The most family friendly of all the theme parks in the south east, Legoland Windsor caters predominantly for those with young kids. Each ride is designed to be thrilling, but not too intense, and there's plenty to keep the little 'uns happy over the 150 acres.
Twelve years after it opened, the iconic 'Dragon' ride is still impressive, first passing slowing through scenes of a brick-built knights templar before turning into a gentle, twisting roller coaster.
Children aged six to 13 will enjoy manoeuvring small electric cars around a scaled-down version of real-life roadways at the 'Driving School', and when queue times are at their mid-day peak, a stroll around Miniland's Lego versions of iconic world landmarks (over 40 million bricks were used to create them) is a pleasant way to spend an hour.
A particular highlight for us was the relatively new 'Atlantis Submarine Voyage', a ride where visitors travel through a one million-litre tank in a slow-moving underwater vehicle to see live sharks and stingrays swimming amongst Lego mermaids.
New for the 2012 season is the 'Star Wars Miniland Experience': a walk-through attraction depicting various scenes from the sci-fi series in impressively detailed Lego miniatures – with added special effects.
Another 2012 opening is the Legoland Hotel which, in many ways, is an attraction in itself. The 150 rooms are split into three themes: 'Pirate', 'Adventure' and 'Kingdom'. We stayed in an 'Adventure' room, with an Indiana Jones-style theme, complete with Lego monkey, parrot and insects. The rooms have some lovely touches; we particularly liked the sarcophagus-designed bed sheets on the bunk beds, and a combination-lock safe containing small Lego gifts for children who can decipher the code. The food at the hotel's 'Bricks Family Restaurant' is a little cardboardy, but there's a large choice of buffet grub on offer and child-friendly options are available (plus who could resist Lego-shaped chips?). Included with a night's stay at the hotel is early access to the park, with the most popular attractions available an hour before the gates open as an extra treat.