Think about a one day trip to Billund - any tips?

BooTheMightyHamster

I vaguely remember others saying that a one day, round trip to Billund is do-able.  I quite fancy trying this - I'm only really looking to have a look around the Lego House and hit the shop for some Billund exclusives - no funfair trips etc required.

I'm in London, so getting to Heathrow, Stanstead, Luton or City airport is not difficult.  Wondered if anyone had done the trip recently, had any tips on travel and what are the must-see's while you're there?

Also, is one day sensible?  Is there enough to see to warrant a longer stay?  I'll be travelling alone, so no children to consider.

Thanks!

The_Rancor

This is something I haven’t done yet myself but had done some research for before. I’ll assume you might want to go on a Saturday or Sunday because I would when I try it.

There’s a handful of flights that go from Heathrow and maybe the other London airports around 7am or just after - and get you to Billund close to 10am. This works quite well for the Lego House as it doesn’t open until 10am anyway so you could book a 10:30am or 11am start time on your ticket. I’d recommend that you spend at least 3 hours inside the main ticketed part of the Lego House because there’s so much to explore - the archive/museum in the basement floor should take at least an hour on its own to look round properly.

If you’re willing to spend a little extra money and time for lunch to keep you going I enjoyed the Mini Chef when I went to the Lego House before. So you could be having that around 2-3pm. The food is surprisingly good and the ordering system by scanning in bricks is fun. The only criticism I might have is that the food isn’t mega sizzling when it arrives because it has to go across all the conveyors and down to the robots for them to serve it.

Of course after lunch you’d have time to browse and purchase at the Lego House store mid-afternoon before you leave. By that point you might have a little time to look out and about around the Lego House but there are flights leaving after 6:30pm so you’d be needing to get back to the airport a bit before then. You could of course leave later but there’s not much you could do later in the day when you’re on a day trip.

Obviously flights and opening times differ a little throughout the year - but a few points I noticed on the ‘one day trip’ idea anyway. I enjoy adding an extra day to go around and ride the rides in Legoland but it’s not for everyone.

The_Rancor

Something else I didn’t mention in my original comment - but probably common knowledge anyway. You might want to set aside at least 15 mins more than you usually would before leaving at Billund airport, to check out their store. Not only is there the Billund Airport Architecture exclusive but there’s also sometimes random sets that have been discontinued elsewhere, or random polybags/GWPs that might catch your attention (assuming you still have any room in your luggage). It might be worth paying extra for hold luggage if you’re intending on buying a lot of sets that you’re going to open/build (though you might want to keep rarer/MISB ones in your hand luggage to avoid as much damage as possible).

Ian_S

When I looked into this as a possibility there was only one airline that made it feasible based on flight schedules leaving from "London" airports (the blue & yellow one that I wanted to avoid).  So if anyone has managed to do a one-day trip via any other carriers I'd certainly be interested to hear. 

alijoezac

We did it a few years ago using Ryanair from Stansted, it is a long day, the night before we stopped at a hotel near the airport because the flight left about 7am. On arrival we caught the bus to LEGOLand and were there for about four hours, then walked to Billund for the shops and the LEGO House.  We had dinner in the upstairs restaurant at the House, it's really nice, and then walked back to the airport.  Think flight left about 9pm but was delayed an hour.
If you are just doing the House there's plenty of time.  Yes, a trip to the airport shop is a good idea, it's in departures.
We are going again in August with BA from LHR but the flight times are no good for a daytrip and because it was such a long day last time we are stopping a few nights and exploring the wider area.

BooTheMightyHamster

Thanks all.  I might go in the week, rather than at a weekend, as I'm guessing it might be quieter.

Is there a language barrier?  I'm afraid my Danish is non-existent, although I'll make an effort to learn "Hello, Please, Thank you" etc.

Huw

No language barrier -- everyone speaks fluent English there.

The_Rancor

BooTheMightyHamster said:

Thanks all.  I might go in the week, rather than at a weekend, as I'm guessing it might be quieter.

I haven’t checked yet to see if the flights are roughly the same on a weekday, but be aware that the Lego House tends to close as a whole slightly earlier on weekdays than at weekends. I think they extend their closing hours slightly in May, and perhaps again for peak Summer season though, so that may offset it if you’re not literally going in the next couple of weeks.

keithsimpson

Doing a round trip on Saturday 7.30 from Stansted back home on the 22:45 landing at 23:20, have done this trip a few times never a problem 

jonboy2000

Anyone have any tips for cheap parking at Stanstead?