“You’re only as good as your last thrill ride” is a mantra that theme park owners must curse. They know they constantly have to innovate or face a drop-off in visitors tempted away by other parks offering the world’s highest this or the world’s scariest that.
Legoland in Windsor is only too aware of that. Not satisfied with having launched a whole new "land" last year – the Land of the Vikings – the park is spending £3 million this year on its new Kingdom of the Pharaohs. KOTP is based on Lego’s mini character Johnny Thunder, an archeologist-adventurer with more than a passing resemblance to Indiana Jones, even down to the fedora and khaki shirt.
The new land has five new rides between Lego City and the Land of the Vikings in an area that used to house a circus tent.
In Laser Riders, visitors sit in one of ten specially constructed Jeeps and pass through various scenes, including a spider’s lair and a laboratory, using laser guns to shoot as many targets as possible
The Scarab-bouncers ride is a small shot and drop tower, similar to the Berry Bouncers ride at Chessington world of Adventures, which bounces riders 15 foot into the air. It is designed for kids, with a minimum height of 0.9 metres, and only one grown-up can go on it at any time.
The other three rides are new takes on traditional theme park favourites. Aero Nomad is a big wheel with “hot-air balloon” capsules and views right over the park while Desert Chase is a themed carousel and Thunder Blazer is a swinging chair attraction.
The centrepiece of the new kingdom is a six-metre high pharaoh, made from 200,000 Lego bricks.
The park’s investment plans don’t stop there either. A company spokeswoman told Times Online Travel it plans to spend more than £30 million over the next five to 10 years. The money will be spent on more new rides, a sealife centre and an on-site hotel, if planning permission is forthcoming.
Legoland opened in 1996 on the site of the old Windsor Safari Park. The setting is spectacular – 150 tree-lined acres, great views of Windsor Castle and enough planes flying overhead from Heathrow to keep any young aviation enthusiast absorbed for hours. Legoland is essentially a theme park in the style of Alton Towers or Chessington World of Adventures but with lots of brightly plastic bricks thrown in for good measure.
Anyone who hasn’t visited Legoland will certainly be reassured to learn that it isn’t the rollercoasters themselves that are made of Lego. There are life-size people, animals and vehicles built from the stuff with plenty more made to look as though they are made from the stuff but underneath the plastic, it is the same as any other theme park.
Overall, there are more than 50 thrill rides plus shows including, Bob the Builder in 4D, which is new for 2009.
Anyone who didn’t visit last year will also be able to explore Land of the Vikings, a nod to Lego’s home in Denmark. The Longboat Invader ride is a Viking ship that rocks back and forth and spins round and round, getting everyone giddy. Just next door is the Viking River Splash, where you head down a river in a circular boat, getting splashed and sprayed by water on the way round.
Rollercoaster fiends should head straight for the Jungle Coaster, which reaches up to 60km/h on parts of its 400 metre long track. There’s also a stomach-churning drop of 16 metres.
Driving School is one of the park’s most popular attractions. Kids aged from 6 to 13 can, after watching a safety video, jump in a Lego car and zoom round a realistic road course, including traffic lights and roundabouts. Afterwards, kids get their own Lego driving licence. Don’t forget to bring a proof of age for them to avoid the disappointment of not getting on.
Fire Academy is another family magnet. The parents pump the handle to get a fire engine moving and the water flowing while the kids aim heir hoses at the “burning” buildings. Worth it just to get a bit of a workout to work off the fast food you’ll inevitably eat.
It’s also worth throwing the kids’ swimming costumes in your bag too if it’s a warm, sunny day. The Waterworks area has fountains and jets and plenty of opportunity to get drenched.
Many theme parks are not suitable for pre-school kids but there is plenty to do at Legoland although it is well worth waiting until your child is at least 90cm tall before visiting. Many rides don’t allow children smaller than this on, even if they are accompanied by a grown-up. The hysterical children I saw standing by the entrances to some of the attractions, screaming as their taller siblings enjoyed themselves was testament to this.
One refreshing feature for parents under pressure is that the commercial side of Legoland is not thrust in your face. Yes, there are places to buy photos and keyrings of terrified kids on rollercoasters but you are not forced to walk past them in the way you are at Disney, for example.
One Disney import that is relatively new is the idea of a fast track way of getting onto the most popular rides: Q-bot. Groups of up to six people (which includes everyone in the group even toddlers) can rent this electronic gizmo for £10 and then throughout the day can reserve a particular time for a ride. At the allotted time, you go to the ride and enter via a special Q-bot entrance, cutting down dramatically on queueing.
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