KEEPING the kids busy during October half term is probably the easiest of the school holidays, with Halloween events and pumpkin patches popping up everywhere.
As a mum, getting a bit extra for your buck is always a win, so I was impressed that family-friendly theme park, Legolandd Windsor, have a special Halloween festival that is included with your admission ticket.
Legoland’s aptly-named ‘Brick or Treat’ event runs throughout the month of October with activities on select dates until November 1st 2025.
As part of the spooky celebration, there are lots of extras on offer for kids, including a Trick or Treat trail, themed shows, character meet and greets, Lego-build activities and themed photo opportunities.
This year, the park has also unveiled the UK’s first-ever Lego pumpkin patch, painstakingly made from almost 45,000 individual Lego bricks.
The impressive Halloween sculptures took 134 hours of expert model-making to build.
I headed to the theme park in Berkshire with some friends and a gaggle of kids aged between four and fifteen.
I have been to Walt Disney World in Florida more than 50 times and have been to Halloween events at the US Disney parks, Disneyland Paris and other theme parks that celebrate Halloween, such as Universal Studios, Thrope Park and Paultons Park.
However, it was my first time going to Legoland in the UK and I was impressed with how much was on offer for all ages.
As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by Lego-themed Halloween decorations.
The front entrance was adorned with giant Duplo pumpkins and spooky music was playing.
We started with the Spinning Spider ride, which felt fitting with the ‘creepy’ theme.
Then, the kids were desperate to try the famous Dragon coaster in the Knight’s Kingdom area.
This is a great starter coaster for younger children who want to try the big rides, but feel a bit nervous. This coaster is gentle and fast enough to be thrilling, without being too scary.
As someone who goes to theme parks often, I love rides that families can all enjoy equally, together.
From here, the kids spotted their first Trick or Treat station ‘scary sweets’.
No prizes for guessing what goods were secured here, but the kids were more than happy scoffing their Haribo jellies as we headed to one of Legoland’s most famous rides – Lego Ninjago.
This ride is a very clever moving computer game simulator, where we had to use our hands to lob LEGO at the ‘bad guys’.
The kids thought it was brilliant, but the adult scores were painfully low. I will have to practice my gaming skills for next time…
Considering the Halloween extras, the lines for attractions weren’t that long.
Some of the big rides, including Lego Ninjago, Hydra’s Challenge, The Dragon and the Mini Figure were not too bad, with the longest being 40 minutes.
However, most other attractions at the park had lines shorter than 15 minutes.
As well as the trick of treat stations, some of which were giving out posters and activity packs instead of sweets, there were some simple decorations across the park and a special Halloween show.
Lord Vampyre’s House Party is a stage show on at various times during the day, encouraging guests to ‘dance their bones-off’.
On the lake, the Monster Jam Harbour Show has rock and roll performances, special effects, and Lego monsters getting up to mischief on stage.
For lunch, there is a limited-edition Halloween menu at dining locations around the park.
If you fancy a scary snack, you can tuck into a Monster Burger, Scampi Fright Bites, Toffee Apple Popcorn and Ice-Screams.
The only disappointment for us is that we didn’t see any of the Lego characters around the park.
The weather was a bit blustery, so it may have been to do with the conditions that day, but it wasn’t very clear from the map or signage exactly where we had to go to meet them.
Still, there was plenty to do and the park shuts at 5pm, so we didn’t even get on to all of the attractions we planned to ride before the end of the day.
We had a great time at Legoland and the kids really enjoyed all the extra haunts – it’s great value for money considering there is no extra cost to go during Brick or Treat.
With extra perks and less crowds than summer, it’s a top time to visit.
Tickets for Legoland Windsor start from £34 per person, with kids under 90cm going free.