16 Legoland Windsor Tips You Need To Know!

Legoland Windsor is one of the UK’s premier family theme parks, however, for those who’ve never been to the park before it can be an overwhelming experience.

Based on our multiple experiences visiting Legoland Windsor over the year I’ll be sharing what we believe to be the biggest hints and tips that can 10x your experience at the Legoland park.

These tips include some fantastic ways to save money but also save you a lot of time, hassle and frustration so you’re able to experience more of what Legoland Windsor has to offer during your visit.

1. Measure Your Child In Advance

Despite Legoland Windsor being a theme park designed for children it can be limiting for those below a certain height.

Measuring your child in advance will give you an idea of what rides they are able to go on during their visit to avoid disappointment during the day.

Children under 1 meter will not be able to go on any of the major rides during their visit to Legoland Windsor without an adult and even then some rides will not be suitable at all until the child is 1.3 metres or taller.

As a result, children under 90cm in height can visit the Legoland Windsor park for free with one paying adult. However, this might also mean that visiting Legoland in Windsor isn’t worth it for your family right now.

2. Look For Vouchers & Discounts On Park Tickets

Five of us visited Legoland Windsor on our most recent visit and as a result sticking to a budget was incredibly important.

One of the most expensive parts of a trip to Legoland is unsurprisingly the park tickets themselves. However, there’s a number of ways you can save big money very easily here.

We opted to use the 2 for 1 voucher that was being given away for free on packets of Kellogs cereal however, exact offers vary throughout the year.

This saved us over £100 with 5 of us visiting during the peak season we managed to get 5 tickets for the price of 3. The easiest way to find the current discounts and offers on Legoland park tickets is simply by Googling ‘Legoland Windsor Discount Tickets’.

If you struggle to find any external promotions then consider checking out the Legoland website directly as they often share a variety of promotional offers.

3. Book Tickets In Advance

Even if you can’t get a promotional discount, you’ll still save a lot of money (and time) by booking your Legoland Windsor park tickets in advance.

The exact amount you’ll save varies depending on whether you’re buying child or adult tickets, the time of year you’re visiting and more however, the savings go up to 45% when compared to ticket prices at the gate.

You only need to book online 1 day in advance, so even if it’s a last-minute decision you can still save a significant amount of money by booking in advance.

This also reduces the amount of time you’ll have to spend queuing when arriving at Legoland, instead, you’ll be able to head straight into the park and start exploring!

4. Consider A Merlin Annual Pass

If you love visiting theme parks and attractions across the UK then consider looking into a Merlin Annual Pass.

The Merlin Annual Pass doesn’t just give you access to Legoland but also all of the Sealife Centers across the UK, Legoland Discovery Centers, Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and more.

Passes start from just £89 per person (at the time of publication) for the entire year and would allow you to visit Legoland and all the other Merlin Pass attractions as many times as you like (except for blackout dates) during that 365 day period.

The more expensive Gold and Platinum Merlin Annual Passes might also be worth researching as they also include free parking and discounts on food, drink, hotels and souvenirs inside or associated with the park.

5. Visit During Non-Peak Times

Visiting Legoland Windsor during non-peak times saves you both time and money. Tickets on the Legoland Windsor website for August cost £39 per person, meanwhile, tickets for September cost just £29 per person.

Even just switching from the weekend to a weekday can save you £10 per ticket and result in the park being significantly quieter.

The quieter park will mean that you’ll be able to spend less time queueing for rides and therefore be able to experience more during your visit.

For example, during our visit wait times were in excess of an hour (sometimes two for major rides) however, when I looked at the Legoland mobile application the next day (Monday) I noticed the wait times for those same rides was under 30 minutes.

6. Consider Booking A Night At The Legoland Hotel

If your kids love Lego then you might want to consider booking a night at the on-site Legoland Hotel. This experience doesn’t come cheap but it’s certainly one they won’t forget quickly.

There are two hotels on-site at Legoland Windsor; Legoland Resort Hotel and Legoland Castle Hotel. Both of these hotels are connected to the park by a walkway meaning your only ever a 5-minute stroll from your room.

Both hotels offer a variety of different Lego-inspired themed rooms for you to select when booking.

They also both have Lego themed indoor swimming pools, offer character meet and greets, complimentary parking, complimentary Wi-Fi, have an on-site restaurant and include a Lego-themed gift for every child.

However, as I mentioned in the introduction, this experience comes at a price.

One night for two adults and two children at the Legoland Resort Hotel costs £301 (at the time of writing, the exact price will vary depending on the time you’re visiting).

However, this includes the complimentary parking and 4 one-day park tickets (2 adults and 2 children). So when broken down;

4x Legoland Windsor Park Tickets = £116 (This is based on the price of tickets when booked online in advance)

1x Parking = £13 (This is based on priority parking)

This makes the cost of one night in the hotel £172 which is around double the price of a family room at a hotel in Windsor town centre (around a 10-mile drive from Legoland Windsor) at the same time of year.

Of course, this doesn’t take into consideration the close proximity to Legoland, the fact both Legoland hotels have character meet and greets, a Lego-themed swimming pool and the added bonus of a Lego-themed gift for every child.

If that’s something you think that you and your family would appreciate then the added expense could be worthwhile.

7. Buy Your Parking In Advance

If you’re not staying in a Legoland on-site hotel then you’ll likely need to park your car at Legoland Windsor.

Sadly, this isn’t a cost included in the park tickets and instead, car parking needs to be purchased separately.

You can buy car parking in advance online or in-person upon your arrival at the park. However, much like the park tickets themselves, buying parking online in advance saves you both time and money.

When buying online you’ll be provided with a barcode to either keep on your phone or print out. Then, simply scan that barcode in the scanner as you leave and the barrier will lift for you to exit the park.

8. Arrive Early

Legoland Windsor is only open for 9 hours (8 hours on a Sunday) therefore you’ll want to maximise every moment. One way to do this is by arriving early.

We arrived at 10am during our recent visit, but already it was too late. In hindsight we should have arrived at 9.30am as the Legoland website states;

“Our turnstiles open at 9.30am and you can enjoy The Beginning area before the majority of our rides and attractions open at 10am.”

Of course, you’ll want to make sure you’ve had breakfast before arriving at the parks so you’re not wasting those first precious moments in the park queueing for food and instead can get straight to those big rides that often have long wait times.

This is tip is essential if you don’t plan on purchasing any reserve and ride tickets as those first few moments in the park will have a knock-on impact on the rest of your day.

9. Bring Snacks For The Queues

During our most recent trip to Legoland Windsor, we got caught out. We began queuing for the Haunted Mansion which was billed as a ride with a wait time of 40 minutes.

30 minutes into our wait we realised the 40-minute wait wasn’t going to be the case. Having already spent 30 minutes queueing we were left to decide whether or not we should continue queuing or instead leave the queue to look for another ride.

We opted to wait, however, by now it was midday and we were hungry. Luckily, we’d come somewhat prepared and had some snacks in our bag that we could use as a boost of energy in the meantime.

10. Pack A Change Of Clothes

There are a number of water rides at Legoland Windsor, alongside some dedicated splash zones. As a result, it’s highly likely you’ll get wet.

You don’t want to miss out on some of the incredible rides and attractions for a fear of getting wet, but at the same time walking around the park in wet clothes isn’t fun either.

So, opt for the best of both worlds and bring a spare set of clothes that you can change into if / when you get wet.

We have an entire guide dedicated to helping you decide what to wear/bring to Legoland Windsor that should help you further.

11. Pack A Swimming Costume & A Towel

If you’re visiting in the summer months then consider also packing a swimming costume and a towel as there’s a fantastic Duplo Splash Zone situated inside Duplo Valley which is a hit for kids young and old.

There’s a toilet just around the corner from the Splash Zone next to Farmer Joe’s Chicken Shop which is perfect for getting changed.

12. Download The Legoland Mobile App

The Legoland mobile application is free and available for all iOS and Android devices. It’s an incredibly detailed resource that helps you to plan and organise your day both in advance and in real-time.

We downloaded the mobile app in advance of our trip to Legoland which allowed us to plan our day before visiting. However, as with all-day trips (especially with kids), nothing quite went to plan.

As a result, we used to live queue times on the mobile app to adapt our decisions and maximise short wait times for certain rides that we wanted to go on before circling back to those longer wait rides as the queues began to taper off.

Complimentary Wi-Fi is available at Legoland, so you don’t have to worry about draining your data allowance – although I would recommend bringing a power bank to ensure your phone remains fully charged.

13. Bring A Buggy

Unsurprisingly, a day at Legoland Windsor will result in you spending a lot of time on your feet. If you sometimes use a buggy or have only recently stopped using a buggy then it may be a good idea to bring it (just in case) to allow those little legs to rest as and when required.

If you no longer have a buggy/pushchair then you can hire them at Legoland Windsor. The price is currently £10 for a single or £15 for a double (at the time of writing).

14. Get Reserve & Ride

Reserve and Ride (formerly known as Q-Bot) is a system that queues on your behalf, allowing you to spend more time exploring the park.

If you only have one day at Legoland and have children who are able to ride all the rides at the park then it may be a worthwhile investment to ensure they get to experience everything in the time given.

While Reserve and Ride can be booked in the park upon your arrival, it’s still best to book online in advance. This guarantees that you’ll get access to the system as there’s only a limited number of passes given out each day.

Reserve and Ride work by allowing you to use the mobile application to select what ride you’d like to go on next. Once the ride has been selected the timer will begin counting down. Once the timer reaches zero you can head to the entrance and show the attendant your Reserve and Ride account.

Once you’ve gained access to that ride you’ll be able to reserve your next ride using the Reserve and Ride application once more.

The rides within Lego Mythica are not included on Reserve and Ride at the time of writing. As a result, it’s still best to head to the Mythica area of the park as soon as the gates open.

15. Grab A Birthday Badge

If you’re celebrating a birthday during your visit to Legoland Windsor then don’t forget to visit Guest Services.

Guest Services will kindly provide you with a complimentary birthday badge and put your name on the birthday dashboard which is shown on screens around the park.

16. Visit The Gift Shop Early

If you’re planning on buying souvenirs during your trip to Legoland then it may be worthwhile visiting the shops earlier rather than later.

That’s because the gift shops that are situated around the park get significantly busier towards the end of the day with everyone buying their goods before heading back to the car.

However, if you buy your souvenirs during the day then not only are the shops quieter allowing you to relax as you browse, you’ll also be able to store your goods for free with the Shopping Saver until you are ready to collect them at the end of the day.

Alternatively, if you’re staying at one of the two resort hotels then a staff member will deliver your purchases to your room free of charge.