legoland DONT GO--PLEASE

please read my warning

It depends on the children. My son is now 19, I have been taking him and his older sister there every year from when he was barely 3 until he was 14. He loved it so much he thought it was worth the wait. She was, too, even though she wasn't as fascinated by Lego. This Monday, she will be taking her own very small children.

Hats and suncream in heat, and inflatable cushions were our saviours. People-watching and making up stories about them. Her DCs will have the benefit of games on their parents' phones.

Also - leave the big rides until later on in the day. People usually rush for them first. Maybe take them to see the live show first.

I rather miss it.

My GC (6 and 8) and their parents had a great time there a few weeks ago and are planning another visit. Another GS had a trip there with his Cubs and had no complaints - and, knowing him, he certainly would complain if there was cause!

I first went there with DD by accident! My grandmother used to take me there, about 50 years ago, when it was a Zoo. I took DD there when she was 3, with not a clue that it was Lego-land (typed with hyphen because something is insisting that I type it in capitals and I REFUSE TO COMPLY.) I was taking her there for a day out at the Zoo, and had no idea that it had long gone. It had just opened. So we returned with her baby brother a year later.

At busy times, you have to be there and queueing by the time the gates open, because if it gets too full, they simply don't allow anyone else in.

Having just googled LEGOLAND and prices, there is no way on God's earth I would put that kind of money into their coffers.

may be it was better in the good old days and not in school holidays have you read trip advisor recent comments? so many people angry - i will leave you to get feed back from your daughter janerowena, as this will be bank holiday monday---in 5 hours you cannot do 5 5minute rides-and maybe she will choose a time to exit the car park in under 11/2 hours as reported we dealt with this in our own way--i would not subject my gc's to the continued frustration and having paid for 2 days tickets we watched the pirate show and a 17 min movie-4D and walked around the models etc-- on day 2-we knew we had to buy a queue jumping gadget but th ey were sold out-- even the highest price one which costs£70 per person - we waited for 1 ride 80 minutes for the car driving -yes you get a licence but if you want a tiny photo on it -that is£10 per child- then we cut our losses left and went to a public park where[aged5 and 7] they ran about unconstrained and we took them back to our local hotel to swim--thanks to the good weather and hotel facilities we all had a good break--but this was not the experience for most people especially those on a one day ticket - i was so sorry for them- and they are the people i am most concerned about and want to warn others against the fact that for the children it is an ordeal they cannot undrestand

I have never bought into these highly priced attractions I just won't pay the prices they charge, call me tight if you wish. Its just feeding their coffers as harrigran says I prefer days out to parks and seaside with my own children and the grands.

Why subject small children to all that is wrong with these so called attractions? Ignore the hype and take them to the park,seaside, swimming pool much more enjoyable and easier on the pocket.

Agreed, some if these places are ridiculously expensive and very poor value for money. The one paid for attraction which I think is good value ( I won tickets from GN) is Paradise Park zoo which has wonderful animals and gentle play areas for little ones. If you are canny you can often get 2 for 1 offers.

My grandsons love it. They go early to avoid queuing. We went with them once. Had a lovely day. I think Tesco vouchers can be used for entrance fee. Not sure you can blame them if they are a victim of their own success.

What do you want to happen through your campaign? Do you want them closed down? Bit mean. Kids there always look happy.

I know a few people who think it's a hateful place [and so expensive too.] Agree with tanith take children to other places, parks, swimming, zoos etc.

If you HAVE to though, don't go on a Bank Holiday,as vsmart says.

How do you know those things are more enjoyable if you haven't tried out Legoland? I agree they are enjoyable, but Legoland is another thing entirely.

I didn't say I hadn't been to Legoland, I have when someone else paid and I was invited to help out. Overpriced,too much queing for littlies and don't get me started on prices for food/treats once inside. I just think kids are happy with simpler entertainments if its orgainised properly and a lot of Theme parks are just moneymaking factories.
I do agree that simple Zoos are an exception.

I agree entirely with the OP about this wretched theme park. My eldest son who was 40 on 16th April wanted to spend his special day giving a treat to his 6 year old nephew and niece so we duly cut out our half-price entries from the cereal packs and ventured forth. Fortunately we live fairly nearby and arrived just after 10.The queue was not too bad and we were able to pick up my grandson's priority tickets for 10 rides as he is autistic and is unable to queue. This enabled him, his twin sister and an adult to take some rides without the queue. The queues were horrendous, sometimes longer than an hour and the rides were unbelievably short: less than 2 minutes in many cases. Some people were complaining that there were too many adults on the rides but as they had paid about £45 surely they were entitled to. I hasten to add that I only went on 2 gentle ones and even then had difficulty getting off !!The only bonus was that for some reason the park stayed open until 7:30 even though the closing time was 6pm. Wouldn't it be better if it was only for the under 18's ?Parents and others could come in as spectators for a nominal sum. The children would get far more rides but the income would decrease considerably so I guess this would not even be considered. The one thing it did teach me was that there is no shortage of money in this neck of the woods .Even with special offers the price is exorbitant. I don't think I will be going again !! I wouldn't have considered it this time without the priority tickets.It just would not have been worth it.

Luckily, my GSs' parents both work for a company that gets preferential rates at Legoland. Nice for some! My other GC can, I think, get in free with a Blue Peter badge and a paying adult.

Is warning against somewhere not the same as advocating? I would always prefer to make my own enquiries * and my own mind up*.

My warning gives notice of what to expect in school holidays at legoland-I advocated a media enquiry to report on flndings so that people could do exactly as you say and make their own minds up based on information gathered- I did make some enquiries before we went and as I said ,I was prepared to buy a queue jumping machine( sold out) but I did not look at trip advisor comments,a serious omission.---for me this is not an exercise in semantics but a genuine attempt to warn people that what children and parents are put through is totally unacceptable- I repeat it is not right to stand little children in a queue for in excess of 60-80 minutes for a 5 minute ride and then keep repeating the process--unbelievable!!

How come the kids always want to go again. Well, ours do!

Too late! They went last week and had a whale of a time (well DGS did!)

PS I exchanged my Tesco vouchers and treated them. Now saving my vouchers so that the other lot can go.

When can you take children to theme parks, if not at weekends and during school holidays? I once had a lovely day out at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, sitting on a bench with my newspaper while my GD1 and her half brother enjoyed the rides. Paid for it with Air Miles.

This is all about 'supply & demand'! People are paying the prices so Lego are not going to change anything whilst they have queues!

If enough people can resist the pressure to attend then profits will fall and Lego will be forced to rethink. But that will take a lot of people to feel 'ripped off' enough to stay away.

DD1 took her 4 yr old son and used her nectar points to pay for it so it felt less painful! Don't think it was that busy when she went!

I wouldn't venture on a motorway to anywhere on a Bank Holiday!

My DD uses nectar points to pay for Lego land and as we only live about 20 minutes away she doesn't mind turning back if it looks too busy and going another day. GS1 would happily go and live there I think. The high point of his year is when Lego land re opens.

I do agree that you really need to check prices before you go to any of these big attractions, but it's been like that for a long time. I remember taking the children to Morwelham Quay about 25 years ago and being appalled at the price of a family ticket (£25!)