The fourth stop on our Drawn to Central Florida tour, as described by the artist, Josh “Bump” Galletta.
LEGOLAND® Florida Resort is by no means a secret and this wasn’t my family’s first trip, but I had to highlight it. As a father of two, this theme park built just for kids is but another reason why I’m Drawn to Central Florida.
Like most of my adventures, I took my family along. And let’s face it, I would have had a difficult time justifying leaving them behind on a trip to LEGOLAND, of all places!
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the park, it’s themed after the legendary toy building brick – the LEGO® (you know, in case the name didn’t give it away). All that resides on its 150 acres was built just for kids, including a movie theatre, shops, restaurants and 50 kid-friendly rides which is really special considering many children ages 2-12 are unable to ride most theme park rides. There’s not much a kid can’t do at LEGOLAND®, and that’s why the Galletta’s love it.
We started our adventure with a ride on the Island in the Sky. It’s a rotating platform that rises 150 feet and gives you a 360 degree view of the park. It’s the perfect place and time to devise a plan of what you want to visit and in what order.
My children are still are a little reluctant to try roller coasters, even if they are “pink knuckle” rated, but they do love the safari, boat ride and science section of the park where they can build their own trucks and race them against other kids. They also love visiting the back garden (carefully preserved from Cypress Gardens, Florida’s original theme park) where they run around like the wild animals they just saw on safari and stare in awe at the Great Banyan Tree.
For adults: Other than the bliss that is seeing your children enjoying themselves to the max, the details of the park are fascinating for all ages. There are tons of LEGO® characters and MINILAND features the coolest LEGO® replicas. It was cool seeing California, Las Vegas, Washington DC, New York City and Florida towns like Jacksonville and St. Augustine. My son loves trains, so we of course hunted them all down and watched for a little while as they chugged along the tracks.
Here’s a fun tip: If you look real hard while you’re in MINILAND, you can find buttons that unlock hidden features like water spouts that spray passersby. We had way too much fun spray people and watching them try to figure out where the water came from. Ah, good times.
In addition to the LEGOLAND Florida theme park, there is also a LEGO® themed hotel and water park. We haven’t visited them yet, but they look like lots of fun! The water park is inside the theme park and the hotel is steps from the entrance. Pretty convenient, if you ask me.
I hope you enjoy this drawing. I actually had my kids proof it by pointing to features and asking them what they were looking at. If a child recognized the LEGOLAND hotel, dragon coaster and LEGO® characters, I knew I was on the right track.
Learn more about LEGOLAND Florida Resort and LEGOLAND Hotel.
Author: Barbara Cagle
