Legoland Florida facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids
Legoland Florida Resort
Attractions
Previously known as Cypress Gardens


Location	Winter Haven, Florida, United States
Coordinates	27°59′21.02″N 81°41′23.77″W / 27.9891722°N 81.6899361°W / 27.9891722; -81.6899361
Status	Operating
Opened	October 15, 2011; 13 years ago (2011-10-15)
Owner	Merlin Entertainments
Operated by	Merlin Entertainments
General manager	Rex Jackson
Theme	Lego toys and childhood amusement
Slogan	Built for Kids
Operating season	Year-round
Area	145 acres (0.59 km²)
Total	29
Roller coasters	4
Water rides	6

Legoland Florida Resort is a super fun vacation spot in Winter Haven, Florida. It's a huge place with the main Legoland Florida theme park, a cool water park, three hotels right there, and even a special park based on the Peppa Pig cartoon! The Peppa Pig park opened on February 24, 2022, and needs its own ticket.

This resort was built where an old park called Cypress Gardens used to be. Legoland kept the beautiful botanical gardens and changed the water park and some rides to fit the awesome Lego themes.

History of Legoland Florida

How Legoland Florida Started

On January 15, 2010, a company called Merlin Entertainments announced they wanted to build a Legoland park. They chose the spot where the old Cypress Gardens park had closed in 2009. Just six days later, Florida's Governor Charlie Crist and park leaders held a press conference to share the exciting news. The land was bought for $22.3 million.

Legoland Florida was built pretty quickly. It opened its doors to everyone on Saturday, October 15, 2011.

Park Expansions and New Hotels

The park kept growing with new areas like The World of Chima (July 2013), Heartlake City (June 2015), and Lego Ninjago World (January 2017). It also became a resort with hotels. The first hotel, the LEGOLAND Hotel, was announced on November 21, 2013, and opened on May 15, 2015.

A second resort, LEGOLAND Beach Retreat, opened on April 7, 2017. It's about three-quarters of a mile east of the park, right by Lake Dexter. The newest big addition was The Lego Movie themed area, which opened on March 27, 2019.

Like many places, the park had to close for a while from mid-March to May 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Explore the Parks

Legoland Florida Theme Park

Legoland Florida theme park opened on October 15, 2011. It's a huge park, covering 145 acres (0.59 km²). This makes it the second-largest Legoland park, right after Legoland Windsor in the UK.

This park is designed for families with kids aged 2 to 12. It has over fifty rides, shows, fun attractions, restaurants, and shops. Plus, it still has the original Cypress Gardens, which is a nod to the park's past. Unlike some other Legoland parks, you don't need to have a child with you to enter here!

Peppa Pig Theme Park

On February 25, 2021, Merlin Entertainments announced they would build a Peppa Pig theme park. It's called "Peppa Pig Theme Park" and covers 4.5 acres (1.8 ha). This park opened on February 24, 2022. It's the first park just for Peppa Pig and the first non-Lego park at a Legoland Resort.

You need a separate ticket for the Peppa Pig Theme Park. But you can buy special tickets that let you visit both Legoland Florida and Peppa Pig Theme Park over two days. On August 13, 2021, they announced the six main rides for the park.

Legoland Water Park

The Legoland Water Park started as "Splash Island" in 2005 when it was part of Cypress Gardens. It was the only water park in Polk County back then. When Merlin Entertainments bought the park, they changed Splash Island to have Lego themes. They also added a new area for toddlers called Duplo Splash Safari, with slides and fountains. The water park reopened with its new Lego look on May 26, 2012.

To get into the Water Park, you need to buy a ticket for the main theme park first. It used to cost an extra $12 for ages 4 and up, which was great for visitors who wanted to spend a second day at Legoland.

Where to Stay: Legoland Hotels

Legoland Florida Resort has three awesome hotels right on site, perfect for staying close to the fun!

Legoland Hotel

The Legoland Hotel has 152 rooms and opened on May 15, 2015. Each room is themed with Lego characters and designs.

Legoland Beach Retreat

The Legoland Beach Retreat opened on April 7, 2017. It has 166 rooms spread out in 83 separate bungalows. These bungalows are designed to look like giant Lego sets!

Pirate Island Hotel

The Pirate Island Hotel opened on June 25, 2020. It was supposed to open earlier but was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This hotel is totally themed like a pirate adventure!

Park Areas and Rides

Legoland Florida Themed Lands

Legoland Florida has over fifty rides, shows, and attractions, many of which are similar to those at other Legoland parks. Some rides from the old Cypress Gardens park were kept and given a Lego makeover. For example, the Triple Hurricane wooden rollercoaster became Coastersaurus. The Okeechobee Rampage family coaster was renamed The Dragon, and Swamp Thing became Flying School.

The park has fourteen different sections to explore:

The Beginning

This area is where you start your adventure! It has the park's main gift shops, restaurants, and offices. The Legoland Hotel is also right outside the park's entrance.

Fun Town

Fun Town is home to the Grand Carousel, a two-story carousel that originally had regular horses but was updated with Lego horses in 2012. You can also catch a movie at the Wells Fargo Fun Town Theater, a 4D cinema that shows different Lego-themed films like Lego Racers 4D and Lego Movie: 4D – A New Adventure.

Heartlake City

Opened in June 2015, Heartlake City is based on the Lego Friends series. Here you can ride Mia's Riding Adventure, a spinning ride where you're strapped into a horse. There's also the Heartlake Stepping Tones Fountain, an interactive fountain with Lego brick instruments that play music. You can also watch a live show at the Theatre.

Miniland USA

Miniland USA is a truly amazing area where famous places from across the United States are rebuilt using millions of Lego bricks! You can see tiny versions of:

New York City: Featuring landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and Times Square.
Washington, D.C.: With the White House and U.S. Capitol building.
Las Vegas: A mini version of the famous Las Vegas Strip.
Florida: Showing off the Florida Keys, Everglades, and cities like Miami and Orlando.
Pirates: A fun pirate-themed area with miniature Lego pirate ships.
Star Wars: A collection of models from the Star Wars movies, showing famous scenes and life-sized Lego characters like Darth Vader and Chewbacca.

Duplo Valley

This area is perfect for younger kids! You can ride the Duplo Train or the Duplo Tractor. There's also the Duplo Farm, an indoor playground, and the Duplo Splash Pad, a water play area for toddlers.

Lego Kingdoms

Step back in time to a world of knights and dragons!

The Dragon: A steel roller coaster that starts with an indoor dark ride part before speeding outside.
The Royal Joust: Kids can ride Lego-themed horses through medieval scenes.
Merlin's Challenge: A spinning ride with a Lego model of Merlin in the middle.
The Forestmen's Hideout: A large wooden playground with slides and rope ladders.

Land of Adventure

Get ready for an adventure!

Beetle Bounce: A fun junior drop tower ride.
Coastersaurus: A wooden roller coaster that used to be called Triple Hurricane.
Lost Kingdom Adventure: An interactive dark ride where you use laser guns to hit targets and collect points.
Pharaoh's Revenge: An interactive play area with soft plastic balls.
Safari Trek: A jeep ride where you see life-sized Lego animal models.

Lego Ninjago World

This area is all about the ninjas!

Lego Ninjago: The Ride: An interactive 3D dark ride where you use your hand movements to control ninja powers and fight villains.

The Lego Movie World

This area used to be called The World of Chima. Now it's all about The Lego Movie!

The Lego Movie: Masters of Flight: A flying theater ride where you join Master Builders on a Triple Decker Flying Couch.
Unikitty's Disco Drop: A tower ride that drops, spins, and bounces you up and down.
Battle of Bricksburg: Help defend Bricksburg by spraying water at alien invaders. Be ready to get wet!

Lego City

In Lego City, you can be a hero!

Ford Driving School: Kids aged 6-13 can drive small cars and even get a Legoland driver's license. There's also a smaller version for ages 3-5.
Flying School: A suspended roller coaster that makes you feel like you're flying.
Boating School: Drive your own boat along a winding water path.
Rescue Academy: Work as a team to pump a hand-powered truck and put out a "fire" or catch a "criminal."

Lego Technic

Lego Technic sign

This area is all about speed and action!

AQUAZONE Wave Racers: A water carousel where you spin over the water while others try to blast you with water cannons.
The Great Lego Race: A wild mouse roller coaster that used to be called Lego Technic Test Track. It even has a virtual reality (VR) option!
Technicycle: A ride where you pedal to make yourself go higher in the air.

Imagination Zone

Let your creativity soar in the Imagination Zone!

Build & Test: Build your own Lego car and race it on a timed track.
Kid Power Towers: Pull yourself up to the top of these towers and then enjoy a "free-fall" back down.
Lego Mindstorms: Build and program your own computerized Lego Mindstorms robots.
WB Games Zone: Try out different Lego video games.

Pirates' Cove

The Battle For Brickbeard's Bounty: A live water ski show performed daily on Lake Eloise. It features human skiers and Lego characters like Captain Brickbeard. The updated show, Brickbeard's Watersports Stunt Show, started in February 2021.

Cypress Gardens

Legoland Florida carefully reopened the beautiful original botanical gardens from the old Cypress Gardens park in March 2014. These gardens were the very first attraction at this location, opening way back in 1936. A huge Banyan tree, planted in 1939, is still there! The Florida Pool, shaped like the state of Florida, was built for a 1953 movie. The gardens are owned by Polk County and are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Legoland Water Park Attractions

The Legoland Water Park has many fun ways to cool off!

Lego Wave Pool: A gentle wave pool.
Twin Chasers: Two long tube water slides.
Splash Out: Three body slides with a 60-foot (18 m) drop.
Joker Soaker: A water play area for kids.
Build-A-Raft River: A 1,000-foot (300 m) long lazy river where you can float on inner tubes and even build with floating Lego bricks!
Duplo Splash Safari: A water play area just for toddlers.

Peppa Pig Theme Park Attractions

This park is full of rides and play areas based on the Peppa Pig show!

Daddy Pig's Roller Coaster: A fun roller coaster themed like Daddy Pig's car.
Peppa Pig's Balloon Ride: A balloon ride that gives you a great view of the park.
Grandad Dog's Pirate Boat Ride: A spinning boat ride in the "Pirate Island" area.
Grampy Rabbit's Dinosaur Adventure: A ride with cars shaped like George's toy dinosaur.
Mr. Bull's High Striker: A small drop tower for kids.
Peppa's Pedal Bike Tour/George's Tricycle Trail: A bike and tricycle attraction.
Muddy Puddles Splash Pad: A water play area where you can splash around.
George's Fort: A fun maze to explore.
Grandpa Pig's Greenhouse: A walk-through attraction.
Peppa Pig's Treehouse: A themed play area.
Madame Gazelle's Nature Trail: A themed nature trail.
Mr. Potato's Showtime Arena: A stage for live shows with Peppa Pig characters.
The Cinema: An indoor area that shows episodes from the Peppa Pig series.

Former Attractions

Some attractions have closed over the years as the park has changed and added new things.

Island in the Sky: This was a 150 feet (46 m) tall rotating platform that gave amazing 360-degree views of the park. It opened with the park in 2011 but closed in 2017 because it was getting old.
Lego Factory Tour: This walk-through attraction taught visitors how Lego bricks are made. It closed around 2014 to make space for a bigger model shop, which later became a store.

The World of Chima

The World of Chima was a section based on Lego's Legends of Chima sets. It opened on July 3, 2013, and was the park's first new themed land. It closed on May 29, 2017, and was replaced by The LEGO Movie World.

Duplo Village

Duplo Village opened with the park in 2011. On October 3, 2013, it was announced that this area would be updated and renamed Duplo Valley, with some changes to its attractions.

Images for kids

Aerial photo during construction, March 2011. The dual carousel pond for AQUAZONE is completed in the foreground, while Coastersaurus awaits refurbishment in the background.
Lake Eloise
Cypress Gardens