As the theme parks in the UK continue to increase their VIP offerings, from lift hill climbs through to garden tours, LEGOLAND Windsor are no exception. This year has seen the launch of the first behind the scenes tour on the park’s most iconic attraction: The Dragon. Of course, when Behind the Bricks: The Dragon launched, we knew we had to experience it. So we, team members Claire and Craig, booked our places as soon as we could. Join us as we go behind the bricks, and explore the secrets of The Dragon!
Our tour ‘Behind the Bricks’ was set to depart the LEGOLAND Hotel 30 minutes after park close. With parking at the LEGOLAND Hotel included, I moved my car from the main car park, having enjoyed a day in the park beforehand. For any guests not driving, the staff in the hotel were happy for me to leave the park through the hotel entrance, and also gave me a pass for the lift to allow me to reach the main reception. The experience is available for groups of up to four people – the need for the low limit would become apparent later – but during our session, there were just the two of us, accompanied by two LEGOLAND VIP guides: Jack and Lewis. We were immediately handed a LEGOLAND VIP lanyard and pop badge, always a nice touch, and soon enough were on our way back into the park.
It’s always exciting to walk through a closed theme park and this was no exception. As we walked across the majority of the park – The Dragon is pretty much as far away from the hotel as it gets – the nightly maintenance was beginning with cleaning crews and maintenance staff all working to get the park ready for the next day’s crowd. One thing that always takes me aback in LEGOLAND more than anywhere else is the variety of sound effects tucked into the soundscape of the park that are so easily missed in the babble of the daytime crowd. So many of the builds around the park have built in sound effects, and they all become so noticeable on an evening walk through the park such as this.
Throughout the park, our guides were filled with fascinating information. For instance, as a pheasant crossed our path, we learned that there are actually two of the beautiful birds living freely at the park, but that they only tend to make an appearance once the day’s crowds have left – another bonus of visiting out of hours!
Of course, the real tour began on arrival at Knights Kingdom. My personal favourite area of the park, and one so integral to the park that I had no idea that it didn’t open until 1998, two years after the park! Despite being a late addition, Knights Kingdom is now the only area within the park where you can experience the original style of LEGO builds. Caricaturesque, life-sized human builds! As new areas have been constructed, and older areas updated, these builds have been phased out elsewhere, but Knights Kingdom still retains that original 90’s feel.
However, not everything in the land has remained the same. As we entered the iconic castle, our guides explained the many ways in which the building had changed over time, from the colour of the paint on the castle, to the decor within the queue. On opening, the turrets that form the majority of the ride’s queue had been filled with LEGO models on the walls. Unfortunately, it was not only the paying guests who had enjoyed these builds, with pigeons finding them an excellent place to rest – and go to the toilet! This became such an issue that the models were all removed and displayed elsewhere within the attraction, some in the ride itself, others down at ground level, such as the wizards cloaks found just before the first stairs.
Another of the models to be moved was Merlin, the wizard who now sits atop the balcony opposite the queue. Merlin was another of those builds who actually has audio I’d never heard before – he speaks! Whilst I’d never even noticed this audio previously, it dominated the space as we walked through after park close. However, it transpires that Merlin is not the only wizard who has sat atop this balcony. Apparently, in 2001 on the launch of the original LEGO Harry Potter sets, Harry Potter himself had a stint of welcoming guests to the castle! Now there’s something I would have loved to have seen as a child.
Entering the station, we’d take a turn through a door I’d never even noticed before and head into the ride’s operating cabin. This small space was the only area in which we were not allowed to take any photographs, for safety reasons, but consisted of two areas. The operators booth, overlooking the station, and a separate working area for a member of staff overlooking all of the CCTV. The Dragon does not have a single CCTV blind spot, so you can bet that if you get your phone out on the ride, the staff most certainly will know! Whilst in the operations cabin, we ‘locked on’. This procedure will be familiar to anyone who’s experienced a behind-the-scenes coaster experience previously, and involves placing a padlock on the ride’s operations panel and taking the key. This way, the ride can only be operated when you’ve returned and removed the padlock, making the whole experience safe.We’d wear our keys on a handy lanyard for the rest of the experience.
From the operating booth, it was time to head into the ride area! Walking over the coaster train parked in the station, we’d head first to the maintenance bay, where another of the ride’s three trains was parked. The coaster itself always operates two trains, with a third kept in the maintenance bay, ready to be swapped out if needed. The ride does not have sufficient block zones to operate with all three trains.
In the maintenance bay, we were able to get up close and personal with one of the Dragon trains! Perhaps unsurprisingly, I’d never before noticed the ride’s wheels, but did you know they’re yellow and red? The core colours of LEGO! Giving another LEGO touch to the trains are the links between the cars, with the yellow loops designed to resemble the hooks found on LEGO train sets. So much detail was poured into these trains that the regular guest would never notice. I’ve been riding this coaster repeatedly for decades and I’d certainly never picked up on any of these nods to LEGO at least.
Next up would be the part of the experience I’d been most excited for: a guided tour of the dark ride section! The Dragon is, without doubt, one of my favourite dark rides in the country. Its dark ride section is so packed with detail that I couldn’t wait to explore, and the tour certainly did not let me down. This was also the part of the tour where the need for the restriction on numbers became clear. The ride area is simply not built to be easily walked around, and we found ourselves shuffling along narrow walkways and ducking under low arches to proceed through the scenes.
Whilst there are many behind-the-scenes offerings for roller coasters, it’s seemingly rare to get the opportunity to explore a dark ride, and this tour has fully convinced me that more of these experiences are needed. In every scene, I noticed models and details that I’d never seen before. In the first forest scene, there’s a cat to the left of the train. This cat is one of the models that had previously existed in the queue. However, I’d never spotted this model before and as a cat enthusiast, I certainly would have known if I had!
Likewise in the next scene, where we find monks drinking from steins, the monks are actually drinking cola! This was a later change to the ride at the request of LEGO, but safe to say, I’d never noticed the cola cans at the back of the scene.
The most impressive thing about all of these models is that they are not simply built to be viewed from the coaster. There are 130 models within The Dragon, and each and every one – bar one – is fully built out. This means it can be viewed from any angle and will still be a complete model. Of course, you can only view the rear of the models on this tour – what a treat! The reason behind having such complete models is that, though they were purpose built for The Dragon, the models themselves were originally displayed as part of a LEGO exhibition, before their installation at LEGOLAND Windsor.
Perhaps the most impressive part of the entire tour was the opportunity to stand and fully appreciate the giant red dragon at the end of the dark ride section. Without the atmospheric lighting and smoke, you can really appreciate the scale and detail of this incredible model and all the various pieces of treasure it’s hoarding! Another detail I’d never noticed before is the dwarf sat beside the dragon in this scene. Perhaps he’s usually enshrouded in smoke, or I guess my eyes are just always drawn to the enormous creature beside him, but I had no idea he was there! I’ll certainly be looking out for him next time I’m on the ride.
The one model that isn’t complete in its build is the dragon’s tail, bursting through the ceiling in the next scene. If you ever stop to look over your shoulder at the tail, you’ll see that the tail’s mechanics are actually exposed on the other side! Again, something I’d never noticed in all my years of riding.
We would spend a long while moving through the dark ride, pouring over every detail in every scene, whilst our fantastic guides talked us through the history and changes made to the ride over time. This section in particular was one of my favourite experiences in any theme park, and I’d love to have the opportunity to do this with more dark rides.
However, The Dragon is not just a dark ride. There was, of course, a roller coaster section to explore as well! From the dark ride, we’d exit through a backstage staircase, heading downstairs and out into the coaster portion of the ride. From here, we entered the ride area itself, walking down to the final drop. When I booked the experience, I certainly didn’t expect to be taken here! We walked down alongside the final drop, and even walked through the tunnel, again being talked through the ride’s history as we did.
As we walked the field housing the coaster, there were plenty of photo opportunities standing near and even sitting astride the track – a must-do photo for any coaster enthusiast!
Having walked around almost the entire ride, it was time to head back up into the main station building and get a closer look at the first lift hill, and the wizard that stands adjacent to it. Again, there was so much to learn about the history of this model and all the makeovers it had received in the past.
From here we’d wrap up the tour, heading back to the operations cabin to lock out, before beginning the walk back to the hotel. But, before we could leave the castle we were presented with a final gift, a certificate celebrating the completion of Behind the Bricks: The Dragon, and the opportunity for a final photo in front of the castle.
Altogether, our experience lasted around two hours. At the beginning of the evening, we’d been told it would be approximately an hour, but there had been so much to see and so much to learn that we’d managed to far exceed that. Our guides were simply fantastic. Jack and Lewis were so knowledgeable about the history of The Dragon, and LEGOLAND as a whole that every question we had was answered with ease. Throughout the experience they were also warm, friendly and never made us feel rushed.
Behind the Bricks: The Dragon was a fantastic experience, and in my mind, fantastic value for money, with the experience priced at £70 per person, or £56 for annual passholders. If, like me, you’ve grown up with a sentimental attachment to this iconic attraction, there’s no better way to spend an evening. I cannot recommend it enough! As is noted when booking, there’s certainly a physical requirement to the experience, as we climbed many staircases and negotiated narrow physical spaces on our journey, so this may be worth considering when deciding if it’s a suitable experience for you.
Behind the Bricks: The Dragon is currently booking until the end of September.
