I WAS thrilled at the chance to try out the new attractions for this year at Legoland Windsor Resort, including Lego Reef, where fans can create underwater creatures out of virtual Lego bricks before waving them off into a floor to ceiling digital reef.

Little ones can also look out for new attractions for the 2018 season, including additions to the world-famous Miniland from across the globe.

Being my first trip to the theme park, we decided to try and get the main rides under our belts during the day and headed straight for the rapids, or Vikings' River Splash, to find the queue was a bearable 20 minutes or so and moving quickly.

The six-seat Viking vessels were loaded to capacity, which meant riding with strangers, but it all added to the fun of getting thrown from side to side and no doubt contributed to those bearable queue times, so well done Legoland for that. It was a longer ride than at other parks and started the day off well.

We went straight for the log flume next, or Pirate Falls Treasure Quest, which starts as a leisurely boat ride with the odd water spray thrown in for good measure with pirate-themed tableaux to please the eye but then ascends to a fairly great height, and try as we might not to get wet, we did indeed get soaked.

Feeling the need to get away from the crowds after a spot of lunch in the picnic area, we visited the Lego Star Wars Miniland model display, which took an unbelievable 8,000 man hours and over 1.5 million bricks to create the 1,500 models.

Seven of the most famous scenes from the six Star Wars movies are brought to life with authentic sounds and lighting effects to add to the spectacle.

It was remarkably quiet inside the exhibition, which gave us plenty of time to marvel at the wonders that had been created, and we were especially impressed with the Tatooine scene, which includes a clear dome where children can duck underneath and get truly immersed in the make-believe harsh desert world. Also impressive in size and complexity was the Lego Death Star surrounded by an army of TIE fighters and the chance for the children to have the photo taken lightsaber duelling Darth Vader at the very end.

Next we headed for Miniland where visitors this summer can wander through iconic new landmarks made entirely of Lego bricks in Miniland USA, from the 47,000-brick Taj Mahal in India to the Statue of Liberty and the 4.4m tall Empire State Building.

Windsor Castle has been recreated entirely from Lego bricks, complete with a royal wedding scene including a 10cm tall HRH Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

We were impressed by the sheer size of this area of the park, including scenes from many different countries, our favourites being the ones fairly local to us, Stonehenge and Glastonbury Tor, and we could have spent a lot longer admiring the models.

The underwater submarine ride, Atlantis, was next on our list. The walk there took us past the impressive-looking Drench Towers, which sits high up in Duplo Valley, said to be the largest water play structure in the UK.

The queue for Atlantis was fairly long, but we were kept amused by various Lego displays and the cheery guys taking photos boosted our spirits.

There was room for two families in each vessel and we immersed ourselves in an underwater adventure, taking in an array of underwater life, including sharks, coupled with Lego figures in a mythical quest for the ancient ruins of Atlantis.

Once back on dry land, we caught the Pirates of Skeleton Bay show in the middle of Heartlake City, which was an adrenaline-fuelled display of acrobatics, daring stunts and swashbuckling fun.

As a finale to our day, we were desperate on get on classic coaster The Dragon, where we explored the depths of the castle in Knight's Kingdom, before zooming off and flying through the treetops. It does get very popular, and Q-bots are available to avoid the wait, to make the most of your time in the park.

Despite us ticking off most things on our to-do list, there is still so much that we didn't get time to explore, so a return visit would definitely include a trip to Lego Ninjago World, the Raft Racers in Duplo Valley and much of Kingdom of the Pharoahs.

* Until September 2, Legoland Windsor Resort will be hosting its first-ever Summer of Fun event, which will invite guests to join an awesome Beach Party built just for kids, hosted at the resort's new 10m long sandy beach, with a host of beach activities for all the family to enjoy.

Also it has unveiled its first giant sand sculpture. The 20-tonne creation, depicting a family of huge Lego Minifigures enjoying the summer sun on the beach, will be sure to wow guests.

Park ticket prices

• Tickets from £32 on selected dates, when booked online at least seven days in advance.