Here are some things I've learned from trips to Legoland over the last seven years.
1. Don't be clever and think that your child's school is the only one closed for polling day and thus it's a really great plan to go to Legoland. It's not and it isn't. Turns out half the schools in the SE are closed and all parents/carers have the same idea. Even the schools that are open inexplicably seem to choose that day for a class trip. Why you would take a party of 30 ten year olds to Legoland anyway is beyond me, but there you go.
2. Do think about going on an inset day. We've had much better luck doing this because schools are a little more random in when they have their insets.
3. Look online for ticket offers. Lastminute have cheaper tickets but there are others. If you're going on a busy day, this is better than taking say a Tesco two for one voucher, which means you still have to join the massive queue at the gate. If you book ahead, you can go to the collection window where a nice lady goes along the queue just handing out the tickets. Worst of all, don't combine vouchers with pre-booking. That way, queuing madness lies.
4. If it's busy, really, really do think about investing in the Q-bot. It's £10 a person so pretty spendy but may well save the day. If you're not familiar with this, the Q-bot allows you to book a timed slot for popular rides. You turn up with your party at that time and jump the queue. Everyone else hates you but it's definitely worth it, particularly for the new rides like the Indiana Jones lazer thing. When we were there recently, the queue was 2 hours long, for a five minute ride. You need to decide if £10 per person is worth it for a five minute ride, of course, but we used it on lots of other things. Also, you don't need to get one for every adult. You can swap in and out as it's not for a named person. Get it as you go in though rather than do what we did which was decide half way through the day that it was worth it and thus a) miss half the day, and b) have to climb the hill back to the entrance to get one.
5. Take your own food. I'm not a big advocate of the picnic but it's completely worth it there. You can picnic by miniworld so the children have lots to look at while you take the weight off for a few minutes.
6. Take a towel and swimming stuff. There's a great water-fun bit which children really like and will grumble about if they can't go in. I've bought at least two Legoland towels in my time. They are really expensive so take your own.
7. Don't bother with the pay a bit more nearer car park. It isn't that much nearer.
8. Expect to be in a traffic jam if you go on a busy day. The road from the M4 to Legoland is hopeless.
9. Stay as long as you can. It gets quieter towards closing time.
10. I guess this goes for all theme parks, but try not be too "I have to get my money's worth" about it. It's impossible to say what that is anyway, but let the children do what they want - or don't. If they don't want to go on any rides but just look at the brilliant lego stuff, or play in the free play bits, try not to be cross and "why have we spent all this money" about it. I know the money is painful but so it ruining their day by being grumpy. Similarly, if they want to queue for an hour to do a two minute thing, that's fine too. Just go with it. Drink lots of coffee and think what a top parent you're being.
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