There are times when you just need to scream. And I’ve learned, a good place to scream is Legoland.

Little T has two and half weeks off of school this month for his fall holiday. As a trip back to Canada unfortunately wasn’t possible, I wanted to find something we could afford to do during his holidays. Legoland in nearby Denmark seemed like a good idea to Little T. And having him bring along a friend seemed like a brilliant idea to Hubby and I. So off we went last Monday for our two day and one night of Legoland adventure.

I have never been to Denmark before and was excited to see a new country. Even though Denmark is part of the EU (but their money is not), they still had border control with a number of parked police cars and one officer looking inside each passing vehicle to decide whether they could continue driving through or were pulled over. We got waved to continue driving. Maybe they could tell there were two boys in the back in desperate need of Legoland.

My first impression of Denmark is that there are a lot of trees. And more trees. And even more trees. I was beginning to wonder if there was only Legoland within this continuing forest of trees. Turns out I was right. Apparently Germans like to vacation in Denmark, especially in the summer, as the coast is apparently quite beautiful and summer cottages are inexpensive to rent. Maybe one day we will see if this is true.

We decided to stay at the Legoland Hotel located right on the Legoland park. Although our room wasn’t available when we arrived, it didn’t matter as we were planning to spend the afternoon in Legoland. The minute we entered the park, the boys tore off in search of the Achterbahns (roller coasters). They had no interest in seeing the amazing villages and displays all made out of Lego. They wanted to scream.

The best part about going to an amusement park a few weeks before they close for the season is that there are barely any line-ups to get on the rides. Judging from the snake-like rows of bars and number of Lego play stations placed within, the line-ups apparently can get quite long (likely in warmer weather). Even though the air was crisp, we were fortunate that it didn’t rain during the two days we were there and there were lots of sunny breaks that felt good while sitting on the bench waiting for the kids to be finished a ride (or two, or ten as the kids took advantage of no line-ups!).

Having Little T bring a friend along, as I mentioned earlier was a brilliant idea. Not only did this give Daddy a break from going on every ride over, and over, and over again, but it turns out that the Legoland hotel is well-designed to keep kids entertained outside of the hotel room. So while Hubby and I relaxed in our room with a glass of wine before dinner, Little T and his friend kept busy playing inside the hotel lobby at all the various Lego building stations and Wii room (which, of course, offered Lego games). A mini-vacation for Hubby and me too!

We had dinner at the hotel, which was a buffet meal. Being we were at a family-oriented hotel with a buffet offering, we didn’t have high expectations for a gourmet meal. Turns out we were pleasantly wrong (and I love when that happens). Upon entering the restaurant they had a lower table designed for smaller guests to make their own selections filled with lots of kid-fav options such as pasta, sausages, and french fries but they also offered salads, cooked vegetables and bread. The other tables were higher and more adult-oriented with one table offering only a cheese and bread selection (dessert for us!), another with fresh fish and salads, and another closer to the kitchen offering baked lamb, roast beef, chicken, potatoes and roasted vegetables. And the best part? After wolfing down their meals in three minutes, Little T and his friend resumed playing in the hotel lobby, leaving Hubby and I completely alone for two hours to have our meal together. It doesn’t get much better than that.

The only downfall about the hotel is that the bathrooms don’t have locks. This is normally not an issue when you are staying as a family, but when you have a little guest along it can be slightly awkward. But again, the boys were outside of the room first thing in the morning to resume playing so I quickly took advantage to have my shower without some small little guest walking in. Screaming should be reserved for the park only.

Hubby suggested that he take care of checking out and packing up the car while I take the boys to Legoland on the second day. I offered to help take at least one load to the car so he wouldn’t have to make two trips, but he insisted that he would take care of everything even though it would be a very long time before he would be able to meet up with us at Legoland. (Hmmmmm….!). So, off the boys and I went the minute the doors opened up.

First stop, unsurprisingly, was a roller coaster. The day before I managed to get out of having to go on any big roller coaster rides, as Hubby did the honours while I sat on the bench and soaked up the sun. Little T begged me to go on the ride with them, even though I informed him that I was very afraid (and I was!).  Having a hard time saying no, off I went with wobbly legs and my heart racing.

As a child, I remember loving roller coasters. Why is it that as an adult I grew to be afraid of them? I reluctantly climbed into the back of the cart beside Little T with his little friend in the front and off we went. The cart slowly inched its way up the hill (they design roller coasters this way on purpose!), stopped for a few seconds at the top to really pump your body full of adrenaline, then WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSHHHHHHH (sound of the cart) and AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! (only sound coming from me) and we were down the hill. In ten seconds my big fearful ride was over. And I realized, it wasn’t so bad! So off I went to do the other scary roller coasters. Who knew going AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! could feel so good?!

After a number of exhilarating rides, I overheard Little T asking his friend if he wanted to sit beside me on the next one.

“Nah,” he said. “She screams too much.”