Legoland Florida Discussion Thread

[99er]

^Ha...that is a great movie!

[jedimaster1227]

http://www.newschief.com/article/20100529/NEWS/5295021/1021/news01?Title=Polk-tourism-leader-praises-Legoland-business-model

 

Mark Jackson returned to Polk County from England amazed by the family-like atmosphere he found at Merlin Entertainments Group's Legoland Windsor theme park near London. Jackson, executive director of Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing, said he believes that's what separates the Legoland parks from parks operated by the Walt Disney Company. Jackson was one of several Polk government, business and civic leaders who traveled to London three weeks ago for tours of Legoland Windsor and meetings with the Merlin officials who are bringing the Legoland brand to the former Cypress Gardens park site in Winter Haven.

 

During an interview in his new office at Lake Myrtle Sports Park in Auburndale, Jackson said he was impressed with Legoland's business model. "I continue to be amazed at how strong their organization is and how things are run," he said. "I talked to several employees who have been with the organization for many years, and they all told me how much they love working for Legoland and feel a part of a family."

 

Jackson said Legoland Windsor is focused on children, making learning fun and providing a great atmosphere for shared family experiences. At a family theme park, it's the little things that count. For example, Jackson talked about a park site for parents with infants and toddlers. The site has a diaper-changing station and a supply of free diapers. He said the site also has a station for any mother who needs to breast feed her infant.

 

According to Jackson, the training program for new Legoland employees is thorough and stresses the details about guest relations. "The Legoland training program is just as good if not better than that of Disney's," he said. "Their motto is to treat a guest as a guest and make the park come alive."

 

Jackson said he believes Legoland Florida will succeed in Winter Haven because the park's target audience - children ages 2 to 12 - is narrowly defined and the brand recognition is very strong in the United States and throughout the world. He said the Lego building bricks set the company apart from other toy companies.

 

Jackson also said he likes how Legoland wants to educate children while making them heroes during a park visit. "It's more than entertainment compared to what families get at Disney," Jackson said.

 

Jackson said he doesn't think Legoland Florida will be a rival to the Disney parks near Orlando. "I think it will compliment Disney compared to having a rivalry with Disney," he said. "Many of the parents in (Legoland parks) played with Legos when they were kids and now can experience the joy they had with their kids playing with the same Lego blocks."

[jedimaster1227]

http://www.newschief.com/article/20100603/NEWS/6035034/1009/living?Title=Legoland-resort-next-for-Merlin&tc=ar

 

The opening of Legoland Florida on the former Cypress Gardens site in Winter Haven is still at least 15 months away, but already the owner of the new theme park has plans for a second phase of development. Merlin Entertainments Group, which announced its plans for Legoland Florida in January, wants to follow a fall 2011 opening of the family theme park with the addition of a resort and convention center on the eastern shore of Lake Eloise, a Polk County tourism official said.

 

Mark Jackson, executive director of Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing, spoke about the resort plans Wednesday during a report to the Polk County Commission. Jackson talked about his early-May business trip to London to meet Merlin officials and view the Legoland Windsor operation.

 

Jackson said the Legoland resort and convention center in Winter Haven will be similar to the ones at Merlin's Legoland Denmark park. The convention center and resort will be built after Legoland Florida begins business operations, Jackson said. "The hotels will be overlooking the water on the site of Legoland Florida," Jackson told commissioners. "The hotel rooms are theme oriented for children, with princess rooms for girls and dinosaur rooms for boys." In Denmark, Merlin has 700 vacation rental homes, shops and restaurants across the street from the Legoland theme park, Jackson said.

 

"The resort and convention center in Denmark is just an incredible place to stay," added Tom Patton, the executive director of the Central Florida Development Council. "It's hard to describe in words just how remarkable this resort is." Patton also was part of the local business mission to London and joined Jackson in the presentation to county commissioners.

 

Jackson said the planned resort and convention center in Winter Haven will be marketed to businesses near and far for their meetings. "This can be a family business retreat for any kind of business wanting to hold meetings here," Jackson said. "That has become more of a trend for many businesses, allowing employees to bring family along on business meetings."

 

Merlin's target market for its Legoland parks are children ages 2 to 12 and their families.

 

A theme park, convention center and resort on one site will provide the "perfect" mix of work and pleasure for business meetings, Jackson said.

 

With some preliminary work already under way at the former Cypress Gardens site, major construction on Legoland Florida will begin at the end of June or in early July, Jackson said. Jackson said Merlin Entertainments Group has given Polk County Tourism and Marketing and the Central Florida Development Council permission to hire as many qualified local firms as possible to assist with Legoland construction.

[SharkTums]

"The hotel rooms are theme oriented for children, with princess rooms for girls and dinosaur rooms for boys."

 

Boo to your gender stereotyping ways!!! KT will ask to stay in the Dinosaur room for sure!

 

Having just gone to Legoland California today Robb and I were talking quite a bit about Legoland Florida. We dont' really expect the park to live up to California's park right away, but we feel confident that the clientel and employees will be better from the start.

[gdoggy1678]

"The hotel rooms are theme oriented for children, with princess rooms for girls and dinosaur rooms for boys."

 

Boo to your gender stereotyping ways!!! KT will ask to stay in the Dinosaur room for sure!

 

Having just gone to Legoland California today Robb and I were talking quite a bit about Legoland Florida. We dont' really expect the park to live up to California's park right away, but we feel confident that the clientel and employees will be better from the start.

 

I like how alot of the members enjoy LegoLand california on this board. It really is a cool place if you have a younger child and the new water park adds a whole bunch of extra fun, Although the lazy river is only 2feet deep. I have been a ride Op. there for a year and the other employees are either going to be nice or just rude. I cant stand when i have to work with the people that make no interactions with the guests and dont give them the time of day. BTW did you guys to the water park? and if so how was it, i have not had the time to check it out yet.

[808Freq]

As a parent(who despises Disney) of a 3 year old, who isn't quite ready for the big parks, this is good news..

 

The jobs are also a great thing for Polk County.

[jedimaster1227]

http://www.theledger.com/article/20100618/NEWS/100619801?p=all&tc=pgall

 

It's already well known that Legoland Florida, which starts construction next month, is bringing a theme park with 50 rides and up to 1,000 jobs to Polk County. Now Merlin Entertainments, which is building the theme park in Winter Haven modeled after the ones in Europe and California, is also committing to the construction of a hotel near the park. “They are going to build a Legoland hotel and conference center in phase II of construction,” said Mark Jackson, Polk County's director of tourism and sports marketing. “The plan is to put in a destination resort and conference center, which is fantastic.”

 

On June 17, Jackson hosted the members of the Central Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale. During the meeting, Jackson noted that Merlin Entertainments understands that the Central Florida vacation home industry – which has been a fast growing part of the hospitality industry in Northeast Polk County – will help them connect with guests coming to Polk to visit the theme park that will open next year. “They see the short term rental industry as crucial to their success,” Jackson said.

 

During the meeting, Jackson was asked why Legoland Florida is expected to succeed in Winter Haven, when the new theme park is essentially replacing an older one – Cypress Gardens – that shut down in September 2008 after struggling for years to reinvent itself and stay competitive in a market where rivals include such giants as Walt Disney World and Universal Studios with its new Wizardening World of Harry Potter, which opened the day after the rental managers meeting.

 

Jackson said Legoland has some strengths that Cypress Gardens lacked. “Cypress Gardens was really Central Florida's tourism icon for years,” he said. “A lot of things happened over the years, but a major issue was cash flow. That was the main ingredient that did them in.” He noted that investors Rob Harper and Brian Philpot bought the park in 2007 as it was heading into bankruptcy, and tried to revive it -- without success as the nation fell into a steep recession. “It finally closed on September 23, 2008, a sad day in Polk County history,” Jackson said. Not long afterwards, Merlin Entertainments began eying the property, he noted.

 

“A group by the name of Merlin Entertainments came to the forefront,” he said. “These guys are huge. It was obviously Florida's worst kept secret, but it was great news for Polk County.” Merlin eventually did commit to purchasing the property and building Legoland Florida, creating a theme park similar to the ones in England, Denmark, Germany, and Carlsbad, California.

 

“The plan is to open the park in the fall of 2011,” Jackson said. “Construction will start next month, the heavy construction.” Once it's completed and open to the public, Legoland Florida will employ 1,000 people, including 700 permanent jobs and 300 seasonal ones, Jackson said.

 

“That will put a real dent in Polk County's unemployment rate,” he said, adding that the theme park is expected to get between 1.5 million and 2 million visitors annually, and it's been estimated that Legoland Florida will have a $459 million economic impact on Polk County. “Their brand recognition is as high as Coca-Cola is worldwide,” Jackson said. “Legoland really focuses in on the concept of sharing life experiences.”

 

But why is Legoland expected to succeed where Cypress Gardens couldn't? “One of the most common questions I get is why will this work in Polk County,” Jackson said. “Because the Lego brick has a band name that is huge. There's an enormous amount of people who are Legoland aficionados. And they have a highly trained and committed staff.”

 

When Legoland Florida begins hiring people, Merlin Entertainments will be looking for people who can capture the spirit of what Legoland is all about, Jackson said. “They're trying to establish a Legoland theme park DNA in every employee,” he said.

 

When people visit Legoland, he said, they'll surely find there's plenty to do there. “Pretty much everything will be in house – the food and beverages, they control it,” he said of Merlin Entertainments. “On average they have 50 rides at each Legoland park. You can't do it in a day. There's so much to see.”

 

He pointed out that Legoland California, sandwiched in between San Diego and Los Angeles, showed a great amount of strength in 2009, at the height of the recession, even as other theme parks across the nation were experiencing a downturn. “Legoland California is the fastest growing theme park in the United States, realizing a 6 percent growth rate in 2009,” Jackson said, adding that when Legoland Florida opens, “This will be a very powerful economic engine. It will be a significant boost to the economic climate of Polk County. We are so excited about working with these people.”

 

Fay Downing, marketing manager for the Central Florida Visitors and Convention Bureau, said she's already started advertising Legoland Florida at tourism offices around Polk County, including Outpost 27 on U.S. 27 in Northeast Polk County. “We have put brochures at Polk Outpost 27, because there has been great interest in Legoland Florida,” she said.

 

David Leather, president of the CFVRMA, who came to this region from England to start a vacation rental business, said that while he was still working in the United Kingdom, guests often wanted to visit Legoland Windsor, the first of the Legoland theme parks. “They all wanted to go to Legoland,” he said.

[Darksin]

I was just looking for updates on the Legoland construction when an interesting question popped into my head.

 

Do you think Lego will keep the stand alone store they have at Downtown Disney now that their going to have their own park close by?

 

It's worth pondering

[Electerik]

I'm excited about Legoland, and I'm sure it will do well. But I love execu-speak way too much to let this one go by:

 

“Cypress Gardens was really Central Florida's tourism icon for years,” he said. “A lot of things happened over the years, but a major issue was cash flow. That was the main ingredient that did them in.”

 

So...Cypress Gardens' big problem was that they didn't make money. Yeah, that'll do it.

[jedimaster1227]

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/tourism/legoland-florida-hires-three-executives/1106355

 

"The bricks are falling into place" reports the builders of Legoland Florida as its transforms Cypress Gardens into a theme park and miniature city crafted from the popular kids building blocks.

 

Under construction in Winter Haven for a fall 2011 opening, the $100 million-plus park tapped some Florida tourist market vets to head its 20-person marketing team.

 

Legoland, which calls its workers "model citizens," hired Kim Isemann, who previously managed the Daytona 500 Experience in Daytona Beach, as park marketing director and Todd Andrus and Jackie Wallace from SeaWorld Adventure Parks & Entertainment as sales director and public relations head, respectively.

 

Legoland is run by the British Merlin Entertainments Group.

 

http://www.newschief.com/article/20100701/NEWS/100709994/-1/living?Title=Public-can-get-Legoland-Florida-preview-next-week&tc=ar

 

Legoland Florida officials will hold an open house for the public Thursday and will share plans for the new theme park in Winter Haven.

 

Julie Estrada, the media relations director for Legoland Florida, said the open house will be from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Orange Dome on Cypress Gardens Boulevard in Winter Haven.

 

Legoland's parent company, Merlin Entertainments Group, is turning the former Cypress Gardens theme park site into Legoland Florida. An opening is planned for late 2011.

 

Legoland officials will be on hand during the Thursday open house to answer any questions about the theme park.

 

In related developments, Legoland Florida has hired three oeople for its marketing team. They are Kim Isemann, director of sales; Todd Andrus, manager of sales; and Jackie Wallace, public relations representative.

 

Isemann, Andrus and Wallace each have experience working for theme parks, including SeaWorld, Legoland officials said.

[live2tell75]

A preview of the park was presented yesterday. Looks like Triple Hurricane is staying but the Starliner is not. The artwork for the park looks pretty good. I feel like if this park wants to have any chance to survive, Legoland is it's best chance.

 

A lot of photos of the event, artwork for the new attractions and the transformation of the park can be found at Orlando Parks News and at Johnny Upsidedown

[jedimaster1227]

Legoland Florida has sent us their latest press release, this time announcing the appointment of their new General Manager, Adrian Jones.

 

LEGOLAND® Florida continues to build its team at a rapid pace in order to open in fall 2011 and today announced Adrian Jones has been appointed as General Manager with his duties beginning immediately.

 

Jones has had a fantastic career within Merlin Entertainments. Most recently, Jones served as Divisional Director of Midway Attractions in the Western United States, responsible for LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Schaumburg, Illinois, Madame Tussauds Las Vegas and Madame Tussauds Hollywood -- which was the first Madame Tussauds attraction ever to be built from the ground up in 200 years. Jones has worked in leisure attractions for more than 20 years and has done everything from selling ice cream to being a General Manager that has driven attendance and visitor satisfaction in his attractions. His experience will prove to be a tremendous force in guiding LEGOLAND Florida into being one of the best theme parks in the world.

 

During the construction phase of LEGOLAND Florida, Jones will work closely with John Ussher, Merlin Entertainments’ General Manager of Development for LEGOLAND. “Adrian is a talented manager and we are thrilled that he has accepted the opportunity to run Florida’s newest full-day theme park,” said Ussher.

 

“Having worked for Merlin all over the world, I know the quality expected and I’m excited to bring a LEGOLAND park to Florida. I can’t wait to see the expressions on visitors’ faces when they see what we have in store for them,” said Jones. “Merlin is a major global attraction operator with proven expertise at running theme parks. It is a compelling brand with a huge emphasis on guest satisfaction that is unparallel in this day and age.”

 

Opening in fall 2011, LEGOLAND Florida will be a 145-acre family theme park geared specifically for children ages 2 to 12. There will be more than 50 interactive rides, shows and attractions including amazing LEGO® models making it unlike any other attraction in Florida.

 

Jones is a graduate of Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom and is moving to Polk County with his wife Sarah who is a certified nurse and midwife.

 

LEGOLAND Florida opens in fall 2011 and will be a 145-acre interactive theme park dedicated to families with children between the ages of 2 and 12. With more than 50 rides, shows and attractions, LEGOLAND is geared towards family fun! There are currently four other LEGOLAND Parks in the world – LEGOLAND California in Carlsbad, LEGOLAND Billund in Denmark, LEGOLAND Deutschland near Günzburg, Germany and LEGOLAND Windsor outside of London. The LEGOLAND theme parks are a part of Merlin Entertainments Group, the second largest attractions operator in the world. For the most current information, log on to http://www.LEGOLANDFloridaResort.com.

[alpengeist04]

As of this week, Starliner has been removed from the park. ...Well, except for a few support beams from the station, but they were working on them today.

[thrillrider]

Sweet, we have a florida trip planned for the fall of 2011. We will have to hit this park up for sure.

[robbalvey]

As of this week, Starliner has been removed from the park. ...Well, except for a few support beams from the station, but they were working on them today.

Not that I really care about the ride being preserved (I personally thought it was crap...in BOTH Florida locations.), but just curious.... was it torn down or taken apart piece by piece?

 

--Robb

Edited August 4, 2010 by robbalvey

[thrillrider]

I thought it was sold to a small park up north(Chicago maybe), or am I thinking of another coaster?

[Skycoastin Steve]

Not that I really care about the ride being preserved (I personally thought it was crap...in BOTH Florida locations.), but just curious.... was it torn down or taken apart piece by piece?

 

--Robb

 

Take it back!

 

I used to ride Starliner as a kid growing up visiting my dad in PCB, but I never really saw it as a "thrilling" coaster. But we rode that thing to death regardless! It's more of a sentimental favorite for me than anything. I'm personally sad to see it go.

[alpengeist04]

^^^Robb, It was taken down piece by piece from what I could see. They had two cranes at times taken the supports down. Also, the slides and raft ride have been removed from inside the park for some time now.

 

Unfortunately, working the third shift doesn't allow for many photo opportunities on my part, so if I notice or hear something else about construction I'll pass it along.

[robbalvey]

^^^Robb, It was taken down piece by piece from what I could see. They had two cranes at times taken the supports down. Also, the slides and raft ride have been removed from inside the park for some time now.

 

Unfortunately, working the third shift doesn't allow for many photo opportunities on my part, so if I notice or hear something else about construction I'll pass it along.

Great! Thanks for keeping us updated.

 

--Robb

[alpengeist04]

Here's a few pictures I took driving by this morning.

 

Is it me or is something missing here?

This actually appears to be what is left of Starliner.

It looks a lot different driving by the park now.

Here's the track from some of the coasters already taken down.

As you can see, Starliner was definitely taken down piece by piece.

...As was Okeechobee Rampage

This will be the road that will connect the park to Cypress Gardens Blvd. This should help with traffic once the park opens.

[jedimaster1227]

Legoland has sent us a press release about their decision to hire PCL Construction Services, Inc. as the building contractor for Legoland Florida.

 

Following a rigorous search, LEGOLAND Florida has chosen PCL Construction Services, Inc. (PCL) as the builders for Florida’s newest family theme park. LEGOLAND® Florida opens in fall 2011 and will be a 145-acre interactive theme park dedicated to families with children between the ages of 2 and 12. With more than 50 rides, shows and attractions, LEGOLAND is geared towards family fun.

 

“Merlin Entertainments Group is confident that PCL is the right company for this enormous job,” said John Ussher, LEGOLAND General Manager of Development. “PCL’s quality standards, along with their attention to detail and incredible safety record make them our company of choice.”

 

“We are committed to the success of LEGOLAND Florida, and appreciate the confidence Merlin Entertainments Group has placed in our firm,” said Deron Brown, Vice President and District Manager. Once finished, LEGOLAND Florida will be transformed into Florida’s newest family theme park with a mix of rides, shows, attractions, restaurants and shops – the perfect full-day experience for families with children. “PCL is thrilled to be awarded such a unique project,” said Bob Hopfenberg, PCL’s Director of Business Development.

 

PCL is one of the top entertainment builders in the country according to Engineering News Record Magazine. With over 200 entertainment projects completed by the Orlando district, PCL has a diverse and extensive design build and fast track entertainment background that includes rides, roller coasters, simulators, aquariums, restaurants, retail and support facilities for numerous major Orlando theme parks. PCL is a 104-year-old firm with 27 office locations throughout North America and an annual construction volume exceeding $6 billion.

 

PCL’s design-build partner for LEGOLAND Florida is Morris Architects, a leader in entertainment design. PCL and Morris have a long and successful history of working together on entertainment projects throughout Central Florida. Founded in 1938, Morris Architects has established itself as an award-winning, planning, and full-service architectural design practice with offices in Orlando, Houston, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Hong Kong.

 

Due to the high-volume of interested sub-contractors, PCL has created a specific email address to collect proposals. All sub-contracting queries should be sent to PCL via legolandinfo@pcl.com

[larrygator]

Update on Legoland Florida plans

 

Article points out a couple of interesting developments:

1 - Pricing for Legoland Florida

2 - Future plans for Malaysia and Dallas

 

Legoland Florida begins campaign to win over potential visitors

By Mark Albright, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Friday, October 22, 2010

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WINTER HAVEN — Legoland Florida officials hear one question more than any other from potential visitors.

 

What is Legoland?

 

More than just intricate models crafted from the popular plastic bricks, they assure questioners. Much more.

 

Think dozens of rides, shows and attractions, many of them hands on, some of them educational, and all of them geared toward 2- to 12-year-olds.

 

"This will be the ultimate family-friendly resort," said John Jakobsen, managing director of Legoland parks worldwide, who on Thursday unveiled video mockups of the park's coming attractions. "It's designed to put kids in control and take more than a day to see."

 

Spread over 150 acres that once were Cypress Gardens, Legoland Florida is slated to debut in October 2011, after a more than $200 million investment by a Danish toy giant and its majority-owned British partner Merlin Entertainments Group. A water park, hotels and possibly other attractions come later.

 

Construction is well under way, with more than 100 model artists at the four other Legolands in Europe and California stockpiling Lego dragons, castles and Bob the Builder figures. In about six months, on-site Lego building gets serious, and the park will ramp up hiring an operations staff of 1,000.

 

On Thursday, Legoland started selling tickets online priced similar to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Until Dec. 31, buyers can get a $10 discount on the daily $75 admission for adults, $65 for kids 3 through 12 and seniors 60 and up. There's also a $30 discount for the $129 adult annual pass, but not the $99 pass for kids.

 

Attraction highlights include a midget motorway where kids as young as 3 are awarded a personal driver's license, a build-your-own Lego robot lab, and a wide variety of tame amusement rides.

 

Of course, everything will be built from off-the-shelf Lego bricks — or look as if it is. And there will be scattered stores stocked with toys and videos from the vast Lego and Duplo arsenal. Anything left will be found in what's called the Big Store — the size of a small supermarket — at the exit gate.

 

The trademark centerpiece, Miniland, will be a 25 million Lego brick extravaganza that re-creates familiar sites from U.S. destinations, including Washington, Las Vegas, Manhattan and iconic spots around Florida — the Kennedy Space Center, Daytona Speedway, Bok Tower in Lake Wales and Mallory Square in Key West.

 

Two roller coasters and a few rides left from the old park will be rethemed, but park officials ensure the only thrills will be ones an entire family can share.

 

"We do pink knuckle rides, not white-knuckle rides," said Adrian Jones, park general manager.

 

Merlin Entertainments becomes the fifth owner trying to restore prosperity to an attraction taken off the beaten track by Walt Disney and the Interstate highway system. Three of the failures were steered by the biggest and most successful industry players.

 

Narrowing the appeal to families with young kids and seniors looking for passive experiences limits the audience.

 

But the formula has been successful enough at four other parks for Merlin to start building a sixth park in Malaysia, while a pint-size indoor Legoland in Chicago will be replicated in Dallas.

 

The original Cypress Gardens botanical gardens, widely regarded as the cornerstone of Florida's first theme park, are protected by a state conservation easement. The gardens will reopen intact, including the old Florida swimming pool featured in an Esther Williams movie.

 

Cypress Gardens' trademark southern belles in hoop skirts will be posing in the foliage, but designers have not decided how. Don't be surprised if they are built of Legos.

[robbalvey]

I find it a bit odd that they haven't released a list of the park attractions yet. A year out now you'd think they'd have that nailed down. They've "hinted" at a few things, and if you watch the videos on the site they show things like The Dragon and Flight Squadron, but is The Dragon a whole new ride or are they retrofitting the old Vekoma Roller Skater?

 

They have a link for a park map on the site, but that link is dead...which I also find strange.

 

I'm actually pretty excited for this park, as it's pretty much the *ONLY* thing that could save Cypress Gardens. If it has a similar line-up to when California's park opened, that would be pretty cool, but so far I haven't seen anything released.

 

--Robb

[Skycoastin Steve]

^It's possible they don't have all the ride names finalized yet, so maybe they're waiting till they do?

[robbalvey]

^ Totally. I just guess I would have expected from Legoland, though to have it all together by now. The videos that they have of each land show a bunch of rides, but I still don't get the feeling that the videos are supposed to showcase EXACTLY what rides will be in each land, or an "idea."

 

I mean, the videos clearly show things like:

 

- The Dragon

- Dark Ride

- The Jr. Woodie re-themed to something dinosaur related

- Driving School

- A 4-D Movie

 

But even still it's all a little ambiguous. I'm patient and I'll wait...