Family Holidays in Denmark: A LEGOLAND Mini-Cruise

by Rhonda Carrier

“You remember that sound? Of stirring around in the bottom of a box of Lego? When I’m building things in my mind, I call it ‘shapehead.’ When I’ve got shapehead, I can’t sleep, I might as well just keep on building and building…” Douglas Coupland

Now that my older boys (aged 9 and 7) are fully fledged ‘shapeheads’, a short break at LEGOLAND seemed an ideal getaway idea for the October half term. LEGOLAND parks – found in Windsor and also Germany, Denmark, California and Florida – are designed for kids aged 2–12, so though my youngest son (three and a half at the time) doesn’t yet share his brothers' passion, we knew there’d be plenty to entertain him too.

We’ve been to the LEGOLAND in the UK and were tempted to go further afield this time. A self-drive mini-cruise to Denmark, LEGO’S birthplace, seemed like both a pilgrimage and an adventure. The original LEGOLAND is set amidst the flatlands of Denmark’s Jutland region, in the curious town of Billund, which is where LEGO was invented and which is still given over almost entirely to the brand – it’s also home to the head office and main factory.  

Run by Danish ferry operator DFDS from Harwich in Essex to Esbjerg, the mini-cruises involve 2 nights onboard and 2 nights in Billund. The boat-trips are an adventure in themselves, with a welcome aboard by a giant blue parrot, a LEGO-themed play area for kids and a busy program of children’s entertainment, including magic shows, treasure hunts and limbo-dancing contests. The highlight, for my kids at least, was a visit to the bridge, where my 7-year-old was delighted to get the chance to sit in the captain’s seat in front of a bank of glowing instruments. The journey takes about 18hrs so you get buffet breakfast and dinner on both outward and homeward trips. We found our six-bunk inside cabin on the outward journey more than adequate to our needs, although the 4-berth with sea-view on our homeward trip was roomier (and also had a TV, which we didn’t use).

Hotel Legoland overlooking the themepark has various themed (and standard) bedrooms sleeping up to six, plus two family-friendly restaurants serving surprisingly good food. Better-value, however, is the Lalandia holiday village across the road from the LEGOLAND entrance, with funkily furnished self-catering lodges and a vast leisure complex that includes a superb aquadome that puts all waterparks we’ve been to in the UK to shame, the Monky Tonky Land playland, and plenty of other attractions including ten-pin bowling and adventure golf. 

LEGOLAND itself was a big hit with all the family, with a highlight for the older boys being the new-in-2011 Star Wars area within Miniland, with fantastically detailed reconstructions of some of the key scenes from the movie (Legoland UK sees a similar Star Wars area opening this season). They also loved the Toyota Driving School, which allowed them to get their own licences to take home with them. The best ride, perhaps, for us all as a family was the gentle log flume, taking you past a series of vignettes with more amazingly well-rendered LEGO animals before final splash-down. 

Back at Esbjerg, we spent a worthwhile afternoon at the Fiskeri og Sofartsmuseet, with thought-provoking displays on the local fishing industry and seafaring in general. It’s saved from being dry by the inclusion of an aquarium, a sealarium with daily feeding displays, a colony of minks, the best playground I’ve seen at any museum, and even an old World War II bunker to explore. Its family-friendly café looks right out onto the famous landmark Mennesket ved Havet or ‘Men of the Sea’, a 9m-tall monument depicting four men looking out at the North Sea. We walked off our seafood lunch on Sædding Beach in front of the monument, dipped our toes into the icy North Sea and then warmed up over hot chocolates in a café in Esbjerg before taking to the waves for the homeward trip. 

The shapeheads, clutching the obligatory bags of new sets from the LEGOLAND on-site shop in their sweaty mitts, were already talking of their return to the themepark, which this year sees the opening of Polar Land, with a fantastic-sounding snowmobile rollercoaster that will take riders past a colony of real penguins.

DFDS Seaways 4-night Legoland breaks staying at Lalandia Billund depart 3 times a week from April onwards and cost from £279pp based on 4 sharing a standard en-suite cabin. Alternatively, a 3-night Legoland break spending all 3 nights on the ship costs from £170pp and departs 23 October 2012.

DFDS also runs holidays and short breaks to Center Parcs on the Continent and to various attractions and cities, including Amsterdam.

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