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Legoland Windsor, Britain's Themepark
Let's cut straight to the essentials: there are currently 55 million Lego bricks at Legoland Windsor, with more arriving every day. Which is why anyone in London with child in tow will find the gravitational pull from all those little bricks in Windsor (21 miles/12.6 km west of London) almost irresistible. The Royal Family still has the lock on real estate high above the quaint little town, but it is to the hills and dales west of Windsor that the Pied Piper of Plastic is calling your child. The good news is that Legoland Windsor is a terrific theme park for kids of certain ages. It's spotlessly clean, user-friendly, and, unlike many of the slicker parks, it has numerous attractions for the pre-school child.
Amusement Rides & More
From the entrance, past the remarkable and obligatory Lego shop, you quickly walk down into a pastoral valley, set among gently rolling English farmland. It's a theme park so of course there are rides: three roller coasters, an imaginative learn-to-drive track with child-driven electric cars, a sweet boat course, Viking's River Splash, where kids can set sail through uncharted waters in a fantasy lego Viking world, plus many more. On the regal side, the Medieval Knight's castle and Dragon ride are especially popular. Rides are targeted to kids under 9 or 10, and probably, if they're American kids dulled by the extreme thrills of many U. S. amusement parks, under 8. Our son and his cousin enjoyed it all at age 8.5, even in a driving rain. Oh yes, it does rain in England and everyone carries on, so you must be prepared to drip all day long while the children enjoy themselves. Because they were already soaking wet, they especially enjoyed panning for gold in the Wild Woods area. Those who are successful get a medal!
One of Legoland Windsor's proclaimed strengths is their live shows. Spellbreaker 4D is a medieval film adventure with special effects and simulated motion that will leave guests off the edge of their seats. Join the hero Blacksmith as he rescues his princess from the evil wizard and is skeleton army. Johnny Thunder in the Secret Scorpion Palace is a live action show with daring high dives, jet skies, and audience participations. Or, for the younger is audiences is the more tamed fairytales at Duplo Theater. See "Little Red Riding Hood," "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Princess & the Pea" with a modern twist.
Artistry in Building Blocks
For kids and adults of all ages, the most remarkable part of the park is the Lego artwork-- countless Lego sculptures and, even, paintings (my favorite was a two-dimensional, totally realistic rendition of the Queen). These are scattered throughout, but the largest concentration is in Miniland, where there are extensive models (1:20 scale) of buildings, streets and palaces in European cities, along with canals, villages, windmills, a soccer stadium, and soon, London's Millennium Dome. Mechanized Lego buses and cars traverse city streets, passing St. Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben, and the Tower of London. Lego ships move among the harbors, trains through the railyards. There are over 28 million bricks in Miniland alone. You'll wonder if they are glued together, and the answer is yes, so you can't "pinch them", as the Brits would say. The artistry is just astounding. It took 100 model makers, both British and Danish, three years to build all the models, and more are coming together all the time. In fact, you can watch the building process in the Creation Centre near Miniland.
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