)

The plan you get at legoland (weirdly you have to ask for one at guest services) is a map and gives show times and symbols to show what height each ride is for.
I'd guess yours would enjoy the driving and boating schools, and the two roller coasters. Oh and one with lasers, don't remember the name. I like the biking river run. My dcs loved the duplo water bit.
Also info on website re rides, heights, measure your dcs if you haven't already!

We are heading to Legoland on 26th July. Last year we had a brilliant stay at The Crowne Plaza Hotel and I am absolutely gutted we just missed out on getting a room there again. We are a family of 5 and Crown Plaza accommodated us all in one room. I am now finding it impossible to find another accommodation that will let us all stay in one room! Can anyone help?!!! At the moment I am considering two rooms for us all at Holiday Inn Express Slough - I need advice!!

Kiwi-I travel there from Reading. DO NOT come home via Bracknell. It's awful.

You're better coming back through the countryside, along the Drift Road to Twyford and through Sonning (if you're located north of reading) or down the A4 at Twyford into Cemetery Junction otherwise. It's so much quicker and a nicer drive.

Atlantis always seems to be quiet around midday when everyone is lunching.

The Pirate playground has some terrifyingly high balance beams - definitely for older ones with a head for heights and a careful step.

Boat and Traffic rides are definitely one for first thing before the queues go wild.

The Duplo fire engine ride is only fun with 4 on board. If you're a family of 2, try and find another family to join you (or ask a member of staff to hop on board - they are happy to do so).

The new Birdseye is like Chris Jarvis from Cbeebies in pirate form. Nice enough, but never lust worthy.

After sadly losing out on a room at Crowne Plaza, I have finally managed to book our family of 5 in to a family room at Holiday Inn Express Slough. It was cheaper, but I am worried we will be a little squashed and a bit of a disappointment compared to Crowne Plaza???

We went again the other day. Think about what you wear! You will be climbing in and out of boats, trains rides etc so very short skirts or long, straight skirts aren't the easiest of garments for that!
Your children will get dirty from sitting on the grass, dripping ice cream etc so bear that in mind. Every time I've been, I've witnessed a parent (different one each time!) yelling at a child in a frilly dress for ruining it & the child being in tears. Why spoil a good day out over something so minor (and I say that as a mother of a DD who is rarely out of dresses).
Take sunhats. There is no shade, especially if you are sitting on the tiered steps for the 12 o'clock pirate show.

on a non-clothing related point, if coming from the M4 & you live west of junc 8/9, coming off there, taking the A308 to the next roundabout & then following the directions was surprisingly speedy. Some of the Legoland signs are covered up but it is pretty obvious what they are saying. I would be tempted to have sat nav or a good map as back up though as you really are on the back roads.

We used tesco vouchers, certainly does make a massive difference to the cost. If you're looking to stay nearby i can also recommend the Coppid Beech hotel. It was really good, quite cheap and not far from Legoland. You can read more about
our trip to Legoland

Also, any thoughts about routes from the M3, or is that generally OK?

Can anyone tell me how much the Buggys are to hire please?

Also, we have 3 children - youngest has just turned 3. Do you think we NEED to pay for 5 people on a Qbot, or would we get away with 'sneaking' the just turned 3 child on as a two yr old??

Buggies -£9 for a single, £14 for a double per day. Not a normal buggy, plastic things more like a car - some (not all) have wheels the child can play with. We hired one as toddler was so desperate to get into it, it kept him relatively well-behaved while hanging around!

Thanku, we might get a buggy then.

Not sure what to do about Qbot though.

Im interested in the answer to the Qbot question too, we have 2 x adults and 2 x kids going in on the Adult goes Free vouchers, one child 6 and one child just turned 3, do we have to get four Qbots or do you think we'd get away with three and have DD come with me on the rides she is able to??

We went to Legoland in sept when little one was actually 2 and we were all on the QBot. I think we can get away with it??! We think we will opt for 4 anyway and worst case scenario is one adult has to watch rather than ride.

Hi going to LL for 2 days in school hols but wont get there until 2ish on first day, any ideas on what to do first day to avoid major q's. Will be there 9am second day with all your recommendations but dont want to waste first day just browsing.
Also, staying at windsor tlodge. Does the LL shuttle run all day and does it go back at 7pm? Are we likely to be stuck in a lot of traffic at 9am on 2nd day and are we able to walk it? Thanks