Legoland Florida facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Legoland Florida Resort

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)
Attractions
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 Legoland Water Park, and three hotels right on site. There's even a separate park based on the TV show Peppa Pig, which opened in 2022!

This amazing 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 different Lego themes.

History of Legoland Florida

On January 15, 2010, the company that owns Legoland, Merlin Entertainments, announced they would build a Legoland park. It would be on the land of the old Cypress Gardens park, which had closed in 2009.

Legoland Florida opened pretty quickly after that, on October 15, 2011. It didn't take as long to build as parks that start from scratch!

Over the years, the park added more exciting areas. These include Heartlake City (2015) and Lego Ninjago World (2017). The resort also grew with new hotels. The first hotel, the LEGOLAND Hotel, opened in 2015. A second hotel, LEGOLAND Beach Retreat, opened in 2017. The newest big area, The Lego Movie World, opened in 2019.

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

Explore the Parks

Legoland Florida Theme Park

The main Legoland Florida theme park opened on October 15, 2011. It's a huge park, covering about 145 acres! This makes it the second-largest Legoland park in the world.

This park is made for families with kids aged 2 to 12. It has more than 50 rides, shows, and attractions. You'll also find restaurants and shops. Plus, the original Cypress Gardens botanical area is still there, showing respect to the park's past. Unlike some other Legoland parks, you don't need to have a child with you to enter here!

Many rides from other Legoland parks were brought here. For example, the Jungle Coaster from Legoland Windsor became Lego Technic Test Track (now The Great Lego Race).

The beautiful botanical park from Cypress Gardens was saved. There's even a giant Banyan tree that was planted way back in 1939! Some old rides from Cypress Gardens were also updated. The wooden roller coaster Triple Hurricane became Coastersaurus. The family coaster Okeechobee Rampage became The Dragon. And Swamp Thing, a cool inverted coaster, became Flying School.

The Legoland Florida theme park has fourteen different sections for you to explore:

The Beginning

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

Fun Town

Attraction	Added	Image	Description
Grand Carousel	Oct 15, 2011	A double-decker carousel with Lego horses.	A two-story carousel! It started with regular horses, but in 2012, they were changed to awesome Lego horses.
Wells Fargo Fun Town Theater	Oct 15, 2011		A big 4D cinema with 700 seats. You can watch cool Lego movies here!

Heartlake City

Miniland USA

Miniland USA is a special area where you can see famous cities and places from the United States, all built from millions of Lego bricks!

Location Represented	Added	Image	Features
New York City	October 15, 2011	Lego models of New York City skyscrapers.	See tiny versions of Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, and the Empire State Building.
Washington, D.C.	October 15, 2011	The U.S. Capitol Building in Lego.	Explore the White House, U.S. Capitol building, and famous monuments.
Las Vegas	October 15, 2011	The Las Vegas Strip built with Lego bricks.	Walk along the Las Vegas Strip with mini versions of famous hotels.
Florida	October 15, 2011	A Lego model of Florida.	Discover the Florida Keys, Everglades, and cities like Miami and Orlando.
Pirates	October 15, 2011	Miniature Lego pirate ships.	A pirate-themed area with miniature Lego pirate ships.
Star Wars	November 9, 2012		See amazing models from the Star Wars movies, showing famous scenes and planets.

Duplo Valley

This area is perfect for younger children and toddlers!

Lego Kingdoms

Lego Kingdoms

Step into a medieval world of knights and dragons!

Attraction	Added	Image	Description
The Dragon	October 15, 2011		A steel roller coaster that starts with an indoor dark ride part before speeding outside.
The Royal Joust	October 15, 2011	Children riding Lego-themed horses.	Kids can ride Lego-themed horses through medieval scenes, like a joust!
Merlin's Challenge	October 15, 2011		A spinning ride with a Lego model of Merlin in the middle.
The Forestmen's Hideout	October 15, 2011		A big wooden playground with slides, rope ladders, and bridges for younger kids.

Land of Adventure

Get ready for an adventure in this exciting land!

Attraction	Added	Image	Description
Beetle Bounce	October 15, 2011	Beetle Bounce ride.	A ride that bounces you up and down, like a beetle!
Coastersaurus	October 15, 2011	The Coastersaurus wooden roller coaster.	A fun wooden roller coaster. It used to be called Triple Hurricane.
Lost Kingdom Adventure	October 15, 2011	Lost Kingdom Adventure ride.	An interactive dark ride where you shoot at targets to find treasure.
Pharaoh's Revenge	October 15, 2011		A play area where you can throw soft plastic balls around with air.
Safari Trek	October 15, 2011	A jeep ride with Lego animals.	Take a jeep ride and see life-sized Lego animal models!

Lego Ninjago World

Train to become a ninja in this action-packed area!

The Lego Movie World

This area is based on the popular The Lego Movie films!

Lego City

In Lego City, you can be a driver, a pilot, or even a firefighter!

Attraction	Added	Image	Description
Ford Driving School	October 15, 2011	Kids driving cars at Ford Driving School.	Kids aged 6-13 can drive real cars and get their own Legoland driver's license!
Ford Jr. Driving School	October 15, 2011		A smaller version of the driving school for younger kids aged 3-5.
Flying School	October 15, 2011	The Flying School roller coaster.	A roller coaster that makes you feel like you're flying through an airport.
Boating School	October 15, 2011	Kids driving boats at Boating School.	Drive your own boat along a winding water path.
Rescue Academy	October 15, 2011		Work with your team to pump a fire truck or police car and race to put out a "fire" or catch a "criminal."

Lego Technic

Lego Technic sign

This area is all about speed and engineering!

Attraction	Added	Manufacturer	Image	Description
AQUAZONE Wave Racers	October 15, 2011	Zierer	AQUAZONE Wave Racers ride.	Spin over the water while others try to spray you with water cannons!
The Great Lego Race	October 15, 2011	Mack Rides		A wild mouse roller coaster that you can ride with a VR experience!
Technicycle	October 15, 2011	Zamperla		Pedal your way up into the air on this spinning ride.

Imagination Zone

This is where you can build, create, and test your Lego ideas!

Attraction	Added	Image	Description
Build & Test	October 15, 2011	Kids building Lego cars.	Build your own Lego car and race it on a special track with a timer.
Kid Power Towers	October 15, 2011		Pull yourself up to the top of these towers, then enjoy a fun "free-fall" down.
Lego Mindstorms	October 15, 2011		Learn to build and program cool robots using Lego Mindstorms kits.
WB Games Zone	2012		A room where you can play different Lego video games.

Pirates' Cove

Ahoy, mateys! Get ready for some pirate fun!

Attraction	Added	Image	Description
The Battle For Brickbeard's Bounty	October 15, 2011	A live water ski show.	A live water ski show on Lake Eloise, featuring pirates and Lego characters!

Cypress Gardens

The beautiful Cypress Gardens.

Cypress Gardens Legoland Florida carefully reopened the original botanical gardens from the old Cypress Gardens park. These gardens first opened in 1936! The Florida Pool, shaped like the state of Florida, was even built for a movie in 1953.

The gardens are now owned by Polk County and are a historic place.

Legoland Water Park

Cool off and splash around at the Legoland Water Park! You need a ticket to the theme park to enter the water park.

Peppa Pig Theme Park

This is the world's first standalone theme park based on the popular Peppa Pig TV show! It opened on February 24, 2022. You need a separate ticket for this park, but you can buy tickets that let you visit both Legoland Florida and Peppa Pig Theme Park.

Accommodation

You can stay right at the resort in one of these cool hotels!

Legoland Hotel

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

Legoland Beach Retreat

The Legoland Beach Retreat opened on April 7, 2017. It has 166 rooms in 83 separate bungalows that look like giant Lego sets!

Pirate Island Hotel

The Pirate Island Hotel opened on June 25, 2020. This hotel is completely themed like a pirate adventure!

Images for kids

• 

  Aerial photo during construction, March 2011.

• 

  Lake Eloise

• 

  Cypress Gardens

• 

  Island in the Sky observation tower.

• 

  The Lego Factory Tour building.

See also

In Spanish: Legoland Florida para niños