Legoland Florida gears up for fall opening

Associated Press

WINTER HAVEN, Fla.

Legoland officials said recently they are counting on the popularity of the little plastic building blocks to draw families to their newest theme park, which will open this fall near Orlando.

Incorporating as many as 50 million of the iconic Lego bricks in rides and attractions geared toward children 2 to 12, Legoland Florida is under construction in sleepy Winter Haven, a 45-minute drive south of Walt Disney World and the other main Orlando parks.

The opening is planned for October, but a firm date has not been set.

It will be the largest of five Legolands in the world and the only one on the U.S. East Coast, with others in California, England, Germany and Denmark, where the toy company was founded.

The 150-acre park is being built on the former site of Cypress Gardens, one of Florida’s earliest theme parks. Cypress Gardens opened in the 1930s but closed in 2009, unable to compete with attractions clustered closer to Orlando.

Legoland is retaining the old park’s gardens and famous water-ski shows, and eventually will add its water park to the mix.

Also left over from Cypress Gardens is the Flying Island, which raises riders 175 feet in the air for a bird’s- eye view of the grounds.

“I think Legoland has its place in the theme-park community,” park general manager Adrian Jones said recently.

Besides four gentle roller coasters and other family rides, visitors will get to see Legoland’s trademark models crafted from Lego bricks, including miniature skylines of famous cities, a castle and jungle animals, with exhibits ranging in size from intricate to life-size to larger-than-life.

Of course, there will be plenty of places where kids to get their hands on Legos and build things for themselves.

Jill Swidler, the park’s marketing manager, said the focus for the first 18 months or so will be drawing visitors who live within a two-hour radius, including the Orlando and Tampa areas. Then they’ll make a bigger push to divert families away from Walt Disney World and the other Orlando attractions for a day trip.

She said the Lego brand name will distinguish it from Cypress Gardens, which besides having grown outdated, was hurt by its distance from the other attractions.

Legoland Florida also has behind it the might of Merlin Entertainment Group, the largest operator of attractions in the United Kingdom, whose holdings include the Madame Tussauds wax museums and the London Eye observation wheel. Merlin also has on the drawing board an Orlando Eye observation wheel that will anchor a new shopping and entertainment complex in the central Florida attractions corridor.

A single-day ticket to Legoland Florida is being offered for $65 plus tax for adults and $55 plus tax for children 3-12 and seniors. Kids 2 and under are free. After the opening, admission will go up $10 per ticket. For more information, visit http://florida.legoland.com.