DESTINATIONS — UK & IRELAND
Toy stories
Legoland Windsor is a big thrill for little kids, finds Juliet Dennis and her five-year-old twins
it as children, and it’s just as popular today – a ‘must-have’ in any five-year-old’s toy box. So for clients with young
W
children, Legoland Windsor Resort is an essential building block for a UK family break. Persuading parents shouldn’t
take much – chances are, they’ve been nagged already – and it wasn’t long before my five-year- old twins, Joe and Nina (inset), got wind of Legoland.
l WHERE TO STAY The grand Legoland Hotel sells only direct to consumers, but agents can take their pick of keenly priced hotels nearby, which can be packaged up with park tickets by operators such as SuperBreak, or just buy tickets from specialists such as Attraction World. SuperBreak found us a hotel five miles away in Old Windsor: the Beaumont Estate is a 14th-century building nicely situated in large grounds, with a pool, tennis courts
ho doesn’t love Lego? Most of us played with
and children’s playground, and a good base for exploring the area.
l PLAN AHEAD By the time we arrived, Joe and Nina were beside themselves with excitement, but as with all theme parks and overwhelmed youngsters, we needed a plan to squeeze in enough rides, pit-stops and all-important ‘downtime’ (movie for kids, coffee for adults). The Q-bot – a ride reservation
device helping visitors avoid long queues – provided the answer and was, without question, the best buy of our stay. It must be booked in advance as only a limited number are available, and costs £15 per person (aged three and up) per day for the regular version, or £75 for the Q-Bot Ultimate. Staff at the pick-up point were
helpful and the devices easy to use, even for the technologically challenged (me). It meant we could plan each big ride without the need to rush or worry about queues, and we even booked two film screenings for later in the day.
l IN THE PARK With 11 kingdoms and areas, including the new Heartlake City which opened this summer, it’s hard to know where to start. The best advice we had was from another parent – start at the back of the park and work forward – so we headed to Atlantis Submarine Voyage in Adventure Land. After walking
straight in
(thanks Q-Bot), we were in our yellow submarine in no time. The ride thrilled the kids with sightings of “real sharks, mummy!” plus colourful fish, underwater Lego pirates and mermaids, and an Octonauts-style mission. Every inch of Legoland has been
carefully thought-out. Lego creatures are all over the park, and the incredible
Miniland replicas of famous worldwide sights meant we loved it as much as the kids did. Highlights had to be The
Dragon rollercoaster in Knights Kingdom, and Vikings’ River Splash in Land of the Vikings, a raft ride which had Joe screaming with delight – until he got soaked and then refused to set foot on a water ride
again. My husband Nick and Nina certainly won’t forget their Raft Racers water slide in
a hurry, wet bottoms and all, and I couldn’t get enough of log flume Pirate Falls Treasure Quest.
25 June 2015 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 59
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