|
LEGOLAND FLORIDA
These are not paid advertisements
|
|
|
Winter Haven News Chief
There is more to read at the News Chief...
|
|
The Ledger, Lakeland FL
There is more to read at The Ledger...
|
|
| News Chief Legoland Florida
stories |
| |
|
| News Chief |
| |
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Legoland
Water Park to bring new rides, jobs
More jobs and water rides will be coming to Legoland Florida
when Legoland Water Park opens in early summer.
Legoland Water Park will feature seven new attractions
and will cost $12 more per ticket for guests ages 3 and older
and $3 more for children age 2 and younger,
park officials shared with media during a tour Tuesday.
An estimated 250 jobs will be created, including a large staff of lifeguards.
The park is tentatively set to open in May,
but Legoland Florida General Manager Adrian Jones said
a definitive date will be set in the upcoming weeks.
The park is designed for children ages 2-12,
with the larger slides aimed for older kids and the Duplo areas built for younger kids.
This will be the second Legoland Water Park. Legoland
California opened in 2010
"It's a great time for us to open
because we will go into being open seven days a week for the whole summer.
There are no stand-alone tickets fro the water park.
Legoland will offer a Premium Annual Pass for $179 for adults
and $159 for children 3-12 and seniors 60 and over,
plus tax, that includes Legoland and the water park.
Legoland passholders can update their tickets at the annual pass center. |
| |
|
| News Chief |
| |
Friday, January 20, 2012
Legoland officials excited by Obama's pledge
Even though President Barack Obama spoke Thursday at a rival tourist attraction,
Legoland Florida General Manager Adrian Jones welcomed the president's pledge
to make it easier for citizens of Brazil, China and other countries to visit the United States.
"This development is a major game-changer for Florida,"
Jones said in a statement issued by the theme park.
"An improved visa process helps us roll out the welcome mat to our friends in Brazil
and will result in record numbers of young families visiting Florida."
Jones said Legoland Florida has already noticed large numbers of guests
from Latin America since opening last October.
That trend, combined with Obama's announcement, he said,
will spur the attraction to hire more Portuguese and Spanish-speaking "model citizens,"
the park's name for its employees.
|
| |
|
| News Chief |
| |
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Legoland Florida establishes international appeal
The Ledger encountered guests from Canada and South American countries,
a few from other states and several groups from elsewhere in Florida.
None of the randomly approached patrons gave Polk County as their place of residence.
The snapshot suggests Legoland Florida has already established
international appeal just three months after its opening
Amilton Souza and his wife, Marcia, visiting from Sao Paolo, Brazil,
strolled through the Duplo Village section of Legoland with their daughter, Victoria, 7.
The couple, who spoke limited English,
said they learned about Legoland Florida on the Internet
and included the attraction among visits to the other theme parks while on vacation in Orlando.
Legoland Florida tracks the residences of its guests in various ways:
requests for home ZIP codes in the parking lot
and at electronic kiosks in the park and personal surveys.
Legoland officials don't disclose the information,
which helps guide their marketing strategy, spokeswoman Jackie Wallace said.
Wallace said Legoland's roughly 1,200 employees include plenty of Spanish-speakers,
though she said the park doesn't necessarily have bilingual staffers scheduled for every shift. |
| |
|
| News Chief |
| |
Saturday, January 7, 2012
WINTER HAVEN HISTORY Museum reopens today
Starting today, the museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday
at least through late May, said Bob Gernert,
organizer with the Museum of Winter Haven History
and executive director of the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce.
The museum is presenting new displays in January and February
including information about Cypress Gardens
and a look at history being made now by Legoland Florida.
In addition to lots of Cypress Gardens memorabilia,
one unique item is the sign that used to hang outside Dick Pope's office at the park.
The museum is in the historic pink Woman's Club building
at 660 Pope Ave. at Lake Howard Drive.
Admission is free and it is open to the general public. |
| |
|
| News Chief |
| |
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Park reaches capacity for first time since opening
Some hopeful visitors were turned away,
and there were long lines in the park and traffic jams on Cypress Gardens Boulevard.
In response, Legoland extended its hours Wednesday until 8:30 p.m.
The park opened at 10 a.m., and shortly after noon it closed its own parking lots,
and by 1:30 p.m, visitors were being turned away from parking spaces
pressed into service at lots near the park and in the Publix shopping center across the street.
Legoland will not release attendance information or say what it considers the park's capacity to be.
Wednesday's crowd came in what is traditionally the busiest week for Central Florida theme parks,
said Legoland spokeswoman Jackie Wallace,
adding the park will likely remain extremely busy into the new year.
Wallace said lines for rides averaged about 45 minutes,
and the line for the Italian buffet restaurant was an hour long.
Some Legoland visitors reported waits as long as 1 1/2 hours |
| |
|
| Yahoo News |
| |
Friday December 23, 2011
Physicist builds Lego Large Hadron Collider
As scientists at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland
continue their search for the elusive Higgs boson "God particle,"
one physicist has built a tribute to their work entirely out of Lego bricks.
Sascha Mehlhase, a researcher at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark,
spent more than 80 hours designing and constructing a model of
the supercollider's intricate ATLAS detector.
9,500 piece model took Copenhagen-based researcher weeks to construct
The final model stands nearly two feet tall
and is 1:50 scale — or actual size, if you're a little Lego person.
Wikipedia CERN - Large Hadron Collider
The World Wide
Web began as a CERN project called ENQUIRE
initiated by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989 and Robert Cailliau in 1990. |
| |
|
| News Chief |
| |
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Legoland will open water park by summer 2012
A water park inside the gates of Legoland Florida will have six attractions,
will cost $12 to add to a standard Legoland ticket and will open before summer 2012,
park officials announced Tuesday.
Legoland spokeswoman Jackie Wallace said the park hopes that the addition
will turn Legoland into a multi-day attraction.
The Legoland Premium Pass will include 12 months of seasonal admission to the water park
in addition to regular park admission and free parking.
It costs $179 (not including tax) for visitors ages 13 to 59 and $149 for ages 3 to 12 and 60 and older.
The Plus Pass is $30 more than the Standard Pass,
but a family of four only needed one to get the benefits.
That loophole is now closed if a family wants to add on admission to the water park
because every family member has to pay the full price of the Premium Pass,
which includes the additional discounts
So where a family of four -- two adults passes and two children's passes
could pay $520.02 per year, including tax, for the benefits of one Plus Pass
and the admission of the Plus Pass and three Standard Passes,
it will cost $701.92, including tax, to have four Premium Passes.
Admission to the water park will require a general admission ticket and an additional fee. |
| |
|
| News Chief |
| |
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Legoland helps lower Polk jobless rate in Oct.
Polk County's jobless rate fell in October and the area saw a hiring boost from Legoland.
Meanwhile, unemployment in Florida dropped to its lowest rate in more than two years.
Local unemployment was at 11.3 percent last month, down from 12.7 percent the year before
and 12.0 percent in September, according to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation
The bulk of the monthly job growth came from Legoland Florida,
which opened in Winter Haven last month and employs more than 1,000 people.
Legoland currently employs 1,119 people, spokeswoman Jackie Wallace said Friday.
Florida Jobs org |
| |
|
| News Chief |
| |
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Legoland could boost tourism through tax
If Legoland Florida can put more "heads in beds" in Polk County,
it will put more money in county coffers for future tourism development.
The county's tourist development tax
-- a 5 percent add-on tax on short-term stays in Polk County --
pays for Polk County Sports and Tourism Marketing,
the county's tourism development organization
The funds, about $9.5 million for the year,
are collected monthly and can pay only for future tourism development |
| |
|
| News Chief |
| |
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Winter Haven Hospital is now the official hospital for Legoland Florida.
"By partnering with such a recognized medical center as Winter Haven Hospital,
Legoland will be receiving excellent resources for our health and safety initiatives within our park,"
the attraction's general manager, Adrian Jones, said in making the announcement
Thursday night at the Winter Haven Hospital Foundation's gala. |
| |
|
| News Chief |
| |
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
What's does park offer younger children?
Legoland Florida officials regularly emphasize that age range as their target audience
Since the park opened Oct. 15, though, some parents have questioned
how much Legoland has to offer for children on the lower end of the 2-through-12 scale.
Legoland Florida recently produced a flyer for parents titled, "What To Do When You're Two!" |
| |
|
| News Chief |
| |
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Legoland reviews find park too expensive
During its first week of existence, Legoland Florida has gathered mostly positive,
and in many cases rapturous, reviews from guests and industry experts.
But an undercurrent of grumbling has emerged that can be summed up in two words:
too expensive.
Many people don't think so, based on comments attached to The
Ledger's online articles,
discussions on PolkMoms.com website
and even posts on Legoland's official Facebook
page. |
| |
|
| News Chief |
| |
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Theme park experts praise attraction
Legoland Florida is getting high marks
from people who make their livings prowling amusement parks
A sampling of theme park experts contacted by The
Ledger
found much to praise and little to criticize at Legoland Florida
"Legoland's a world-class park," said Robert Niles,
editor of California-based ThemeParkInsider.com. |
| |
|
| News Chief |
| |
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Legoland open for business
If Disney inspires a child's imagination with magic,
then Legoland Florida does it with ingenuity and the knowledge
that kids too could build Miniland USA
-- a collection of Lego-built buildings and displays --
if only they had enough bricks and time.
It wasn't just a big deal for first-day Legoland visitors,
it was a triumph for the Merlin Entertainments employees
involved in the transformation of Cypress Gardens into Legoland Florida.
"It's a real emotional moment," said Bill Volbrecht, Legoland senior park designer.
He helped design Legoland Florida and was at the park with friends and family on Saturday
Wallace, the Legoland spokeswoman,
said that she was not aware of any food outages at the park.
A conservative estimate put about 4,000 people in the park Saturday
Wallace would not say how many Legoland visitors were in the park
because the company doesn't release attendance figures.
Most rides had 30 to 45 minute waits and lines for food that seemed almost as long,
said someone waiting in line. |
| |
|
| News Chief |
| |
Saturday, October 15, 2011
FAMILY OF FOUR CAN EXPECT TO PAY ABOUT $375 FOR A DAY AT LEGOLAND
Adding up costs of a day at the park
Two adults and two children can spend a day playing, riding, eating lunch
and having some snacks for about $376.60.
Ticket prices are just under Disney World's, and the concessions are reasonably priced,
according to a marketing expert. ....
But in Central Florida, there are a lot more choices than just Legoland,
and every other choice is a more established brand.
That's why Legoland's ticket pricing is important.
Its $75 adult ticket and $65 child ticket (plus tax) puts it just under
Disney World, which charges $85 for an adult ticket and $79 for children (plus tax).
Wikipedia
Walt Disney World Resort |
| |
|
| News
Chief |
| |
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Legoland rides won't get state inspections
The amusement part qualifies for a state exemption from inspection and permitting requirements
because it will have 1,000 employees
Florida law requires the park to employ full-time, in-house safety inspectors.
"With our team on staff running our own inspections,
we control the daily, hourly involvement with the rides,
Allan Harrison heads the Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection for
the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
He said in-house safety inspectors are not required to have specific certifications,
but said such workers are often engineers or people
with backgrounds in mechanical and structural work
Wallace said Legoland Florida employs 28 people whose jobs include ride inspection,
"Throughout the day they will be on hand and on standby should something come up,"
Wallace said. "But every single morning,
every single ride will be thoroughly inspected by that team."
Wikipedia Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services |
| |
|
| News
Chief |
| |
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Legoland plans unveiled; little of old park remains
Four roller coasters, a pirate ski show,
a factory that shows how Legos are made,
and a school for young boating enthusiasts.
From the looks of a new map released Wednesday,
the 52-acre, $100 million Legoland theme park has it all.
"Ninety-percent of the park has changed," said Craig Riebel,
construction manager of Legoland.
"But some will recognize old trees, the botanical gardens and a couple of rides." |
| |
|
| Baynews9 |
| |
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Construction well underway at Legoland Florida
Backhoes and construction workers are all over the site
of the future Legoland Florida in Winter Haven.
The place currently looks more like a construction zone than a Lego-themed park
but officials said they expect to have construction complete
by the time Legoland Florida opens in October.
General Manager Adrian Jones said the park is taking shape
- VIDEO - 1:38 |
| |
|
| News
Chief |
| |
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Legoland looking to snap up workers
Legoland Florida plans to get busy hiring about 1,000 "Model Citizens"
before the theme park opens in October
Legoland is posting jobs online at www.LEGOLAND.com/jobs
and will only take applications through the web site |
| |
|
| News
Chief |
| |
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Legoland Florida announces ticket prices
Ticket prices posted on the Legoland Florida website
http://florida.legoland.com/buy_tickets/tickets/
• One-day admission
$65 plus tax for adults (ages 13-59)
$55 plus tax for children (ages 3-12) and seniors (age
60 and older)
• Standard Annual Pass
(includes unlimited Legoland Florida admission)
$99 plus tax for all ages
• Plus Annual Pass
(includes unlimited Legoland Florida admission,
parking and food and merchandise discounts)
$159 plus tax for adults (ages 13-59)
$129 plus tax for children (ages 3-12) and seniors (age
60 and older)
• Ambassador Pass
(includes lifetime admission to Legoland Florida,
preferred parking, special events and food and merchandise discounts)
$2,500 plus tax for all ages |
| |
|
| News
Chief |
| |
Friday, February 26, 2010
An official Web site has been launched for Legoland Florida
Future guests and job seekers
can follow the progress of the theme park at
www.legolandfloridaresort.com
 |
| |
|
| News
Chief |
| |
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Late 2011 opening planned for Legoland Florida
The name of the theme park
known for 74 years as Cypress Gardens
now will be Legoland Florida
Nick Varney, the chief executive officer of
Merlin Entertainments Group, made the announcement
Varney said Legoland Florida will include
more than 40 million Lego building bricks in its design
Legoland Florida
will be the fifth Legoland attraction worldwide |
| |
|
| News
Chief |
| |
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Cypress Gardens purchased by
Merlin Entertainments Group,
the operator of Legoland of California
and the second largest attractions company |
|
|
www.legolandphotos.com
This is a fan site
not associated or endorsed by Legoland Florida
or any affiliated company
We have 1,800 photos of Legoland Florida so far.
And that's just the beginning!
Please visit the Message Board
to discuss the most current Legoland Florida news!
|
|
www.cypressgardensphotos.com
This is a fan site
not associated or endorsed by Cypress Gardens
or any affiliated company.
We have 1,596 photos of Cypress Gardens
Please visit the Message Board
to discuss the most current Cypress Gardens news!
|
|
|
www.floridabricks.com
FloridaBRICKS.com was founded in March 2011 by several LEGO fans
We are the original fan-site to LEGOLAND Florida
and offer the latest news and updates on the park
we provide discount ticket information, park information, hotel deals,
and trip planning advice
|
|
