A MAD Family Day Out at Legoland Windsor

One of the perks of being a MAD Blog Awards finalist this year, was being invited to a family day out at Legoland Windsor.

Legoland is dedicated to children aged 3-12, so at almost 4 years-old, Zachy is a good age for his first theme park experience.

We left early in the morning and even with the Greek God(zilla) driving, it only took us an hour by car from South London.

Obviously, I was still up at 6am with an excited little boy who just wanted to ‘GO NOW, MUMMY!’

When we arrived, we made our way over to the resort hotel.   All the rooms are themed and totally geared towards kids, but a bit too expensive for us to justify for the sake of an extra hour in bed.

Especially when that extra hour would still be spent with a 3-year old wedged between us shouting ‘GO NOW, MUMMY!’

So drive we did.

After registering, we were given a special lanyard to gain access into the park and a golden wristband each, which meant that we did not have to queue for ANY of the rides.

Not one.  All day long.

I still cannot bear to be parted from mine, just in case they ever start accepting it at Sainsbury’s.

In fact, I do believe these wristbands should be freely available to ALL parents of 3-year old’s to use in the supermarket, restaurants and public toilets.  Just imagine how many budding tantrums could be prevented with just a quick flash of gold; how much time could be shaved off the weekly shop; and how fewer ‘accidents’ there would be when you just don’t make it to the loo fast enough.

Anyway, back to Legoland.

The first item on the agenda for the finalists was an advanced screening of the new Lego 4D movie, Legends of Chima.

Now, this was my first time with 4D, so I did not really know what to expect.  Turns out that 4D is like 3D in terms of the visual, but with nature’s elements thrown in.

So as the characters went on a chase through wind, snow and rain to find a precious energy source, so did we.

Yep, it rained on us in the middle of the auditorium.  Luckily, I had packed a spare change of clothes for Zachy, who by this time had crawled up onto my lap and was crying to go home.

Although, he was absolutely fine as soon as we got back outside and he spotted the duplo play area.

He was a bundle of excitement for the rest of the day after that.

He went on various train & car rides across the park with Daddy, while I chatted away to other bloggers.

He passed his learner driving test… although the instructor was being very generous in doing so.  I think he most definitely takes after his dad in the driving department – he was all over the road, driving round the course in the wrong direction, bumping up the kerb and then standing still and waiting for other people to manoeuvre around him.

Next up was an under water adventure where we took a trip in a submarine and explored the lost city of Atlantis beneath the sea.

All before lunch!

There were many food outlets in the park to choose from, all of which looked really tasty and seemed to be quite good value for money.  However, there were too few gluten-free options for me, so we decided to eat in the main restaurant as they had a wider selection of suitable dishes for me to choose from.

It started to rain after lunch but with still so much to see, we had to man-up and make our over to the pirate show.

A little bit of rain did not matter here, as our ringside position meant we got absolutely drenched again.  It was brilliant fun though and even Zachy did not seem to mind too much, although another change of clothes was called for and a big, sleepy cuddle to keep warm.

As tiredness kicked in and little legs started to ache, we found ourselves taking turns to carry him around the park for the next couple of hours.

We are happy to finally be almost equipment free, but I still miss the buggy when the mid-afternoon lull kicks in and I end up having to perch him on one hip, load my spare shoulder up with bags, toys and water bottles, then walk us both uphill in the sun/rain/wind.

Last stop of the day was a little ride on the Aero Nomad to rest our weary legs and dry off before heading home.

Thank you to the MAD Blog Awards and Legoland Windsor for a fantastic family day out.

 *****

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