Lost in Legoland

My cab dropped me off at the outlet mall where I was to board my shuttle to Legoland. The bus driver ticked me off his list, and then looked at me with suspicion: “Just you? Why are you alone?”

“Business,” I said, because it just sounds so legit.

Aeroplan had given me a pass to explore Florida’s newest park. (You can redeem miles for this experiential reward: if you have 8000 Aeroplan miles, you can buy a kid’s pass or an adult pass with 9500 miles.)

Honestly, I didn’t care much for Lego when I was a kid, but being central Florida’s newest theme park, I was pretty pumped to check it out.

My tactic for exploring theme parks the whole time in Orlando was this: get a ticket, wander around, get lost, cry about it. That’s it. I wandered aimlessly like a lost child.

Neat-o

Exploring Legoland

The whole park is divided into different sections:

Land of Adventure: Where you’ll find Coastersaurus, Safari Trek, Beetle Bounce, and games

This camel is not impressed

Lego City: Driving school, rescue academy, live shows, boating school

Imagination Zone: Hero Factory, MINDSTORMS, Build & Test

Lego Technic: AQUAZONE wave racers, games, food, shopping

Pirate’s Cove: Burgers and live pirates

Miniland: Miniature lego replicas of major US cities, like New York, Las Vegas, and Washington

NYC, baby!

Lego Kingdom: Royal Joust, games, Merlin’s Challenge, shows

Duplo Village: Farm, playgrounds, Granny’s Jalopies

Fun Town: The Grand Carousel (two levels!), 4D Theatre, food, shops

It’s a LOT to take in, so if you go, plan more wisely than I did.

Cypress Gardens

Cypress Gardens was an AMAZING retreat from the madness of the park, and the trails are incredible. I ignored the fact that the only other people in the gardens were seniors walking at a snail’s pace, and I convinced myself I was just as hip as they are.

I did pass some kids praying in front of the Virgin Mary statue though.

Also, this banyan tree is totally badass.

Food

Grub here is surprisingly cheaper in comparison to other parks, and there’s a pizza/pasta buffet for $10. Not the best food, but it works.

But definitely try Granny’s Apple Fries: they’re literally battered apples in the shape of fries, and you dip them in vanilla whipped cream. DELISH.

Conclusion

Legoland isn’t exactly the place solo 20-something, and I’m pretty sure families thought I was a paparazzi snapping photos of their children. By day two of being around children non-stop, I was ready to slap some babies.

Would LOVE to come back with a family someday. Maybe my own. Probably not, though.

My favourite part? I happened to stumble across Pirate’s Cove randomly when I spotted a pirate’s ship floating dockside. I was intrigued by the idea of a freshwater pirate’s ship: how could they possibly get away?! I noticed a stream of people all flocking to the shaded seating area, and since I was sweating like a maniac, I followed suit.

Turns out they have this super cool waterskiing stunt show put off by some talented athletes. The whole idea is that the fearless and beautiful Miranda must overcome Captain Brickbeard with the help of her lego soldiers, and she does so with grace! I had never seen a stunt show before, so I was pretty impressed.

I don’t know how they did it in these suits

I was also impressed by the biceps of the stuntmen acting as pirates. So impressed, in fact, I had to come back for a second look.

Ooh yeah, that’s hot

Getting There

Legoland is about a 45 minute drive from Orlando: “Take I-4 west to exit 55 (US Highway 27 South). Turn right off US Highway 27 at State Road 540/Cypress Gardens Boulevard, and park is 4 miles on the left.”

Or take the shuttle from Premium Outlets, $10 return trip. The bus has WiFi! One of the most exciting parts of my day.

  • March 17 2012
    Myrtle Walsh

    Amazing place, nice for kids. One day you may have children to take there. I would love to try the Granny apple fries! The banyan tree is amazing! I have read about banyan trees but have never seen a picture of them!

    • March 20 2012

      Hahaha, don’t hold your breath mama! But yes, it’s a great place for the kids for sure

  • March 17 2012

    ”By day two of being around children non-stop, I was ready to slap some babies.”
    – lmao!!!
    As a parent now, I feel like it’s my moral obligation to fit in a ‘kiddie’ destination into my itineraries. I’ll try and check this out when/ if in Florida. I had fun reading this, which is what I have come to expect of your writing:)

    Cheers!

  • March 17 2012

    I’m going to make those apple fries but I’m going to dip mine in chocolate. And I want that pirate ship in the last picture, it would make a nice lawn ornament.

    • March 20 2012

      OMG chocolate would have been so much better!

      • April 10 2012
        Skippy

        What about warm caramel? Mmmmm I will have to make these. :)

  • March 17 2012

    Granny fries look delish!!

    • March 20 2012

      They were! I could only eat like, half of them though. They were SUPER sweet

  • March 19 2012

    WHOA!
    LEGOLAND! I’m not even going to pretend like I’m not totally impressed as Legos are still the best toys. Of all time. In my book, anyway.
    So… um… the real question (obviously) is did you bring me back one of those skinny three bump pieces? Because I’m always loosing those. There must be at least a dozen clogging up my vacuum right now.
    ;)

    • March 20 2012

      I know right?! The BANE of my existence as a kid.

  • March 19 2012

    Kudos for trying this on your own! I’m glad you had fun.

    • March 20 2012

      Thanks Brock! It was quite entertaining.

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