Tess in the Burbs Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 We did Legoland Florida on Friday. I wanted to share about our experience :001_smile: My son will be 10 next week. My dd is 8. My son is a huge Lego fan. My dd has some and likes them but isn't lego crazy. We did Friday and I was worried about it being crowded. It seemed crowded at the entrance but that was b/c there were so many school groups!!! But once inside it was empty. We never waited on any of the rides except the "driving school" but it was worth the wait. The Lego Mindstorm thing wasn't available to us b/c of the school groups. The rides are perfect for younger kids. There is nothing scary here. Even the wooden roller coaster was tame. The rides are SHORT. Adults can fit into the rides but a few were tight. The nice thing was, they weren't scary long rides so the kids could ride alone! This would be a perfect grandparent park b/c kids can ride alone at this age, and if the grandparents wanted to ride it wouldn't kill them. :tongue_smilie: The ski show was cute. My ds was one of the cannon kids and he loved that. They didn't like getting squirted by the garden hose. A character literally is spraying people with a garden hose. The movie was fine but they have 3 different ones. You could see one and be content. We bought more stuff at Legoland than an entire week at Disney. Cute shirts. Cute Lego stuff. Did you know Legoland isn't owned by Lego? They operate with permission but are actually an entertainment company that runs it. Thus why you can't use the Lego VIP points on purchases :001_huh: Anyway, My son will be 10 next week and he was at the top end of this park's entertainment level. The mini structures were amazing though(I took more pics here than at Animal Park!). But if you have Lego fans, don't wait until they are too big to do this park. Age 8 and 9 were perfect but I wouldn't go back in a few years...my kids will have outgrown the rides and stuff. They have 2 playgrounds on site if that says anything. I personally don't pay all that money to go play on a playground. After the big coasters at Disney this park was more visual fun than ride fun if that makes sense. It was a fun park though and worth going. We did a special and got free kid tickets so look for deals. The school groups weren't a problem and we enjoyed the day. The food here wasn't that good. I think it was more expensive than Disney for a meal. You can take food in and picnic here. And there are a few places with awful smells(near Botanical gardens and Technic ride). Oh, do walk the Botanical Gardens. The tree in the back is worth it :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 We went two weeks ago. It was fun. I liked Miami Beach with the little sunburned person. That made me laugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Thanks for sharing this. We are going to Disney in February and our friends wanted to add Legoland too. Our kids are 8, 7 & 6 so it sounds like it will be a good option for them. Where did you find the special tickets? I've been trying to find some and so far no luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 We're going to try to go in late Feb. DD is dying to go there, and as a just turned 7 yr old legomaniac it seems like the perfect time. As far as where to find tickets, almost every set DD's getting for Christmas has a "Free Legoland Child's ticket" on it, and I think the Lego Club magazines do, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Thanks for the tip about Legos. So far I bought all presents online and I don't recall any free tickets but a trip to the Lego store may be in order. Is there a particular price point that includes the ticket? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I've seen them even on the back of the $5 impulse buy sets, and on those you can see them before you buy (some of the boxed sets have them and some don't-it may depend on how old the set is and when it came out). I know the Harry Potter impulse set with the luggage cart has one for sure, and I think the Christmas tree does, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2att Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 As far as school groups go, they are there en masse because the group rate is $5 per person, which includes special classes. Our homeschool group is going in March--$20 total for my kids and me. Just wish it wasn't a 3 hour drive to get there, but I think my boys will enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker25 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 We are planning to go in March as well. We were supposed to be there last Friday, but my mom took a turn for the worse and had to have more surgery Wed night. My church homeschoolers are going in March so we will go then. I think it's $5 thru April for school groups. Admission to that place is ridiculous otherwise. Thanks for the review. It'll be a day trip for us as well since we live about 3 hours away. I think my boys will love it and the girls will enjoy the visual stuff. We used to go all the time when it was Cypress Gardens. Especially at Christmas. So pretty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 We went last Thursday with our homeschool group and I agree with you. My son is 14, and there were quite a few other teens in our group, all big Lego fans. He did enjoy himself and loved Miniland, but I wish it had opened when he was much younger. I wouldn't pay full price (we got the $5 education group price). Many of us said afterwards that it was worth it for the price, but we wouldn't go at full price (it was a 1-1/2 to 2 hour drive for most of us). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Thanks for the review! We already have our tickets (free kid passes like you had) and we're going in early February. Its really a Disney trip for us, but since Lego Land is only an hour away and we already have the tickets, we're going there too. I'm a Disney addict and I was hoping that a smaller park like Lego Land wouldn't be disappointing. My girls are 7 and 4 (as well as 2 months) so hopefully they will enjoy it. If they get into Legos while there, I have been saving two huge tubs of Legos in my closet that they have no idea about. If they like them, I'll pull them out when we return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Fun! We took Indy to Legoland here in Germany last year and it was awesome. You're absolutely right about the age range. We went for Indy's 8th birthday (it was a surprise) and I think 10 would absolutely be the top end of the age range. Did they have Miniland? That was my favorite part! You can see photos here if you're interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
learningmama Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Yay!!! We plan on going sometime in Jan or Feb. We found coupons at McDonald's down here in FL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in FL Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Hmm - I think the age range really depends on the kid's interest in Lego. My 13 year old enjoyed it - but more for the LEGO theme than for the rides. I doubt he would ever turn down an opportunity to go to a Legoland park! I do agree that the younger ages are on target for the rides - but I even enjoyed some of them! Before the park opened I read on the park's facebook page - that you could get VIP points for sets purchased in the park by contacting LEGO VIP after your trip. I would double check about bringing in food. People may have done so - but when we went in October - the policy was no outside food or drink. The waterpark is supposed to be opening in time for summer. We had a great time - but we went on a weekday with very low crowds. If you are planning a trip - try to avoid weekends and holidays! I've heard some awful complaining from people who went on peak attendance days. Also - check their calendar - they are not open everyday of the week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I sure wish we had a school group to go with. We are going the week of the 5th - 10th. Anyone else there that week? We have 7 total in our group including adults. How many are needed to get the $5 price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Bumping since I posted in the middle of the night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 We went twice in November. We had purchased the Pepsi deal to get two free tickets (with purchase of 2) and then got the opportunity to do the Education Discount, so we went again. I wasn't all that impressed to be honest. They seem to have trouble loading the lines easily and it takes forever. The food is hard to find and meal type foods are pretty much only in the front of the park. There are even restaurants on the map that they decided NOT to open......we spent 30 min. in search of one of them! Drinking fountains are only at restroom areas and restroom areas are also few and far between. Riding the car ride (kids :auto:) was a fiasco. They asked all the parents to leave and go to the back side of the building. THEN they asked which kids were under age 6 and told them, "YOu are too young, here, go outside and find your parents." There were little kids just standing there with NO idea that their parents were around the corner. They were sobbing and the workers just shut the door on them! We waited in a burger line where there were no clear delineation of where the lines actually were. It took over 35 minutes to get food with a short line. We were told it was because they only had ONE grill and were waiting for more grills to arrive. Overall, I am glad we saw it.....but it holds nothing to Legoland California and certainly not even in the same ballpark as Disney. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 As far as the $5 group rate goes, it seems they have changed that policy for homeschoolers. Our homeschool group was organizing a trip to go. We had talked to the contact at Legoland and were told to get a firm head count. We took 1 week to collect everyone's money and get a firm head count. We called back the next week to book and they informed us of the price change. It is $5 for kids K-6th and $25 for adults and older siblings. (If you have already booked your trip, you are locked in at that price and good to go.) Even though we had talked to them the week before and they quoted us $5 for everyone, they wouldn't let us book at that price. They said there were too many homeschool groups abusing the price and bringing family/friends that were not homeschooled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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