by Victoria Pollitt | Mar 13, 2020 | Berkshire, Top Story, UK days out, Windsor
A new roller coaster aimed at pre-school children has opened at one of England’s most popular theme parks
The world’s first DUPLO rollercoaster has opened at LEGOLAND Windsor Resort.
The DUPLO Dino Coaster, for children aged around two to five, is part of the attraction’s bigger improved DUPLO Valley area.
The ride has dino-themed carriages which soar around supersized DUPLO dinosaur models, 18 times bigger than if you were to build them at home.
Legoland staff think it will be the perfect first rollercoaster experience for little ones, who need to be 0.9 metres or over to ride it.
The area has also has a new show and new supersized DUPLO models, great for family selfies, plus its own official character, Dexter the Dog.
Outdoor play area Brickville has become DUPLO Playtown with a new rocket play structure for budding astronauts and there is a new puppet show at the DUPLO Puppet Theatre.
DUPLO Valley Airport has a new look with with three coloured helicopters for little pilots to choose from.
Existing family rides at DUPLO Valley include the riverboat Fairy Tale Brook ride and the DUPLO train.
Duplo Valley, Legoland Windsor
The area also hosts the resort’s outdoor water play areas – Splash Safari and Drench Towers.
Meanwhile the park has launched a new adult and toddler annual pass to be used while older children are at school.
For £49, a toddler (classed as under 0.9 metres) and adult can visit the theme park as often as they like during term time (Monday to Friday), with 20 per cent off at restaurants and a 10 per cent discount in the shops.
Children under 0.9 metres get free entry anyway to the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort all year round.
Day tickets are from £29 per person when booked online in advance.
Families can book a LEGOLAND short break at the unique LEGOLAND Hotel and enjoy the DUPLO Valley area with stays from £99.25.
The LEGOLAND Windsor Resort is aimed at children aged two to 12 and is open until November 1, 2020, visit here for opening hours.
It has over 55 interactive rides, attractions, live shows, building workshops and driving schools and 80 million LEGO bricks, all set in 150 acres of beautiful parkland.
We’ve got lots of lovely LEGOLAND content here at The Family Holiday Guide for you to enjoy:
LEGOLAND Windsor Resort – read our review and top tips here review and top tips
LEGOLAND Windsor – our 10 top tips to get the most out of your visit
How to beat the queues at LEGOLAND Windsor Resort with the Reserve & Ride (formerly Q-Bot) Ride Reservation System
Will the home of LEGO live up to children’s expectations on a trip to LEGOLAND in Denmark?
Top tips for a family trip to the original Legoland in Billund, Denmark
by Victoria Pollitt | Sep 21, 2019 | Berkshire, News, Windsor
Roller coaster coming to one of England’s most popular theme parks
A new roller coaster aimed at pre-school children will open next year at Legoland Windsor.
The theme park is expanding its Duplo Valley area with the Duplo Dream Coaster, especially for visitors aged between two and five.
The roller coaster will open in March 2020 and is part of improvements to Duplo Valley, including work on Duplo Valley Airport and the outdoor play area Brickville.
A LEGOLAND Windsor spokesperson said: “The new ride will take children on a journey, exploring their wildest dreams and igniting their imagination.
“Swooping through a topsy turvy wonderland full of colour and a sprinkle of magic, they can be sure they will meet all sorts of cool creatures along the way.”
We’ve got lots of lovely LEGOLAND content for you to enjoy:
LEGOLAND Windsor Resort – read our review and top tips here review and top tips
LEGOLAND Windsor – our 10 top tips to get the most out of your visit
How to beat the queues at LEGOLAND Windsor Resort with the Reserve & Ride (Q-Bot) Ride Reservation System
Will the home of LEGO live up to children’s expectations on a trip to LEGOLAND in Denmark?
Top tips for a family trip to the original Legoland in Billund, Denmark
by Victoria Pollitt | Jan 17, 2019 | Berkshire, UK days out, Windsor
We take our children to LEGOLAND theme park in Windsor and share our highlights and advice
What is it?
LEGOLAND Windsor is a theme park for children based around LEGO toy building bricks. It has more than 55 rides and attractions and opened in 1996 – the second LEGOLAND – the first was LEGOLAND Billund in Denmark – read our review of that here.
Where is it?
It is in Windsor, Berkshire in England.
Highlights
* Lego Ninjago The Ride
This is an interactive 4D ride. You sit four to a vehicle, put on 3D glasses and travel around a series of screens to battle enemies. You fire at them by using ninja hand movements which are detected by sensors while also feeling blasts of air and heat. Your scores are in front of you so you can see who does the best.
It was a little scary for our four-year-old daughter but great fun for our older son.
The queues are long for this popular ride, which opened as part of Ninjago World! in 2017. You can cut down waiting time with the Reserve & Ride reservation system on this ride.
*Atlantis Submarine Voyage
This submarine ride to find the lost city of Atlantis was a highlight for our children and as it had one of the shortest queues, we did it twice in a row.
*The LEGO 4D Movie Theatre
We saw Lego Ninjago – Master of the 4th Dimension at this 4D cinema.
This is amazing for Ninjago fans, who can watch their favourite characters in stunning 3D while also getting the fourth dimension experience of being sprayed with water and fake snow and feeling the heat of fire (there are dry seats at the side for anyone who doesn’t want to get wet).
*LEGO Star Wars Miniland Model Display
This indoor display was a welcome bonus on a wet day. But it is also a great walk through the most famous scenes from Star Wars films, made from 1.5 million LEGO bricks.
*Miniland
Explore the world in LEGO form at Miniland with famous sites and monuments from different countries built of the small bricks.
*LEGO
Just the very fact that this is all about LEGO is such a thrill for children – they are at LEGOLAND, LEGO is everywhere you look and the shops are full of LEGO sets.
What did we think?
This theme park obviously has the wow factor for LEGO fans, who will be excited as soon as they know they are going to LEGOLAND.
On the downside, it is showing its age in places and the queues are long for some of the rides.
An outdoor Ninjago show
But it is otherwise perfectly pitched for young children. There are a good variety of attractions, shows and play areas and it is set in nice parkland.
Our top tips
*The rides open at 10am but the front of the park opens at 9.30am so to get a good parking space and be first at one of the more popular rides, get there early. You can kill time in the shop and look around Miniland but at 10am there is a stampede to the rides.
*Parking costs £6 and you can pay in advance. For an extra £6 you can secure priority parking nearer the entrance. We were there fairly early both days and managed to get good spots without the extra charge.
*The Reserve & Ride (formerly called Q-BOTS) ride reservation service save a lot of queuing time but is expensive. There are three options, we had the Express version and hardly had to wait at all on the rides where we used them. In the cold and rain when we went, this was a huge relief and a big bonus and the staff treat you like royalty (although there is definitely some guilt to be felt at skipping on ahead of others patiently waiting their turn). You use the system on your mobile phone and can only use it on one ride at a time. Read our full guide to it here: How to beat the queues at LEGOLAND Windsor Resort with the Reserve & Ride (formerly Q-Bot) Ride Reservation System
*Buggies can be left outside rides at the owner’s own risk.
*There are two hotels – LEGOLAND Resort Hotel and LEGOLAND Castle Hotel, if you want to stay over on site, with themed rooms. They are very popular and very expensive. There are also lots of cheaper hotels in the area.
*Be aware that there is not much to do indoors if the weather is bad so be well prepared with umbrellas and waterproofs. When it is raining particularly hard or you need to dry off for a bit, aim for attractions like the LEGO 4D cinema, Star Wars display, X-BOX Gaming Zone and Atlantis Submarine Voyage. Some of the queues for the bigger, indoor rides are also undercover – like the Ninjago Ride and Laser Raiders. Umbrellas and rain ponchos can be bought. (There is also free sun cream available around the site which I thought was a great idea).
*Check out height restrictions so you don’t have disappointed children. Staff are very strict and always check – for lots of rides children have to be over 0.9 metres (with a parent) and 1.3 metres to go on alone.
*There are obviously lots of temping LEGO sets and other LEGO products you can buy from shops. You can pay for your purchases and collect later as the shops can get busy at the end of the day.
*Take swimming costumes if you plan to try out Splash Safari where toddlers can splash and enjoy water features and DUPLO-themed animals.
Don’t miss our article: LEGOLAND Windsor – our 10 top tips to get the most out of your visit
LEGOLAND Windsor Resort information
Food: Picnics are allowed but there aren’t many picnic spots and even less under cover, as we discovered on our first day, standing up to eat our sandwiches, huddled under a shelter.
There are various restaurants and food stalls around the park, but it is quite pricey. We had a nice pasta pot at one stall on our second day, which helped to warm us up.
Opening hours: Varies depending on the day and time of year.
Cost: Tickets bought in advance online are from £29 and from £53 if bought at the park. Children under 90cm go free.
Look out for two-for-one offers and other discounts, plus you can use Tesco Clubcard vouchers or a Merlin Annual Pass.
Annual passes are also available as well as prices for short breaks, staying at one of the two LEGOLAND hotels.
Best for: Children aged three/four (0.9 metres in height) to 10.
Time needed: A full day or more.
Access and restrictions: LEGOLAND has a lot in place for guests with additional needs. It is a hilly site but there is a hill train, which has a carriage for wheelchairs and buggies. There is a Ride Access Pass for those who struggle to queue, a Wheelchair Access Pass, so people in wheelchairs can access the rides, disabled toilets and a Changing Places facility. There is also a sensory space.
Address: LEGOLAND Windsor Park, Winkfield Road, Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 4AY.
Book via the LEGOLAND website.
by Victoria Pollitt | Jan 1, 2019 | Berkshire, UK days out, Windsor
All you need to know about Reserve & Ride at LEGOLAND Windsor – how it works, how much it costs and is it worth it?
What is it?
Reserve & Ride replaces the Q-Bot system and helps you avoid the often long queues at Legoland Windsor – at a price.
Using Reserve & Ride means you don’t have to physically queue for the included rides.
How does it work?
Standing anywhere in the park and using your mobile phone, you reserve a place on a ride and are given a countdown waiting time (or no waiting time if you pick the most expensive Ultimate option).
So instead of waiting in the queue you can go on other rides or do other things. At any point after the time is up (you don’t have to be there at the exact moment), you go through the ride’s Reserve & Ride entrance where you will be able to bypass the normal queue.
You can make a reservation on only one ride at a time.
Options
There are different types of Reserve & Ride options at various prices.
Reserve & Ride Regular (£25 per person) – You do not have to physically queue but your wait – or your countdown – is as long as that for the people queuing. (Haunted House Monster Party costs £4 extra).
Reserve & Ride Express (£40 per person) – This cuts the waiting time in half, eg if the normal queue is 40 minutes, you only have to wait 20 minutes (doing what you please elsewhere) before you can access the ride. (Haunted House Monster Party costs £4 extra).
Reserve & Ride Ultimate (£90 per person) – No waiting time at all. Just book the ride and go straight through the Reserve & Ride entrance. Reserve & Ride Ultimate also Includes the free add-on for Haunted House Monster Party.
You can also buy:
Reserve & Ride One Shot (£5 to £7 per person) – This allows you to use Reserve & Ride at ONE included ride of your choice and get almost instant access to it.
Which rides are included?
Aero Nomad
Balloon School
Deep Sea Adventure
Desert Chase
Dragon’s Apprentice
Driving School
Duplo Airport,
Duplo Dino Coaster
Fairy Tale Brook
Fire Academy
Haunted House Monster Party (only included in Reserve & Ride Ultimate or available as an additional £4 add-on to Reserve & Ride Regular and Express)
Jolly Rocker
Laser Raiders
L-Drivers
LEGOLAND Express
Lego Ninjago the Ride
LEGO Ninjago the Ride
Mia’s Riding Adventure
Merlin’s Challenge
Thunder Blazer
Pirate Falls
Raft Racers
Spinnig Spider
The Dragon
Thunder Blazer
Viking River Splash
The rides within LEGO Mythica are not included in Reserve & Ride.
Where do you get Q-Bots from?
You can pre-book your Reserve and Ride through the LEGOLAND website here.
There is also a Reserve & Ride office just inside the main entrance at Windsor on the right and another at Heartlake City within the park.
What is the difference between Q-Bot and Reserve & Ride?
Q-Bot and Reserve & Ride are the same – Reserve & Ride replaced Q-Bots from 2020. The only difference is that Reserve & Ride always operates on your mobile device whereas LEGOLAND also offered handheld devices for Q-Bots users as an alternative.
Our review of Reserve & Ride
We used the reservation system for two days and there is no doubt it makes the park a more pleasurable experience.
You can get around so many more rides and if you work it correctly you can virtually hop from one ride to another without queuing all day.
It was a very rainy weekend and queuing for long periods would have been miserable.
The whole system is well designed and works seamlessly, the staff are very good at getting you on the ride as soon as possible.
However the cost is substantial.
Our Top Tips for Reserve & Ride at Legoland
*To benefit most, book your next ride as soon as you can – basically, as soon as staff have scanned your phone to let you on the ride before.
*Don’t wait until your countdown time is at 0 before going through the Reserve & Ride entrance. Go in at about two to three minutes, as often (especially on the indoor and larger rides) even this entrance has a short walk and wait before you board your ride.
*Check your dates and the weather. LEGOLAND will be much busier on a sunny day in the school holidays or at the weekend, than a rainy midweek day in October, when the Reserve & Ride system won’t save you as much time.
*It doesn’t cost any more to book Reserve & Ride on the day, so you can always wait and see when you arrive what the queues are like, if you can’t decide. HOWEVER, you risk not being able to get one as there are a limited number available.
*One way to make the Reserve & Ride cost effective is to use it as a means of cutting your visit from two days to one. On any school holiday or weekend it would be nearly impossible to see all of the park in one day without it. So it may be worth investing in a Reserve & Ride instead of a second day’s admission. That could add up for you.
*Reserve & Ride does not include entry to Legoland, you have to buy entry tickets separately.
*Children under 90cm do not need to pay for Reserve & Ride but can go with Reserve & Ride users on reserved rides – height, weight and age restrictions permitting.
For more details visit the LEGOLAND website.
