Home > Family Vacation Ideas > Theme Park Family Vacations > LEGOLAND Florida vs. LEGOLAND California LEGOLAND Florida vs. LEGOLAND California There are only two LEGOLAND theme park locations in the U.S., so it's natural for families to make comparisons. These are our main observations for LEGOLAND Florida vs. LEGOLAND California -- see what's different and the same at both parks. Lots for Little Ones LEGOLAND excels in catering to the pre-school set. In both Florida and California, DUPLO Village is an entire section dedicated to children ages 5 and younger, with indoor and outdoor play spaces. There are several playgrounds and hands-on areas throughout these parks, where LEGO pieces are available for recharging moments of creative play. Both have Baby Care Centers, stroller rentals, and healthy food options. You'll find several rides and attractions unique to LEGOLAND, and both of these parks include the popular Lost Kingdom Adventure with interactive target shooting with laser guns, the Aqua Zone Wave Racers, Royal Joust, Beetle Bounce and the Coastersaurus, Dragon, and LEGO Technic coasters.
Both have driving schools -- sponsored by Ford in Florida and Volvo in California -- where kids drive their own cars freely through simulated streets. In 2016, LEGOLAND California debuted NINJAGO the Ride, and in 2017, LEGOLAND Florida will do the same, bringing with it a new section of the park dedicated to the LEGO NINJAGO: Masters of Spinjitzu TV series. The highlight of any LEGOLAND is this section with several large-scale LEGO replicas of major cities, recreated in amazing, artistic detail with interactive elements like water features, sound, moving pieces and vehicles. In California, part of the experience is a boat ride to view them from the water. The Florida section -- originally constructed for Carlsbad -- was moved to Winter Haven and replaced with a Star Wars vignette. The world's first LEGOLAND Water Park was in Carlsbad. Four waterslides emerge from the center attraction, a 45-foot tower, which looks like it was built from oversized LEGO pieces. Build-a-Raft River, DUPLO Splash Safari, Orange Rush and Joker Soaker are attractions meant to get you wet.
LEGOLAND Florida added a water park in the former Cypress Gardens. It features pretty much the same attractions as in Carlsbad, along with a wave pool. LEGOLAND Florida, at 150 acres, is the world's largest LEGOLAND. It includes the expansive former Cypress Gardens attraction. There is just too much to do and see in one day, especially in the "off-season" months when it may only be open for seven hours. We found that the California park was doable in one full day (though the kids will obviously want to stay longer). At LEGOLAND California, you'll find a SEA LIFE Aquarium adjacent to the park. Admission requires an upgraded ticket fee. You'll discover 200 species of marine life in exhibits which include the Octopus Garden, a Ray Lagoon, Kingdom of the Seahorse, and Discovery Zone Touch Pool. Amusingly, several incorporate LEGO sculpture, including the divers exploring the Lost City of Atlantis. In Winter Haven, LEGOLAND purchased the land of what was once the Cypress Gardens attraction, and restored the lush gardens with species from around the world, as well as the cove for water ski shows.
Today's version tells the story of Brickbeard the Pirate, and features impressive water ski stunts. Also remaining is the Island in the Sky ride, a revolving disk, which rises to 150 feet to offer 360-degree views of the entire park and Lake Eloise. It's incorporated within the park, so there isn't an extra admission fee. If you love LEGO, you'll love both of these parks. While you'll find much in common as you stroll through the Land of Adventure, Fun Town, and the Imagination Zone, you will also experience unique rides, attractions, shops and eateries that make it worthwhile to visit both. Both LEGOLAND parks in California and Florida operate adjoining LEGO-themed hotels. The LEGOLAND California Hotel opened in 2003 with 250 rooms, while the LEGOLAND Florida Hotel opened in May 2015 with 152 suites. Both hotels offered family rooms with bunks and other features for kids; onsite dining that includes mini-buffets for kids; onsite activities including shows; and best of all, early entrance to the parks, one hour before the general public can enter.
More From Family Vacation Critic: Best Ages for LEGOLAND Annual Events at LEGOLANDWritten by Traci L. Suppa Find Your Family Vacation Any Type of Vacation AdventureAll-inclusiveBeachMuseum/CulturalSkiingTheme ParksWater ParksWater Sports AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaCanadaCaribbeanCentral AmericaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDisneyEuropeFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMexicoMichiganMid-AtlanticMidwestMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew EnglandNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPacific NorthwestPennsylvaniaRhode IslandRockiesSouth AmericaSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaSoutheastSouthwestTennesseeTexasUSA National ParksUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming This article is about the theme park. For the PC game, see Legoland (video game). For the Lego liam theme previously called Legoland, see Lego City.
The entrance of Legoland Deutschland Legoland (trademark in uppercase as LEGOLAND) is a chain of Lego-themed children's/family theme parks. They are not fully owned by Lego Group itself; rather they are owned and operated by the British theme park company Merlin Entertainments. The Legoland Billund Resort opened in Billund, Denmark in 1968, followed by the Legoland Windsor Resort in Windsor, England in 1996. Further parks opened in California, Germany, Florida, Malaysia and Dubai, and parks in Japan and South Korea are due to open in 2017. Future Legolands are planned in Orange County, New York (construction to begin in 2017; opening in 2019),[1][2] in Shanghai, China, and in India. Legoland Discovery Centres have also been proposed in India. The parks are marketed to families with younger children (11 and under), and although the attractions include a number of roller coasters, the roller coasters are not as numerous or as extreme as those in other parks, and there is a greater emphasis on rides suitable for younger children.
Legoland parks are split into various areas, which are consistent among the chain's parks. For example, all six of the parks include a Lego miniland, a model village which includes models of landmarks and scenes from around the world, made from millions of genuine Lego bricks. Educational elements of Legoland include the "hydraulophone", a water-operated pipe organ An important aspect of Legoland is education, epistemology, and learning. The parks' rides are all Lego themed; many are made to appear as if they are built out of Lego bricks. They tend to be based on one particular line of Lego: for example, a popular ride at all six parks is the Dragon Coaster, which is loosely based on the Knights' Kingdom Lego sets. Another popular ride is the Driving school, in which children can drive small electric cars made to look like Lego cars around a small road network, after which they gain a mock driving license. Despite the commonality of the above-mentioned attractions, the exact set of rides varies between parks, although as with the Disney parks there is some overlap.
Main article: Legoland Malaysia Resort Legoland Malaysia was opened in Nusajaya, Johor, Malaysia on 15 September 2012, and it is the first Legoland in Asia. Initially, there are seven themed areas of attractions for all ages which are; Miniland, The Beginning, Land of Adventure, Imagination, LEGO Kingdom, LEGO Technic, and LEGO City. The centerpiece of the park is Miniland, where almost all Asian landmarks were built using LEGO bricks. LEGOLAND® Water Park was built up by 11 March 2016. Main article: Legoland Billund Resort Legoland in Billund, Denmark, is the oldest Legoland and was built near the original Lego factory. It is divided into ten different worlds: Duplo Land, Imagination Zone, LEGOREDO Town, Adventure Land, Miniland, Pirate Land, Lego City, Knights Kingdom, Viking Land, and Polar Land. The park opened in 1968[3] and has 1.6 million visitors annually, making it the largest tourist attraction in Denmark outside Copenhagen. Main article: Legoland Deutschland Resort
Legoland Deutschland is located in Günzburg, Germany, and opened in 2002. As of 2009, there are seven areas in the park, including: Imagination Center, Miniland, LEGO X-treme, LEGO City, Knights Kingdom, Adventure Land, and Land of the Pirates. Main article: Legoland Windsor Resort Legoland Windsor was built on the site of the previous Windsor Safari Park in Windsor, Berkshire, and opened in 1996. As of 2015, there are twelve areas in the park, including: The Beginning, Imagination Centre, Miniland, Duplo Land, Heartlake City, LEGO City, Land of the Vikings, Kingdom of the Pharaohs, Pirates Shores, Knights Kingdom, Star Wars and Adventure Land. It is the largest Legoland park in the world in terms of area – its area is approximately 5 times greater than that of Legoland Billund. There was an earlier Legoland Park in Germany, from 1973 to 1976.[4] It was located in the city of Sierksdorf in northern Germany. In 1976 the park was sold; the former Legoland Sierksdorf is now Hansa Park.
Legoland Dubai opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on October 31, 2016.[7] It was originally scheduled to open in 2011 in Dubailand as "Legoland Dubailand",[8] but has since been delayed until October 2016 and is now located at Dubai Parks and Resorts and Water Park as "Legoland Dubai".[9] It will have 6 areas: Factory, Lego City, Imagination, Kingdoms, Adventure, and the first indoor Miniland. Legoland California is in Carlsbad, California, in northern San Diego County. The park opened on March 20, 1999, and is split into nine sections, which are: The Beginning, Explorer Island, Heartlake City, Fun Town, Castle Hill, Miniland USA, Imagination Zone, Pirate Shores, and Land of Adventure. A Sea Life aquarium is adjacent to Legoland California. In 2010, a water park opened on its grounds, as one of the only three of Legoland parks (Followed by Legoland Florida [Formerly known as Splash Island], Malaysia, and Dubai being the newest) to feature a water park. On May 24, 2014, an add-on was built for the water park, themed after Legends of Chima.
Legoland Florida opened on October 15, 2011 as the second Legoland park in the United States, and the world's second largest Legoland park after Legoland Windsor which is 5 times bigger than the one in Billund.[10] The park was built on the former site of Cypress Gardens, a historically famous Florida theme park. This park is divided into 12 areas: The Beginning, Fun Town, Duplo Land, Miniland USA, Kingdoms, Pirates Cove, Imagination Zone, Technic, Land of Adventure, Lego City, Chima, LEGO Friends, and a restored replica of Cypress Gardens. Legoland Florida opened a water park replacing the former Cypress Gardens "Splash Island" water park on May 26, 2012. Currently five further Legoland parks are being developed or are planned. On 30 June 2014, Merlin and Nagoya city officially announced that they had signed a contract to construct Legoland Japan, to open in Nagoya harbour, Japan, in February 2017.[11] Construction officially began on April 15, 2015.[12] The park is expected to cost around US$15 million to construct for the first stage, which is scheduled to open on April 1, 2017.
[13] According to the contract, the second stage of the Legoland will be completed in 2021. Legoland Korea will be the world's largest Legoland at nearly 1.3 million square meters including a Lego hotel, condos, water park, spa and outlets.[14] It will be the world's first Legoland located on an island.[15] Construction officially began on 28 November 2014 and it is scheduled to open in 2017.[14] Located in South Korea next to Seoul Metropolitan Subway's Chuncheon Station, the site is a 1-hour trip from Seoul via the 180 km/h, double-deck ITX train. On 21 October 2015, Merlin and China Media Capital announced a $300 million joint venture investment to build a Legoland amusement park in Shanghai, China.[16] Merlin Chief Executive Nick Varney said that Legoland Shanghai would be a similarly sized investment to the $300 million parks it is building in Japan, Korea and Dubai. In November 2015, Merlin Entertainments announced that over the next ten years it will be investing £50 million in India.