Legoland Florida Discussion Thread

[robbalvey]

^ Wow, that's really lame. If it really turns out that Legoland Florida's Dragon is just going to be the pre-existing "Cypress Gardens Roller Skater" then would that make it the smallest of all the Dragon coasters out there? I mean, not like they are OMFG "top ten" coasters or anything, but I always considered them a big step above a "Barnstormer" or "Gadget's Go Coaster."

 

Here is a POV of the Dragon Coaster at Legoland Germany. You can see how much bigger this is than just your "average roller skater." This coaster is over 2,800 feet long where as the Cypress Gardens Roller Skater was the 679 foot long model.

 

Edited November 10, 2010 by robbalvey

[SoCalCoasters]

I have to go with Robb on this one, that is pretty lame that all they are doing is expanding the ride before the lift. It's also true that the Dragons can run three trains, as I've seen the one at Legoland operate with three on multiple occations. The capacity is quite high with all thee running.

 

Here is a POV of the Dragon at Legoland California (taken with permission of ride ops) in the back seat. While the German one is still WAY better than the Cali version, I find the final drop and the helix are quite fun. I love the theming in the pre-lift on all the Dragons, and I'm sad that the swinging chandelier was removed along with the figure sword fighting that was on it. Another effect that has been lost since the ride's opening is the mist in around the door before the coaster section. It added to the experience.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEEwjEA8Huo

Sorry about my POV skills, this was one of the first POVs I ever took.

[chadster]

Looks like Legoland is going green

 

Legoland Florida is putting its teeth into a recycling effort. The theme park, under construction in Winter Haven, is grinding up sidewalks and foundations from its Cypress Gardens predecessor. An outside company will use a 15-ton machine to chew up the concrete into different size bits to be used as a base layer for new sidewalks in the park, set to open in October 2011.

 

“By recycling and reusing the concrete already on the property, we’re not only saving 18,000 tons of slab from area landfills, but doing what’s right for our business,” general manager John Ussher said.

 

Legoland has also transplanted 660 oaks and palm trees from the property during the construction. They will return to the park once work is complete.

 

 

News Article

[The SETGO Guys]

Removed by user

Edited January 5, 2012 by The SETGO Guys

[jedimaster1227]

^Or they could have just been talking in private. Without hearing what they were talking about firsthand, how do you know that they were discussing a new ride development for sure, and not just catching up over a cup of coffee? I saw plenty of exhibitors doing just that at various times throughout the day--we even had to wait for one to finish their drink before they could talk to us...

 

Just because someone is talking behind closed doors, it doesn't mean that a 400 ft tall wooden Aquatrax Giga coaster is coming to Six Flags America... Or that a new ride development is being discussed.

[larrygator]

^^What's your point?

 

Technically, most of the rides at the park will be "new".

Edited November 29, 2010 by larrygator

[chadster]

it means that a 400 ft tall wooden Aquatrax Giga coaster is coming to Six Flags America

 

my brain translated the above

[jedimaster1227]

http://www.wesh.com/r/26067078/detail.html

 

LegoLand announced its first partner for its Florida theme park on Wednesday.

 

Officials at the theme park said Pepsi Beverages Company would be the official beverage provider as part of a multi-year agreement. The theme park is scheduled to open in October 2011.

 

"This partnership is the beginning of a tremendous relationship between LegoLand Florida and Pepsi," LegoLand General Manager Adrian Jones said. "We are excited to welcome PBC into the LegoLand family."

 

As part of the agreement, Pepsi brands will be exclusively available inside the theme park, and Pepsi will help to promote the park in several regional promotional campaigns.

[ernierocker]

And with that, Robb and Elissa will officially boycott the park.

[SharkTums]

Terrible news.

[the ghost]

Am I the only one that loves this? I dont enjoy pepsi... but I would be the biggest liar in the world if I didn't express my overwhelming LOVE of Mountain Dew. I just find coke in all the Disney, all the Universal, and (if I remember correctly) all the Seaworld Entertainment Parks... just happy to finally see some variety.

 

The Mountain Dew is Godly Ghost

[chadster]

mmmm, Refresh with Pepsi

[justint87]

Am I the only one that loves this? I dont enjoy pepsi... but I would be the biggest liar in the world if I didn't express my overwhelming LOVE of Mountain Dew. I just find coke in all the Disney, all the Universal, and (if I remember correctly) all the Seaworld Entertainment Parks... just happy to finally see some variety.

 

The Mountain Dew is Godly Ghost

 

Only Pepsi products are found in the SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment parks.

[jray21]

Too bad. Pepsi is terrible. But I guess I will have to brave it at least once.

[fatdaddy]

Gotta love Pepsi. If they get it in the California park I might actually go.

[raptor6]

But will the Pepsi be free ala Holiday World?

 

Wait... this is central Florida we're talking about... Heck NO!

[Skycoastin Steve]

^That actually wouldn't be a horrible idea. Might help them compete early on.

[ginzo]

I remember soda at Legoland Billund costing something like $10 for a large. I'd wager soda at Legoland Florida will be closer to Legoland Billund's pricing scheme than Holiday World's.

[thrillrider]

Here is another news article and a picture of the indoor section of the coaster. I guess this answers the question of how long the indoor section will be.

 

http://www.theledger.com/article/20110109/NEWS/101095033/1001/BUSINESS?Title=Legoland-Coming-Together-Piece-by-Piece

 

Legoland Florida will aim to stimulate children's imaginations, yet at the moment it takes some imagination to envision a world-class theme park arising from what is largely a rolling expanse of bare dirt.

 

Where a 40-foot castle will stand, a grid of steel bars and a foundation of gray cinder blocks provide a basic outline.

 

Two linked circles of flattened clay inside a wooden framework hint at what will be a pool in which children will race around on jet boats.

 

Near the park's north end, a cement slab bordered by curving, 42-inch wooden walls offers a glimpse of what will be an artificial pond for more gentle boating experiences.

 

With nine months until the planned opening of Legoland Florida, general manager Adrian Jones said construction is proceeding on schedule.

 

"We are on budget and on time," Jones said.

 

Merlin Entertainments Group, Legoland's corporate owner, bought the former Cypress Gardens property last January for a reported $22.3 million, designating it to be the world's fifth Legoland park. Last August, Legoland selected PCL Construction Services as lead contractor for construction work. PCL, headquartered in Denver with an office in Orlando, has overseen construction of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort and the Jungala exhibit at Busch Gardens.

 

Employees from PCL and sub-contractors, wearing bright-green shirts and hard hats, toiled throughout the 150-acre property Wednesday afternoon. At the foundation for the Dragon Coaster, an indoor-outdoor roller coaster that passes through a castle, workers hammered steel reinforcing bars into place and used a power saw to slice up cinder blocks. Masons from a fittingly named sub-contractor, Castle Construction, fitted cinder blocks into the footing of the castle, which will be visible from Old Helena Road to the east.

 

In what will be the Land of Adventure, a worker pushed a plate compactor to smooth out dirt in preparation for pouring the cement floor of the AquaZone Wave Racer ride.

 

LOCAL CONTRACTOR

 

A local company, Tucker Construction and Engineering of Winter Haven, is working as a direct contractor for Legoland. Mark Atterson, a project manager, said Tucker is doing renovations to "back of house" buildings that Legoland Florida will use for facilities, maintenance and administration.

 

Atterson said Tucker Paving, a division of the company, is doing demolition and other work as a sub-contractor for PCL. He said Tucker has had 20 to 25 employees on site in recent days and will be working at the property until the summer.

 

Jones, the general manager, previously oversaw the opening of Madame Toussads Hollywood and construction of the Legoland Discover Center in Illinois. As Jones sat in his modular office at the property's south end Wednesday afternoon, a 10-foot long architect's overall master plan for the 150-acre property was taped up on a wall.

 

Tacked to the wall beside it was an aerial photograph of Cypress Gardens, Legoland's predecessor attraction, showing red, yellow and white flowers in full bloom.

 

Jones said he hung the vintage photo as a reminder to himself of the property's heritage and his quest to imbue Legoland Florida with unique visual appeal.

 

"We want this to be the most beautiful Legoland in the world," Jones said. "That's already impacting everything we do. We're making decisions with that in mind."

 

As an example, Jones said he had ordered a change in the design of the parking area to save two trees.

 

TREES MOVED

 

Legoland's commitment to maintaining flora is apparent elsewhere on the property. Crews will relocate some 660 trees during construction, many of them mature oak trees that must be dug up and replanted the same day to ensure survival. Mature oaks can weigh 65 tons and can have root-balls 14 feet across, said Craig Riebel, Legoland's construction supervisor.

 

One such move occurred Wednesday. An oak dangled in the air, its root-ball saddled in ropes held by the 200-foot boom of a crane. Workers were moving the oak a short distance in the south end of the park, the area to be called The Beginning.

 

Other trees on the property were surrounded by orange webbing and signs that read, "Tree Protection Zone."

 

Workers have relocated several trees from an expanse near the center of the property that will become Miniland USA, the heart of the attraction. Miniland will feature replicas of national and local landmarks constructed from millions of Lego bricks.

 

Jones said landscaping around Miniland is nearly completely, and the cement base will be poured in the next few weeks. He said Legoland employees at other sites are already building the Miniland models, which will be delivered and installed in a few months.

 

Jones said the first model builders based at Legoland Florida will arrive soon. He said the builders will devote themselves to setting up a shop, in which they will eventually construct models from Lego bricks to be used throughout the park and in marketing efforts.

 

MANY BUILDINGS STAY, BUT REDONE

 

Legoland Florida will retain many buildings from Cypress Gardens, though many of them are being thoroughly renovated. Jones said all of the restaurants and restrooms have been gutted, in some cases down to the bare frames. Some buildings, particularly around the former Cypress Gardens radio museum, have been demolished to reduce congestion.

 

The new owners have removed many of the Cypress Gardens amusement rides, but two major structures remain: the wooden Triple Hurricane roller coaster, to be renamed Coastersaurus, and the Swamp Thing suspended metal roller coaster, to be renamed Flying School.

 

Jones said the wooden coaster's five cars have been sent elsewhere to be refurbished.

 

During the construction, Legoland is reusing 18,000 tons of concrete from sidewalks and foundations of Cypress Gardens. A contractor is using a 15-ton machine to pulverize the concrete, which is being used as a base layer for new sidewalks.

 

At the less visible level, Jones said crews are replacing outdated pipes and wires and installing a fiber-optic communications network throughout the park.

 

High wooden walls line the perimeter of the property, and access is tightly restricted. Water access from Lake Eloise makes it difficult to seal the property completely, especially at night, but Jones said Legoland is adding more security guards and installing video cameras to prevent intrusions that could create liability issues.

 

HIRING IN SPRING

 

Legoland has about 60 employees working on the property, mostly in administration, landscaping and operations jobs. Legoland expects to employ about 1,000 people, but Jones said most of the hiring won't take place before late spring.

 

Jones praised Winter Haven and Polk County officials for quickly approving construction permits.

 

"The community and county have been absolutely amazing," Jones said. "I think the county commissioners need commending on how efficient and helpful they've been. I say that with my experience in working on other projects in other cities. This has been the best example of how a city has been extremely helpful."

 

ADMIN EDIT: I went ahead and moved this post over to the Legoland Florida Discussion Thread. You posted it previously in a thread directly regarding Legoland California. Please make sure to check that your post is relevant to the thread's specific topic when posting. I have also gone ahead and quoted the story, also adding the pictures so people don't have to make the jump to read it.

The Legoland Castle, part of the Dragon Coaster ride, is rising at Legoland Florida in Winter Haven. With much construction yet to come, it is still left to the imagination to envision what the finished attraction will look like.

Corbin Knoell attaches a protective cover to the ends of a rebar at the castle. Legoland is reusing 18,000 tons of concrete from sidewalks and foundations of Cypress Gardens.

Edited January 11, 2011 by jedimaster1227

[robbalvey]

Not sure if anyone noticed this but Google Maps has a new sattelite view of Cypress Gardens/Legoland Florida:

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&q=Starliner%4027.991645,-81.689716&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=&ll=27.986368,-81.689883&spn=0.006348,0.013894&z=17

 

At least it's good to see that the Roller Skater has been taken apart and with the news from the post above there will be an indoor section added on to it. Still kind of a bummer that if they don't extend the ride beyond the castle part, and use the existing ride, this will pretty much be the smallest of the "Dragon" coasters.

 

Anyway, what I find most interesting in that satellite view is:

 

- How little is left at all from the Cypress Gardens rides section, just the woodie and the Jr. SLC still stand and EVERYTHING else on the rides side has been totally cleared...like completely wiped out and started over new again.

 

- Starliner is litterally scattered across the parking lot. Not looking as though it was stacked up with much care at all. That coaster will never ride again, unless someone re-builds it...again...from the ground up. (I thought it pretty lame anyway...)

 

--Robb

[SoCalCoasters]

I find the fact that they demolished so much funny, because when I interviewed Beth Chee, media rep of Legoland CA, she mentioned how they were trying to preserve the classic attractions at Cypress...Or at least try and make sure te park still has a Cypress feel ... We can see how well that worked out.

 

I am kind of excited/annoyed by Legoland Florida though...for this reason:

 

Universal Studios Hollywood-Universal Studios Orlando & Islands of Adventure

Sea World San Diego-Sea World Orlando

Disneyland-DisneyWorld

Bucsh Gardens Van Nuys-Bucsh Gardens Tampa

Legoland California-Legoland Florida

 

Original In California-Florida Version, better in all respects

 

They take every concept California has, and then if it works, transport it to a Florida Version! What the heck is up with that?

[Fat-G]

^Its called profit!

[alpengeist04]

I find the fact that they demolished so much funny, because when I interviewed Beth Chee, media rep of Legoland CA, she mentioned how they were trying to preserve the classic attractions at Cypress...Or at least try and make sure te park still has a Cypress feel ... We can see how well that worked out.?

 

 

I her defense, the ride section was really a waste of space and was definitely not part of the classic feel of Cypress Gardens. My guess she is talking about some of the buildings up front, the gardens, the ski show, and the Island in the Sky. The rest is really no big loss.

[spaceace12]

I agree, the rides section did suck. I do wish I could have ridden Starliner once just to say I did ride it. I do want to go to Legoland just to explore the gardens more as the last time I went there, I only spent two hours in the park (which was enough for multiply re rides on all coasters) and some walking around the gardens (not all of them). This could be the best thing to happen to that park, because it won't look like Cypress Gardens. I wonder if they did preserve some of the original park (like the original CG sign).

[BeemerBoy]

I find the fact that they demolished so much funny, because when I interviewed Beth Chee, media rep of Legoland CA, she mentioned how they were trying to preserve the classic attractions at Cypress...Or at least try and make sure te park still has a Cypress feel ... We can see how well that worked out.

Are you sure you were looking at the same map as the rest of us?