Legoland
The front gate, with the inevitable photo stop
Gail and Susan are very mature and grown up. Karl is mostly grown up, and I’m at least housebroken. So when Karl wanted to go to Legoland today he only got one taker, and off the two of us went.
Legoland took over the location of the failed Cypress Gardens, a tourist mecca for many years than eventually faded into oblivion against much better financed and complex operations like Disney and Universal. The Lego company operates 7 parks around the world, they know what they are doing, have a huge built-in base and the cash to do the job right.
This is a park for children, make no mistake about it. Karl and I may have been the only ones there without a child or 3 to keep us company. We tried to rent a kid, but they were all sold out.
There is one area that will keep the adults happy–mini world. Lego has taken a large area and created magnificent cities out of Legos. Millions of Legos. They have engineer/artists who manage to bring entire cities to life with kids toys, and you can spend quite a bit of time studying them.
San Francisco:
New York:
Las Vegas:
Star Wars:
Other sites in Florida:
It really is breathtaking. The attention to detail is perfect.
Of course, you get to see lots of cute kids.
One of the first things we saw was an area where water was shooting up from the ground and kids were playing in it:
After you get wet, you can rent a dryer:
This is a mini-wind tunnel for wet kids. $5 for 3 1/2 minutes
I don’t think I understand what they mean for the Christmas display:
Is it nightly, or selected dates? Somebody is confused about the English language.
There was one ride where you get a laser gun and shoot targets. Karl and I liked it so much that we refused to get out of the car and went around again. Here are our scores–I was sitting on the left:
There would be no picture if I had lost.
The Sunday after Thanksgiving is getaway day; everyone is going home. The park was pretty empty (which is why we could ride twice). Here is the dining area where we had lunch:
You could shoot a cannon through here.
Although perhaps everyone knew better about the food. I had a “pannini”. Don’t try to sell this in Italy:
About as bad as a sandwich can be.
There is a water skiing show in the amphitheaters left over from Cypress Gardens. Mostly designed for children, it has lots of bad jokes, silly skits and a bit of fancy water work. We found it enjoyable, if silly.
The last ride was a giant turntable that rises 150 feet in the air. In a state as flat as Florida, that gives you quite a view.
A day at Legoland is not an intellectual or culinary experience, it’s just fun. Lots of kids, bright colors, friendly staff and a truly astounding mini-world. Rent a kid and go, you’ll have a good time.
Totally Unauthorized 