Legoland is just a few days shy from 30 days until the grand opening of the park on October 15th. Since our last construction tour back in the beginning of August, so much has changed. With a little over a month left, Legoland has really come together, but they aren’t quite finished yet. Legoland is becoming more noticeable a bit further away from the park.
Coming from the very east coast of Florida, we take route 60 to route 27 to get to Legoland. Legoland is becoming more prominent in the area around the park, even miles down the road. Road signs as far as on Route 60 right before the Route 27 turn off have been updated to display directions to Legoland.
Upon arriving to the park the most noticible thing is the park itself. While you can’t see it from miles and miles because they don’t have any super-tall coasters, but it’s very visible from Cypress Gardens Blvd. The castle next to “The Dragon” is the first thing that meets the eye!
The entrance to the park displays Legoland very well. It’s bright, vibrant, and has lego models scattered here and there. As you enter the park, you’re welcomed by a “WELCOME” sign built completely out of Legos.
The entrance area to Legoland is very colorful and sets the mood very well for the park.
Our first stop today was Miniland USA. Miniland USA is the heart of Legoland Florida, which is composed of more than 20 million (woah, thats A LOT) lego bricks. The area represents iconic areas throughout the US and Florida. Did you know… There are roughly 50 million logo bricks in all of Legoland Florida?
Areas included in Miniland USA include Las Vegas, Washington D.C., New York City, Florida, and a pirate themed area. The pirate themed area is the first of it’s kind among any of the Legoland parks.
The Florida section of Miniland USA is very unique to Legoland Florida. It brings Florida straight into Legoland made entirely out of lego bricks. It includes the Daytona Speedway, Bok Tower, St. Augustine, and the Kennedy Space Center.
Did you know… Legoland puts “sunscreen” on their Lego models? It’s not really sunscreen, but it has the same effect. It protects the paint on the legos from fading so quickly in the sun. When they do begin to fade, they will sand blast the models and put a new layer of “sunscreen” on them. Some of the taller models also have a steel beam in the middle that reinforces them to keep them from swaying side to side. And lastly, they glue the lego bricks together to make the model one giant lego block! Gluing them helps with high winds and other factors.
We also stopped by “Lost Continent Adventure”, a dark ride that allows guests to help save a treasure which is located in the Land of Adventure section of the park. While on the ride, guests have a shooter gun and will aim at green targets. As guests hit the targets, they will turn red and activate an effect and gain points. The effects might be as simple as something popping up, or a light turning on, but it’s the effects that make the ride a lot of fun.
According to one of the ride operators, no one is really sure what the highest score possible is yet, but they’re pretty sure it will max out at 99,999. My score of 26,000 isn’t even close in comparison.
Since our last look in the park, even more Lego models have been set up around the park. There are roughly more than 30 million lego bricks around the park (not including Miniland USA).
And along with models, the buildings are also looking very complete. Signs for the buildings have also gone up, some composed of mostly legos.
According to general manager, Adrian Jones, Legoland is roughly 92%-93% of the way done with the park and about 70% done with the rides. Specifically in Miniland, there are still a few things to install, like the interactive features of the area. Kids will be able to interact with several of the models through the push of a button. Several rides in the Duplo section of the park are not yet complete, however, they are smaller rides that can be installed in under 24 hours.
Last up is a quick view of what the outside of the park looks like. Lots of road work is still happening outside of the park, but it all looks like it’s coming together really well!
Legoland Florida opens on October 15th and will have several pass holder previews. The park is still running a lot of great deals on tickets, including a deal with Pepsi where you can receive a free child’s ticket with the purchase of an adult ticket. With pass member previews of the park coming up, there’s still time to purchase your annual pass. To purchase tickets or annual passes, visit legoland.com.
To view our complete coverage of Legoland Florida, click here.
