Legoland Hotel in pictures We were wet and cold, because the children had insisted we cap a full morning on the rides with a descent down one of the water flumes, where spectators are encouraged to spray you from the bank with water cannon as you descend the rapids. We were hungry, too, and in the main Legoland theme park the lunch options – burgers, sausages, Mexican pastiche – were scarcely inviting. Then I felt the room key in my pocket and remembered there was a way out for me, and my husband, daughter (7) and son (4), all of us weary. A brief walk over the miniature railway line and we were back in the warm sanctuary of the Legoland hotel that opened on Saturday, ordering lunch. The hotel, which backs on to the main park, takes much of the stress out of the experience of taking young children to Legoland, because everyone starts off the day fresh, without having lost their tempers on the M4. And an early bird ticket is part of any deal, meaning that you can enter the park at 9am, a full hour before other visitors.
Actually, the new hotel is fun in its own right – the Lego aficionado’s own piece of heaven. You enter beneath a huge dragon modelled from bricks, which roars and exhales real smoke, and the lobby is equipped with buckets of Lego to keep the children entertained as their parents check in. Our room was not huge, but it was well kitted out with a pirate theme, and even had a treasure chest containing Lego goodies which the children managed to unlock by answering a quiz. They had bunk beds and their own television – which proved superfluous in our case – in a separate area of the room, though it was not shut off from our part by door or curtain. My husband grumbled that when he was a child, his parents would leave him in the room and go downstairs to dinner, because hotels used to have phone or intercom systems that could be left open to reception. Presumably this service has fallen victim to legal liability obsessions, but surely in a hotel aimed specifically at children, a way could be found so parents don’t have to go to bed at 8pm.
There was also no adequate reading light in our room, so we felt a bit trapped. But these are quibbles because the measure of the hotel is the children’s reaction, and that was overwhelmingly positive. You can have a drink in the main bar-restaurant area while they play in a well-designed indoor area, stocked, as you come to expect, with yet more Lego. In the evening the family dine together in the self-service, eat-all-you-can restaurant (£19.95 for adults and £9.95 for children). Our light lunch in the bar area for the four of us cost just over £20 which we thought was better value than dinner – though I should note that the service on the opening weekend, though friendly, was extremely slow. There’s a swimming centre with a main pool just long enough for a few laps, adjoining a play area, with a slide and water cannon where even a four-year-old can play safely only semi-supervised in shallow water. Again, there were some teething problems when we visited, meaning we could only swim for a few minutes before the chemicals in the water became too uncomfortable.
The Lego theme is everywhere, in the pools, restaurants and corridors. But it is not oppressive, and though there is a small shop, no strenuous effort has been made to induce children to nag their parents into buying merchandise. As first timers at the theme park, we were impressed too by the range and quality of most of the rides. Our daughter loved the driving school, where a “test” in a little car is preceded by a solemn video lesson. Our son was entranced by the new Atlantis submarine voyage where sharks and exotic fish swim right past your capsule. It’s just like being in an episode of Octonauts, a current cartoon series for three- to four-year-olds, and a more exciting experience, I thought, than that on offer at many aquariums. They enjoyed the new Star Wars area – but their vote went without a doubt to anything involving water, especially the two log flumes: the Vikings river splash and the Pirate falls dynamite drench. Perhaps even more of a destresser than starting the day in the hotel was a special ticket we were given meaning we could skip the often lengthy queues at individual rides.
This can in part be replicated with a Q-Bot ticket, which doesn’t come as part of the hotel packages, and ranges in price from £15 to an eye-watering £70 per person – but it may be worth the money, especially in high season. Overall, we found the hotel to be reasonable value, especially in low season when a family of four can stay for £247 bed and breakfast, including two days in the park. You could pay more than that for the park tickets alone if you bought them at full price. And you can’t put a price on the magic of being able to retreat into the sanctuary of the hotel when the crowds and the careering thrills of the rides all gets too much. The Legoland Windsor Resort hotel is priced from £247 low season or £337 high season for a family room sleeping two adults and two children. This includes breakfast and park tickets for two days, including special access to the park between 9am and 10am. For more information, see www.legoland.co.uk or call 0845 373 2640 to book tickets.
Regular tickets to Legoland, if you don’t stay at the hotel, are priced at £43.20 per adult and £34.20 per child per day, though you save 10 per cent if you book in advance online. The park is open from 10am to 6pm. Lorna Bradbury writes a weekly column on children's books for the Telegraph. Go to telegraph.co.uk/books to read previous columns, or email questions to asklorna@telegraph.co.uk. You can follow @lornabradbury on Twitter Legoland Hotel in pictures Who doesn’t love Legos? Now Boston has a place where Lego lovers can rejoice—Legoland Discovery Center Boston. The center, which opened in May, offers 44,000-square-feet of Lego glory at Assembly Square in Somerville. Inside, you’ll find more than 3 million Lego bricks, as well as rides, 4D movies, interactive exhibits, and more. The center is geared toward children age 3 to 10 and their families. Adults must be accompanied by a child or attend special adult-only nights. It is the sixth Legoland Discovery Center to open in the United States—there are 11 worldwide.
Legoland Discovery Center Shop When you enter Legoland, you will first see the Legoland Discovery Center Shop. It is open seven days a week and you do not need a ticket to shop there. The shop features more than 900 Lego sets and products. The colorful pick-a-brick wall located in the shop. To take the elevator up into the attraction, you need a ticket. Tickets cost $22.50 for visitors age 13 and older and $18 for kids age 3 to 12. Children 2 and under are free. Tickets must be pre-purchased online. Walk-up tickets are not available. Adults must be accompanied by a child. Beginning this summer, the center will offer Adult Nights for older fans. Factory tour holding area Visitors enter a holding area before the factory tour. Here, they watch an introductory video and then meet Professor Brick-a-Brack in his workshop to discover how Lego bricks are made. They take part in an interactive game , helping factory workers as they create Lego bricks. In this indoor Lego ride, visitors use lasers to zap the trolls, skeletons, and bats and rescue the captured princess.
The ride keeps score as you zap. The better your aim, the higher your score. And don’t forget to smile because Legoland takes a souvenir photo during your journey. See Boston’s iconic landmarks made entirely of Legos. Boston comes to life with interactive displays, touch screens, and sound effects. The Miniland room cycles through day and night so visitors can view Boston at all hours of the day. Here is the TD Garden (with a sad face since the Bruins lost). We’re told Master Model Builder Ian Coffey plans to add personal touches like that throughout the year. The Zakim Bridge at night. The Boston Harbor Hotel. The Old State House The Old State House. A Lego audience crowds the Hatch Shell. Push a button to hear singing and watch the performer come to life. The outside of Fenway Park. It’s a packed house at Fenway Park. With the push of a button, kids can even “pitch” a ball and “swing.” There are many stations inside the main play area, including Olivia’s House, the Lego Duplo Farm, Earthquake Table, Lego Racers Build & Test area, the Lego City Play Zone, and Merlin’s Apprentice Ride.
Lego City Play Zone Kids will climb, slide, and play inside the Lego Fire Academy in the play zone. The Lego-filled play zone where kids can jump and climb and slide. This area is designed for kids age 5 and under. It is full of Lego Duplo bricks, which are larger soft play bricks. Lego Friends -- Olivia’s House Kids can hang out in Olivia’s House, where they can make cupcakes in the Lego brick pits, hang out on a sofa, or sing karaoke. The karaoke corner is located inside Olivia’s House. Build a tower on the Earthquake Table adn then flip a switch to shake your structure and see if it remains standing. Lego Racers: Build & Test In Lego Racers: Build & Test, kids will build a vehicle and take it to the test ramps, with times recorded to the hundredth of a second. Lego trays are scattered around the center, encouraging children to build. Lego Model Builder Academy Kids will learn insider tips from Master Model Builder Ian Coffey in the academy.