We did a two day trip to Legoland in Winter Haven, FL recently and I thought I’d share some highlights and tips we learned along the way. It was our first time there and we were pleasantly surprised that the lines weren’t hours long like at Disney and that they had a LOT of stuff for younger kids to do. We had a great time both days and I’m pretty sure there’s still more left to see on our next visit!

Our first stop was Miniland USA, where they have miniature replicas of famous US landmarks. My son’s favorite part was pushing all the buttons. A lot of the landmarks do something when you press a button – like squirt water, make a band march, race cars, etc. This part of the park has no shade and is blazing hot in the middle of the day so you want to check it out in the morning or evening. I was thankful for the misting fans they had off to the side!

After leaving Miniland USA, we entered Star Wars miniland! My favorite part was the band in the cantina that played music when you pressed a button.

A lot of blogs I read advised starting at the back of the park and working your way to the front to avoid the crowds. We went with that plan since Driving School was in the back and that’s the first thing my son wanted to do. He was really excited to get to drive the car himself and afterwards they hand out a little paper driver license.

Unfortunately, he was too short for Flying School and that led to our first big tantrum of the day. We had a friend with us and her son is a little older so they went on the ride and we were stuck in the Toddler Zone, which is actually really nice and air conditioned so I enjoyed it besides all the screaming at first.

He did eventually come around and enjoy himself in there, but I learned early on they are pretty strict with height requirements. He was 41″ tall and a few of the rides require a height of 42″. There are little “tot” zones placed near the rides for older kids, which is nice.

We were able to ride a lot of the rides, even a real roller coaster! We also caught one of the shows where Brickbeard the pirate invades Legoland. It’s a fun, super cheesy water ski show. To my surprise, my son actually enjoyed it so much that he wanted to see it again on the 2nd day we were there!

If you wanted to get cooled off, try visiting the Imagination Zone. Lots of fun activities and the A/C is cranking! I spent a good hour just sitting and watching my son build LEGO cars to race down a ramp. Then we checked out the video game room for a bit but the games weren’t all that intriguing for a four-year-old.

We took a short detour over to the original Cypress Gardens. Part of it was blocked off due to high water and flooded bridges, but we were able to see most of it. There was a pretty gazebo and a beautiful old banyan tree. But it’s hot and not all that exciting for kids so I’d recommend skipping it if you have a tired cranky kid or two with you.

A Few LEGOLAND Tips:

1. Wear sunscreen– it’s Florida, it’s hot, you will get burned
2. Bring water and food – it’s allowed! People had big rolling coolers everywhere. Also, the food there is pretty bad overall. From burgers to pizza, it was just not good.
3. If it rains, go to guest services and get a rain pass. It’s good for a free day within the year. And during the summer, it rains almost every day!
4. Bring a LEGO mini person to trade or buy one there! It’s like the pin trading at Disney. Workers have them on their name tags and the stores have a little set-up where you can see the figures to trade.
5. Plan to get wet – there are several rides that have water features and there are misting fans around the park that feel amazing when it’s melting hot outside.
6. If you want an adult drink, you can get a beer or a Pinot Grigio in the Medieval area where they sell the turkey legs.
7. Don’t worry about a Fast Pass, at least not until you get there and see how busy it is. On both days we were there, the longest we waited in line was 15 minutes. Most rides we walked right on.

We had a lot of fun and it was definitely worth it to go two days because it gives you time to  stop and play. It is LEGO land after all – and LEGOs are everywhere! So it’s not just one ride after another. And there’s also an entire water park area that we didn’t go to because my son doesn’t swim yet. We’ve got that to look forward to next time!

The post Our Legoland Florida Adventure at Four Years Old appeared first on Geek Mamas.