Hello all!
We will be traveling to London in June with our 3 sons, ages 7,10,12. I want to take them to LegoLand and to Windsor Castle. Should we do both in one day, about 3 1/2 hours at each...or spend a day at each. To do that we would stay in a hotel in Widsor.
I'm really torn...if we do it in one day we will have more time in London, but I don't want to be too rushed at either place.

Thanks for your help!
Katy

seems kids would have castle fatigue after a quick look - dash around the castle seeing the gems, etc. and spend most of the day at Legoland nearby.

can't see a whole day at the castle in your other scenario and there are plenty of things in London of interest to kids your age. Assume Legoland is open at night?

I think you can easily do both in one day. Your kids are to the top end of the Legoland demographic so I don't think a whole day would be close to necessary.

I'd leave London early in the a.m. and have a snack or late breakfast in Windsor and go to the Castle right at opening time. Leave the castle around 1-1:30, have lunch and head over to Legoland for the rest of the afternoon.

no - legoland is not open at night. Closes at 5 p.m. most of the summer, 6 p.m. on many weekends and 7 p.m. in late july and aug.

AQnd not quite sure what PQ means by the gems. The state rooms, the Doll House and St Georges Chapel is all you'd really want to see at Windsor. 3 hours is about right. Maybe even a little less.

FYI, you'll have two train options coming from London...go from Paddington, then change at Slough for Windsor (the trains to Windsor from Slough leave from track 1 and you will have to go up and down a stairs), which will take you to the Windsor Central station, very close to the castle.
Your other option is to catch a train from Waterloo, which takes you to Windsor & Eton Riverside, which is not as close to the castle (but still close enough to be easily walkable).
If there is a heatwave, take the train from Waterloo as those have AC. The trains from Paddington that stop in Slough don't (most of the commuter runs, anyway).
Windsor has plenty of kid friendly restaurants such as Wagamama, Cafe Rouge, Carluccio's, etc.
If you opt to stay overnight (although you could easily do both as a one day trip), your kids would probably enjoy taking one of the scenic boat cruises along the Thames.

janisj - no i got mixed up with the Tower and also Edinburgh Castle i guess with thought there were gem room. thanks for correcting me. what would be of interest in the castle for kids - girls maybe the Doll House but boys?

Thanks everyone! It looks like LegoLand is open 10-6 and Windsor Castle is open 10-5:15. So it seems that we should do it in one day. Maybe we will go to the castle and zip through it and spend the rest of the time at LegoLand, as one person suggested. That is probably more the style of my boys!
Thanks so much for the quick replies!
Katy

PQ - guess you haven't been there. Queen Mary's Dolls house is <u>amazing</u> and interests most everyone from little children (of both sexes) to their parents to their grandparents - and even adults w/o any kids at all.

Boys generally love it because of the cars, tools, electric lights in the house, and weird things like the hoses and gardening equipment, toys in the attics and so on . . . .

&gt; The state rooms, the Doll House and St Georges Chapel is all you'd really want to see at Windsor.

One of your kids can also go up to one of the guards there and ask &quot;Do you have Prince Albert in a crupt?&quot;

That's crypt.

Katy,

Have you been to Legoland before?

I have two boys, 8 &amp; 10, who LOVE Legoland. We live close to the one in California and go several times a year, and every time get there when it opens and close the place down, and that is going in the off-season when crowds are minimal. There's more to do then it seems, lol.

Just my 2 cents

By the way, the Windsor Ferris Wheel will be open again this summer, starting on June 30. It was a huge success last year, although some residents didn't care for it. But if you're planning a family outing in Windsor this summer, it's another activity to consider.
http://www.royalwindsorwheel.com/

Eton's only a short walk away from the Castle. I'd stop there, too.