What an incredible experience! I was lucky enough to be selected for this year’s Inside Tour. Thank you to everyone who was on the tour for making it such a memorable experience. The team at the Lego house and everywhere else we visited were incredible and went above and beyond at every opportunity. This is truly a once in a lifetime experience and it was worth every penny.
The Lego inside tour starts by arriving at Legoland Hotel in Billund on a Tuesday where you will hopefully get a good nights sleep (unless you’re like me and far too excited!) ready for 3 days of Lego fun!
On day one we started by meeting the other 34 people on the tour and along with the inside tour team at the Lego House. After a brief introduction we then headed off to the Lego ideas house where we were met by actual Lego historians, who knew such a job existed! The guides then took us on a tour around the original buildings that Ole Kirk Christiansen used to work out of when he started his carpentry business that would one day become the Lego Group!
After an amazing insight into the company’s incredible, rich history we then got to the room that any Lego fan has only dreamt of, the Lego vault. Inside the Lego vault is EVERY single set that the Lego group has made (retail available sets only) the Lego vault was like a trip back in time to my childhood where I was able to see all of my favourite sets from when I was a kid. It was a dream come true!
After an hour that went by quicker than a child unwrapping their first Lego set at Christmas, we headed back over to the Lego House for lunch. This was a great time to sit and chat with our fellow inside tour participants and talk about all of the amazing Lego memories we had just unlocked!
After lunch we met actual Lego designers who had made some incredible Lego sets. We were even lucky enough to be shown a new Lego set that still has not been revealed to the public, safe to say it BLEW MY MIND!
After the presentation from the designers, we had some time to ourselves to explore the Lego house or just go back to the hotel and chill out and dream about everything we had just seen.
A couple of hours later we headed back to the Lego House where we actually sat and had dinner with Lego designers. This was a fantastic opportunity to pick the designers brains, ask a million and one questions about of favourite sets, and, of course, try and get them to leak new sets to us! (Not that it worked of course…)
After dinner we headed back into our Inside Tour room where we basically had a Lego Masters brick room waiting for us. This was our chance to design a Lego set with a little help from the designers, we even had a chance to win some epic prizes! I decided to build a Formula 1 Pit Stop challenge (keep reading to find out if I won an award…)
At 9:00pm, 12 and a half hour after we first met up in the morning, the day at the Lego House was over. But the Lego building certainly was not! We were allowed to take as many parts as we wanted back to the hotel to finish our models. Of course I stayed up until a ridiculous hour trying to perfect every detail on my Lego set!
After a short sleep, it was time to meet up again at the hotel reception and we had to submit our final designs for the designer competition. Once again we headed over to the Lego house where we were met by a team from the moulding department at Lego. After a short presentation, it was time for one of the best parts of the inside tour, the tour of an actual Lego factory!
As we all clamoured into the coach ready for the 10 minute drive to the Lego factory, you could feel the excitement in the air! Now, unfortunately but understandably, we were not allowed to take any photos or videos inside the factory but it was still one of the highlights of the trip! We got to see actual Lego bricks being made by the huge moulding machines, conveyor belts shifting thousands of Lego bricks constantly and a high bay warehouse full of Lego bricks. The factory at Billund is actually the smallest Lego factory in the world but it is still a HUGE place!
Fresh off the production line, we headed off to the Lego HQ for lunch where we were able to sit in the canteen with all of the Lego employees! It is safe to say, there is a lot of them. After lunch we had some free time in the Lego HQ which was super cool to just be mixing with the Lego employees and it looks like an incredible place to work. There is rooftop mini golf, amazing Lego displays, coffee shops and much more.
After our free time, we got to go to a magical place, a place that you hear rumours about, a place that will make your wallet laugh and cry at the same time. It was time for the Lego Employees store.
The Lego employee store is one of the biggest Lego stores I have ever step foot in but there is one main difference, everything is HALF PRICE (or better!)
Being a guest of the inside tour we were given a free shipping box (about 60x50x50cm) and 2 whole hours to shop until we dropped! For me, I actually had to make a trip to the hotel to drop stuff off and go back to the store to buy even more Lego! The employee store even had some retired sets, gift with purchases you could pickup for super cheap, and a vast array of never seen before Lego items.
Once our time was up in the employee store, we were given a much needed couple of hours off. (I think most of us needed to try and forget how much we had just spent!)
After a couple of hours off it was back with the Lego designers for another dinner and awards ceremony for our set designs! This was probably the best evening as we played games, won awards and even had ANOTHER exclusive set reveal. And when I say this set is mind blowing, I mean it.
As the evening went on I found myself almost a little disappointed as we had gotten to the final award and I had won nothing! Then as the nominations were called out I had to pinch myself as I was nominated for best overall model! As the drumroll echoed throughout the room, I could feel my palms sweating, knee jerking and my forehead perspire.
Unfortunately I did not actually win the award! But the lady who did win was a deserving winner overall! After the awards, we all had a chance to mingle with designers, hear their stories and get all of our Lego signed! As the night drew to a close, I think we all needed our beds ready after a hectic few days, ready for our final day on the inside tour.
The next day was the same morning routine of meeting up at the Lego House, I could get used to this! We started the day off with a couple more presentations from some amazing people before we had a guided tour of the Lego House.
For me this was cool but nothing too special as I had been to the Lego House about 6 months ago. It was still great to hear about how the Lego House project came to become a reality and see all of the little Easter eggs throughout.
After our tour it was time for our final meal as a group before the grand unveiling…
We headed back into our room, the curtains closed and there was a big black question marked box on the table. It was time for the moment we had all been waiting for. It was time to meet our exclusive Lego inside tour set.
I cannot say too much about the set as it will not be revealed until 21/06 but I do believe we have been given the best Lego inside tour set ever!
As the presentation drew to a close, so did our time on the official Lego inside tour. But we did still have a couple of hours to look around the Lego house by ourselves or with our new friends from the tour! Then at four o’clock, as the Lego House closed, so did our time on the inside tour.
The inside tour is the ultimate Lego fan experience. If anyone gets the chance to do it, I would absolutely advise you to do so! It was one of the best experiences I have ever had and I met some amazing people along the way. Now as I write this I have been checking constantly for shipping updates on my package from the Lego employee shop, waiting for all of my new sets to arrive. But don’t worry, I already took 2 full suitcases of Lego home with me, so I have more than enough to keep me busy whilst I wait!
Thank you again to everyone who I had the absolute pleasure of spending 3+ days with in Billund! It was amazing.