How to plan a one day trip to Legoland Windsor with kids

We enjoyed the teaser experience of the Lego world in Legoland Discovery Center in Birmingham but visiting Legoland Windsor was the next level. Legoland Windsor is UK’s favorite kids theme park and is just about an hour’s journey from London. Set amidst the English countryside, the resort covers more than 150 acres with 12 zones and 55 rides which are fun at any age.

Legoland Windsor resort is expansive and if you are visiting the park during peak season it can get very crowded really soon. And hence, a bit of research before visiting, to plan your day ahead definitely helps.

After a hearty breakfast at Stirrups Hotel near Windsor Castle where we had spent the night, we took a cab to Legoland Windsor and reached there in about 10 minutes. A short while later we were collecting our tickets and a quick security check at the turnstiles led us in through the grand entrance.

Inside Legoland Windsor

The first view of the resort inside is quite chaotic on a summer day with families and kids all around. But a few steps inside will make you realise that the various zones are set across sprawling gardens connected by trails with trees on either side.

You can access the hill train at the beginning which takes you to the heart of the resort, the Lego city which is designed around transport. Kids can experience being firefighters in the fire academy, can enroll in the driving school and can ride in the hot air balloon ride.

Through the day, we explored the various zones like Ninjago world, Land of Vikings, Kingdom of Pharaohs, Pirate Shores and Knights’ Kingdom. Our first ride was the spinning spider at the Land of Vikings. After a dizzy ride, we took a break at a playground just before the pirate shores.

The playground is designed as a couple of 18th-century wooden houses connected by slides and ropeways. It is a welcoming break between the chaotic rides and crowded lands.

The exhilarating Dragon

We took many rides but our favorite ride was the Dragon, the exciting roller coaster at Knights kingdom. The dragon takes you through the dark interiors of the Knight’s castle. Passing by some usual scenes inside a castle, in the form of a brilliant display of animated lego models, you may feel relaxed initially.

But suddenly the roller coaster rushes down a hill and accelerates through the treetops making it an exhilarating ride even for adults.

By the time we finished exploring Pirate shores, our tummies were rumbling. We stopped in for lunch at the restaurant near Pirate shores and after a quick bite moved on. Next, we visited the Heartlake city and Imagination center before heading into Miniland.

We spent an enormous amount of time at Miniland as my son didn’t want to leave it. And to be honest neither did I. The photographer in me was the happiest in this land.

Miniland

Miniland is the miniature park with model scenes of cities from around the world. It is made up of 40 million lego blocks and is a treat for the eyes.

You will find not just the famous London landmarks but also famous monuments from around the world like Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal, Edinburgh castle etc.

By the time, we finished looking around, the other zones were closing down. We rushed to Duplo valley and saw the rides coming to a standstill.

The water rides and water parks are mostly in Duplo Valley. Our Legoland adventure was coming to an end but I made a mental note to come back to Legoland Windsor to try the remaining rides.

Shopping

The resort is open for about an hour after the lands and rides close down, giving you enough time to shop in the main Lego toyshop at the entrance. The shop itself is a wonderland in itself and the variety of Legos is unmatched. We had also shopped through the day and luckily those toys had been kept ready for us at the entrance to collect. With Legos, you can never have enough. Not just true for my son but for myself too, I just stopped short of buying the whole shop.

After spending the rest of our time at the shop, it was the final closing time for Legoland Windsor Resort. And for us, it was time to bid farewell to another Legoland, mind full of memories and heart full of more love for Legos.

Tips to plan a one day trip to Legoland Windsor

Through our experience at Legoland Windsor, we realised it is quite impossible to cover everything in Legoland Windsor in a day. You need atleast two days to explore all the different zones if not a couple of days to cover all the rides.

However, if you just have a day, here are our top tips to plan an action-packed day with family at Legoland Windsor.

1. Book tickets online in advance and save
2. Reach early to maximize your day at Legoland Windsor
3. Research on rides that your kids can take based on their height
4. Go against the flow of the crowd to avoid waiting in long queues
5. Use Legoland app to get more info about ride timings
6. Try Q-bot to avoid crazy queues
7. Don’t forget your swimming costumes for the wet rides

During the summer holidays, which is also considered as the peak season at Legoland Windsor, it can get really crowded. So if you are visiting Legoland with kids, we highly recommend you to research well about the rides and choose the ones you want to take.

There are also shows that are held at certain timings that you can check on the website beforehand. With all this info and planning in hand, I am sure your day at Legoland Windsor will turn out to be enjoyable and memorable.