Accessibility on a Family Weekend to Legoland

For Christmas this year, our family was gifted a weekend away in Legoland, Windsor. Our children are aged 6 and 12 and so it seemed a perfectly pitched theme park to meet their different needs. We were also excited to test out how accessible the park would be for Rob, a C5/6 incomplete tetraplegic.

Booking Process

Initially, I have to say, we found the booking process pretty frustrating. We pulled up the website, late one evening to find that they were having a sale finishing that night. Keen to grab a bargain we tried really hard to book accessible accomodation and a carer ticket for the park. But as hard as we tried, we couldn’t find how to book a carer ticket. I feel like this is a common experience when booking tickets somewhere. I can’t remember the last time we managed to book somewhere without needing to call and speak to a person. However, in this case, their phone lines were closed for the night, meaning we missed out on the sale prices.

Once we spoke to them on the phone the next day, we also realised we’d need to figure out the mysterious process that was getting a Ride Access Pass. This would support Rob to access the rides comfortably. I’m still not sure I understand all the hoops we needed to jump through! Qualify for the pass, get the pass, book the pass, collect the pass…. there seemed to be a confusing amount of layers to this process.

However, once we were booked on (we waited a few months for another sale to come around and this time managed to call and book in time!), we were all set for what became a really fun family trip.

Arriving and Getting Around

The site is set on a pretty steep hill. So there is a hill train from the entrance that can take you down (and crucially, back up!) to where the rides start. This avoids the biggest hill. But it is worth noting that there is a reasonable amount of smaller hills to push around. But the rides aren’t too far apart and there’s plenty of fun to see as you mooch between them. Rob used his Push Gloves throughout the weekend. This really helped protect his hands and add grip for both the up and down hills.

Making the Most of the Rides

The kids had a long list of rides they each wanted to go on! So we set off as quick as our 6 year old’s legs would allow, heading for our first ride. The Ride Access Pass allowed us to do ‘virtual queueing’. This meant that once we had selected the ride we wanted to go on, it would give us a countdown timer. Once this hit zero, it allowed us pretty instant access to the ride.

This was helpful to Rob, particularly as it also often offered a more accessible route onto the ride than round the long queue barriers. It also was a handy benefit with the children, who were able to enjoy the playgrounds or looking at the models, while we waited. We were really grateful for that accommodation. Rob took charge of our virtual queues, so we could fit in as many rides as possible! The Flexi Phone Holder was super useful in allowing him to keep track of it all, with his phone handy at all times!

The majority of rides we wanted to go on had a step-free route to the ride itself. But Rob needed to be able to transfer confidently each time. We made sure he took his wheelchair cushion on with him every time. This made sure he wasn’t spending the weekend sat on hard seats and protected his skin.

Staff were good at showing us where we could store his wheelchair and giving Rob plenty of time to transfer safely. In the ride ‘Deep Sea Adventure’ the submarines travel, without stopping, on a track. It also needs visitors to walk down four or five steps. Here, they were able to stop the track for as long as Rob needed to get on board. They explained there is normally a lift to support users who can’t do the stairs. But at the time of our visit, this had been out of action for a few days.

Accommodation

After a hectic day, we went to check out our accommodation. We were staying in the new Woodland Village, in their accessible lodge. The lodge was lovely! Spotlessly clean, and with lots of lovely touches for the children. They especially enjoyed a treasure hunt that ended with them getting a code to open a locked cupboard in their bedroom and win a Lego prize! The lodge was pretty spacious, giving Rob plenty of room to move around easily. The bathroom was a wet room, with a ‘flip down’ shower chair, grab rails and emergency red cord. From an accessibility point of view, we were really pleased.

This is so important in a family holiday. Good accessibility means Rob is not just as independent as possible, but he is free to parent too. If he can follow the kids round, reach their suitcases, get into their bedroom for bedtimes, he can parent as he does at home. That was definitely the case here and, after a busy day, I was grateful to be able to share the practical tasks in the ways we normally do!

We all slept well. Actually we didn’t – the little one needed quite a bit of persuasion to sleep, which meant somehow we all seemed to end up in different beds to the ones we started in as we tried to co-sleep in various combinations! But that’s family life and no reflection on the lovely accommodation! So, tired and a little subdued, we fueled up on coffee and pastries before hitting the park for a second day of fun!

Heading Back for a Second Day

This time we headed straight for the back of the park where the main attraction was. Flight of the Sky Lion, the UKs first ever flying theatre experience, was so incredible we turned around and queued straight back up for a second go!

Our second day passed in a blur. We ticked off rides we hadn’t visited on the first day and revisited a few favourites. By late afternoon we were absolutely shattered and ready for home. We loved our weekend at Legoland. From an accessibility point of view, we couldn’t fault the new accommodation. The staff were kind and helpful on all the rides and we managed well. But we did need to do some tricky transfers – I guess you have to expect that at a theme park – and would love to see the booking process streamlined and easier to follow. A little room for improvement!

If you’re considering a visit and are not sure about the accesibility of the rides for you, they do produce a pretty comprehensive guide to each ride. You can find it here. For more general access information, including booking the elusive carer ticket (turns out there is a place to book one online; it’s just not on the ticket booking page!?), head here.

Jo Smith