Legoland Florida

[rewster]

Sounds good. Thanks again for the updates from both of you!

Correct me if I'm wrong, isn't construction for Legoland supposed to begin this month? If so, it seems like they may be running a little behind with the demolition/clearing out part of the job.

That was the word on the street. It's pretty much impossible to see the back part of the park, but I can definitely say there's no heavy equipment working on the property. It does seem that if they plan on opening in 2011, there would be more activity.......

 

[Tbad556]

Looking back through this thread, I found there was an article stating construction was to begin in May. It's odd that they plan on opening this in Fall 2011 but have not begun construction yet. Do they build the Lego creations for the park off-site?

 

[rewster]

Maybe there's a bunch of construction workers on the other side of that tall fence, on their hands and knees, putting together lego pieces?

 

[Tbad556]

Maybe there's a bunch of construction workers on the other side of that tall fence, on their hands and knees, putting together lego pieces?

I'm assuming that they build a lot of it off-site and transport it to the park once it's complete. If so, they may have begun construction already.

 

[tiredoldspook]

LOL,,,,,Honey I had a tough day at Legoland we are Building The Lego St. Louis Arch,,,,,,,,,,,,,lol

 

[jj3352]

i know for FACT that all of miniland florida is completeand onsite. just not installed.... and lego themeing for the most part is onsite and ready to be installed. the reason they chose cypress gardens if for the minimal construction. and overlay of lego.
and simple lay over of the buildings currently on site. i expect alot of facades. id also expect to see an 4D theater and an indoor dark ride. theres a design company in jacksonville that is working on a project for them.
let us also assume that constuction will be in full swing by june 7th.

 

[BBPH]

Im not too sure about the post above, but all of the lego sculptures for Legoland Windsor (England) are created off site as they have a very special glue (that has too set fr quite sometime under certain conditions) used on them so they can withstand all types of weather and cleaning.

 

[jj3352]

Some of the buildings are from the legoland dubai project... thats how i know for sure. ill ask if i can get some pics for you.

 

[tiredoldspook]

The company out of Jacksonville, Sally corporation is doing rides for them? I think they picked cypress Gardens because they could get it for a song and all the tax breaks. Also to build closer to Orlando would have cost a fortune to but that much property. I am sure they are working on the displays Because I am sure that is a huge undertaking. Also Cypress should be a pretty simple place to redo since there is already foundations for rides and walkways and such.

 

[rewster]

Possible attraction? :

from Screamscape......

Legoland fans may find something interesting over at the Mack Rides website. On the product page for the Supersplash flume ride, in the picture showing four different theme ideas for the boat, the lower right boat has been given a Lego Bionocle theme. Could a Bionicle themed flume ride be in store for Legoland Florida when it opens, or is this simply old artwork from a concept passed over long ago?

 

[rewster]

Another slight update to Legoland's development ----- I'm not sure if I missed this when looking for changes this weekend, or if this happened over the last couple of days, but today when I drove by the site I noticed that the concert dome (seen below in a pic I took in March) is now completely gone. (Sorry, didn't have my camera with me so I couldn't get an "after" pic).

 

[paintervision]

I think they picked cypress Gardens because they could get it for a song and all the tax breaks. Also to build closer to Orlando would have cost a fortune to but that much property. I am sure they are working on the displays Because I am sure that is a huge undertaking. Also Cypress should be a pretty simple place to redo since there is already foundations for rides and walkways and such.

Infrastructure and tax breaks. Concrete is cheap (just look at any Cedar Fair park!)

 

[rewster]

Some jobs are starting to show up, if anyone's interested.......

I was gonna go for the "Project Manager - Show" position (since that's my line of work), but they want 15 years of experience! Including 5 of those years at a theme park! Oh well, at least that's a good sign that they are hiring top-notch staff.

Follow the link for all current postings:

https://suite.agile1.com/JBMerlin/Client/Skins/Merlin/default.aspx

 

[tiredoldspook]

I want to apply for position of Mr Lego.

 

[Tbad556]

Update on the Bionicle water ride rumor, from Screamscape:

From what I’m told the Bionicle themed Supersplash boat has been on the site for the last couple of years, so it’s nothing new designed for Legoland Florida I’m afraid. Still, it is Florida and the park will need some kind of water ride, so you never know.

 

[The_Bled]

If Bionicle gets its own water ride, I hope and pray it will be epic.

 

[rewster]

From a local Winter Haven newspaper --- plans announced for a Legoland Florida Resort & Convention Center:

The opening of Legoland Florida on the former Cypress Gardens site in Winter Haven is still at least 15 months away, but already the owner of the new theme park has plans for a second phase of development.

Merlin Entertainments Group, which announced its plans for Legoland Florida in January, wants to follow a fall 2011 opening of the family theme park with the addition of a resort and convention center on the eastern shore of Lake Eloise, a Polk County tourism official said.

Mark Jackson, executive director of Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing, spoke about the resort plans Wednesday during a report to the Polk County Commission. Jackson talked about his early-May business trip to London to meet Merlin officials and view the Legoland Windsor operation.

Jackson said the Legoland resort and convention center in Winter Haven will be similar to the ones at Merlin's Legoland Denmark park.

The convention center and resort will be built after Legoland Florida begins business operations, Jackson said.

"The hotels will be overlooking the water on the site of Legoland Florida," Jackson told commissioners. "The hotel rooms are theme oriented for children, with princess rooms for girls and dinosaur rooms for boys."

In Denmark, Merlin has 700 vacation rental homes, shops and restaurants across the street from the Legoland theme park, Jackson said.

"The resort and convention center in Denmark is just an incredible place to stay," added Tom Patton, the executive director of the Central Florida Development Council. "It's hard to describe in words just how remarkable this resort is."

 

[Tbad556]

This is becoming a well-planned addition to Winter Haven! The resort sounds Disney-like and should be interesting to see. Thanks Rewster! :rep:

 

[rewster]

This is becoming a well-planned addition to Winter Haven! The resort sounds Disney-like and should be interesting to see. Thanks Rewster! :rep:

No problem! This is definitely shaping up to be a HUGE impact for Winter Haven. Businesses (and their employees) who once thrived on Cypress Gardens have been really struggling since they closed for good, and had a big impact on the local economy. It's great to see the locals excited about this, and a reason to keep them around.

Also, just to throw in a couple tidbits of update, I noticed yesterday they had many of the large animal topiaries out on the far end of the old parking lot. Not sure if this is a sign of them being removed, or if they are just temporarily there as part of the renovation. Also, work has been happening trying to clear the previously unused areas around the old parking lots. Looks like they are definitely planning on using all available space.

 

[paintervision]

Convention center's a solid idea. I could see that being a cheaper alternative to Orlando, yet still being very close to it. Definitely a market around for that.