Since we first read about the opening of Legoland Florida, we have wanted to go there, and by “we”, I do mean all of us, but maybe Phil just a little bit more than everyone else…
Ian was absolutely beyond thrilled to be going on his birthday, and so dressed as Super Ian, we were off to conquer the Lego galaxy... Just in case you ever wondered, though, the Lego galaxy is not quite as close to Orlando as we thought, because there is a huge difference between Winter Garden, FL and Winter Haven, FL… Oops… At any rate, 45 minutes later we entered the park just minutes after the gate opened.
We met Max the Lego Minifigure, rode the carousel (an obvious holdover from Cypress Gardens), Toured the Lego Factory to see how Lego is made, salivated over all of the great Lego products in various stores, played at the Duplo Farm (huge plus for Miah, who is quite tired of her stroller already), and rode a couple of kiddie rides in Duploland.
Lego Kingdom was looking especially fun to us, but the lines were crazy long, so we skipped most of the attractions there. We did not, however, skip the jousting ride, because it was simply too innovative and fun looking to pass up. Seth, Grace, Caleb, and Ian waited in line together while Phil and I attempted to feed Miah snacks, which she mostly threw on the ground…
We worked our way over to another play area, which was slightly less successful, as Miah decided she no longer wanted to wear shoes or socks and the day was getting fairly (uh… very) hot. Apparently Orlando is hitting some new record highs this week. I am actually rather grumpy when I am hot, and added to the fact that we were all getting hungry at this point, it was definitely time to look for something to eat. The kids were all desperate to try the pizza buffet, which sounded terribly unappealing to me at the time… probably because I couldn’t get the Sea World pizza buffet out of my mind. This is saying something, because Pizza is a food group in this family! At any rate, Phil and I kept avoiding the topic of the pizza buffet and made a beeline for the place on the map that advertised fried chicken. Well… a “beeline” is probably stretching it a little bit. Actually, we got caught up in “Miniland”, which is an amazing display of Lego set up to look like all kinds of various world areas. We could probably spend hours in just that one area of the park. But we really did need to eat, so we moved on… only to find that the aforementioned restaurant did not exist, and every counter service restaurant in the place had a line that rivaled the rides at 2:00 in the afternoon! We walked back to the pizza buffet…
The wait was terrible in the heat, but to be honest, the pizza was a million times better than the stuff at Sea World, and at least we all got full. I think I am boycotting pizza for the rest of the trip, though… The best mishap moment definitely came when it was time to move on, and I went to refill my cup before leaving the restaurant. The fountain pop must have been especially fizzy, because I seriously overfilled. After I finished wiping up the excess pop with some napkins, I picked up my cup, only to have the lid come loose and to spill Pepsi all over the floor. It was with mild embarrassment and a slight sense of relief that I told an employee that “we” had a spill… This is the kind of thing that is supposed to happen to the kids, right?
We caught the pirate show… or at least parts of it. Miah was not interested in this at all, so the two of us mostly walked around the stadium squinting at the sun. I think the rest of my family enjoyed the show.
Following this, Phil and I took turns riding things with our “big kids” and entertaining Miah. Miah and I played a riveting game of Peek-a-Boo stroller… I guess you probably had to be there, but it was one of the best parts of the trip so far… The kid power towers were a favorite, and the Soarin’ Scooters weren’t bad, either. Phil rode the Lego Technic Coaster with the kids, and then we all waited for the fireworks (which was a surprise, since we didn’t know they were having them). It was a fun 3-D display. Lego appeared in all of the explosions and lights!
The park was supposed to close after this, but as it turned out, none of the staff seemed in a hurry to shut things down, so we managed to squeak in one more ride… Aqua Zone!
Overall, I would say that Legoland was an excellent experience… very kid friendly, for sure. My favorite quote of the day came from Ian. “I’m just having fun, Mom. All I’m doin’ is having fun!”
On the way back to the hotel, I made a Wal-Mart stop that seemed to last forever… You would think that baby swimsuits would be a staple item in an Orlando Wal-Mart, but I guess that’s silly. Instead, they were stocked with winter coats and footie pajamas! I did finally come up with a suit for Miah, though, and I’m not complaining, because the clearance price was just right!
We headed back to the hotel and celebrated Ian’s b-day with mini cupcakes and M & M ice cream sandwiches. Ian opened his presents, and then we all pretty much passed out, because this has been an exhausting few days!
Coming up next… Some rest!
Lisa
Day 5 Photo Count: 533
Photo Highlights:
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