Mr Tin Field is a correct AFOL – that’s Grownup Fan of Lego earlier than you assume I’m being impolite. Considered one of his high causes for having youngsters was so he would legitimately play with LEGO once more. So, it wasn’t too tough persuading him we should always hop throughout the border from Oman for a keep on the LEGOLAND Dubai Lodge.
Me? I’m not such an enormous LEGO fan. It by no means grabbed me as a baby. However, with a comply with up keep booked on the QE2 resort nearer to Downtown Dubai, I used to be blissful to go alongside for the trip.
On this overview of the LEGOLAND Dubai Lodge I’m going to share what the children and AFOL in our household thought, plus the expertise for non-AFOLs like me. As a result of, let’s face it, LEGO followers are going to like staying proper within the brick, I imply thick, of it regardless.
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Our keep at LEGOLAND Dubai Lodge
We booked our LEGOLAND Dubai Keep and Play deal through the Easter college holidays.
Included was our Journey fully-themed room (I’ll go into the room choices in a bit), buffet breakfast every day and entry to considered one of three Dubai Parks and Resorts parks for every evening of our keep.
We set off from Muscat tremendous early, crossed the border with out a lot faff (we’re Oman residents), skirted across the again of the town getting glimpses of the Burj Khalifa by way of the haze and arrived at Legoland Dubai in time for a late lunch.
Once we lived in Devon in South West England we by no means contemplated staying at LEGOLAND Windsor*, regardless of it being about the identical journey time because it was for us right here within the Center East. We’ve modified!
Arriving at LEGOLAND Dubai made me want we’d made the trouble earlier. At the same time as a non-AFOL.
Our women have been beside themselves after they noticed the resort. We’ve by no means stayed wherever fairly so ‘themed’.
Themed rooms at LEGOLAND Dubai
There are 5 room ideas obtainable: Journey, LEGO Mates, Kingdom, NINJAGO and Pirate. They’re positioned on totally different flooring with hallways which might be embellished with the identical theme.
The LEGO Mates and NINJAGO rooms are the costliest.
Normal themed rooms can sleep as much as 5 folks. They’ve a King-sized mattress, bunk mattress and pull out mattress below the bunks.
Inside every theme you may improve to a fully-themed room (with extra decorations) or a set which sleeps as much as eight folks with a King-sized mattress, bunks and couch mattress.
Our Journey fully-themed room
We determined to e book an Journey fully-themed room because it reminded us of our 10 day tour of Egypt the earlier Easter. The worth distinction between this and a baseline Journey themed room was about £20 per evening.
If the children we excited after we arrived on the resort, they have been beside themselves as we took a trip on the disco raise and used our wrist bands to unlock our room.
By the way in which, the wrist bands are tremendous helpful. They meant we didn’t want to fret about leaving the room with out the important thing.
LEGO theming
At the same time as a non-AFOL, I used to be impressed with our room. It regarded precisely prefer it did within the photos on the LEGOLAND Lodge web site.
The furnishings and fashions have been sensible and there didn’t seem like a lot put on and tear. The toilet is the one place there isn’t any LEGO ornament however all the things else was brick-tastic from ground to ceiling.
The women made fast work of the in-room treasure hunt, liberating their small LEGO units from the secure and setting about making them whereas we unpacked.
They then discovered the Duplo field.
Household room structure
The structure of the LEGOLAND resort rooms is fairly distinctive within the Center East. Most inns that say their rooms accommodate households don’t supply everlasting beds for the children. Households of 4 or extra must all pile into the King dimension, request or carry further beds, or e book two rooms.
We principally discover ourselves doing the latter as the ladies are effectively into their pre-teen years.
At this resort there are bunks for the children with an additional roll out mattress beneath to sleep as much as three youngsters and a King dimension for the adults. These are separated by a brief hall off which yow will discover an open hanging house and the door to the lavatory.
In themed and absolutely themed rooms the lavatory as a walk-in bathe, sink and bathroom. There are baths within the household suites.
Meals on the LEGOLAND Lodge
The buffet breakfast within the resort’s Bricks Household Restaurant was included in our Keep and Play bundle. The meals on supply was actually good with a variety of cold and warm worldwide dishes and, to the ladies’ delight, doughnuts and frozen yoghurt.
We discovered the perfect time to reach was at 8am. The LEGOLAND park doesn’t open till 10am and Motiongate is even later at 11am, so we have been consuming effectively earlier than the push.
We additionally ate lunch within the Bricks Household Restaurant on two days. That is al a carte and, to be trustworthy, a bit expensive for fairly primary meals. However we’ve discovered that’s the case with most locations within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations.
Children meals price greater than £10 and grownup meals have been between £12 and £20 every.
We made the error of considering the meals within the resort can be cheaper than the LEGOLAND theme park however after wanting the costs in each locations we might have saved cash within the park.
One other place to eat within the resort is the Skyline Lounge. I assumed this may be on the roof just like the title suggests, but it surely’s truly on the alternative facet of reception to the principle restaurant. Skyline serves the identical menu because the restaurant.
The distinction is that this seems like a extra grown up house with a bar, excessive tables with bar stools, couch seating and fewer ‘in your face’ LEGO theming. It’s gentle reduction for non-AFOLs. Though I’d have been far more enthusiastic about it if it had been a roof bar.
There’s a contented hour (purchase two chosen drinks and get one free) every day from 12pm to 2pm and 6pm to 8pm.
Options to consuming on the resort
If you wish to discover various and even cheaper locations to eat we advocate taking a brief stroll or taxi trip to Dubai Outlet Village the place yow will discover eating places in addition to discounted designer manufacturers. We obtained pizza and delicate drinks at Papa Murphy’s for about £30 for the 4 of us.
Riverland can also be simply exterior the resort grounds. This large leisure house with buildings impressed by Nineteen Fifties North America and seventeenth Century France has eating places, bars and small points of interest lining a artifical river.
I say small, however yow will discover the world’s largest camel sculpture and the world’s largest out of doors inflatable assault course right here.
It’s all very Dubai!
We went to Riverland for dinner one night and, whereas the costs have been additionally very Dubai, the meals was good. We ate at The Keg which is modelled on a standard Irish pub with wooden panelling and a tiled bar.
There have been a lot of different choices, however this one pulled us in as a result of we’re lacking Sundays down the pub within the UK.
The theme parks
We had three parks included in our three evening Keep and Play deal: LEGOLAND Dubai, the LEGOLAND Water Park and Motiongate.
After I was wanting Dubai Parks and Resorts on Google Maps I hadn’t realised fairly how shut the LEGOLAND Lodge was to all of those.
I used to be nonetheless none-the-wiser after we arrived as we didn’t see a lot driving in the direction of the resort and our room was dealing with the elaborately embellished frontage. So it was a little bit of a shock after we walked out the again entrance, handed the pool and there they have been.
It takes lower than two minutes to go away the resort grounds and stroll to the doorway of each LEGOLAND Dubai and the water park.
Motiongate is a bit additional away however nonetheless solely a ten minute stroll.
LEGOLAND Dubai
We determined to begin our theme park tour with LEGOLAND figuring out that our women have been on the high finish of its target market. Our technique was to work as much as the fun rides at Motiongate the next day.
We’d not been to a LEGOLAND park earlier than so can’t evaluate them, however in the event you’re an everyday who hasn’t been to Dubai but, it has 40 rides in comparison with LEGOLAND Windsor’s 55. Apparently the positioning can also be a lot smaller, which is definitely a bonus in Dubai as you wish to minimise the quantity of strolling you do within the warmth.
It was the primary time we’d been to a theme park the place we knew the children would be capable to go on all of the rides. In reality some have been a bit too tame for them. This mixed with the non-existent queues meant we solely spent three hours wandering by way of the park’s six zones.
Our favorite rides have been The Dragon, Submarine Journey, Rescue Academy and the Misplaced Kingdom Journey. These have been a bit extra thrilling for older youngsters.
We additionally hung out wanting on the big fashions in MINILAND and making race vehicles within the Construct & Check expertise.
If we had youthful youngsters I’m positive we’d have spent extra time within the varied indoor and out of doors play areas, and on a few of the decrease key rides.
Nonetheless, solely spending half the day right here meant we had loads of time to go to LEGOLAND Water Park within the afternoon.
Tip: purchase a few the memento drinks bottles on the park entrance. These can be utilized for bottomless refills round LEGOLAND Dubai and the Water Park on the day you buy them.
They price 79 AED (about £17.25) every or 69 AED (about £15.05) whenever you purchase two or extra. We shared two between us and obtained greater than our cash’s price of juices and delicate drinks. You want the liquids within the warmth!
LEGOLAND Water Park Dubai
We had an amazing afternoon right here, spending two and a half hours driving flumes, tubes and rafts.
There’s additionally a wave pool, a lazy river full with bricks and the sensible Joker Soaker water playground. In addition to 20 water points of interest there’s a lot of solar loungers out and in of the shade.
For me, as a non-AFOL this was much more enjoyable than the theme park.
Motiongate
The subsequent day we moved onto the biggest Hollywood themed park within the Center East with rides and points of interest primarily based on motion pictures by the DreamWorks Animation, Columbia Footage and Lionsgate studios.
We’s seen a few of the rollercoasters from the Legoland Water Park the day earlier than, which gave us a heads up about how totally different they’d be.
General, we had an amazing day at Motiongate. It was well-worth saving an entire day for it. There have been a great deal of the large thrill rides that we craved after LEGOLAND and the movie set staging was sensible.
There have been additionally just a few queues regardless of it being a weekend within the Easter holidays.
In addition to the rollercoasters and movement simulators for older youngsters and adults there have been loads of enjoyable issues to do for youthful youngsters.
The Smurfs Village has a decrease key rollercoaster, play zones and exhibits and there are mild points of interest with characters little ones will recognise within the Dreamworks Animation Zone.
A few of our favorite rides have been within the Lionsgate and Columbia Footage areas. We haven’t launched the children to movies just like the Starvation Video games or Zombieland but however that didn’t cease them having fun with these excessive adrenaline rides.
We spent seven hours doing 17,000 steps across the Motiongate and got here again to the Legoland resort exhausted.
How do these Dubai theme parks evaluate to Yas Island in Abu Dhabi?
We visited Yas Island final yr so have been evaluating it with Dubai as we went. Have been LEGOLAND Dubai, the water park and Motiongate pretty much as good as Warner Bros Studios, Yas Water Park and Ferrari World on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi?
No.
The Dubai Parks are a bit older so – sometimes for this area – they don’t have the largest, quickest or most excessive tech rides.
At Motiongate a number of of the rides and cafes have been shut and I seen some transferring elements within the tour-type rides have been damaged.
An enormous bonus was that foods and drinks was less expensive in Dubai than within the Yas parks.
We’d positively contemplate going to Motiongate once more if we have been again in Dubai, whereas we’d not trouble with LEGOLAND. However a number of that’s to do with the age of our youngsters.
Actions on the resort
Our early breakfast routine meant we, I imply the children and AFOL, obtained to play with LEGO within the resort foyer. For those who’ve stayed at a LEGOLAND Lodge elsewhere you’ll be conversant in the LEGO pit within the foyer space the place you may go freestyle along with your creations.
We additionally spent a number of time right here on the finish of our days. I’m undecided who loved that the majority.
On the Dubai resort there’s additionally a big citadel play body within the foyer and rooms the place you may e book a artistic workshop for you and your little ones.
The full of life leisure group have been additionally on the go within the afternoon and evenings, enjoying video games with anybody who nonetheless had power after a full on day on the parks. They noticed us within the Skyline Bar one night and roped within the women for a sport of charades whereas Mr Tin Field and I loved a beer.
All this offers the resort extra of a resort really feel, so even in the event you aren’t going to the parks you already know the children might be entertained.
The pool at LEGOLAND Dubai Lodge
The pool is small and shallow with a roped off toddler space and huge LEGO bricks you may play with within the water. There’s additionally a splash park with water jets.
There are a number of cabanas and a restricted variety of solar loungers which you’ll be able to seize on a first-come-first-served foundation. There’s additionally a small bar promoting drinks and snacks.
For those who come to this resort to calm down by the pool I believe you’d be disillusioned. It was busy and discovering someplace to take a seat was tough. However with the LEGOLAND Water Park only a quick stroll away they don’t really want to promote this space.
Tip: in case you are in your option to the water park the resort pool is the place you decide up your towels. In any other case you’ll must lease one on the water park.
How lengthy do you want to keep at LEGOLAND Dubai Lodge?
We initially booked 4 nights considering that we would wish a full day at every of the theme parks and the LEGOLAND Waterpark.
Nonetheless, after talking to pals who had already been, they persuaded us that we might do the LEGOLAND theme park and waterpark in someday.
And our expertise was this was simply doable.
There have been only a few queues for any of the points of interest although it was Europe’s Easter college holidays. Nonetheless, the truth that Eid was additionally arising meant that a number of locals have been travelling. So I don’t know if Dubai Parks and Resorts are all the time as quiet as they have been for us.
Anyway, we have been very glad we modified our reserving to a few nights. It might have been tough to entertain our 11 and eight-year-olds in LEGOLAND for longer than three hours, so a visit to the water park within the afternoon made for a enjoyable day.
We would have liked the second full day for Motiongate, which had much more for our women to do.
You probably have youthful youngsters you then may wish to take issues at a slower tempo. Three nights can be ideally suited for doing two of the Dubai Parks and Resorts theme parks, however for 3 parks you may wish to add an evening.
The place is LEGOLAND Lodge in Dubai?
LEGOLAND Dubai Parks and Resorts is a forty five minute drive alongside the coast south west from Dubai Worldwide Airport, so you might be fairly a distance from Dubai’s essential points of interest just like the Burj Khalifa.
If you wish to see this and Downtown Dubai we’d advocate relocating. We did precisely this and stayed on the QE2 Lodge for the second half of our Dubai metropolis break.
Summing up our LEGOLAND Dubai Lodge overview
For non-AFOLs, neglect about all of the LEGO stuff, it is a good household resort. The rooms are genuinely designed for households and provides house for each adults and children to calm down after busy days.
The leisure group have been actually enthusiastic and we actually rated the breakfast buffet. The al a carte costs have been a bit a lot, however as I discussed earlier you could have different choices shut by.
By way of the placement, the resort is the proper place to remain for the theme parks – you can’t get any nearer which takes all of the faff out of the start of the day and getting again to the resort whenever you’re all operating out of steam.
The mixed resort and theme park offers are good worth in the event you intend to do multiple park. And with entry to Motiongate included within the offers you don’t must overload on LEGO the entire time.
For LEGO followers, the theming is absolutely spectacular and makes this an additional particular place to vacation.
So, you don’t should be a LEGO fanatic to remain on the LEGOLAND Dubai Lodge. However in the event you do have a fan in your loved ones you’ll make their yr by reserving.
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