Noah's Helper
11-10-2011, 10:07 PM
Day 1 (http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=187047)
Day 2 (http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=187048)
Day 3 (http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=187072)
Day 4 (http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=187073)
DAY 5 – Wednesday, October 19
When we first made our plans for this trip, we had not expected a new Legoland to be opening in Florida. We visited the California Legoland in 2006, and Noah absolutely loved it. For a long time he would ask if we could go back to California to visit Legoland again. He’s starting to outgrow his enjoyment of Legos, so we weren’t sure if this would be a good time to visit or not. We showed him the web site and he decided yes, he’d like to give the Florida Legoland a try, so what we thought would be a relaxed schedule suddenly seemed full.
We reserved a rental car for a couple of days so we could drive to Winter Haven on one day, and Islands of Adventure on another. We caught the morning’s first internal resort shuttle to the Customs House, where we met the Alamo shuttle. Before long we were on our way to Legoland (http://home.hiwaay.net/~btdarby/wdw_2011/Legoland/slides/n111019_1877.html).
I had not purchased tickets in advance, since our plans were not set in stone. I read that Publix stores in Florida carry discounted Legoland tickets, so we stopped at a store in Haines City. Their adult prices were only $60 plus tax, $15 less than the gate price! Child tickets were $50 and good for kids 12 and under (so Noah qualified!).
The Publix tickets are actually vouchers that need to be exchanged at the park’s ticket office. I think we may have been the first ones to use these tickets, as the employees seemed a little unsure how to process them. But we had our tickets ready by the time the turnstiles opened, and there were not many people in line to enter.
We checked the map and decided to start in the back of the park and work our way around from there. Our first ride was Lost Kingdom Adventure, which is like a cross between Indiana Jones and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. We were the first in line for this ride. We enjoyed it so much we got right back in line again, and I think we were the second ride of the day.
Next we rode the Safari Trek, which is a slow moving (and slow loading ride) through scenes of wild animals made from Legos. We would not have ridden this if there had been a line, but we were able to walk on. There are some fun creations, including some that are animated.
The next ride we came to was Coastersaurus, so I said, “Let’s ride this,” expecting some resistance from Noah, but he did not object and went right on. He and I sat together, which was a bad idea. There is very little leg room on this coaster; I’m only average height and it was very tight and uncomfortable for the two of us. Tina and Julianna were directed to sit together, but they quickly determined that was not going to work at all. Noah tolerated the ride, but he did not really enjoy it.
From the Land of Adventure we moved on to Lego City, where Noah did the driving school (http://home.hiwaay.net/~btdarby/wdw_2011/Legoland/slides/n111019_1906.html) (which is for ages 6 to 13 only), and we all did the boating school (http://home.hiwaay.net/~btdarby/wdw_2011/Legoland/slides/n111019_1893.html). Both kids loved the driving school in California, and Noah enjoyed it again this time. The boating school was fun too, but California really has Florida beat on the landscaping in this one. Julianna and I rode the Flying School coaster as well.
Tina ran into someone she knows; their family was there for their third straight day! They said the day before was even less crowded. They recommended the robotics classes in the Imagination Zone (these require reservations), but Noah was not interested.
We toured Miniland USA (http://home.hiwaay.net/~btdarby/wdw_2011/Legoland/slides/n111019_1919.html) next. There are lots of wonderful displays here; some are similar to the California (http://home.hiwaay.net/~btdarby/wdw_2011/Legoland/slides/n111019_1930.html) park, but others are unique, such as the elaborate pirate (http://home.hiwaay.net/~btdarby/wdw_2011/Legoland/slides/n111019_1926.html) area. There seemed to be a wedding in almost every display too. I was disappointed to see the marching band in front of the US Capitol was already in disrepair.
I thought we should catch the first water ski show (http://home.hiwaay.net/~btdarby/wdw_2011/Legoland/slides/n111019_1935.html) of the day, again out of concern for the weather. Rain was predicted for the morning, and we did have a few brief, light showers. I was also concerned that the wind by the lake might interfere with the show, but it didn’t seem to be a problem for the performers. The show itself was silly, and had a vaguely familiar story line, but it is geared for kids and all the kids there seemed to enjoy it. The ski stunts were cool.
We had lunch at the Fun Town Pizza Pasta Buffet. We were able to get a table right away, at noon even. I liked the way they were organized – you pay when you are seated, then there are different stations for drinks, salad, and pizza/pasta. The food was just ok, but it suited Noah’s tastes.
We returned to the Land of Adventure for Noah to play in Pharoah’s Revenge. This is a small playground surrounded by netting where kids can shoot foam balls at each other. Noah had lots of fun playing with other kids here. Tina and Julianna picked up an order of Granny’s Apple Fries for us all to share – yummy!
We returned to Lego City for the Rescue Academy. This is a hands-on activity where families race against each other to put out a fake fire or stop a burglar. First you race your vehicles by pumping a lever, then part of the team pumps water while the rest of the team aims the water hoses at a target. Once the target is “quenched,” you race your vehicles back to the starting line. We got out to an early lead, but fell behind in our race back to start. I think our pumping technique could use some work; it probably would help to use the full stroke of the pump. This gave us a good workout!
In Lego Kingdoms, Julianna and I rode the Dragon, an indoor/outdoor roller coaster that moves slowly through some fun indoor scenes before taking off outside. While waiting for us, Noah joined in a foam sword fight with some cast members.
Day 2 (http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=187048)
Day 3 (http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=187072)
Day 4 (http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=187073)
DAY 5 – Wednesday, October 19
When we first made our plans for this trip, we had not expected a new Legoland to be opening in Florida. We visited the California Legoland in 2006, and Noah absolutely loved it. For a long time he would ask if we could go back to California to visit Legoland again. He’s starting to outgrow his enjoyment of Legos, so we weren’t sure if this would be a good time to visit or not. We showed him the web site and he decided yes, he’d like to give the Florida Legoland a try, so what we thought would be a relaxed schedule suddenly seemed full.
We reserved a rental car for a couple of days so we could drive to Winter Haven on one day, and Islands of Adventure on another. We caught the morning’s first internal resort shuttle to the Customs House, where we met the Alamo shuttle. Before long we were on our way to Legoland (http://home.hiwaay.net/~btdarby/wdw_2011/Legoland/slides/n111019_1877.html).
I had not purchased tickets in advance, since our plans were not set in stone. I read that Publix stores in Florida carry discounted Legoland tickets, so we stopped at a store in Haines City. Their adult prices were only $60 plus tax, $15 less than the gate price! Child tickets were $50 and good for kids 12 and under (so Noah qualified!).
The Publix tickets are actually vouchers that need to be exchanged at the park’s ticket office. I think we may have been the first ones to use these tickets, as the employees seemed a little unsure how to process them. But we had our tickets ready by the time the turnstiles opened, and there were not many people in line to enter.
We checked the map and decided to start in the back of the park and work our way around from there. Our first ride was Lost Kingdom Adventure, which is like a cross between Indiana Jones and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. We were the first in line for this ride. We enjoyed it so much we got right back in line again, and I think we were the second ride of the day.
Next we rode the Safari Trek, which is a slow moving (and slow loading ride) through scenes of wild animals made from Legos. We would not have ridden this if there had been a line, but we were able to walk on. There are some fun creations, including some that are animated.
The next ride we came to was Coastersaurus, so I said, “Let’s ride this,” expecting some resistance from Noah, but he did not object and went right on. He and I sat together, which was a bad idea. There is very little leg room on this coaster; I’m only average height and it was very tight and uncomfortable for the two of us. Tina and Julianna were directed to sit together, but they quickly determined that was not going to work at all. Noah tolerated the ride, but he did not really enjoy it.
From the Land of Adventure we moved on to Lego City, where Noah did the driving school (http://home.hiwaay.net/~btdarby/wdw_2011/Legoland/slides/n111019_1906.html) (which is for ages 6 to 13 only), and we all did the boating school (http://home.hiwaay.net/~btdarby/wdw_2011/Legoland/slides/n111019_1893.html). Both kids loved the driving school in California, and Noah enjoyed it again this time. The boating school was fun too, but California really has Florida beat on the landscaping in this one. Julianna and I rode the Flying School coaster as well.
Tina ran into someone she knows; their family was there for their third straight day! They said the day before was even less crowded. They recommended the robotics classes in the Imagination Zone (these require reservations), but Noah was not interested.
We toured Miniland USA (http://home.hiwaay.net/~btdarby/wdw_2011/Legoland/slides/n111019_1919.html) next. There are lots of wonderful displays here; some are similar to the California (http://home.hiwaay.net/~btdarby/wdw_2011/Legoland/slides/n111019_1930.html) park, but others are unique, such as the elaborate pirate (http://home.hiwaay.net/~btdarby/wdw_2011/Legoland/slides/n111019_1926.html) area. There seemed to be a wedding in almost every display too. I was disappointed to see the marching band in front of the US Capitol was already in disrepair.
I thought we should catch the first water ski show (http://home.hiwaay.net/~btdarby/wdw_2011/Legoland/slides/n111019_1935.html) of the day, again out of concern for the weather. Rain was predicted for the morning, and we did have a few brief, light showers. I was also concerned that the wind by the lake might interfere with the show, but it didn’t seem to be a problem for the performers. The show itself was silly, and had a vaguely familiar story line, but it is geared for kids and all the kids there seemed to enjoy it. The ski stunts were cool.
We had lunch at the Fun Town Pizza Pasta Buffet. We were able to get a table right away, at noon even. I liked the way they were organized – you pay when you are seated, then there are different stations for drinks, salad, and pizza/pasta. The food was just ok, but it suited Noah’s tastes.
We returned to the Land of Adventure for Noah to play in Pharoah’s Revenge. This is a small playground surrounded by netting where kids can shoot foam balls at each other. Noah had lots of fun playing with other kids here. Tina and Julianna picked up an order of Granny’s Apple Fries for us all to share – yummy!
We returned to Lego City for the Rescue Academy. This is a hands-on activity where families race against each other to put out a fake fire or stop a burglar. First you race your vehicles by pumping a lever, then part of the team pumps water while the rest of the team aims the water hoses at a target. Once the target is “quenched,” you race your vehicles back to the starting line. We got out to an early lead, but fell behind in our race back to start. I think our pumping technique could use some work; it probably would help to use the full stroke of the pump. This gave us a good workout!
In Lego Kingdoms, Julianna and I rode the Dragon, an indoor/outdoor roller coaster that moves slowly through some fun indoor scenes before taking off outside. While waiting for us, Noah joined in a foam sword fight with some cast members.