Legoland Trip Report Pt 1

[AgentC]

We went to Legoland on Oct 21 for the first time.
Our overall impression was positive and we do plan on a return visit. My children (daughter-3 and son- almost 6) loved it.

When reading my opinions, please keep in mind that the park has only been open 1 week. I am sure some things will change. Also we only visited for 6 1/2 hours and saw about 1/2 the attractions and no shows. Okay, on to the opinions.

Legoland is marketed to the 2-12 age group. However unless your 2 year old (and perhaps even your 3 or 4 year old is quite tall), there will be very few rides, a shorter child can go on. Unlike Disney even non thrill rides have height limits.

Looking at the height list restrictions (if I got them all)

4 rides require a height of 34"
8 rides require a height of 36"
3 rides require a height of 40"
1 ride requires a height of 42"
1 ride requires a height of 44"

In addition, there is a height required to ride without a responsible person over another height. Only 3 rides let a 36" child ride alone.

2 rides require an additional 42" rider
10 rides require an additional 48" rider
2 rides require an additional 52" rider

There are 2 rides - the carousel and the Island in the Sky that only require the accompaniment of a rider 48" or above.

The Ford Driving School (6-13) and Ford Jr Driving School (3-5) only have age limits.

My daughter is 40" and my son is 48", so we did not have any issues, but if you have smaller children who are not content with play grounds or shows, this could be an issue.

In the higher end of the age range, there are 4 roller coasters and one more exciting water ride. A lot of the other rides are mellow, so if yow have an older child who likes excitement or is not a huge Lego fan this may not be the park for them.

[AgentC]

Legoland

The good

• The Lego figures are truly amazing. Many of them have sound, lights, actions and water
• Original rides that appeal to younger children
• Entertaining shows (water skiing!)
• Great play ground areas
• Lots of opportunity to play with Legos
• Stroller rental easy and inexpensive
• Kids loved it.
• Ford Driving School & Lost Kingdom Adventure rides
  
  

The Bad

• Food service was not efficient. My husband waited 40 minutes to order burgers. We talked to someone later in the day who couldn't get into the Pizza Buffet because the line was out the door. He also ended up waiting over 30 minutes for burgers (at a different burger place than we went!).
• The snack carts we went too did not take cards so cash was essential.
• Some employees were very slow to load and unload rides.
• Parking was a bit confusing. Employees directed us down a lane where the spaces angled the opposite way. Everyone had to turn around at the end of the lane and come back.
• Height limits seem a bit excessive
• Wait time signs were very inaccurate in both directions. Boat School sign said 5 minutes. Wait was 15. Lost Kingdom said 60 minutes. Wait was 30 minutes. I also saw kids playing with the times.

This is it for me for tonight. I will try to post more on the food and attractions we visited tomorrow.

[RAIDER]

Thanks AGENTC were planning to go there in Dec and were really looking forward to it . It will also be interesting to see how the parkland has changed as i do believe its on the land of the old Cypress Gardens ?

[BrerGnat]

The Bad

• Food service was not efficient. My husband waited 40 minutes to order burgers. We talked to someone later in the day who couldn't get into the Pizza Buffet because the line was out the door. He also ended up waiting over 30 minutes for burgers (at a different burger place than we went!).
  
• The snack carts we went too did not take cards so cash was essential.
  
• Some employees were very slow to load and unload rides.
  
• Wait time signs were very inaccurate in both directions. Boat School sign said 5 minutes. Wait was 15. Lost Kingdom said 60 minutes. Wait was 30 minutes. I also saw kids playing with the times.

I have visited Legoland in California several times over the past few years, and these cons you listed for the Florida park are the SAME issues I've come across at the CA park over and over and over again.

To be honest, don't expect these things to change much. This is sort of par for the course, as far as Legoland is concerned.

Food is very close to inedible all over Legoland park in CA, and service is slow, slow, slow!

That guy who couldn't get into the pizza buffet was lucky. Legoland is NOT good at doing pizza/pasta. Burgers are actually one of the better food items I've had at Legoland.

The rides ALL load/unload slowly. ALL of them. This is the reason for the insanely long lines you find at Legoland during the busier months. Stuff like that Safari Jeep ride can have waits (no joke) 90-120 min in the summer! I think it's a combo of rides having small hourly capacity numbers and an inefficient loading process (all rides load/unload at the same place). Also, several rides are "cycle" rides at Legoland.

Wait times are always wrong. From what I have gathered, they only check the wait times at the top of each hour, and that's it!

Overall, Legoland is a good brand. I like the park in CA very much and this one in Florida sounds really nice since it's in more of a "park" setting than the concrete jungle of the CA park. However, their operational proficiency is not even close to Disney's, nor is their customer service. It's very difficult to find a Legoland employee when you need one. So, visitors need to be aware of those things so that they don't go in with expectations that it will be like a Disney park.

[AgentC]

It will also be interesting to see how the parkland has changed as i do believe its on the land of the old Cypress Gardens ?

Yes, it is. There is a section of the gardens, they kept. We didn't get a chance to go to it.

There are also several areas within the main park that have little pieces left. There is a really pretty waterfall near Miniland that has Lego deers and otters added to the landscape.

[CosmicRay]

Thanks for posting your review! DH and DS are going to visit next year. This was very helpful!

[AgentC]

I
Overall, Legoland is a good brand. I like the park in CA very much and this one in Florida sounds really nice since it's in more of a "park" setting than the concrete jungle of the CA park. However, their operational proficiency is not even close to Disney's, nor is their customer service. It's very difficult to find a Legoland employee when you need one. So, visitors need to be aware of those things so that they don't go in with expectations that it will be like a Disney park.

Interesting to hear many of the same issues are at the FL park. There are several cycle rides, same load and unload spot and low capacity rides. For example the Junior Driving Academy area is quite small and only had 8 cars running when we were there.

The burgers were quite good when we finally got them. My husband did not like the fries. I thought they tasted similar to BK fries.

Legoland FL did have a lot of employees out. Not sure if this is something that will change once they are out of grand opening mood, but most attractions had multiple employees.

Overall though I think your assessment of CA applies to FL. We are definitely planning to go again because my kids are the ideal ages for it.

[NJGIRL]

Thanks for the review. It sounds like they have alot to work out yet.