For Ethan’s twelfth birthday we treated him to a day at LEGOLAND Windsor. Our last visit was in May 2018 when we treated the children to a stay at the LEGOLAND Castle Hotel. Due to me not being organised enough this year we didn’t book a LEGOLAND Hotel for this visit opting to stay overnight at a local Premier Inn instead. Our plan was to have a full day visiting the park. Ethan qualifies for the Ride Access Pass to help him with queuing. We were hoping we would be able to take the children on quite a few rides. This is what our day at LEGOLAND Windsor looked like using the Ride Access Pass.
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Applying For The Ride Access Pass
Since our last visit to LEGOLAND Windsor, you must apply for the access pass online. This must be done seven days before your visit to the park. You can apply via the Merlin website but you must be able to supply the supporting evidence. When approved the ID Card they give you is valid for two years and can be used at Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures and Alton Towers. The LEGOLAND pass is very easy to use via your smartphone and you can read how in our Using The LEGOLAND Windsor Ride Access Pass post.
Our Day At LEGOLAND Windsor
As soon as we arrived at LEGOLAND Windsor we had to collect Ethan’s new ID Card. This needed to be collected from the Ride Access Pass Hub located on the left just after you enter the main entrance of the park. It was raining when we arrived and just after opening time so the entrance was busy. Thankfully the queue at the hub wasn’t that long. We had collected Ethan’s card and booked our time on the new Flight Of The Sky Lion ride by 10.30 am. Flight Of The Sky Lion is the only ride that is booked in a different way using the pass. Times slots are released in batches and this is something you must be aware of if you want to ride this ride.
Which Rides Did We Get On?
We headed to LEGO City first. I know Ethan loves driving the cars and the boats and the queues can get pretty long during the day for these rides. So I thought it best to tackle the LEGO City Driving School and Coastguard HQ first. I selected the LEGO City Driving School ride in the app first and we made our way there.
LEGO City Driving School
This would be the first time that Little E would be able to drive the bigger cars. On her last visit, she was only big enough to drive the L-Drivers cars. Ethan has also come on massively over our years of visiting LEGOLAND Windsor. At one point he needed the support of the staff to drive the cars. Now is he able to drive the cars and navigate the course himself.
As with all of the rides you enter via the Reserve and Ride queue. With this ride, they were selecting two children from the Reserve and Ride queue and then the remaining from the normal queue. It took about three rounds of this before it was our children’s turn to enter. This meant our queue didn’t really move much which did cause Ethan a little bit of distress. He kept asking when it would be his turn. Of course, being in this queue your waiting time is reduced but Ethan is better when he can see movement.
Both Ethan and Little E had fun driving their cars around the mini-city roads. It is great seeing how far Ethan has come and he can now easily drive himself around. Little E took her driving role very seriously and drove all around the track.
Coastguard HQ
Whilst the children were driving the cars I made Coastguard HQ our next ride selection. This queue was easier for Ethan to handle as the Reserve and Ride queue merges with the main queue. This queue moves as the boats are loaded so he can see what he is waiting for.
Whilst we were queuing for this ride the children had already decided who they wanted in their boats. I would be with Little E and Darren would be with Ethan. Darren and Ethan took turns driving the boat. I on the other hand let Little E do all of the driving. We might have got stuck at the end of the ride. This did require a staff member to free us.
Flight Of The Sky Lion
I was able to book our slot for the newest ride Flight of the Sky Lion for 12 pm. I didn’t know that when our pass activated we would only have 15 minutes to enter the queue. The first two rides filled our morning, we had to race over to Flight Of The Sky Lion. Thankfully we made it on time and we were given our ride position spots right away.
I was looking forward to this ride as I knew it was like Soarin’ Around the World in EPCOT, Walt Disney World. I knew it uses the same technology and Little E has yet to experience I ride like that. It was a great ride and we highly recommend going on it if you get that chance.
Haunted House Monster Party Ride
After stopping for lunch we selected the Haunted House Monster Party Ride in the app. This was another new ride for us as it was still being built during our last visit. Queuing for this ride was also easy for Ethan as the Reserve and Ride queue brings you right to the haunted house entrance.
I did wonder if this ride would be scary for children but there is nothing scary about it. It is basically a ride of illusion. You are seated at a table and the room makes you feel like you spin. It did test my motion sickness and the kids absolutely loved it. Little E asked to go on the ride again but we just run out of time.
LEGO City Deep Sea Adventure
It was clear by now that Ethan was in total control over what rides we would do next. All he kept asking for was the submarine. This was one of the first rides we took him on as a toddler so it is understandable it is one of his firm favourites. This queue can be quite slow because of the number of people that can be in each submarine. Thankfully Ethan’s excitement to get on the ride he loves helped him manage the queue.
This ride has had a complete makeover as it used to be the Atlantis Submarine Voyage. It was nice seeing that it had had a refresh as the ride is still the same. Little E loved this ride, eagerly looking out of the windows of the submarine to see all of the fish just like Ethan used to. She also loved looking at all of the fish at the exit of the ride.
Balloon School
Ethan wanted our next ride to be the Balloon School. We timed this really well as they had a space for us to ride as soon as we walked up to it. If queueing normally for this ride it can take quite a while. The time on the ride is also very short compared to the queuing time. It has always been a firm favourite though and a ride that Ethan never wants to miss.
LEGO NINJAGO The Ride
At this point in the day, Ethan now wanted to ride The Dragon. He is a thrill-seeker and loves The Dragon. I knew we would have to pass LEGO NINJAGO WORLD so I booked us onto LEGO NINJAGO The Ride. This ride is so much fun and quite hard work. Ethan isn’t really good at this ride but I think he still enjoys it. He can’t get his arms to work the sensors. This leaves the rest of us to compare our scores at the end of the ride.
The Dragon
On the Ride Access Pass app, the LEGO NINJAGO The Ride was one of the few rides where the countdown kicked it. We couldn’t select to ride The Dragon for another twenty minutes after we left it. So we slowly walked over to the Knights Kingdom. We were able to distract Ethan whilst the timer counted down.
Little E isn’t a thrill seeker so we sat this ride out. We didn’t have to wait that long for the boys to ride it. I hope one day Little E will change her mind and ride it as I do love The Dragon ride too.
Laser Raiders
Laser Raiders is another family favourite for us but I always find the queuing area dark. They have changed the Reserve and Ride queue line now. The queue merges just before a photo opportunity. Ethan finds this queue distressing as he doesn’t understand why we are queuing for a photo. He also can’t see the entrance to the ride at this point. It’s another slow loading ride but we are aware of that. As soon as Ethan can get past the photo point and see the cars he is happy.
I do love a ride with a bit of competition. Ethan needs support with working the laser gun but Little E is getting good at it now. We always have to compare scores at the end of the ride. I’m normally quite good at the game but if I’m supporting Ethan my score takes a hit.
Fairy Tale Brook
A day at LEGOLAND Windsor isn’t complete without a trip to DUPLO Valley. Even though Ethan is older now he still loves the rides in this area. A favourite ride for all of us is Fairy Tale Brook. It’s a nice little boat ride where you can see LEGO models of your favourite fairy tale characters.
Dino Coaster
This was a new ride for us and I was hoping that Little E would try it out as she isn’t a fan of the train-type rides. She gave it is a miss as she wanted to spend some time in DUPLO Playtown. Darren took Ethan on the Dino Coaster. It’s a short ride put the perfect introduction for younger children to mini coasters. As the day was coming to an end the queue for this ride was nice and short.
DUPLO Valley Airport
Whilst Little E was still busy playing in DUPLO Playtown the boys also made their way onto the DUPLO Valley Airport. Ethan loves making the helicopters spin round and round.
What Else Did We Get Up To At LEGOLAND Windsor?
Return to Skeleton Bay, The Pirate Show
I have lost count of the number of times we have visited LEGOLAND Windsor. During all of those visits, we have never watched the pirate show. On this visit, we finally got the chance to watch it. We were in the correct place to watch the last show of the day.
Ethan loves clapping along to shows so he was in his element. Little E wasn’t really following the story but loved watching all of the stunts. Thankfully we weren’t sitting in a wet zone so didn’t have to worry about all of the water splashings.
Both Darren and I enjoyed the show. It was good giving our feet a rest. I do think the show is aimed at a younger audience but if you can find time in your day it is good to watch.
The Magical Forest
The Magical Forest is a new walkthrough attraction which uses augmented reality to enhance your experience. It is in the new LEGO MYTHICA and an area. We returned to the area later in the day as we didn’t get the chance to really look around before riding Flight of the Sky Lion.
As we were coming to the end of the day we didn’t use the augmented reality but the children loved looking at all of the new LEGO creatures there. The LEGO MYTHICA area is so colourful. I would love to have more time exploring there.
We had such a busy day at LEGOLAND Windsor. We will have to book another break there for the children. Little E wants to stay at the LEGOLAND Hotel. She can’t really remember our last stays there. I did vlog our day and you can watch it in the video below. We are so glad that LEGOLAND Windsor offers a ride access pass. Without it Ethan would never be able to visit the theme park.
