LEGOLAND Windsor Resort LEGOLAND Windsor Resort is a LEGO - theme d amusement park in Windsor , Berkshire , in England . The park opened in 1996 , on the site of the former Windsor Safari Park , as the second LEGOLAND park ( the first was LEGOLAND Billund , Denmark ) . The park is located within close distance of Windsor Castle and around 8 miles west of London Heathrow Airport . In common with other LEGOLAND parks across the world , the park ' s attractions consist of a mixture of LEGO - themed rides , LEGO models , and LEGO building workshops . The park was acquired by the Blackstone Group in 2005 , with the LEGO Group retaining part ownership ( 30 percent ) , and is now operated by Merlin Entertainments Group . The facilities are mainly targeted at children around the ages of two and up , although the park is open to all . In 2010 , the park had 1 . 9 million visitors , making it the second most visited theme park in the United Kingdom ( after Alton Towers ) , and the tenth most visited theme park in Europe . History . The LEGO Group began research for the development of a second LEGOLAND park after LEGOLAND Billund in 1989 ; over a thousand sites were considered . In January 1992 , Windsor Safari Park went into receivership , and this 150 - acre ( 0 . 61 km ) site was chosen as the first LEGOLAND park outside of Denmark . Throughout 1992 and 1993 , planning , design , site preparation and the design and construction of models began , and new homes were secured for the safari animals . 1994 saw the installation of services , foundations and infrastructures , and in 1995 , one year prior to opening , Big Ben was installed in Miniland . By this time , buildings and attractions were becoming established , and in September advanced bookings were opened for entrance tickets . Initial opening and 1996 . Final installations were completed by the beginning of 1996 , and at this point the LEGOLAND Windsor staff - base was recruited . The grand opening of LEGOLAND Windsor occurred in March 1996 . During its first season , the park attracted over 1 . 4 million guests . 1998 . The first major extension to the park was CastleLand , which opened on March 14 , 1998 . This was the first new area added since the park opened , and contained the Dragon , the park ' s first roller coaster . Also included in the new development was the LEGO Mindstorms Workshop , which opened on May 1 the same year . 1999 . 1999 saw three major new additions to the park ' s attractions . First was The Dragon ' s Apprentice , which opened in time for the new season . The Balloon School was not so lucky , suffering delays in construction work , and opened in April . X - Treme Challenge , a large water flume ride , was constructed on the slope in front of St . Leonard ' s Mansion in time for the school summer holidays in August . At the end of the 1999 season , the Imagination Theatre was refurbished and fitted with a truss lighting grid , lighting booth , and blackout drapes , making it much more like a theater in preparation for the Christmas production of Peter Pan . On November 20 , 1999 , LEGOLAND Windsor opened for its first Christmas season which ended on January 3 , 2000 . 2000 . January 2000 saw the start of construction on the Creation Center and Rocket Racers . Due to open at the start of this season was Wave Surfer ; however . delays pushed the commissioning of the ride back to April , at which time only one of the two turntables was operational , with the other up and running a couple of weeks later . At the end of the season , Bum Shaker closed , and became a picnic area . November 18 saw the start of the park ' s second and final Christmas Season , which concluded on January 7 , 2001 . One of the highlights of this festive season was the opening of The Creation Center and Rocket Racers in December . 2001 . During 2001 there were no new attractions , with the exception of The Creation Center and Rocket Racers which had opened over Christmas . At the end of the season , however , the TECHNIC Garage closed , and was refitted as a food outlet . Muscle Maker also closed , and became the Truck Stop , a set of remote - controlled model lorries that can be driven for an extra charge . Also during this time the Sky Rider is refurbished . 2002 . For the 2002 season , the I - Spy Express was renamed The Adventurer ’ s Express , and re - themed around jungle animals . At the end of this season , during Christmas closing , the lighting booth in the Imagination theater was fitted out with two large projectors and a large quantity of control equipment , a 36 - foot ( 11 m ) projection screen was rigged on stage , and a number of different theatrical effects machines ( such as wind machines , snow machines , fog machines , etc . ) were installed in the truss rig , thus converting the Imagination Theater to a 4D cinema . 2003 . At the beginning of the 2003 season , the Mindstorms workshop was moved from Knights ’ Kingdom to the Imagination Center , replacing the Dacta Workshops , Robolabs was opened , and LEGO Racers 4D was introduced in the Imagination Theater . On June 10 Queen Elizabeth II visited LEGOLAND Windsor , as part of British Tourism Day . 2004 . 2004 saw the installation of the first major new ride in four years : the Jungle Coaster , which opened in time for the new season . This and the Wave Surfer were designated as part of a new area , ' Adventure Land ' , and in line with this the bottom lake was renamed the Adventure Land Lake . Also in time for the new season was the completion of the Big Restaurant ' s refurbishment . At the end of the 2004 season Rocket Racers closed , having never been particularly popular yet always having TECHNICal problems and large , slow - moving queues . Also , the Celtic maze of The Amazing Mazes was gutted , and a path created straight through it . 2005 . Three new rides were built in time for the start of the 2005 season ; The Fire Academy in ' Traffic ' , and Dino Dipper and Dino Safari in Adventure Land . The Adventurer ’ s Express was again renamed , this time to The Orient Express . In April , LEGO made the decision to sell the LEGOLAND parks , due to rising losses across the whole company . On July 13 , 2005 , LEGOLAND was acquired by the Blackstone Group , and control of the parks passed to Merlin Entertainments . 2006 . At the beginning of the 2006 season Digger Challenge opened , and Spellbreaker 4D was introduced alongside LEGO Racers 4D in the Imagination Theatre . The park made the news on October 28 as a fire broke out in a storage barn on site during the end of season fireworks , though no one was injured . Over the Christmas closing period , both the Celtic maze and the nautical maze of The Amazing Mazes were demolished to make way for Vikings ' River Splash . The Tudor maze was renamed Loki ' s Labyrinth , but was kept closed until August 2007 , as it was in the centre of the construction work for Land of the Vikings . As such , The Amazing Mazes ceased to be . 2007 . Whirly Birds was renamed Chopper Squadron for the start of the 2007 season , and the LEGO Mindstorms Workshop switched from using LEGO Mindstorms to the NXT system . In July , Mole In 1 Adventure Golf opened , having been given absolutely no publicity , and on August 18 , after severe delays , ' Land of the Vikings ' opened . The new area ( which was due to open in April 2007 ) increased the parks ' capacity by 15 % , and contained the new river rapids ride Vikings ' River Splash , though the second advertised ride , Longboat Invader , was delayed until the 2008 season . Loki ' s Labyrinth also opened , though no theming was present . For the rest of the season , Vikings ' River Splash operated at a reduced capacity . 2008 . For the 2008 season , the park advertised a " . . magnificent seven new attractions debut . . . " . This , however , included Vikings ' River Splash , Loki ' s Labyrinth and Mole - in - One Golf , which had all opened in 2007 . New to the park was the Longboat Invader , a Zamperla ' Rocking Tug ' , which was originally to open at the same time as the rest of ' Land of the Vikings ' . Two new shows were introduced : Cinderella in the DUPLO Theatre , and The Revenge of the Aztec Queen , which replaced The Saphire Scorpion at the ' LEGO City Harbour ' . The seventh new debut was the Xbox Gaming Zone , in the centre of ' LEGO City ' . This echoed the console area that had been present only for the first two years of the park ' s history . To make way for this , the Magic Theatre closed , after twelve long years in the park . The Big Restaurant was also refurbished , and renamed City Walk Pizza & Pasta Buffet , with the menu changing to that of the Pasta Patch , which was in turn renamed Captain Barnacle ' s Boatshed , selling Fish and Chips . Cinnabon Bakery was replaced with the Harbourside Coffee Co . Express , and Bricks ' n ' Bits was renamed Cuddles Corner , selling clothing . Finally , Q - Bot was introduced at the beginning of the season . 2009 . In 2009 , the park opened its eleventh land : Kingdom of the Pharaohs . This land features a new interactive dark ride , ' Laser Raiders ' . The pre - show and queue for this ride takes place in the Circus Tent , and the ride takes place in a new building behind it . Also new is a Jumping Star ride , ' Scarab Bouncers ' . Also , 2009 sees the introduction Bob the Builder 4D will be shown in the Imagination Theatre alongside Spellbreaker 4 - D and LEGO Racers 4D . Rocket Racers was re - opened after demand . 2009 also saw the last year of the Jungle Coaster ride , being relocated to LEGOLAND Florida . 2010 . For the 2010 season , which opened on March 20 , the Big Shop has improved and a new area , Pirates Landing has been opened in place of Wild Woods , with existing rides being rethemed and the Jolly Rocker being opened . 2010 also sees a new 4 - D movie , LEGO City A Clutch Powers 4 - D Adventure . The Revenge of the Aztec Queen show was replaced with Pirates of Skeleton Bay . 2011 . A Sea - Life based attraction , Atlantis Submarine Voyage , was opened on May 20 . This was built onto the site of the Dino Dipper , which was moved and renamed as Knights ' Quest . Rocket Racers closed for the second and last time on October 10 . 2012 . The 2012 season started on March 16 . It featured the opening of Star Wars Miniland and the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel . 2013 . The 2013 season began in March . It featured the refurbishment of DUPLO Land into DUPLO Valley , including the addition of a water park . 2014 . The 2014 season began in March . It featured the revamp of Pirates Landing . 2015 . The 2015 season began on March 13 . It featured LEGO City being moved into the area where Traffic was located , LEGO City ` s former location being refurbished into Heartlake City , the Xbox Gaming Zone being moved to the Imagination Centre , and the appearance of the Ninjago Training Academy . Areas . Like all LEGOLAND parks , the park is split into separate areas . Q - Bot . At the beginning of the 2008 season , LEGOLAND Windsor introduced a Q - Bot queueing system . For a small charge , parties can hire a small pager - like device on which they can reserve places in queues virtually . The system is designed to ensure that those with Q - Bot would have to ' queue ' for the same amount of time as those without , but those with Q - Bot could spend that time elsewhere in the park , either queuing for another ride , eating lunch or just wandering . The initial contract between Lo - Q , the company that developed the Q - Bot system , and LEGOLAND Windsor , is for two years . Retail . Retail within the park can be split into two distinct categories : food and drink , and souvenirs . Unlike other British theme parks , such as and , all food and drink outlets within LEGOLAND Windsor are currently owned and operated by the park Annual Passes . Annual Passes are cheaper than visiting the park two times . Prices start from £36 for a Basic Annual Pass and £51 for a Full Annual Pass . Full Annual Pass holders can obtain up to 10 % off inside the park ’ s shops and restaurants ; there are ‘ kids go free ’ offers at UK SEA LIFE Centres and Vue Cinemas and up to 20 % off at Buyagift . com . The Basic Annual Pass only allows access during off - peak times , outside of busy holiday dates and excludes access to LEGOLAND Special Events . The Full Annual Pass which allows guests unlimited access to the park throughout the season . Merlin Passes . The Merlin Annual Pass offers entry to all of the Merlin attractions in the UK for 12 months . Attractions include LEGOLAND Windsor , Chessington World of Adventures and Zoo , THORPE PARK , Alton Towers resort , Madame Tussauds London , London Eye , The Dungeons , SEA LIFE Centres , Warwick Castle and Seal Sanctuaries . Prices begin from £125 per individual pass or for £375 for a family pass . The Merlin Annual Pass comes with many benefits such as 20 % off at the Alton Towers Hotel and 20 % off shopping and eating in certain attractions Opening Times . LEGOLAND is open from mid - March to the beginning of November each year , though it is closed on most Tuesdays and Wednesdays in May , September and October . During this time , the park operates a variable opening times system , which roughly follows the school holidays in the UK . The park always opens at 10am . By default , the park closes at 5pm . During the Easter holidays , other select public holidays ( such as bank holidays ) , weekends in June , July , September and October , and during the end of season celebrations and fireworks , the park closes at 6pm . During the summer holidays , ( late July to the beginning of September ) , the park closes at 7pm . During the After - Dark event , which is held in the Easter holidays , the park closes at 9pm . Each year these times change slightly , though they usually follow this pattern . Special Events . Each year LEGOLAND Windsor hosts a number of special events . Most are annual , and take place year on year , but occasionally one - off events are held . Annual events include After Dark , LEGOLAND Live , LEGOLAND Windsor fireworks and Amazing Machines . Christmas Openings . During the Christmases of 1999 and 2000 , LEGOLAND Windsor opened for special " Christmas Seasons " . During these seasons , the park operated as normal ( i . e . all rides were open ) , but with special shows , events and attractions relevant to the season . For the 1999 Christmas season ( November 20 , 1999 – January 3 , 2000 ) , the following attractions were present : Snowball Express – For the duration of the season , the Orient Expedition ( then the I - Spy Express ) was renamed the Snowball Express . The engine was decorated with fake snow and other Christmas related items , as were the various models around the track , and a snow machine was installed on the platform . For the 2000 Christmas season ( November 18 , 2000 – January 7 , 2001 ) , the same attractions were put in place , with the following exceptions : In the years following these two festive seasons , the park has opened the Big Shop during the time between seasons , as well as the rest of the Beginning ( much like the beginning of a standard day , with the exception being that the main path to the rest of the park is boarded off as opposed to roped off ) . During these periods the Big Shop has had large sales , and one year a KUKA Robocoaster was installed . During some winters , LEGOLAND has been open for shopping at the weekends . Awards . Since opening in 1996 , the Park has won a number of awards : Sponsors & Partners . As of 2012 the parks current sponsors are : Former sponsors or partners include ;