h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Legoland, Windsor, Berkshire, UK - A87887650
Author: Bluebottle - U43530

A theme park.

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An enjoyable read, as it is a few years since I visited. I'm amazed at how popular it is, but it just shows how people like somewhere that offers good family fun

There were a few things I thought could be tweaked:

"original Legoland in Denmark and since 2005 has been" - better to put a full stop after Denmark.

"queues approaching an hour or more, with even long queues" - when I read "even" there, I thought the sentence was going to say "even longer queues"... Maybe a full stop after more would help.

Cornetto Soft hadn't been invented when I went, but it sounds like it has a lot to answer for - not like a Mr Whippy 99... The flavouring is inserted into the top of the machine before being pumped into the top of the cone?

With the photo pass, what are all the pictures taken?

Very educational footnote - I assumed that Blue Planet on the Wirral was a Sea Life Centre, but it isn't!

Are the park's mascots Ollie and Olivia?

How does the Q-Bot work

At the photo booth, is it more of a "both" than an "either or"? Roving reporters take photos of you randomly as you go around? (sounds a scary prospect, but then again candid photos might turn out better than trying to pose...). Ah, I see there are also photos taken during rides.

The Imagination Centre was one of the highlights of my visit - the 4D cinema is excellent and we were so lucky to get a building room all to ourselves afterwards, so we enjoyed a good half hour playing with brick shapes and colours we hadn't seen before. "Films shown here" - is that "Films that have been shown here"? (I presume the films change quite regularly)

I wondered about the kettling, but then see it was if you arrived before the park had opened.

"If you visit regularly with a young child, chances are you will not get out of Duplo Valley for three years." - excellent way with words

You can put a link to the Reinventions: Reality Entry on Ground Force

So Duplo Valley is for toddlers, but there are also things that are not for toddlers in there?

Ah, the driving school - great stuff I have almost-fond memories of something similar, as I was so impressed that I could operate a go-kart with my least-squiffy foot, but then my foot fell off the accelerator half way round and refused to co-operate any more... I managed to get my foot to complete one lap, but then everyone else had done five laps so that was the end of the ride... I'm grateful for hand controls these days!

The Disc-o-coaster sounds vertiginous indeed Is a horse seat a saddle? I can't imagine how people stay on it, but then I was afraid on the swings roundabout that gravity would switch off (Thunder Blazer indeed - it was much faster than the ones I used to enjoy). Luckily I could see a tiny child in front of me who stayed on, so I just about knew I wouldn't fly off, but it was scary

The Spinning Spider was a bit more Viking-themed when I visited, I think. My main memory is of it having less leg room than Alton Towers' Teacups, but that's possibly because my legs were longer than they were when I last went on the Teacups! A teacup is more open, though, whereas the barrel shape has vertical sides, so that could be why it was smaller...

An enjoyable tour round the site indeed

Thanks for all those comments!

I've added more to the Photo pass section.

Is the Wirral aquarium called 'Blue Planet'? When the Merlin group bought Tussauds they sold off a lot of their Sea Life Centres, many of which became Blue Reef. Whether this was in order to raise funds or because of Monopoly regulations I'm not sure, but I do know that, for instance, Southsea's Sea Life Centre became a Blue Reef Aquarium then, so it may well be that the Wirral's one was once a Sea Life Centre.

How does the Q-Bot work
Despite the name, there isn't actually a robot – they used to use pagers, but now I think it is a phone app. For a lot of extra money you can buy different levels of Q-Bot, the higher the level, the more expensive it is, and not every ride uses the Q-Bot system but most of the most popular ones do. The basic Q-Bot essentially is a virtual queuing system. If there's a, say, 45-minute queue for a ride you want to Q-Bot, once you say that's the ride you want you can wander off and play or shop, and in 45-minutes you'll be allowed to go straight on the ride. The most expensive level entitles you to get to the front of each ride instantly. When they were introduced I believe you had to have a Q-Bot for each guest, so if two parents had a Q-Bot each but their children didn't, the children weren't entitled to skip the queue. Of course being British I queue.

The building rooms at the Imagination Centre seem to change names, theme and appearance quite often – when we went earlier this year it had been renamed 'The Batcave', had black walls and you were encouraged to design and build your own Batmobiles. I've also seen it Ninjago-themed, Lego City themed and last May it was briefly 'Star Wars' themed. I suppose all they have to do is put up a new sign outside, bring in new wall hangings, whether Black for a Batcave or red for Ninjago, and have different bricks to play with to make it whatever they want quite easily.

Riders on the Disc-o-coaster are fortunately held in place by a big clamp that comes down over your head while a second presses into your back.

I've also added more about Duplo Valley, so hopefully it is clearer now. Let me know if there's anything that's still unclear.

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Thanks for the tweaks

The extra photo information is really useful and clear

Ah, so the Q-Bot is a cunning revenue stream... Not too bad to queue when there is some entertainment around, though (I can't speak too much, as there is often only wheelchair access through the exits of rides so I tend to have to jump the queue , but I did queue with my sister for a rollercoaster once, and it was fun to see all the space themed stuff before she went on the ride and I ran out of the exit!)

Ah I see the Blue Planet Aquarium on the Wirral is indeed a Blue Reef, so that makes sense

Not all the queues have anything to entertain children while they're queuing, but the ones that do are generally good. The best queues are for Laser Raiders – which has good models as well as a comfortable seating area where children can watch Lego cartoons – Pirate Falls, which has a playground, and the castle-themed queue of The Dragon. As you wind your way along the castle's battlements you not only have great models to admire but like some of the other queues have Duplo bricks (in baby friendly sizes) and baseplates that children can play with as they wait – although I did spot quite a few bricks in the gutters and on the roof of the gift shop below.
Fortunately my kids happily entertain themselves with imaginative play.

Price wise, if you went to Legoland and bought tickets on the day, at the moment in high season it will cost £60 each, so £240 for a family of 4. (Never buy tickets on the day, buy online in advance or look out for offers). There are three levels of Q-Bot, Regular at £20 per person, Express at £35 per person and Ultimate at £80 per person, which means that a family of four in high season paying at the gate for entry with Ultimate Q-Bot will pay £560 – plus deposit if they have a pager rather than phone app. This is a tad expensive…

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Wow, that is expensive... You wouldn't be getting Ultimate Q-Bot every day... I guess if you were there just for the day and weren't ever likely to go again, it would mean you could fit more in, but that would literally be a day and a half in one go...

I enjoyed my visit, anyway - mostly wandering round and enjoying the sights, with a couple of rides, a 4D cinema session, some time in the labyrinth, and half an hour in the building zone

I assume that the Ultimate Q-Bot is aimed at people who have just been told they have about 48 hours left to live, want to spend their last day with their family and don't want to waste a single second. Mind you, they'd be annoyed if their favourite ride was closed due to routine maintenance or if they, say, wanted to go on the train ride and just missed it, and so had to wait for it to come back to the station before they could board anyway. And it would cut down on the amount of money left to spend on flowers, sausage rolls and bouncy castles at the funeral (I told you that on my way to a funeral last year we were behind a van labelled something along the lines of 'Princess bouncy castles – perfect for every occasion', didn't I? I hope there'll be a bouncy castle at my funeral so the kids don't get bored). But why else would you spend as much on a day as a week abroad?

What show was on in the 4D cinema when you went? It is a shame that the labyrinth has gone now, but the building zone is still fun.

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Lego rules!

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Yeah!