Legoland Florida is a great family vacation. There are lots of things to see and do, without feeling rushed. It’s also a great place for adult lego fans to visit (though you may want to borrow a niece or nephew so you don’t stand out too much).
My son is a Lego fanatic. He loves getting Lego kits, building them and then destroying then to create his own inventions. So, it wasn’t surprising that once he learned about the Legoland theme park in Florida he wanted to go.
This year we finally caved and went down to Florida. We booked two days at the Legoland Resort, which meant that we stayed at the Lego hotel, which was just a short walk away from the gates of Legoland itself.
Legoland Hotel
I strongly recommend that you spend at least on night in the hotel, it is an experience well worth remembering.
As you approach the hotel you are greeted by a a Lego clock tower with a dragon peering down at you. I understand that he once blew smoke, but I was told that storms had damaged the mechanism and now he just peers down upon all who enter his domain.
At the door you are cheerfully greeted by hotel staff, each of them wearing a Lego name tag with at least one lego figure on it, which they will gladly trade for another with your child. Inside the doors you see another dragon and Lego’s everywhere.
Throughout the building there are Lego sculptures;
There are also two big play areas where the kids can build and play to their hearts content;
Just be sure to watch where you are stepping because in the evenings this quickly becomes a Lego minefield.
Behind the check in desk there is a wall with more than 8,000 mini-figures and in front of it is a bike with magnifying wheels, allowing you to take a better look at each of them. All of the figures are tradeable, so make sure your child brings a figure with them and they trade to their hearts content.
On the ground floor, there is also a buffet restaurant (with free buffet breakfast), a small eatery, a bar for the parents, and just outside the doors is a large pool and deck area.
And several times a day you can find characters wandering around or hosting events.
The Rooms
The real hotel awe starts when you go upstairs in the dance party themed elevators. The elevators, play upbeat music, have flashing disco lights and the floor has fun squares for your children to dance on. Each floor has a theme – Lego Friends, Pirate, Adventure, and Kingdom. As your elevator opens you are greeting by a lego figure matching your theme and the theme carries through int he wallpaper and floors.
We stayed in a Kingdom theme room and it was full of great Lego decorations. Children get a separate room with a TV, bunk beads and even a trundle bed. They also get to go on a treasure quest to open a safe and find a Lego treasure they can keep.
Rooms are provided with a mini-fridge, Keurig (with coffee and hot chocolate), and they are provisioned daily with two small bottles of water and two juice boxes.
Overall, I think we enjoyed our time in the hotel almost as much as the park. If you are going to the park, I recommend that you stay at least one night in the hotel, and if you time it right you will get free children tickets to the park with your stay. Just watch their site for deals.
WOW MOMENT!
On Wednesday of our stay there was a power outage in the morning. The outage lasted maybe an hour, but the efficiency of the staff astounded me. Without any hesitation they instantly sprang into action. Staff checked the elevators to see if anyone was on them, then management started assigning people to check different floors to see if there were problems. The breakfast buffet continued flowing with minimum interruption.
The coffee and juices were put out in pitchers (as the machines weren’t working) and the gas grill continued firing out custom omelettes While staff bussed tables as quickly as they could and washed the dishes by hand out back. They even pulled out several characters to entertain the children.
Despite the chaos and the unreasonable demands by some patrons everything continued to flow smoothly. None of the staff seemed frazzled or stressed. The entire event was handled smoothly.
PROS:
- Extremely friendly staff
- Very clean, well maintained building
- Free breakfast buffet with a huge selection(loved the smoked salmon)
- Lego toy your child can keep
- Separate room for children
- Legos/duplos in room for children to play with
- Fantastic decorations
- Comfortable beds
- Master Builders class where your child can build and keep a lego toy
- Beautiful grounds
Cons:
- Designed more for children under 12
- You will seem strange if you don’t have a child, so borrow one
- Lobby becomes a Lego minefield during peak hours
- Lobby is very loud with delighted children during peak hours
- Buffet for anything except breakfast is expensive
