A tale of three Legolands

I ALWAYS wanted to make holiday memories for my children that would last them a lifetime. When my son and daughter were small, we flew to Denmark to stay at Legoland, in the landscape of my son's dreams, where he could live side by side with his favourite toys.

I took him to a Legoland in England, too - and, later, the family spent an afternoon at the Legoland Malaysia Resort.

The kids are in high school now, but I would do it all again. Part of me wishes that I had that chance.

Legoland Billund Resort is the original Legoland, opened in 1968 next to the first Lego factory. It stretches out over 14 hectares and includes more than 50 attractions and nine themed areas: the kids' favourite was the medieval Knights' Kingdom.

I arrived at the resort the night before my family, and must have cut an odd and lonely figure as a single man drinking Danish beer in the bar of Hotel Legoland, listening to a pianist play lounge tunes. But it turned out I was not half as strange as the pianist, who was made of Lego.

A night at Hotel Legoland was the best gift I ever gave to my son. He was enraptured by the (small) free Lego set he received as an arrival gift on his bed, but he also loved the feature wall that displays every mini-figure ever made, the Pirate Splash Battle (I enjoyed that, too) and the Egyptian-themed Temple Ride.

Everything in Legoland Billund either looks like Lego or is built from Lego. The buffet at the Panorama Restaurant even serves Duplo fries - hot, rectangular chips, studded like plastic bricks.

My son received his Legoland driving licence at the Renault Traffic School in Billund. This meant that he had a driving licence before me (I still don't. I've failed my test six times in Australia and once in Fiji).

LOCATION: Billund is a long way from anywhere except, for example, Egtved, Jelling and Vejle. But from the UK, there are direct flights from London, Manchester and Edinburgh to Billund Airport, the second-busiest airport in Denmark (and once a private airport for Lego). There are a handful of bars and restaurants in Billund, including Mini Chef at the museum, Lego House, where the food is served by robots.

KIDS' BEST MEMORY: The Lego spider on the bathroom wall (my son claimed it reminded him of home). legoland.dk

Legoland Windsor Resort was the world's second Legoland, opened in 1996. Before the pandemic, it was the most visited theme park in the UK, attracting about 2.4 million visitors every year - and most of them chose to visit on the same day as me.

By far the most popular activity in Legoland Windsor is queueing up for rides.

Luckily, however, an adult can wait with a pint of lager from the Skyline Bar.

There are 55 rides and attractions set on 60 hectares in Windsor, so there are always a couple of lines that are relatively short.

London made of Lego is a highlight of the Miniland, and we enjoyed travelling on the Legoland Express (because the one thing my son liked as much as Lego was trains).

LOCATION: Legoland Windsor sits in the beautiful historic county of Berkshire, about 40 kilometres west of Central London and only 20 kilometres from Heathrow Airport. It is a 10-minute drive from Windsor Castle, the most stunning royal site in the home counties.

KIDS' BEST MEMORY: Panning for gold at the Pirate Goldwash was a real highlight. Successful miners can trade their gold dust for a medallion. This medallion was (inexplicably) highly prized by my son. legoland.co.uk

Legoland Malaysia Resort opened in 2012 in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, the first Legoland in Asia. With only 40 attractions, it is smaller and easier to get around.

We visited on my daughter's birthday. It was a surprise for the kids: we didn't tell them where we were going and they missed the road signs because they were too busy fighting in the back of the taxi. It was a very hot day - as it often is in Johor - and they spent most of their time on the slides and rides in the expansive Water Park.

Wandering Minifigures - or, rather, people dressed up as them - have a strong presence here, and offer children the unusual experience of being smaller than Minifigures.

Since we last visited, the resort has added a Sea Life underwater restaurant, where diners can eat a four-course meal while surrounded by sharks and tropical fish. This would have been a huge hit with my family.

LOCATION: The single greatest advantage of Legoland Malaysia is that it is the closest Legoland to Australia and it's an easy daytrip from Singapore.

My son's Lego - once his pride - is mostly boxed up and forgotten. His dreams have moved on.

It's my eyes that brim with tears when I think about our travels in Legolands.

I made memories for myself too.