Legoland Windsor > Reviews > Legoland - The Cash Cow

Author's product rating:   

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Average

Advantages:	Nice Model Village, Some good rides for kids
Disadvantages:	Expensive, outrageous food and drink prices, big queues, no in queue entertainment, dirty in places

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I have to say I have been to Legoland on a number of occasions now to give the place a fair review based on numerous visits, but so far I have to say I am a very disappointed person. I think that Legoland is extremely overpriced (considering we are 2 parents and 1 child) but still have to pay £32 per adult entrance even though there is no chance in hell that we both get to use them all. As a family of 3 with entrance, food and drink throughout the day (we deliberately did not take a picnic this time) and the necessary memento (a driving licence, a photo from a ride) you are looking at a combined spend of £120 for the day.

I will say that we have been fair in our approach visiting at different times of the year (twice in 2007) just to see whether our experiences have been a one off. No, they haven't. Don't get me wrong some things at Legoland are really good - (such as the model village which fascinates us all every time) - but these points I think are few and far between.

RIDES: Let’s look at the rides. For a 5 year old (that’s my son Will) he loves the cars at the driving school. On the last day we went, which was a school day in July the park was pretty much packed – almost as bad as the full blown summer holidays. We made our way to the driving school, and proceeded to queue for just under 40 minutes. In a childs life, that’s an eternity. To make it worse, these is no form of entertainment during this queing which makes it even more laborious. If you have ever visited the states then you’ll know that when queing for rides out there (as well as being much quicker) they provide “in queue entertainment” whether that is TV screens or even characters interacting with the crowd.

After our 40 minute queue, Will got to his car and managed just 3 minutes and 20 seconds before the go was over. Absolutely appalling. Within the same vicintity were the boats, but the queue was enormous to the point where the sign said “60 minutes from here” so it really was not worth it.

Other rides where the queue was between 30 to 40 minutes included the JCB diggers (again for all of 3 minutes of ride), the log flume (at least they have Lego/Duplo to play with as an admission you WILL have to wait a while), the Dragon Coaster and the Water Ski Sled. The only rides where the wait was less than 10 minutes was the Ferris Wheel and the riverboats through fairytale land (which is pretty awful anyway).

Out of all the attractions you could ride, on our day we managed just over 50% of them.

FOOD AND DRINK: Wherever you go in Legoland, there are an abundance of places to grab food and drink, some better than others but the one we chose for a bit of variety was the Pasta Patch. Food was £5.69 for a 7” pizza for adults (2 toppings only) and £3.59 for a child’s portion (which was an adult pizza chopped in half). Drinks were around the £2 mark. I nearly bought a bottle of Magners but at £5 a bottle (YES, £5!) I chose a coke instead and saved myself £3. Total bill just shy of £17 for 3 meals (of average quality) and 2 drinks.

Ice creams were no different with pricing varying between £1.90 (the cheapest I saw) to almost £2.79 for a larger version, so just short of £10 for 3!. You can guess that once you are in through the gates of Legoland, expect to be fleeced for every penny you have on you remembering that you have pester power too, and we only have one child!

But it doesn’t stop there. You should also note that some things in Legoland cost extra such as the Pirate Goldwash and the remote controlled boats as examples.

Some of the staff, (mostly all are very young) are helpful and enthusiastic however one of the staff was as miserable as sin and she was looking after the queue at the Driving School. Mind you, who could blame her – not the most exciting job in the world.

Finally, I must point out that on receipt of the map for the park we were greeted with the big printed words in the middle “NEW FOR 2007!” which was highlighting a new area themed around the Vikings. The pamphlet proudly stated “OPENING SUMMER 2007!”. Sadly, I think this may be a misprint, as when passing the area we found that the site was still pretty much a construction site with more bum cleavages on view from burly builders that Nordic men with pointy beards.

In summary, Legoland is a unique proposition, and therefore you have little choice of an alternative child’s themed park, particularly in the South where only Chessington and Thorpe Park come close but cater more for teens and adults. The only alternative in the South is probably Paulton’s Park near Southampton, but that is a poor relation in terms of size and attractions.

Legoland is being used as a cash cow. Once you’re in you will pay through the nose for everything and on busy days expect to be frustrated by the queue lengths and lack of queue entertainment. (The queues are a particular frustration for the young who get bored very quickly). Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure on not so busy days you’ll get round everything, probably twice. Where this park fails is trying to cram as many people into a not so big space. It’s certainly not the size of Thorpe Park or Alton Towers but then again the audience it panders too is different. I guess I have been spoilt having done the majority of Florida parks, but the Americans know how to do things so much better. I only wish the people who run these UK parks take a leaf from our US cousins and at least try and give people real value for money rather than fleece them at every opportunity!

My advice – take a picnic, go on a non-school day out-of-season (easier said then done appreciated) and avoid the over priced food and drink outlets within the park. Plan your day accordingly and follow a route around the park rather than zig zagging back and forth. You may have a better experience that the 4 times we have been!