For over a decade, LEGOLAND Windsor has transformed every October into a frightfully fun destination for the whole family as their Brick or Treat event takes over the resort. The tradition continues in 2023, with the event running from 28th September until 5th November. Come along with me, team member Claire, as I explore all the treats – and tricks – on offer at this year’s iteration of the classic event!
The very first thing you’ll realise on arriving at LEGOLAND for Brick or Treat is just how well the park decorate for this event. Although I have an enormous soft spot for the coaster-themed pumpkins at Alton Towers’ Scarefest and the seemingly endless pumpkins at Paultons Park, I think it’s hard to argue that any of the other UK theme parks decorate for Halloween quite as well as LEGOLAND. This might just be down to the inherent charm of LEGO-based decorations, but I just think they do such a fantastic job. On entering The Beginning, guests are greeted by an enormous photo opportunity in the shape of three LEGO pumpkin heads. This photo op is extremely popular, so I’d recommend coming back later in the day if you can for your photo! Very few guests like to drag themselves back up the hill if they don’t have to, so I’m always partial to an afternoon trip back to The Beginning for coffee anyway to escape the crowds and take a break, so this was the perfect opportunity to snap a photo!
In what will probably be a break from tradition for most guests, the best place to start your day at Brick or Treat is undoubtedly the LEGO Studios 4D Movie Theatre! During Halloween, the theatre plays host to a film produced specifically for the event. The Great Monster Chase 4D features the LEGO Monsters as they host a party in the grounds of LEGOLAND. This film works as a great introduction to the event and the characters you’ll see around the park throughout and therefore makes a great start to the day – plus it’s on the way down the hill! I’m always impressed with the quality of the effects used in LEGO Studios, and this film was no exception. Guests were treated to fire, snow, wind, water, and lighting effects as we partied with the Monsters. Not only that but the film itself was really fun, set in a fantasy version of the theme park, including Haunted House Monster Party, LEGO City Driving School, and what appeared to be The Dragon if it were a hypercoaster – yes please! According to the park’s website, the area outside of the theatre should also be where you are able to meet the characters from the film, however, this wasn’t taking place during our visit. Hopefully, we’ll see them appear later in the season!
Next up, we made our way down to Heartlake City and The Harbour, ready for the Monster Jam show which is performed multiple times a day (check the app for times on your day of visit). This music and dance show features five of the LEGO Monsters performing a live concert, whilst cheered on by their human fans. Whilst it doesn’t feature the drama or acrobatics of Return to Skeleton Bay, this fun seasonal show is well worth your time, and features plenty of special effects, not to mention some ridiculously catchy music! The show runs for about 20 minutes, and is extremely popular so it’s worth trying to arrive a little before the beginning in order to get a good spot.
Like any good seasonal event, Brick or Treat features plenty of specialty food items across the park. There are three themed cupcakes available at various locations (we spotted them at Wizard’s Frozen Wonders, LEGOLAND Coffee Co, and Monster Bites) alongside a cookie sandwich. Wizard’s Frozen Wonders also features black ‘ice scream’, alongside jelly pumpkins for topping your frozen creations. There were also various outlets around the park selling sweet treats with Brick or Treat branding, but which didn’t appear to be themed in any way, such as the Miniland churro stand which is offering waffles as an event specialty. My personal favourite of all of the themed offerings, however, is the one savoury option we saw, and can be found in Pirates Burger Kitchen. The ‘Greedy Monster Burger’ is a chicken burger with salsa, salami, cheese, lettuce, gherkins and – most importantly – a red bun and two pepper-stuffed olives on top, making the whole thing look like a monster! Though I couldn’t personally try the item as a vegetarian, it also got a very good review from a friend and strangely is also cheaper than many of the regular meals at £11.95 (my vegan burger meal was £12.50!) It’s really great to see LEGOLAND bring such a fun item onto the menu, and I hope we’ll see many more highly-themed food in the future.
The highlight of the entire event is, of course, Monster Street. Here guests are invited to make their way through the Enchanted Forest – near the Jolly Rocker – and meet a variety of spooky characters along the way. Some will offer treats, but beware those that have a trick up their sleeve! We waited until a little later in the day to experience this attraction as it varies slightly throughout the day. Opening at 11 am, the first hour of operation is the ‘quiet time’ when the volume of the attraction is turned down in order to offer a more enjoyable experience for guests with sensory needs. The app also mentions that whilst the live actors ‘do not aim to scare you, they may jump out at you later in the day.’ Of course, this meant that we left it as late as possible to experience the attraction in the hope of a few extra jumps! We waited just 20 minutes for the experience before being allowed into the forest to begin the walkthrough. In a change to last year, all of the queueing was set up outside of the forest, allowing guests to enjoy the entire forest walk-through as part of the experience, rather than as the queue line. With the sun settling behind some clouds at the perfect moment, we were able to enjoy the atmosphere created by the smoke pouring through the trees, caught in the coloured lights, before being greeted by our first character. This ghostly figure greeted us and cracked a few jokes before handing everyone our individual treat bags. We were then free to proceed toward the ‘creepy crypts’. At each crypt, we were greeted by a different character and handed a different treat. Across the three crypts, we were gifted a bar of Cadbury chocolate, a pop badge, and finally a LEGO bat kit! But as warned, there were also some tricks! One of the characters we passed on our way to the crypts did a fantastic job of creeping up on unsuspecting guests and making them jump! This was nothing more than a ‘Boo!’ but delivered plenty of laughs all round. Once in, our experience lasted around 5-10 minutes and was fantastic! It’s really wonderful to see an attraction like this included with admission, and guests of all ages are sure to be delighted by the gifts and interactions along the way.
For the very youngest guests, Lord Vampyre is hosting his famous disco down on the Miniland stage! With multiple performances throughout the day, it’s almost guaranteed that you won’t be able to pass through Miniland without hearing Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Vampire’ or seeing kids bopping along with Lord Vampyre’s dance moves! This fun, interactive show is a great way for kids to burn off some energy with a song and dance and features some great crowd interaction from Lord Vampyre’s friends.
Elsewhere, young guests can also enjoy a seasonal puppet show at the DUPLO Valley Theatre. ‘The Spell That Went Wrong’ is performed multiple times per day, with times posted outside of the theatre in DUPLO Valley.
Outside of show times Lord Vampyre also appears for meet and greets on the Miniland stage. These sets only last 10-15 minutes, so be sure to be in the area at the times listed on the LEGOLAND app if you were wanting to meet him. On the day of our visit, Lord Vampyre was the only character listed on the app so we made a beeline to meet him, and had a great time. Even if it turns out that hugging a giant, square LEGO figure is really difficult!
Whilst we were in the area, we also went on a hunt for all things spooky across Miniland and The Brick. In The Brick, guests can try their hand at building their own LEGO pumpkin with troughs full of orange and green bricks in all shapes and sizes! Meanwhile, in Miniland, we couldn’t find too many spooky happenings, but there were a few things to spot in the England area! At the cinema, you’ll see The Great Monster Chase 4D being shown, whilst next to Stonehenge, there’s a large pumpkin patch! Also in this pumpkin patch is a sign with the letter H, which made us wonder if perhaps there is some sort of trail taking place, however, we didn’t see anywhere to claim a trail map! Near Miniland you’ll also find the new-for-2023 giant LEGO pumpkin, another great photo opportunity!
With all the seasonal happenings ticked off, it was finally time to try and experience some of the park’s attractions, and sadly this is where our experience fell down a little. The park was just not having a great day on our visit in terms of ride availability, with many attractions down and long lines present across the park. Thankfully, by the last few hours of the day, the lines had gotten far shorter and we were able to enjoy a ride on the always magical LEGO City: Deep Sea Adventure. Every time I ride this attraction, I think it must have gained even more fish because we had a beautiful ride through whole schools of fish, with rays swimming alongside our submarine as we made our voyage. With low waits on many other attractions, we would have been able to fit many more rides in too before the park’s extended 6 pm close, had I not had a train to catch! So with just a final ride on The Hill Train, which had re-opened for park close after being down all afternoon, we made our way to the exit, and the obligatory gift shop visit. If you’re in need of any spooky goodies, you’ll be relieved to know that the shop have a dedicated Brick or Treat display with all the current LEGO Halloween range!
Do you have plans to attend Brick or Treat this Halloween? Let us know on our social media channels!
