Legoland with a 4 year old - need help please!

[jelliebelly]

We have never been before and the website isnt much help for deciding what we should do - which rides/attractions should we head for and which are not suitable for a 4 year old? Which rides are the queues worst for?

Also, anybody know if there are there places to eat a packed/picnic lunch?

thanks

I went in November (possibly going again this weekend) - quite alot is suitable for a 4 year old there. I will have a look at the online map to jog my memory. There will definatly be somewhere to have a picnic, though being November we just sat on a bench.

www.legoland.co.uk/park/ridesattractions/funforall.htm?view=ShowAll

Did you see this on the site? Lists all the 'younger' attractions...

don't go this weekend. its a Ben Ten type thingy thats open till 9pm with a laser show. expect it to be manic.

www.legoland.co.uk/park/ridesattractions/funforall.htm?view=ShowAll

thanks - saw the Ben10 thing but we are going during the week, Easter hols so expecting it to be busy still but hoping to be as efficient as poss if we decide what we want to head for once we are there.

Given what the weather is likely to be, reckon packed lunch on a bench is as much of a picnic as we are likely to get - weather was probably better in Nov

Tbh, most things are ok for a 4 year old. Obviously not the big roller coasters etc.

Get there as early as you can and head for the far end of the park then work your way back. It's not actually that big a place once you're down the hill.

The boat ride is great and the little driving school and the helicopters on poles. Sorry can't remember any of the names. There's a whole area of rides like a ferris wheel and roundabouts for littlies. If the weather's nice, take a towel and change of clothes to run around the in the water area. And they all seem to love Lego City or whatever it's called - the models of cities around the world made out of lego.

A few places to eat a packed lunch especially by the water.

There will be something in each "land" as long as he isn't very little. Check the height restrictions here although he may not fancy all those he could techically do anyway.He shouldl tall enough for many rides accompanied like the Fire Engines, Diggers, Boats and mini Driving School all of which get queues which take longer than they look. Duploland is specifically for little ones and usually has some good animated shows where you can rest up and have a snack. There is a covered picnic area opposite the stunt show lake at the bottom of the park.

Thanks for the link ASecret - its a long list though - any suggestions on which are worth doing and which are worth avoiding?

By "early" I mean well before 10am - people queue up to get in, especially during the holidays.

gosh lots of new things since I was last there.

thanks for the suggestions, from past experience know that its useful to have a plan for these kind of places

just another thought, what is the carpark like for getting out if you leave midafternoon say 3/4pm rather than when the park closes?

personally i'd say go really late in the day! queues were all diabolical until around 4pm

what height is your child? might be more help then age.

take waterproofs as several of the rides are wet and it's so cold atm - also take spare socks/complete change in case you/child get accidentally soaked

i'd say walk to mini world or whatever it's called (the model cities etc) as it's the most charming part of the park and great fun for little ones with all the moving trains etc

then maybe the ride with the fire engines near there, can't remember what it's called, nice for small ones and queue was less awful than some others. generally the rides in that area were more suitable for small ones

ds at 6 only really wanted to do the big splashy rides so we spent most of the day queuing tbh.

walk on to picnic by the 'lake' then take children inside for hot chocolate somewhere. IIRC many of the rides near the lake were more for older ones, e.g. roller coaster, climbing wall. alternatively have lunch at home and take children afterwards.

We've got annual passes so have been loads (ds 4yo, dd 6yo).

I'd recommend the following rides first for a 4yo:
boating school (big queues if you don't go straight away)
orient expedition
fairytale brook
driving school

My 4o loves the dragon, dino dipper & pirate falls but there are height restrictions for all and it would depend on how old/adventurous your 4yo is whether they'd enjoy them.

Don't bother with balloon school - its a very quick ride and rather dull. I'd say the fire engine is too hard for little ones so I wouldn't bother if there was a big queue.

Queues are shorter for the carousel (desert chase)& swings so I'd recommend doing these later in the day, along with scarab bouncers (near laser raiders) and the parks.

For lunch/picnic I'd suggest eating whilst you watch the show - get there early to find a spot to sit if the weathers nice.

Hope this helps.

thanks whatsthetime that is really helpful am almost looking forward to it now

Best advice I can give is to use the ALTERNATIVE ROUTE to get to the park if coming from M4/J6 and down the Windsor Relief Road.

There is an alternative route to and from the park once you are in Windsor. From the roundabout at the end of the Windsor Relief Road follow the 'Alternative Route' signs starting at Goslar Way. This route is longer but can be quicker during peak traffic times. On the return journey, turn right at the LEGOLAND roundabout and follow signs for Windsor Town Centre.

Ours loved the driving and boating schools at that age, and the mini fairground/train ride round the site which usually have much shorter queues. Also Dinodipper, fairytale brook, the 3D film (fantastic) the waterspray playpark, and theatre shows.

Don't bother with the lazer zap ride (sorry can't remember if it's Indiana jones or Johnny Thunder.) We queued for hours, it lasted seconds and was nowhere near as good as similar rides at Disney Paris and Chessington - really hard for little ones to hit target.

DuploLand is the best bit for littles. There's a puppet type show, Fairytale Brook, mini train, and helicopter rides. At the other end of the park is a kind of mini rollercoaster, think it's called Dragon something. There's a Driving School but often has long queues. Second the idea to go to Mini Land, with the miniature towns allmade of Lego. My ds at 4 also loved watching the man with the guitar on the way down the hill. Plenty of spaces to picnic. Have fun, it's a great place for little ones!

We have DSs aged 7 and 5 and annual passes. Driving school is our favourite. The queues for the boating lake are always terrible so if you do go early, go straight to the boats and then the driving school is handy.

We queued for ages for the laser light thing yesterday. DS2 really liked it and at least the queue was inside. Personally I wouldn't bother, but if you were going to pay for one QBot that's the one.

Miniland has always been popular with us and there are no queues for that. The little trains move and the DCs love to chase them around.

The other thing they love is the room where you can build little lego cars and race them down the ramps. DS1 spent 3 hours there yesterday.....