We just finished up a lovely visit to Florida. So far, it’s been the only ‘hot’ weather we have had! So we took advantage of it!
We spent a week near Orlando; a few days were chilly and rainy, but we did manage to spend 2 days in the pool…
We took advantage of every sunny second! LOL!
Molly was given some hand-me-down Ladybug water wings, and she LOVES them – wears them every chance she gets, and she is much more brave now than even with a lifejacket! 
We took 2 days and went out of the park to destinations. On a Thursday we went to Wycliffe Bible Translators, and then to CRU right after. The next day, we loaded up and drove down to LegoLand!!! Normally, amusement parks aren’t really our thing. But we were able to get tickets (along with over 40 other fulltiming families), for 1/3 the price for adults, and 1/10 for kids = $106 for all 11 of us (plus $14 for parking). It was our treat for the trip! LOL!
The little kids found their favorite ride right inside the entrance to the park…
A 2 story carousel that featured Lego horses!!! These are not made up of Legos, but are shaped just like the little Lego horses.
We had to go on it several times for Peanut and down. A couple of the bigger kids got in on it too…
The day started out with miserable weather (I guess miserable is relative since it was quite lovely compared to temps back home in MT!); chilly and rainy. We had to duck inside a few times to warm up. There were a lot of Legos for sale. And not just sets like in the store. These bins are full of individual Legos, and you pay per weight. They were also not just traditional rectangles, you could buy pounds of flowers or lights or round ones, in a rainbow of colors…
Outside is a large area that is nothing but scenes. Everything in each scene is made up of regular Legos…
even the sunken ship at the bottom of the ocean…
In several of the scenes, the Lego ships were attached to tethers that ran on tracks at the bottom of the ponds, and the ships would sail through the waters.
They were all so fascinating knowing that they are made up of thousands of Legos.
One of our favs…
There was an area dedicated to Star Wars. We spent quite a bit of time checking out the various displays.
When you get to Endor, be sure to look for the Ewok huts up in the trees – if you don’t look close, you will miss them.
Joel HAD to pose with Darth Maul…
Then it was off to the bigger rides. Legoland has several rollercoasters. They are not particularly scary, but if you are Peanut, and it’s your first roller coaster ride, then you might look like this… (3rd up on R)
but only for the first round. Then she couldn’t be stopped.
That’s my Peanut!
Next we went to the…
where we stood in line. We are not very Amusement Park savvy, but we did learn that next time we first get to the park, we should either move ahead towards the end of the park before the herd gets there, or just let everyone get ahead instead of moving along with the throngs.
Later we went back to Lost Kingdom and didn’t have to wait at all.
Yes, we loved it because it was a shooting adventure. As your car moved along the track, you shot at light targets on the walls. If you hit them, then that part of the exhibit would move or make noise, or have some special effect. You earn points based on your hits, so of course the boys were all about out shooting each other.
We loved the Lego Kingdom…
there are figures made of Legos all over the park, and many of them are animated (move).
This area had a little train roller coaster that the 3 youngest loved! Vaughn and I would ride with them, and all that up and down and around and around in such a small area about made us both sick, but the kids didn’t seem to notice!
After our picnic lunch under the big long tent that Legoland has set up for groups, it was in to warm up in the Florida Agriculture building. There we learned about farming in FL, and even got to milk the resident herd…
and Caleb found a tractor (combine) here, so we stayed awhile. He is OBSESSED with tractors.
Later we watched a 4-D Lego movie… (Molly wore Daddy’s hat ALL day)…
Back outside, we walked the park, and saw more of the fun displays they have. Like this waterfall…
That features Floriday wildlife around it (made of Legos, of course)…
Caleb found a car. He is All Boy, and loves anything with a motor. He would have been happy to sit here All Day.
The bigger boys were next door at the Rescue Academy…
where they were busy putting out fires. This ride was a hoot – teams had to pump the handles to get their rescue vehicle to move, then once they got down to the end, they had to hop out where the youngest team member would aim the fire hose while the other 2 pumped to get the water flowing. Once one team put out the fire, then they all hurried back to their vehicles to pump their way back to the other end of the course. They all came out breathless, but laughing. 
Then we had to try Driving School. There are 2 schools, one for ages 2 to 5, and the other for 6 to 13. Molly loved driving school…
so did Peanut. The big kids had to put their thumbs up to let the staff know that they had their seatbelts on before the cars would be started…
But Peanut drives too much like her mother for the big course. She wasn’t so great at stopping at stop signs, or staying on the right side of the road, or yielding. So they let her back on the one-way, slow, no rules Jr. Driving School. and she was happy there.
The bigs enjoyed Flight School, which was just a big hanging roller coaster. The front seats are the best… 😉
Legoland has a water park, but it’s closed for the season.
The Imagination Station looked fun. Wouldn’t know for sure since, while we were at the park from open to close, we never did make it there…
Peanut and Molly loved the Royal Joust (Caleb was zonked by this time). They were just Lego horses (like the carousel), on tracks…
but for some reason they loved it and went on it 4 times straight.
One of the things that you can do when you visit Legoland is to take a mini figure with you, and you can trade with any of the employees. The employees have name tags that are made out of Legos, and they will also have a Lego figure stuck to it. If you like the figure that they have, you can trade with them! Joel and Emma each took a figure, and while Joel didn’t find one that he liked better than C-3PO, he did charm a very cool gun out of one of the staff, and Emma traded a friend for a princess.
In the afternoon it dried up, and warmed up a little. Despite the chilly day, we still had a great time at Legoland Florida.
And all that rain and chill wasn’t too bad after all – the crowds were pretty much non-existent, and we’d rather ride lots of rides in the rain than stand in line in the sun! 😉
This is sooooo cool! I want to go. And I don’t even like Legos. 😉