The kids(and I!) were so excited to visit LEGOLAND Florida. We are a Lego family. We love building them and watching the movies and shows. Today we are sharing our best Legoland Florida tips to help you plan your first visit to the Florida theme park.
LEGOLAND Florida is a theme park located in Water Haven, Florida about a 45 minute drive from Orlando. It has rides, shows, character meet and greets and a water park,. The LEGOLAND Florida Hotel is also within walking distance to the park. You can read about our stay at the LEGOLAND Florida Hotel here.
Legoland Florida Tips for an Awesome Day
Look at the Legoland Florida Map Before You Arrive
Before we left for the park we looked through the park map and picked out what attractions we had to do. You can find the map of the park online but I called a few months before we arrived and asked them to send me one in the mail. I like having a copy I can hold!!
Best Rides at Legoland Florida
- The LEGO Movie Masters of Flight (40 inches)
- Lost Kingdom Adventure (30 inches)
- The Dragon (40 inches)
- Coastersaurus (42 inches)
- Flying School (44 inches)
- Project X (42 inches)
- NINJAGO:The Ride(Children Under 48′ must ride with an adult)
More Legoland Florida Tips
- LEGOLAND in Florida has shorter hours and is closed certain days during the off season. Always check the website when planning your visit.
- Check the ride height requirements before you arrive to set expectations for your kids.
- The waterpark was not open when we were there in February but was opening the next month.
- Check around for discount coupons. I have seen them in Lego movie DVDs and the Lego magazines. They can really save you a lot when planning your trip.
- Stay at the LEGOLAND Florida Hotel if you can.
It allows you to enter the park 30 minutes before opening time.Update: LEGOLAND no longer allows early entry for hotel guests. The LEGOLAND Florida Hotel is “130 kid steps” away from the park entrance. Staying at the hotel was amazing. Read more about our stay at the LEGOLAND Florida Hotel. - LEGOLAND Beach Retreat is another LEGOLAND property. It is located across the street and offers a shuttle to the park.
Legoland Florida Itinerary
LEGOLAND Florida offers quite a bit for everyone but I found that 5-12 years old is the sweet spot. There were a few rides that my 3 year old was not big enough or old enough for. This can lead to a few tantrums and disappointed kids. Always check the ride requirements before you arrive. It can save you so much stress!!
Everything in the park is very clean and themed around LEGOs. It’s really cool to see your favorite characters as giant Legos. I especially loved the hidden Lego decorations. Butterflies in trees and animals throughout. The theme of the park is awesome!
The little details of how they decorated the park was really fun for me and the family. Our visit was on a Saturday but the crowds were low and we were able to see everything we wanted to. Always arrive early and head to your favorite rides first. When you are done you can do everything you missed and go at a slower pace.
At LEGOLAND Florida they have play areas called Duplo Tot Spots. They are little play areas located through the park. Check on your map to locate them. It is for the smaller kids that are not tall enough for some rides. I loved it because it kept my 3 year old happy while my husband went on the roller coasters with the bigger kids. This made our visit more enjoyable for the whole family.
Start your day with the attractions that are a priority. You can easily do the top 5-7 attractions before lunch and then explore the rest of the park.
Save time at the end of your visit to walk through Mini-Land. My kids loved the Star Wars section. Mini-Land is awesome! The details in the mini creations are unbelievable. Your kids will love pressing the buttons and making parts move and the adults will appreciate the talent that went into creating these amazing sculptures.
Where to Eat at Legoland Florida
Eating at theme parks can either be really good or really bad. LEGOLAND got high marks in my opinion for the amazing dinner I had! We ate lunch and dinner at the park. Lunch was at the Fried Chicken Restaurant. It was fine, nothing crazy. Chicken sandwiches and chicken fingers with fries.
For dinner we ate at the Market Restaurant and the Stir Fry was amazing. It was a huge portion and I brought it back to the room for an evening snack. It is so nice to have something a little different in a theme park.
A visit to LEGOLAND Florida would not be complete without trying Granny’s Apple Fries! Find them in Fun Town.
Apple fries, cinnamon, sugar, whip cream!!! My very sick daughter didn’t get to try them and to this day says we have to go back because she didn’t feel good and missed them.
Poor girl was sick the first half of this vacation. We ended up at urgent care half-way through our day at LEGOLAND. Urgent care is about a mile away if you ever need it…hope you don’t! Thankfully my in-laws were with us and could stay at the park with the boys.
Update: We visited LEGOLAND again and my daughter got to try the Apple Fries! Yay!
When we were at Urgent care the boys saw the Pirate show on the lake. They loved it. It is a pirate water show with water skis and pirate fun. I hope the whole family can see it next time!
We also didn’t make it to the World of Chima ride. It was on our can’t be missed list but it didn’t happen. It’s a water ride-you get soaked! With a sick family member we didn’t think it would be the best choice. Ride it on a really hot day or bring a change of clothes. You will get soaked! People were wearing ponchos on it and it was one of the rides we all really wanted to experience.
Update:
We returned to LEGOLAND in 2017 and stayed at the LEGOLAND Florida Hotel. It was awesome!! You can read about it here. We also had an opportunity to see the new NINJAGO World. Our favorite was NINJAGO: The Ride. Using the perks of staying at the hotel we were the first to ride it! Blogging Mom has a great post about all the NINJAGO World details. It is family fun for any NINJAGO fan.
Our Best Legoland Florida Tips for Attractions and Food
- The Dragon(Lego Kingdoms)
- Wells Fargo Fun Town 4D(Fun Town)
- Coastersaurus(Land of Adventure)
- Lost Kingdom Adventure(Land of Adventure)
- Project X (Lego Techno)
- Flying School(Lego City)
- Ford Driving School(Lego City)
- NINJAGO: The Ride
- Quest for Chi (Chima Ride)
- Expore the Lego Movie Land
- Try the Apple Fries
We were lucky to be visiting during the event for the new Lego Movie 4D. For the event they had character meet and greets all around the park. This was a special event and character meet and greets do change. (Check the website)
The amazing thing about this was how accessible they were. My daughter loves the Lego Friends characters and often we would see them walking around and they would stop to take a picture with her. I loved how easy it was to meet them. It was really cool!!
I wanted to share a really special thing that happened to us that made my daughter so happy. To prepare for the trip my kids all packed their Lego shirts, except for my daughter whose no longer fit her. I looked everywhere to find a Lego shirt in her size and had no luck. It was such a bummer.
At the park that day they passed out glow bracelets to kids that had Lego shirts on as part of the special event. My daughter didn’t receive one and it just added on to her crummy day. I was disappointed that they wouldn’t give her one too, but didn’t want to make a big deal about it, and she seemed okay with it too.
As we were walking through another part of the park an employee approached us and said she wanted to give my daughter a bracelet. She remembered that she didn’t get one and wanted to find her!! I was so impressed with this!!
My kids can’t wait to visit LEGOLAND Florida again. When I planned this trip I couldn’t find much information about visiting LEGOLAND. It’s a Lego kids dream. The rides are fun and the park is set on a beautiful lake.
You can go at a slow pace and get your picture taken with all different Lego characters(made of bricks and in costume!) If your family likes Legos you will not be disappointed.
LEGOLAND in Florida has exciting new attractions opening in 2019
- The LEGO Movie World Land
Our family went in Feb this year and had the best time! There was so much to love about this park, we are already wanting to go back! One thing that has changed is that they are no longer offering early time in the park for those who stay at the hotel. It was a bummer!!
Hi Heather! Thanks for reading! I didn’t know they are not offering early time in the park anymore. I wonder why they changed that. I’ll have to check it out. Thank you for letting me know. 🙂
We went in 2012 loved lego land heading back to Orlando soon might go again thanks for all the tips!
It’s so fun! We are heading back soon for the new Ninjago World.
Great report! I think maybe the park gets mixed reviews when people visit after going to Disney or Universal – those parks are so immersive and all the characters are recognizable, Legoland can seem a bit basic. But we loved all the little details, and I was so impressed with how clean the park was, and how friendly the employees were. We’ll be back for sure!
I thought the park was clean too! It was a really fun day! We will be back too! My kids are so excited for the Ninjago land opening in 2017!