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Health & Fitness

LegoLand, Florida: Not Just Bricks and Mortar

Planning a visit to Florida this Winter? Check out this blog about LegoLand — Florida's newest attraction

It’s always dangerous to plan a family vacation around a theme park that’s been in existence for less than 2 months — but that didn’t stop this blogger (and his family) from traveling to LegoLand in Winter Haven, Fla.  Knowing that many Glen Rock families spend a week or so in Florida over the winter, I wanted to provide some insight on this park.

First, don’t ask the locals in the Disney area — no one has really visited the park. It’s pretty far from the main attractions in Disney (roughly 45 minutes), but it’s a nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of Disney & Co. From a theme park perspective, it reminded me of places like Sesame Place and Dutch Wonderland, but there were some features that made it extremely unique — particularly the constructed Legos throughout the park.

We were able to purchase our tickets at a discount upon arriving in Orlando and, unlike Disney, LegoLand will accept printouts of the tickets. You can also buy them at the door, but they’re more expensive. You can probably find a deal online for a $60 adult ticket.

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Why should you go?  The park is perfect for kids ages 4 to 10 (particularly boys who build Legos in any capacity). Anyone 6 and up can ride (and enjoy) any ride, and even the 2- to 5-year-olds will have many rides they can enjoy. The “roller coasters” are very tame — none do loops and the scariest one has a relatively short drop — and the park is extremely manageable from a walking perspective. The Lego models around the park are absolutely incredible, particularly MiniLand USA where LegoLand has constructed entire US cities built out of Legos (check this out at the end of your trip).

Why should you avoid? If the lines are long, the park may become a challenge for even the most patient adult. It’s pretty far away from the major attractions in the Disney World area and the park hours aren’t as friendly as Disney (we went when the hours were 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.).  The park is also closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. If your kids love the fast-paced rides, they will probably be bored by the attractions.

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Park Entry: It costs $14 for onsite parking, although there’s a mall across the street that advertises the ability to park there for free (you have to cross a highway at a light). We were able to get a 2 day pass ($75/adult and $60/child); however, we were able to complete the park in a day. We went on a Thursday, arrived early and they opened the park 10 minutes early. There were lots of class trips there, but wait times for rides were less than 10 minutes, and we were able to ride multiple times without getting off of the rides. People did bring in coolers of food, but that may change as the California park does not allow for outside food to enter. Note, LegoLand also has shuttles from the Disney area but there is a cost of $5/adult and $3/child.

Navigation: The park is spread out fairly well, but like all parks, I’d recommend getting there early and starting from the back. There are no “fast pass” options at LegoLand.

Coolest attractions: I actually enjoyed taking my kids on all of the rides at this park, although some of the rides in Duplo Village were really babyish, even for my 3-year-old. Here are a few of the attractions we liked the best. 

  • Ford Driving School (5+). Kids are able to drive an electronic Lego car around a simulated driver’s course with real stoplights, lanes and other cars.  They have free reign on controlling the car (not anchored to a track) and at the conclusion you can purchase their official Lego driver’s license for $15 (along with a driver’s license mug shot). They even have a version for the younger kids. 
  • Built and Test (all ages).  Think of the Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby with Legos and no trips to the emergency room for Dad. Kids are provided four Lego wheels and can construct their own vehicle to race down various tracks. There is also an earthquake simulator where kids can create buildings out of Duplo blocks, turn on the shaker and see if the building can withstand the tremors.  My kids spent about an hour in this area
  • Pharaoh’s Revenge (all ages). All of my kids — 3, 7 and 10 — loved this ride. It’s essentially a two-level roped in jungle gym where the upper level can shoot sponge balls at the lower level — imagine the fun of blasting Dad! Best part is there’s no line for this ride.
  • Flight School (height restriction). My 7- and 10-year-olds rode this dangling roller coaster five times each (legs hang out and body is strapped in).  It wasn’t really a smooth ride, but it was probably the fastest paced one in the entire park. My recommendation is to start on this one (and Driving School) and then work back toward the front of the park.
  • Other attractions my kids enjoyed: Lost Kingdom Adventure, Beetle Bounce, Safari Trek

 

Worst Attractions

  • Granny Jalopies. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Cars that go around in a 50 foot circle.  Super boring.
  • The Shows. If you’re going to Disney, don’t waste your time planning the Lego trip around the shows. My kids actually liked the water skiing show in Pirates Cove. The choreography was off and one person dressed as a Lego pirate almost drowned while we were there. It’s very buggy in the area as well and I was bit by an unidentified insect.
  • Royal Joust. Throughout the day, my 3-year-old couldn’t wait to ride this one.  It’s essentially a Merry-Go-Round that goes around a track instead of a circle. Besides the driver’s test, this was the only ride with a height (36”) and age (4) restriction. The ride itself was kind of cool, but thumbs down on the age restriction on this ride.

Overall, I would give this park 3.5 out of 5 bricks.  If you’re going to Disney for a week, this might be a nice park to break up the visit, particularly if you go during the week when the park isn’t crowded. Don’t spend more than a day at LegoLand as you won’t want to do the 45 minute trip twice (although they’re adding a water park in the Summer of 2012, so you may need the extra time).  However, if you have a 4- to 10-year-old who is a bit reluctant to ride the big rides, this park is for you. If you want more information, please ask questions in the comments section and I will do my best to respond.

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