Blocks picks up a putter and goes from the medieval world to outer space to see how LEGOLAND Adventure Golf scores as a new LEGO experience.
LEGOLAND Adventure Golf is a new experience at LEGOLAND Windsor Resort and it’s the first of its kind in the world. It’s packed with inspiration from beloved LEGO themes including Space, Castle, Pirates and City.
Over the past decade or so, the crazy golf, or mini golf, game has really changed in the UK. Up until the 2000s, it typically meant a poorly maintained course at the seaside. Since then though, crazy golf courses have opened up as indoor attractions in city centres across the country and shown that they can be delivered to a really high standard – and are easier to maintain without adverse weather to contend with.
It makes perfect sense for LEGOLAND theme parks to get in on the action, because of course there are so many awesome LEGO worlds to place the crazy golf courses within. LEGOLAND Adventure Golf is entirely indoor and requires a separate ticket to LEGOLAND Windsor Resort. That offers a couple of advantages – firstly, it means that the golf is open when the theme park is closed for winter, and secondly, you can customise your day; there’s no obligation to visit the theme park if all you want to do is putt the ball.
LEGOLAND Adventure Golf makes an excellent first impression – there’s a giant golf ball outside of the brand new building that houses the courses. Inside there’s a café for getting a coffee and a cake, alongside the desk where you can pay for however many games you like.
This experience takes full advantage of the LEGO Group’s most beloved and long-running topics – there are four nine-hole courses. While of course you can choose just to do one or two, if you’ve taken the time to get there it’s very tempting to play all four. The themes are Pirate Voyage, Medieval Village, Space Mission and City Adventure.
The theming of each course is absolutely excellent. The majority of the large props and decorations are giant, upscaled LEGO elements, but there are also some props that are actually built out of LEGO bricks, including the kraken’s tentacles. LEGO fans will notice lots of authentic details from real sets, with characters like Captain Redbeard and a Forest Guardian turning up.
For those not immersed in the LEGO world it’s still great fun, with nice gags like pirates in a hot tub. In particular the LEGO City course leans into the LEGO City Adventures silliness for several holes, with a brave stuntperson tackling a challenge in a bathtub.
There is real quality and attention to detail in all of the decoration and theming, taking it to a higher level than LEGOLAND attractions have in recent years. The four distinct courses sitting alongside each other really helps demonstrate this as they are all so unique. Overall, it definitely feels like a level up. This is hugely helped by very suitable lighting that enhances all of the colourful characters and props.
But how is it as a game of mini golf? Merlin Entertainments could have easily phoned this in, relying on the LEGO theming to keep families happy and not worrying about the quality of the game itself. Clearly the team behind this wanted to do it right way though, because the holes are excellent – in fact, some of them are surprisingly challenging considering that much of the target audience is children. This is definitely on par with other indoor mini golfs.
Particularly for adults, it can be tricky to find LEGO attractions to enjoy without children – LEGOLAND parks skew towards families and LEGOLAND Discovery Centres are targeted specifically at children – but this is suitable for a group of adults. Of course, it would also be perfect for a family looking for an alternative to rollercoasters.
It’s easy to imagine that the courses might be a bit tricky when the venue is busy; there isn’t a lot of spare space for waiting between holes. Visiting when the park’s closed though is a simple way to avoid the crowds though – and given how quiet it was on the day of Blocks’ visit, it is probably worth going sooner rather than later.
And if you love LEGO bricks and love mini golf, you certainly should visit LEGOLAND Adventure Golf. It’s well-executed, both in terms of the themed environments and the quality of the holes you play through. With four nine hole courses, it would be very easy to have a little tournament over a couple of hours. Even the price of £10 per round (when booked online in advance), compared to similar indoor mini golf, is pretty reasonable.