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Amazing Machines come to LEGOLAND Windsor

August 28th, 2008

The Amazing Machines are coming, coming to a LEGOLAND near you…

On the weekend of September 13, 2008, LEGOLAND will play host to one of the most spectacular shows of any theme park in the UK with the arrival of monster trucks, an 11 ft high half pipe and the RNLI.

They are all aimed at giving visitors the ultimate theme park break (and, of course, easing those back-to-school blues). Ride the rides, visit the shops, then watch in amazement as monster trucks perform crazy stunts and world-renowned skaters perform aerial aerobatics, tens of feet above your head.

Those of you brave enough to want to learn some new tricks are welcome to join Team Extreme on the half pipe. Special coaching sessions will be held throughout the day giving you valuable tips on how to perfect that Superman Seat-Grab or the death-defying Christ Air.

If skating isn’t extreme enough for you, then check out Big Pete, Europe’s number one monster truck team. They’ll be battling it out in the special events arena throughout the day with their combination of car jumps and wheelies.

Due to prior engagements and the imminent birth of my first baby, I will not be able to attend the day. Any of you who are going and read this blog, I implore you to take some pictures and let me know how the day went.

Any of you who haven’t got your tickets just yet, check out our main site at Play and Stay, where you can get theme park access and a top local hotel for the night in one great value package.

In the mean time, I have tracked down some footage of Big Pete and Team Extreme for you to enjoy.

Family Fun at LEGOLAND Windsor

July 7th, 2008

So they say that LEGOLAND is aimed at children aged between three and 12 years old. I am 26 years old and quite clearly out of the targeted age range but I still loved it. But then I feel that I should let you in on a little secret: Roller coasters terrify me. One of my earliest memories was climbing out of a carriage after being on Disney World’s most extreme ride at the time, Space Mountain in floods of tears. The hysteric kind. That’s right, I absolutely hated it and I was damned if I was ever going on another one.

Fast forward ten years and here I am on a school business studies trip to Disneyland Paris. And here is Space Mountain, staring at me and my friends, egging us on and mocking my terror. Of course, at the age of 15, you have to go with the flow and do what everyone else is doing. If not, you face complete mockery and possible disowning from your piers. So I embarked, and soon realised as we began ascending the first lift hill, that I still wasn’t cured of my fear of rides. Needless to say, I chose the constant ripping that I got from my colleagues instead of going back on Space Mountain.

A little more history: In 2007, I started as a copywriter for Holiday Extras and one of their sister companies, Play and Stay. This means I have to have a certain amount of knowledge about what I am writing about and inevitably, after six months my first educational came up. It was only Thorpe Park, the home of the UK’s most extreme roller coasters… “Oh great,” I thought (Well, it’s not exactly what I thought, but I shouldn’t really be swearing whilst writing for work).

Luckily, my companion on the trip was a lovely man, who never once poked fun at me for being scared and was ever so understanding when I told him I didn’t want to go on the Slammer…. pause… NOT! (Have any of you ever met James Carson? He’s the man that was on Graham Norton’s show with the “McBeautiful” chat-up line. His ambition is to go on Channel 4′s Shipwrecked and he is obsessed with munging.) He completely destroyed me and practically forced me to go on every single ride that was likely to leave a brown stain in my underpants. Starting with Stealth, then Colossus, then Rush… Tidal Wave, Slammer, colossus again, X: No Way Out, Nemesis and finally back on Stealth one last time. I have to admit though, as much as I disliked the man for doing this to me, he did cure me of my fears, and enabled me to make the trip to LEGOLAND for my stepson’s fourth birthday. (Oh and did I forget to mention the look on his face after getting off of Nemesis? “That one made me feel a little sick” he quietly whispered in my ear. What a picture.)

But anyway, history lesson over, this blog is about my trip to LEGOLAND Windsor, not about my good friend, Carson. We have a replacement now, anyway. We call him Carson 2.0 and he is much more jovial and forgiving. And he likes Poetry.

So we left home at 8 o’ clock in the morning, hoping to beat the rush hour traffic and get to the park for its opening time of 10 o’ clock. For his birthday, Stan got a Sportacus outfit (The main guy from Lazy Town) complete with hugely annoying sound effects which he insisted on pressing all the way out of town and along the first part of the M20. After a brief stop at our local services to fill up and buy some travel sweets, we continued to make our way along the M20 with the music turned up a little louder than Sportacus in the back.

In between bouts of Lazy Town sound effects, we managed to squeeze in a game of ‘I Spy’ which involved Stanley giving the answer away every time (“I Spy with my little eye, something beginning with car”). We arrived at the park five minutes before it opened and the weather wasn’t looking great for the day. We had already been through a few showers on the way up (“I Spy with my little eye, something beginning with rain”) so we loaded the buggy up with jackets, cagouls and spare shoes just in case. Of course, it turns out that the weather was glorious all day and I actually ended up getting burnt in places.

Joanna is six months pregnant and as a result, was unable to go on many of the rides. This didn’t dampen her day though, she had a great time snapping us on the rides and making various films on her phone. I think the longest we had to queue was half an hour to get on Pirate Falls, so she wasn’t left alone for too long.

One of the best things about many of the rides is the entertainment along the way. There are work stations with literally hundreds of blocks of DUPLO to play with. We had great fun making the world’s longest skateboard ramp while waiting in line for Boating School and The Dragon is decorated with LEGO models of witches and wizards set in the heart of a medieval castle backdrop. These activities and pieces of eye candy are essential when aiming your theme park at the younger audience.

Queues are long and boring places to be, and to be completely honest, you spend way more time waiting to go on the ride than you actually spend riding the damn thing. Two things I did notice whilst queuing was 1) how well behaved our little boy was, and b) how grumpy parents get when they are forced to stand in an orderly queue for more than five minutes. So many times, I caught poor kids being threatened with “we’re never coming back” and/or “we’ll be leaving in a minute if you keep that up!” Maybe the creators of LEGOLAND should take note, and provide the adults with something to do while they queue – this way, there would be a lot less arguments and bad tempers.

The rides themselves were absolutely fantastic, if a little too light heart hearted for the more experienced theme park go-er. The Dragon was great fun; the first part (where you slowly navigate through the castle’s tunnels) was a little bit scary for Stan with its flashing lights and loud sound effects but as soon as we got outside and the ride began in earnest, he absolutely loved it. His description to Joanna straight afterwards went something along the lines of “mummy, mummy, we went on a ride up a big hill then down a big hill and round a corner and it went vrrrrooommmmmmm!!!” before looking round at me and saying “can we do it again?” Haha, it was quality, and to be honest, a relief that he enjoyed it so much.

After a bite to eat and a tasty ice cream, we decided to tackle The Dragon’s sidekick, Dragon’s Apprentice. This one went round the short track twice and the little man proudly pronounced that he was “going to scream REALLY LOUD” on this ride. We then navigated round to LEGO City and took part in the Digger Challenge, Boating School, and the fairly tame Orient Expedition. Boating School was great fun. We let him take control of the steering as we happily smashed, crashed and splashed our way around the short track. (Apologies to anyone who we bumped on our way round).

Joanna took him on the slower rides, the carousel and the Digger Challenge. I had, after all, played the proud father figure all day and thought that maybe she was missing out on the fun. So the two of them happily played on the smaller rides while I took the time to check out some shops and grab a ridiculously expensive drink or two.

It’s at this point that I feel Ishould pipe up about the price of the place. We did get our tickets for free (I have just written the copy for the LEGOLAND Holidays redesign) but the cost of food and drink once inside is ludicrous. I definitely recommend packing a picnic and taking advantage of the many grassy areas. We must have paid out more than £40 on drinks and snacks and we didn’t even sit down in a restaurant to eat.

One of the last rides we went on that day was the Dino Dipper. The gentleman who operated this ride (Mike, I think it said on his name tag) was the most cheerful chappy I had met all day and did a fantastic job of getting the crowd going. Was this because it was nearly home time and he knew he was nearly at the end of his shift? No – I genuinely believe this guy loves his job. Shouts of “Do you wanna go faster?” and “have you had enough yet?” came echoing out of the small arena and literally pulled the crowds in. If you are going down to LEGOLAND any time soon, check him out, he really did make the ride that much better.

So the park closed at six, and hoards of people headed towards the park exit. Luckily, the cafe and shops were still open long enough to grab a bite to eat and get a couple of souvenirs from the day’s events. We ended up leaving the park at gone seven and we headed back home to the not-so-sunny Folkestone and the pikey seagulls that live on the roof opposite our house. After obtaining his driving license at Learner Drivers, Stanley proudly declared that he was driving us home and that I was to spend the journey in the boot. If only. He was actually asleep within 5 minutes of leaving the park allowing Mummy and Papa a peaceful journey home with no Sportacus sound effects. Job done.

Would I go again? Definitely. Would I recommend it to friends? Oh yes. Even if I didn’t do this for a job? Even more so. LEGOLAND was great fun and there was so much to see and do there. We didn’t even make it to Land of the Vikings, and we briskly walked through Miniland without stopping to show Stan what Amsterdam looked like. I would definitely recommend getting a two day pass and staying overnight and maybe even hiring a Q-Bot. I think it would take two days just get around and enjoy the full majesty of the park. Everything, and I mean everything is superbly sculpted in the LEGO style and offers something for all ages. My wife and I may be 26 years old, but we got just as much out of LEGOLAND as our four year old boy.

Next up I’m on the hunt for some free Alton Towers tickets, although I will settle for Drayton Manor and Thomas Land. Watch this space…

The Poncho-sen Ones invade LEGOLAND

March 26th, 2008

pon·cho |ˈpän-(ˌ)chō|
noun (pl. -chos)
1 : a blanket with a slit in the middle so that it can be slipped over the head and worn as a sleeveless garment
2 : a waterproof garment resembling a poncho and having an integral hood

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We arrive at LEGOLAND Windsor at approximately 3.30pm on a cold, damp Wednesday afternoon with the intention of experiencing the park with the enthusiasm of an excited child. After entering the gates and negotiating the first toilet break of the visit we are met with a pretty impressive view of the whole park area. In the distance we see the beautiful Windsor Castle (i think) although it could’ve been a shopping centre, and we begin our descent to tackle the first ride of the day – Viking’s River Splash!

On reflection, without a change of clothes and on such a day as this a water ride shouldn’t have been our first port of call. However, we are young adventurers and this is the first ride we come across so we approach with little or no hesitation. Even the wet seats did little to deter us. This excitement and lack of regard for personal comfort proved a great choice as the Viking’s River Splash was a whole lotta fun! Wetness rating was about 6/10 but well worth it and I don’t fancy our chances of drying off with the dark clouds looming.

Being dry is overrated. After a little walking we discover the Dragon Coaster so we queue for about 15 seconds and then jump on the back. It is FREEZING! The cold air that hits your face as you twist and turn along the track doesn’t really go well with wet hair and damp trousers. As we finish the ride there are few people waiting to climb aboard so we go round again… a pretty quick ride and it did go some way to drying my clothes.

A gentle stroll across the park and it’s easy to tell that the Easter holidays are not yet upon us. There aren’t many kids in today and those present are probably too young to have even started school yet. We wouldn’t have to queue for the rides so i wasn’t complaining, although the wet trousers were ensuring a few moans here and there…. we’ll come back to the wetness.

Approaching the Jungle Coaster, we become more aware of the fact we don’t look like the average group of LEGOLANDERS as the ride operators appear to rub their hands together and cackle manically. This may not have happened but somehow it seems like it should have – as the Jungle Coaster came to a stop I felt my service station lunch was desperate to make an appearance. A pretty good coaster although maybe I am a little too old and experienced to fully appreciate the excitement that fellow younger riders were clearly experiencing.

So anyway, feeling a little jaded and cynical about roller coasters and my lack of appreciation for them – we approached what appeared to be a pretty small water ride. The Wave Surfer is a circular moat-like track where you ride round on a jet-ski type thing. If this sounds rubbish then my cynicism is translating well. But, I have been converted by the power of the Wave Surfer – this is seriously the greatest ride in the history of the world! Friends and enemies afraid of a little water can activate the water bombs in an attempt to soak you as you steer erratically in an attempt to create the ultimate wave. So much better than I ever thought it would be and I didn’t even care that I was once again soaked.

As the afternoon begins to draw to a close, we spot the coolest kid at LEGOLAND. The kid is unaware of how cool he/she actually is and as you have noticed I am unaware on the gender of said child. There is one thing that separates this ‘superchild’ from us mere mortals with our drenched sleeves and damp pants – it is known as a ‘poncho’. Don’t try and picture this creation because your thoughts will never do it justice. It is yellow, it has a LEGOLAND logo on the back and it has a hood. However, we later realise it only has short-sleeves – this minor imperfection will not tarnish the fact this is the best £3 I ever spent!

After the purchase is made, the rest of the afternoon is a blur. I am delirious with glee, glee being a word I haven’t used since another such historical occasion as this. With a poncho on my back and a skip in my step I attack the Pirate Falls. The first carriage we attempt to board is knee-deep in water so we grab the next one…. only our ankles will be soaked in this one. After a pleasant float along the winding approach, we begin to climb the track to the inevitable drop and subsequent splash. As the rear member of four riders, the water appears to feebly adhere to gravitational laws and congregates around me as we continue our ascent. As gravity again rears its ugly head, we plummet towards the biggest splash of the day! I am now immune to water and the feeling of wetness and so would happily ride again but 5pm is approaching fast.

We haven’t even ridden the Longboat Invader yet and so head for one of the newest rides at LEGOLAND Windsor. It doesn’t really look like I should fear it but I just wish I had given it more respect. I exit feeling a little worse-for-wear while a couple of kids a least 20 years my junior clearly had a fantastic time. Maybe I should stick to the water rides…

Time really is against us as we enter Loki’s Labyrinth. If we get lost in here then will they send a rescue team when the park closes? As each one of us attempts to win the race to the centre, I cheat a little by sliding through smalls gaps between blockades and the hedges. As we enjoy the view from the centre of Loki’s Labyrinth we realise it is time to draw this glorious afternoon to a close and head for the car.

As we slowly climb the paths towards the exit, I notice a LEGOLAND train full of other visitors taking the easier option to the top of the hill. I don’t envy them one bit – our glorious afternoon at LEGOLAND will not be tarnished now by such laziness! In the distance Space Tower shows ‘people’ climbing via ropes and a debate breaks out as to whether the climbers are human or LEGO… a coffee rests on the outcome.

They were human. No coffee ever changed hands.

NEW LEGOLAND EVENTS ANNOUNCED!!

December 28th, 2007

LEGOLAND Windsor has recently announced their 2008 calendar of special events and there some real crackers in there. As expected, the superb annual Fireworks show returns in October and November and continues being one of the most spectacular fireworks events in the country. If you haven’t seen it before, put the following dates in your diary – 25, 26 & 31 October and 1, 2 & 8 November.

Check out this youtube video of the fantastic fireworks display that LEGOLAND Windsor put on last year – seriously good stuff!

The Spring and Summer are going to be a wild one at LEGOLAND so get yourself down to the After Dark event on 21-23 March. With the new Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull movie awaiting release in 2008, this Easter at LEGOLAND you can join him for an amazing adventure of your own!

As well as the Indiana Jones spectacular this Spring, LEGOLAND will be putting together a World Record Breaking attempt to build the biggest ever LEGO tower. This event will run from 2-5 May so get involved and get yourself down there.

There is plenty more going on around the park in 2008 so keep your eyes peeled on my blog and the Play and Stay site to keep up-to-date with all the latest news and views. It could be the best year in LEGOLAND Windsor history so make sure you don’t miss out – and if you hear anything that i haven’t mentioned send me a message so i can update this blog. Happy LEGOing!!

Big Savings! Play and Stay Special Offers for May

April 30th, 2007

Take a look at our special offers bursting out from the Play and Stay treasure chest this Spring. First of all there’s the brilliant Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures double offer – get park entrance tickets to both parks and hotel stay from just £199 for a family of four! If that wasn’t enough then we’re also giving vouchers for kids to eat free at Chessington. You can get a voucher redeemable for 2 child’s meals up to the value of £2.49 per child with every adult meal purchased.

Then there’s our spectacular savings to be had at LEGOLAND® Windsor, where kids can go free! You can now get a LEGOLAND Windsor break from just £94 for a family of four if you book before the 31st May. This fantastic special offer includes 2 day theme park entrance, an overnight hotel stay and breakfast – all from just £94 for a family of 2 adults and 2 children. Compared to normal gate prices kids do go completely free!

Also be sure to check out our Spring sale of Tussaud’s theme parks. In May we’ll be cutting our prices even further by offering £10 savings for families of four at Alton Towers, Chessington and Thorpe Park. Head to Play and Stay for more details and incredible savings!

Colossus at Thorpe Park

This guy can’t believe how good our offers are!

Vikings Raid Legoland

March 19th, 2007

Legoland Windsor will be adding some great family rides with opening of the all new Land of the Vikings. This will feature three new attractions. First up there is a maze called Loki’s Labyrinth. Then there’s the kiddy orientated Longboat Invader. The big announcement is the opening of an all new river rapids ride: Vikings’ River Splash. This river rapids style ride will be a very welcome addition to the park, as it only previously had one with the Pirate Goldwash.