Legoland Windsor with Merlin’s Magic Wand

Merlin’s Magic Wand is a worldwide charity for children, aiming to provide magical experiences for those who are seriously ill, disabled or disadvantaged.

You can donate to them here

Basically I applied to them through e-mail, on behalf of my oldest who has Aspergers Syndrome,  and they asked where I wanted to go, why, and how it would benefit us.

My boys LOVE Lego – and it is the one thing that brings them together despite the ages gaps and the disability that my oldest has – so I asked for us to go to Legoland Windsor

I sent some supporting documents and a few e-mails later they said yes, sent us some tickets (including one for parking) and a cheque to cover some of the fuel costs – oh and a map so we could plan our day before we even left :o)

In return they said they would like a review of our day and some photos :O) (they did not know I had a blog). We had been here previously, when my oldest was a lot younger, and so we knew that Legoland Windsor were very good in catering for those on the Autistic Spectrum (in fact the first time we went was with ASDFriendly).

First of all, receiving tickets through the post meant we did not have to queue – this is a bonus not only in saving time but avoids the large amounts of people, noise, pushing and shoving.
We went straight to guest services – who (not sure if they were meant to) gave us 2 red stamps so that the whole family could use the exit passes (as there were 6 of us and only 3 helpers could go on at a time). Anyone with a child on the spectrum, I’m sure, can tell you how invaluable this service is.

Everyone who worked there was VERY polite and friendly.

There was so much to do there and so much variety it really does cater for everyone.

 The Lego models were amazing and everywhere.

There was a board with information on in the middle of the park – and it was displaying today’s birthdays – which I found sweet.

There’s great scenery

Plenty of rides for all different ages. There was deals on buying the photos from the rides too – and they could even be purchased at the end of the day.

Places to eat – both bring your own picnic and hot food for sale

There were plenty of rubbish bins, recycling bins, and places to recycle your chewing gum – I was very impressed.

We didn’t feel like we covered much of the park but we do go to the places which were new since our last visit.

New Ride 2011 – Atlantis Submarine Voyage was absolutely amazing

There are plenty of money saving ways to see the whole park if you can’t manage it in one day (and I doubt you would). Including staying overnight in the hotel or buying an annual pass.The children loved the play-area and could have spent a great deal of time there.This visit we did not go on the driving or boating schools as the areas were rather busy. We didn’t go in the wet play area as we felt it warm but being October didn’t think it would be hot enough for wet play. We didn’t see the 4D film (which we saw at Legoland Manchester last year and was VERY good). Nor the model village (again previously seen it was very good).

Overall I’d give Legoland Windsor a 5 out of 5 both in terms of being a good park and in terms of catering for those with invisible disabilities (Aspergers).
It definitely ensured my children bonded a bit more and a good time was had by all.