My kids were thrilled to learn they'd be visiting LEGOLAND Florida on our trip to Orlando. They've been reading about the park in the free LEGO Life magazine and had a taste of what might be in store at a 2016 visit to LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Grapevine. I planned our day in the park a bit blindly. I found the online map and website a little overwhelming, so I asked a friend who had visited what her must-do rides were and then read a few reviews online to direct our day. We had a late start and arrived around noon. We were a bit confused by a relatively empty parking lot and when paying for parking I asked the attendant how busy the day was. I was through the moon when he replied " Slow! " Even two hours after opening, we got great parking near the entrance, had no lines at the gates and then just had to navigate to the nearest ride.
What makes the queues at LEGOLAND unique is that virtually all of rides have a Play Area for kids to enter at the front of the queue and exit at the end of the queue (right before you get on the ride). This area has several fixed brick plates and Duplo blocks to play with. Our kids ran into a few issues with brick hogs not wanting to share, but they enjoyed the break from waiting in line. The lines moved swiftly and in many cases we found walk-on rides without a line! The light crowds were a huge, welcome change from the previous day went spent at crowded Magic Kingdom.
My three year olds met quite a few height restriction roadblocks and all of my kids were measured by employees at most rides. A few more thrilling rides are open to kids 48 " and higher (something to look forward to on our next trip!). As a family of 5, we met some issues with rides that only allowed for 2 riders per car, but we had no issues asking for single adult riders to ride with our oldest son. My kids loved the mild thrill coasters Coastersaurus and particularly The Dragon (which we rode twice!). My husband and oldest son loved Project X, though this 4 person coaster is being transformed into The Great LEGO Race, a new ride that will add virtual reality technology to the roller coaster thrills. My littlest kids loved the independence of driving their own car at Ford Jr. Driving School and my oldest son loved the big kid Ford Driving School. The whole family was excited to shoot laser targets in the Lost Kingdom Adventure and due to no lines we rode a few times in a row. The first ride we chose, Safari Trek, was a bit of a dud with auto-driving Jeeps touring giant LEGO jungle animal sculptures. I would definitely suggest starting your day with one of the more thrilling rides.
I chatted up a family behind us in the line for the Boating School ride and their favorite ride was LEGO NINJAGO The Ride, which we had walked right past previously. After quickly speeding through a ginormous empty queue (leading me to believe this is one of their most popular attractions), we went on one of the funnest rides of my life. This ride is quite similar to Toy Story Mania at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios in that you are wearing 3D glasses and moved quickly from screen battle to screen battle. What makes LEGO NINJAGO The Ride unique is that instead of using a laser gun, you use your hand motions for ninja chops, fireball blasts, etc. I found it exhausting and my husband never got the hang of it, which is clearly how I reigned with my high score! Outside of the ride is LEGO NINJAGO World, full of fun active ninja experiences and character meet and greets.
Something I was excited to read about in other reviews was that you can trade Minifigurines with any Model Citizen (LEGOLAND Employee), similar to pin trading at Walt Disney World. Ahead of our trip I bought a handful of minifigs for my kids to trade with. The minifigs must be genuine LEGO and complete with hair or hat, head, body and legs. Based on the website description and reviews we thought we had to look for a specific vested employee, but it turns out you can trade with any employee in the park. Each store also has a trading board for swapping. My kids really got into looking at each employees name badge and checking out the boards. We even started with a few minifigs without hair or hat and employees were happy to trade for a similar minifig or give us a hat for a complete trade (which was easiest at a store). We scored Master Wu and Corn Cob Guy among other fun trades!
One day with limited hours wasn't enough time to fully experience all LEGOLAND Florida has to offer. We could have easily visited an additional day as I felt like we missed quite a bit, even after a full day of rides. We missed walking through the botanical gardens at the historic Cypress Gardens, wandering around the models at Miniland USA, creatively building at the Imagination Zone, romping around the open playground areas and watching the water ski show and 4D movie. There were also a few closed rides and the water park that would make a longer visit worthwhile. If you've found your Orlando trip overwhelmed with crowds at other parks, LEGOLAND Florida may be a welcome respite!
The LEGOLAND Florida Resort is about 45 minutes from the Orlando theme parks or downtown Tampa at One LEGOLAND Way, Winter Haven, FL 33884. Tickets online start at $79.99 for adults and $74.99 for children with advanced purchase. A shuttle is also available for guests staying in Orlando. Visit their website to start your trip planning!
