Legoland FL trip report

[SwaBird]

Thanks for the insight. I think this is one we may pass on for now. Maybe if we take a break from our AP’s we would try it out.

 

[DISfirstTimer]

Just discovered you book Legoland Hotel through Undercover Tourists. It saved me about $60 plus you have free cancellation(something Legoland doesn't even offer)!

 

[tlmadden73]

My group enjoyed Legoland in March of 2017. The kids (all boys ages 2 through 10) probably enjoyed it more than the Disney parks because all the rides are geared to kids of that age and because the park was practically empty (middle of the week at the end of March), there was no lines. Most things were walk ons. Frankly the things we did have to wait for, I can't imagine them on a BUSY day. A lot of the rides are just slow loaders, so the lines go really slow, even on a not-crowded day.

It definitely isn't Disney, but hard to complain about the price and the sheer value you get from the type/amount of rides the kids can go on.

It's a decent drive from Disney, but worth it on your day off.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Thanks for your report! We haven’t been to Legoland since 2013 (there have been several additions to it since then); but we all absolutely loved it and are planning on going back particularly for my 3 year old and my Lego obsessed 8 year old. We went over Memorial Day weekend in 2013 and there were no crowds which definitely made it enjoyable for all of us and a break from what we were used to after spending five straight days at the Disney World parks prior to our Legoland day. I do agree that since almost all the rides/attractions are outdoors that going when the weather is pleasant will definitely allow you to have a more successful day there. You also can’t beat the value you get for your money with the deals/promotions you can get for Legoland tickets too. We always get the kids free coupons and kids are considered “kids” up until age 12 at Legoland and not 9 like at Disney .

 

[4leobeans]

This is great! I was literally coming to this forum to look for a LL review

We have a day in Orlando before our DW stay begins, and I'm researching what would be the best thing for us to try out. Your report was very helpful in its detail

 

[dalmatian7]

Just discovered you book Legoland Hotel through Undercover Tourists. It saved me about $60 plus you have free cancellation(something Legoland doesn't even offer)!

Thanks for the update! I bought my WDW tickets from them but never think to look at hotel rooms.

Thanks for your report! We haven’t been to Legoland since 2013 (there have been several additions to it since then); but we all absolutely loved it and are planning on going back particularly for my 3 year old and my Lego obsessed 8 year old. We went over Memorial Day weekend in 2013 and there were no crowds which definitely made it enjoyable for all of us and a break from what we were used to after spending five straight days at the Disney World parks prior to our Legoland day. I do agree that since almost all the rides/attractions are outdoors that going when the weather is pleasant will definitely allow you to have a more successful day there. You also can’t beat the value you get for your money with the deals/promotions you can get for Legoland tickets too. We always get the kids free coupons and kids are considered “kids” up until age 12 at Legoland and not 9 like at Disney .

The discounts are great. Thanks for reading and sharing your experiences.

This is great! I was literally coming to this forum to look for a LL review

We have a day in Orlando before our DW stay begins, and I'm researching what would be the best thing for us to try out. Your report was very helpful in its detail

Thanks, please come back and share you experiences. There is such a lack of legoland info!

 

[robndani]

We're going on Thanksgiving and staying at the new Legoland Beach Retreat hotel. I'll keep you posted! Thanks for the info!

 

[dalmatian7]

We're going on Thanksgiving and staying at the new Legoland Beach Retreat hotel. I'll keep you posted! Thanks for the info!

Looking forward to your review! This is something I haven't looked at yet.

 

[Angeliki19]

Side Trip

We usually like to eat at local restaurants, but hadn’t done much planning prior and the two chain restaurants within walking distance were too easy of a choice instead of gambling on something else. Both were good meals.

I did see “Andy’s Drive In” referenced by others, and we had driven past it on our way in so we did decide to check it out. They still have their original neon sign. Holy Milkshakes Batman. I got a “regular” hot fudge milkshake. It was huge but oh so good. I don’t think any of us actually was able to finish what we ordered. They also have a sit down restaurant but it isn’t open on Sunday evening. Prices were great for how much you got.

Also, as we were leaving on Monday morning we saw signs for a waterskiing museum. I think this might need some more investigating at another time.

Final Thoughts

Where to start….. Legoland…. it isn’t WDW, and I went in knowing that so I wasn’t disappointed. I would put it about equal with Hersheypark in PA but for a younger age category. They are trying to do themeing and in some places it is great, and in others not so much. The park was clean, and the restrooms were clean. The employees were okay. Some were just there, some were a little more engaged, but it was definitely a younger crowd similar to what I would find at any seasonal park.

Pluses –

1. The park is generally clean and so are the restrooms

2. I thought the Lego Sets weren’t any more expensive then I would find from any retailer. We bought a DC Girls set, that I had never seen in any stores near us, but I thought the price of it was reasonable. I found it on Amazon for about $5 less then we paid. 3.

3. It is an easy day touring and there are plenty of activities and rides to keep younger kids engaged.


Negatives

1. Walt Disney’s best idea was to purchase all that property because not seeing the outside world does wonders for the experience. There is a very shabby looking Shergill Grand Hotel that you can see from quite a few areas in the park. You can also see the parking areas.

2. Be wary that there are quite a few rides that are kiddo only or a tight squeeze for parents (Safari Trek). Another thing that I forget to appreciate at WDW. Our DD is six, and actually pretty adventurous when it comes to rides but still does that kiddie stuff too. She had a great day. She got to do all the stuff she had seen advertised plus some. I think my nephew 11 would have been bored because he enjoys the more thrilling ride.

3. Weather brings shutdown. With so many rides outdoor, rain brings the park to a complete halt. There were plenty of warnings in entry signage but I really didn’t think about it. The vibe we got when the rain stopped at 4:30 with a 7pm close was that they were pretty much shutting down for the day. Maybe that was just the employees we encountered in that area.

4. No characters. While character meets aren’t a complete priority for us, we do enjoy them. We saw zero characters at Legoland. I am not sure if we missed them in an indoor area or if it is rare to run into them.

Will we be there again? DD says yes. I would rather go to Sea World, but depending on when we get back to central FL again, we might try it again because there were some things we missed and she had a great time. I feel like she is only a few years from aging out of this park. I think no matter how warm it is, we would skip the water park area, it took a lot of time for just a little relief. I would either plan on staying at the Legoland Hotel and doing a mid day break or just doing as many indoor activities as possible. However, if we had not had the rain, we probably could have ridden a few of the rides we missed and still left before closing.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I hope this info helps anyone planning a trip.

Hi! I came to the boards looking to find some info and this was really helpful. We are going for our first time at the end of April. We are planning on using the shuttle, as renting a car didn't seem to work out price-wise. I see that you have to make shuttle reservations in advance, which is making me want to nail down the day we are going... which leads me to my question!

I am trying to decide between a Friday and a Saturday. The shuttle only departs at park close, so for better or worse, we are there from open to close. On Friday, the park closes at 5 pm, whereas on Saturday, it closes at 7 pm. I have no idea which of those times would be better... on one hand we want to do as much as we can as LL is probably a one and done for us, but on the other hand, I would hate to be done early and feel "stuck" there until 7 pm.

The other consideration is crowds... whatever day we do not go to LL will be our third and final day at Universal. We hope to accomplish most of what we want to do at Universal the first two days, and have this third day be more laid back and just do and see what we can. I originally had read that LL can get busy with school trips during the week and therefore planned to do Universal on Friday and LL on Saturday. However, I kind of feel like I would rather end our trip with Universal than LL... I am worried it will be sort of a let-down to have that be our last thing, especially dealing with the shuttle ride.

Does anyone have a recommendation? Do the crowds at LL vary greatly for weekday vs. weekend? Would a 5 pm vs. a 7 pm closing time make a difference in your decision? Thanks!

 

[dalmatian7]

Does anyone have a recommendation? Do the crowds at LL vary greatly for weekday vs. weekend? Would a 5 pm vs. a 7 pm closing time make a difference in your decision? Thanks!

I can't comment on the crowds. We went on the Sunday of labor day and it was not super crowded except in the water park. The day we went, the park opened at 10 and we left at 4:30 is because of rain. We missed some stuff that we had saved until last, but we also spend time a few hours in the waterpark. We also spent time in the Imagination Zone because of how hot it was. If your shuttle will get you there at park opening, I think you should be fine getting the majority of attractions done by 5pm if you are not doing the water park. As I mentioned in my touring strategy, we headed to the back of the park (do do driving school) and worked our way forward (kind of against the tide). I would want to end with Universal in my opinion.

The "big" ride with the longest wait was the Technic Roller Coaster. The "small" ride with the longest wait was a tie with the safari vehicles or boating school.

Please report back to add to the Legoland information here.

 

[FireflyTrance]

Thanks for all the info. We took my daughter to LEGOLAND in California about a year ago and she keeps asking to go back. So I am thinking we might try the Florida version. Has anyone been to both the California version and Florida version? How do they compare?

 

[Spotthecat]

We have been to Legoland twice, and stayed in the Legoland hotel once. We have 3 boys, ages 4, 7 and 10...all obsessed with Lego...you can just imagine the amount of Lego my house has! First time we went, baby was in a stroller, and the Chima section was the bomb - the water blasting ride was a hoot. I waited near the stroller while my older two went through the boat ride with DH - I got to soak them, they got to soak me, it was fantastic. There used to be a Chima race section, but it wasn't there on our second visit. There was a wait for the driving school, so we remembered on our second trip a couple of years later when baby was 3 to go straight to the driving school.

On our first visit, it was late January/early February. There were some lines for some of the rides (the jousting one is really slow), but most were decent. It was freakin' hot, the minisection HAS NO SHADE be warned do not leave this until late in the day, you will be pooped. Last time we went...it was in the December just before the Ninjago section was going to open (my kids made us promise we'd be back!) The rides were all walk on, there just weren't any crowds, it was fabulous, sometimes they'd just let us re-ride stuff 5 times in a row (until I cried uncle at a roller coster and wanted off!!!). They had a giant Lego Christmas tree! The kids had an absolute blast everywhere. It's really geared for their age range. I asked my kids on our upcoming Disney cruise trip March 1st if they wanted to do another few days at WDW before or after, and they said no, they wanted to go back to Legoland! Yup, it was that great for them.

Of course...last time we stayed at the Legoland hotel, which wasn't open the first time we visited. We received a great deal, as early December was low season I guess. Well, let me say that the theming in the hotel is fabulous. The lobby has a gazillion minifigures behind the front desk, there are giant vats of lego for kids to build with (or swim in, like my 4 year old did), a giant lego structure (I want to say pirate ship, but it might have been a castle), they have nightly entertainment for the kids and build competitions (my eldest won!), and a large bar area next to the play area for the adults to lounge in, lol. The restaurant was massive, and the breakfast buffet was awesome, really great as you'd spend the rest of the day walking in the heat. The dinner buffet was also great - lots of things my picky kids ate, which was great. I think we had reserved the times for dinner, and lucky we did as it got pretty packed as everyone let out of the parks pretty much at the same time. There was an area where you could have a master builder session (and keep the build) - you had to sign up for it, but the times weren't convenient so we missed ours as we were having too much of a blast in the hotel pool. Which was awesome! Full of floating lego. And we saw characters come o ut to visit by the pool - Captain Brickbeard came by to say hello, and Emmett too. Not sure how many in the pool were Canadians like us, but the water was heated and we weren't alone, lol.

the rooms are veery nicely themed, once my husband had covered the huge friggin' lego spider with a towel. We stayed in the Kingdom series of rooms. Rooms come with bunkbeds, with a trundle bed coming out of the bottom, so all 3 of my kids were in heaven. Ithink I even remember a tv in their section, but I might be confusing it with another hotel. Plenty of storage space. There is a safe in the room, and the kids have to solve a puzzle to unlock it to get a lego surprise for each. Lots of cool lego models in the room (and they mark the price down in case they "disappear", lol). The little gift shop inthe lobby was pretty lame, compared to the parks of course, but it had sunscreen, towels, a few swimsuits, in case you forgot yours. Being a hotel guest gave you the parking which was great. And the early park entrance and separate line was fantastic. WE really took advantage of it, and scheduled some of our stuff so we'd do the wet rides (like the Chima boat ride again) just before we'd head back to dry off, then go back in. It was literally 120 kid steps from the hotel front door to being inside Legoland, enough said. We never did the water park, not our cup of tea and impossible with the ages we had in the past. Best part of the hotel according to my kids? THE DISCO ELEVATOR!!! Yes, as son as the doors of the elevator close, a disco ball with lights and music activates, very cheesy disco music but the kids went nuts every time. I think we rode the elevator for a good half hour, just because it was so fun. Yeah, that trip was hard to beat. It was almost perfect, except for the giant signs saying "Ninjago coming soon" in the park, lol. We did all of the rides as we had 2 days. We did the play areas, the discovery areas, but we didn't do the movie as we have a Legoland discovery center in Toronto and we'd seen all the movies already. The skies opened once on us, but we were in the store on our way out already, so we didn't see anything shut down really.

So in 6 weeks, we are going back. This time, we will be staying in the Legoland Beach Retreat bungalows for 3 nights right after getting off the Disney ship (and visiting Kennedy Space Center during the day). I think the restaurant is different at the beach retreat, as dinner isn't a buffet but we could pre-order food. Anyways, these hotels are crazy expensive, and we didn't get the great deal we got the first time, but for March break timeframe it's still way cheaper than Disney, so it's all perspective I guess. It was still cheaper than renting a two bedroom condo, so there is that.

 

[DISfirstTimer]

Thanks for the great review. We will be here in 9 days! One night and a day at the park and then headed to Disney

 

[dalmatian7]

We have been to Legoland twice, and stayed in the Legoland hotel once. We have 3 boys, ages 4, 7 and 10...all obsessed with Lego...you can just imagine the amount of Lego my house has! First time we went, baby was in a stroller, and the Chima section was the bomb - the water blasting ride was a hoot. I waited near the stroller while my older two went through the boat ride with DH - I got to soak them, they got to soak me, it was fantastic. There used to be a Chima race section, but it wasn't there on our second visit. There was a wait for the driving school, so we remembered on our second trip a couple of years later when baby was 3 to go straight to the driving school.

On our first visit, it was late January/early February. There were some lines for some of the rides (the jousting one is really slow), but most were decent. It was freakin' hot, the minisection HAS NO SHADE be warned do not leave this until late in the day, you will be pooped. Last time we went...it was in the December just before the Ninjago section was going to open (my kids made us promise we'd be back!) The rides were all walk on, there just weren't any crowds, it was fabulous, sometimes they'd just let us re-ride stuff 5 times in a row (until I cried uncle at a roller coster and wanted off!!!). They had a giant Lego Christmas tree! The kids had an absolute blast everywhere. It's really geared for their age range. I asked my kids on our upcoming Disney cruise trip March 1st if they wanted to do another few days at WDW before or after, and they said no, they wanted to go back to Legoland! Yup, it was that great for them.

Of course...last time we stayed at the Legoland hotel, which wasn't open the first time we visited. We received a great deal, as early December was low season I guess. Well, let me say that the theming in the hotel is fabulous. The lobby has a gazillion minifigures behind the front desk, there are giant vats of lego for kids to build with (or swim in, like my 4 year old did), a giant lego structure (I want to say pirate ship, but it might have been a castle), they have nightly entertainment for the kids and build competitions (my eldest won!), and a large bar area next to the play area for the adults to lounge in, lol. The restaurant was massive, and the breakfast buffet was awesome, really great as you'd spend the rest of the day walking in the heat. The dinner buffet was also great - lots of things my picky kids ate, which was great. I think we had reserved the times for dinner, and lucky we did as it got pretty packed as everyone let out of the parks pretty much at the same time. There was an area where you could have a master builder session (and keep the build) - you had to sign up for it, but the times weren't convenient so we missed ours as we were having too much of a blast in the hotel pool. Which was awesome! Full of floating lego. And we saw characters come o ut to visit by the pool - Captain Brickbeard came by to say hello, and Emmett too. Not sure how many in the pool were Canadians like us, but the water was heated and we weren't alone, lol.

the rooms are veery nicely themed, once my husband had covered the huge friggin' lego spider with a towel. We stayed in the Kingdom series of rooms. Rooms come with bunkbeds, with a trundle bed coming out of the bottom, so all 3 of my kids were in heaven. Ithink I even remember a tv in their section, but I might be confusing it with another hotel. Plenty of storage space. There is a safe in the room, and the kids have to solve a puzzle to unlock it to get a lego surprise for each. Lots of cool lego models in the room (and they mark the price down in case they "disappear", lol). The little gift shop inthe lobby was pretty lame, compared to the parks of course, but it had sunscreen, towels, a few swimsuits, in case you forgot yours. Being a hotel guest gave you the parking which was great. And the early park entrance and separate line was fantastic. WE really took advantage of it, and scheduled some of our stuff so we'd do the wet rides (like the Chima boat ride again) just before we'd head back to dry off, then go back in. It was literally 120 kid steps from the hotel front door to being inside Legoland, enough said. We never did the water park, not our cup of tea and impossible with the ages we had in the past. Best part of the hotel according to my kids? THE DISCO ELEVATOR!!! Yes, as son as the doors of the elevator close, a disco ball with lights and music activates, very cheesy disco music but the kids went nuts every time. I think we rode the elevator for a good half hour, just because it was so fun. Yeah, that trip was hard to beat. It was almost perfect, except for the giant signs saying "Ninjago coming soon" in the park, lol. We did all of the rides as we had 2 days. We did the play areas, the discovery areas, but we didn't do the movie as we have a Legoland discovery center in Toronto and we'd seen all the movies already. The skies opened once on us, but we were in the store on our way out already, so we didn't see anything shut down really.

So in 6 weeks, we are going back. This time, we will be staying in the Legoland Beach Retreat bungalows for 3 nights right after getting off the Disney ship (and visiting Kennedy Space Center during the day). I think the restaurant is different at the beach retreat, as dinner isn't a buffet but we could pre-order food. Anyways, these hotels are crazy expensive, and we didn't get the great deal we got the first time, but for March break timeframe it's still way cheaper than Disney, so it's all perspective I guess. It was still cheaper than renting a two bedroom condo, so there is that.

Your trip sounds great! I contemplated the Legoland Hotel but $$ vs free Holiday Inn on points won. Your description makes me think we should try it at least once. We didn't get to Chima but we did do Ninjago. Its is a 3D shooter ride like toy story except you use your arm movements to do ninja moves. DH and I did awful, DD7 did great. There is a somewhat shaded play area (teaching you the way of the ninja) outside but the stroller parking was in the blazing sun. I wonder if they have plans to add more to this section?

Please let us know how the Beach Retreat is!

 

[Mellb]

Has anyone bought and used the discounted tickets on the PTA website? Just wondering if anyone has used them lately and If they are Legit!! Looking to go in November but nervous to book the tickets there. Thanks!!

 

[dalmatian7]

In the past they have always worked for people. The original thread is here https://www.disboards.com/threads/30-legoland-tickets-is-this-for-real.3419462/page-9 There is a link towards the last page to join the PTA if you are really worried.

With any lego land ticket, have a hard copy of your receipt with you. There is conflicting information on the Legoland website vs. park over what can use a screen shot and what has to have a printed copy.

I didn't use the PTA tickets because a waterpark option was not available for my dates. I was able to find a groupon a few days before our trip for a ticket discount that included the water park (labor day weekend). One thing to keep in mind is that those tickets make you choose your date. If you trip has flexibility you may not want to lock into a day depending on weather this far in advance. Legoland is not a park that has a ton of indoor rides. It is hard being a Disney planner switching to Legoland. We are used to planning so far out for Disney, but I think it seems you can find better deals for Legoland closer to your date.

Have you ever used Undercover Tourist? I think they have had discount tickets in the past also.

Maybe someone who has gone in November can chime in if they found any discounts?

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Thanks for this! My son wants to go (also from seeing a preview on the Lego movie DVD) but I just don't know if it's worth the time and extra money. I think I'll offer for him to pick a cool Lego set at the Disney Springs Lego store instead.

 

[Connecticute]

We just got back from 1 night in the Legoland hotel and 1 day in the park. We used the $35 PTA tickets with no problems at all. You buy the ticket online, print it out, and it looks exactly the same as every other ticket that anyone else has. As we walked around the park, I was surely glad that we bought the discount tickets. $35 is the exact right price for that park.

That said, we had a great day. My son is 6, and fully immersed in his Legos.

When we arrived at the hotel, it was early afternoon, and we couldn't check in until 4. So we played in the lobby, went swimming in the pool, and signed up for the Master Builder class for the following day. We took a look at the Bricks dinner buffet and thought we'd be better off having dinner at one of the local chain restaurants, so we did that.

My son loved the treasure chest in the room, and built his Lego model quickly. He watched the TV in his room from the top bunk, and enjoyed that.

Our tickets for the park were for the following morning, so we got up and had the Bricks breakfast buffet. Luck was on our side, as we arrived there was no wait at all. As we left, the line to get into Bricks stretched halfway across the lobby!

We walked up the hotel path to Legoland at the park opening, and had a great time all day. We went back to the hotel for the 4:00 Master Builder session. After that, it was time to head off to MCO.

My one piece of advice was mentioned upthread by someone else - if you have any plans for Driving School, do it early. We waited until 2 pm, after meandering around, no real plans for anything in particular. I waited in line for 60 minutes for Driving School. My husband and son went in line for and rode on the Boating School ride while I waited at Driving School. They were able to finish that line and ride, then join me at Driving School and I was only about halfway through the line. Go straight to Driving School!

Has anyone bought and used the discounted tickets on the PTA website? Just wondering if anyone has used them lately and If they are Legit!! Looking to go in November but nervous to book the tickets there. Thanks!!

 

[dalmatian7]

Thanks so much for reporting back! Yes driving school takes forever so hit it (and boating school) first.

I'm curious, was there any sort of early entry for hotel guests when you stayed? There was the day we were there and I was wondering if that was the norm. I am also curious what rides are open for it.

I am kind of wishing we did the hotel last year. But I keep telling myself how much we saved by staying on points down the street.

 

[dalmatian7]

Here is a great thread with info on the Legoland Beach Retreat. https://www.disboards.com/threads/legoland-beach-retreat.3618615/ I missed it somehow when it originally was posted