As a kid, I remember excitedly popping open those colorful cardboard Lego tubes and watching the colorful little squares and rectangles tumble out. Later, I heard tell of magical places known as Lego-themed amusement parks. The first one opened in 1968 in Bellund, Denmark, the town where Lego was founded. It bore the cool cachet of something Euro and out of reach — like Ikea used to be. Back then, I would have had a conniption to learn that in the 21st century, the Legoland phenomenon would not only spread to the U.S., but that one such park would open just an hour away from Tampa.
I had a chance to recapture the giddy excitement during a media sneak preview event. The theme park opens to the public Saturday, Oct. 15, in Winter Haven. It's the culmination of some 450 days of construction. Though not completely fashioned from Legos, the 150-acre toy-themed wonderland has a lot of cool statues and models made with the miniature connectible bricks, offering fun for kids and grown-ups alike.
Interactive features include a driving school, roller coasters (one for bigger kids and adults), a Duplo village for wee ones, a boat ride, a snazzy Daytona International Speedway in the park's Miniland USA — 50 attractions in all, each as adorable and colorful as one would suspect, geared to families with children ages 2 to 12.
On a historic note, the park pays tribute to its former Cypress Gardens inhabitants with a captivatingly life-sized representation of CG's signature Southern Belle, a statue constructed of 52,000 Legos. Reps from the new park says they hope to maintain Cypress Gardens' Florida-friendly milieu with landscaping and waterskiing shows, but this time with a pirate-themed adventure and a giant vessel modeled after a buccaneer boat from a Lego toy set.
"We want to bring back the beauty and history of Cypress Gardens," said Jill Swindler, Legoland Florida marketing manager.
Even with all its nifty ingenuity, the impending grand opening of Legoland Florida has some parents a little less enthused. The $65/$55 single admission is a bit hefty for some. (Yearlong passes are $99-$159. If you're a globe-trotter, you can get all-access admission to all of the parks for only $2,500 a pop.)
"They are out of their minds with what they're charging for it," said Scott Clark, a Palm Harbor dad of a 9- and 6-year-old. "A day out for a family of four will run almost $400. And the rides won't be going through state inspections."
He's right about the inspections. The Orlando Sentinel reported that the park, which is set to open Oct. 15, qualifies for an exemption from state inspections. Officials say this out was written into Florida law for Walt Disney World and other large theme parks.
"The safety of our guests is our number one priority," responded Legoland Florida Media Relations Representative Jackie Wallace. "We are confident that our highly trained maintenance team has the tools and procedures in place to inspect our rides on a daily basis. We will continue to work with the state to ensure we comply with every regulation and standard."
According to the Sentinel story, Legoland Florida has 28 people in its rides division whose duties include inspections. Its coasters and other attractions will be inspected by its staff of full-time, in-house safety inspectors, who will be required to file annual reports with the state.
The senior project designer and "master builder" for Legoland Florida is Bill Vollbrecht, who has rendered 3-D designs for other parks in the Lego dynasty. Outside his work, Vollbrecht is a hobbyist who attends geeked-out conventions centered on Lego-building (similar to Comic-Cons and the like). "I love my job," he said during the media event. "I get to play with the world's biggest toy box."
Master builders have been known to enjoy some clandestine fun in their toy boxes. A 2004 story in the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that "adult-themed vignettes" had been secretly incorporated into Legoland California's Miniland: a businessman mooning a presidential motorcade in miniature Washington, D.C.; a man doing his laundry in the nude in NYC. Vollbrecht, who left the Carlsbad park to pursue freelance work just before the story ran, told the San Diego newspaper that such scenes were definitely created "on the sly."
CL tried to determine whether Vollbrecht could provide clues about any super-secret, naughty designs included this time around, but we received no comment. A little lap-dancer observing the six-inch rule, perhaps, as a mini-Mayor Buckhorn looks on?
This article appears in Oct 13-19, 2011.