When we were at LEGOLAND Florida theme park, the kids kept asking "Can we go to the hotel yet?" Here are all of the reasons why.
We are a LEGO-loving family, so it only made sense to drive the 8ish hours south to LEGOLAND Florida at least once. I was initially a teeny bit skeptical as someone who’s been to Walt Disney World more times than I can count over the past three decades with kiddos who’ve already been there several times too. But after our first trip to LEGOLAND last May, we all agreed we have a new favorite theme park. (Sorry, Mickey. We still love you!)
The “5 gazillion star” LEGOLAND Hotel is a massive part of the magic of the LEGOLAND experience, so we wanted to share our top tips as you plan your own awesome adventure to the land of LEGO. You can also check out our vlogs from our recent trip this May.
Here are 20 things you should know about staying at the LEGOLAND Hotel.
1. It’s not in Orlando.
LEGOLAND is located in Winter Haven, around 1 hour south of Orlando. While there are hotels and Airbnbs in the area, the experience of staying at the hotel is just as important to our family as going to the theme parks. And because the theme parks are only open from 10-5 or 10-6, there is a lot of free time to fill—and LEGOLAND Hotel has many ways to do just that.
2. The theme parks are right at your doorstep.
Once you set foot inside the hotel, you’re completely immersed in LEGO. The LEGOLAND theme park and Peppa Pig Theme Park entrances are just steps away. This means you literally never have to leave or take any transportation during your stay. If you’re staying across the street at Beach Retreat, you have the option to take the free shuttle or drive your own car the ½ mile across the street to the theme parks or main hotel—and you have access to all of the amenities at the main hotel.
3. LEGOLAND Hotel is actually three hotels.
There’s LEGOLAND Hotel, Pirate Island Hotel, and Beach Retreat. The “main” hotel and Pirate Island have the same entrance and are two wings of the same building—but Pirate Island is newer than the main hotel. Beach Retreat is across the street and features a village-style layout with 83 beach-themed bungalows and 166 rooms, which include an outdoor patio area.
4. You get to choose your room’s theme.
The 152 rooms in the “main” hotel have several themes to choose from: adventure (standard, premium or VIP suites); kingdom (standard, premium or VIP suites), pirate (standard or premium); and LEGO Friends, LEGO Movie, and Ninjago (premium only). Pirate Island rooms are all obviously pirate themed and you can choose from standard, lake view, or suites. The Beach Retreat bungalows are grouped into 13 sections, each named after a popular minifig like Shark Suit Guy and Ocean King, but the beachy theming is the same.
5. A “standard” room is anything but standard.
We have stayed at several Disney resorts, and LEGOLAND Hotel truly takes hotel theming to another level. From the carpet to the shower curtain to the TV home screen to the shampoo, it’s all LEGO. The coolest thing is that the kids have their own sleeping area in the room with a bunk bed, pull-out trundle, and TV. (Take a nightlight for the kids’ half of the room!) The adult sleeping area has a king bed. We recently did the standard pirate room, but we all liked the standard adventure room more—the theming in the “adult” half just seemed a little bit cooler. We want to stay in a Pirate Island room at some point to see if newer = nicer. And we may need to splurge on a premium Ninjago room because that just seems so cool.
6. Parking is free with your stay.
You can come and go as you please with free parking. And hotel guests have a covered parking area so your car won’t cook as much in the hot Florida sun.
7. Dance parties in the elevators are a thing.
LEGOLAND Hotel has a disco elevator with lights and music, and one of our favorite things is dancing with random families who are just as caught up in the magical fun as we are. Pirate Island’s elevators feature a catchy sea shanty, but it’s got nothing on hearing “Dancing Queen” and boogying down with strangers.
8. Breakfast will be your favorite meal of the day.
The free breakfast is AWESOME. You can eat at Shipwreck at Pirate Island, Bricks at LEGOLAND Hotel, or Sandy’s Castle Restaurant at Beach Retreat. At all locations, you get a massive all-you-can-eat family style skillet with eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, fresh fruit, and a rotation of LEGO waffle, pancakes, and French toast sticks. You can request the family skillet for 2 instead of 4 (we did this so we didn't waste as much food) and you can customize them however you like. Shipwreck has additional breakfast skillets not available at Bricks—whereas Bricks has omelets not available at Shipwreck. You can get whatever you want to drink: coffee, soda, juice boxes, chocolate milk, etc. If you want to take food back to your room, you can pick it up at Smuggler’s Bar at Pirate Island. You receive the Bricks breakfast along with yogurt, fruit, and other quick-grab items. Breakfast is first come, first served starting at 7 a.m.
9. There are several dinner options.
Shipwreck serves a 3-course all-you-can-eat family style meal featuring house-smoked meats, and reservations are required. Bricks has an all-you-can-eat buffet that’s first come, first served. Skyline Lounge serves traditional American food with a la carte items served for both lunch and dinner. Skyline is located directly next to the big play area at the hotel, so it is NOT a quiet dining experience. There are pre-paid all-inclusive meal plans offered where you can eat at the parks and the restaurants, but we’ve never done that because we opt to enjoy the massive breakfast, get subs from Publix across the street for lunch, and grab takeout for dinner from local spots while the kids were in the pool. We also grabbed food to go from Skyline a couple times and it was very good. Here are some spots we recommend: Tijuana Flats, Krazy Greek, Di Maggio's Pizzeria, and J Burns Pizza. We have a long list of recommended spots we still need to try: Manny’s Chop House, Harbour Side, Mediterranean Fresh Grill, Tsunami Sushi, Gaskins BBQ and Lobster, and Andy’s Igloo. The rooms do have refrigerators so you can store your own drinks and leftovers.
10. And adult beverages are available.
If you’re interested in enjoying an adult beverage while your kids play, there is Smuggler’s Bar on the Pirate Island side and Skyline also has a full bar. We highly recommend the Raspberry Basil Mule from Smuggler’s. It’s also common to see parents enjoying adult beverages poolside.
11. It’s like the most fun summer camp ever.
LEGOLAND has a festive, almost camp-like atmosphere. The programming like bingo, trivia, and storytime takes place at both the Pirate Island Play Area and the Castle Stage on the “main” hotel side. All programming typically kicks off around 4:30 p.m. The kids will get used to seeing the same pirates/princesses/cowboys/etc. leading the programming, and they do such a great job of keeping it organized and fun. When you arrive at the hotel, you will receive a list of all programming. You can also find it in advance online to plan ahead.
12. Signing up in advance for Creative Workshops is a MUST.
The Creative Workshops (also called “master builder classes”) offered at LEGOLAND Hotel are awesome—and free! Your kids get to take a class with a Master Model Builder and make a small LEGO model together. There is a bulletin board in the hotel lobby that shows you what you’ll be building next. You can sign up online two weeks out, and you can book for each day you are there including check in and check out.
13. Your hotel stay comes with free LEGO every day.
Each child gets LEGO freebies to the room each day—a mini fig or a little set. The first one comes from an in-room scavenger hunt. If you don’t get one during your stay, be sure to ask at the front desk and they will give it to you (this happened to us once). If you don’t get your room cleaned, you need to ask for one. You also get an Honest juice box per child and two small water bottles each day, in addition to the Keurig coffee and hot chocolate in the room.
14. Even the pool has LEGO to play with.
There’s a pool at all three hotels, but the main LEGOLAND Hotel pool is the biggest and busiest. It also has a super fun slide that’s open from 4-9 p.m.—so keep that in mind if you do some morning swimming. The Pirate Island pool is much quieter, but it’s also only open from 4-9 p.m. The pools all have big soft LEGO bricks floating around so you never have to stop building.
15. Beware the foam weapons—and watch your step.
There are play areas all over the hotel, and nearly every child you encounter will have a foam weapon they got from the Ninjago or Kingdoms areas of the theme park. The castle area is normally a free-for-all with battles going on. If you and/or your kids like it quiet or want the LEGO to yourselves, go there in the early morning hours. And there’s LEGO literally everywhere so watch your step!
16. The boardwalk is beautiful—and you can even enjoy a pontoon ride.
If you take the path from the pool down to the boardwalk, you are transported to a beautiful, tranquil spot to catch a stunning sunset. Families can also make a reservation to tour Lake Eloise and Lake Summit on a 25-minute guided historical wildlife tour of the “Famous Chain of Lakes.” with a local tour guide. Your captain will cruise by the pirate ship, the Esther Williams Florida Pool, and the LEGOLAND Water Park while pointing out wildlife like alligators, turtles, great blue herons, and more.
17. You can mini golf on the Wild Side.
The 9-hole mini golf course located at the boardwalk by Lake Eloise features LEGO wildlife at each hole. The course is open daily and costs $8 per person per round. Children 2 and under are free with a paying adult. This is one of the less themed parts of the hotel, so we haven’t done it yet—but it would be a fun way to pass a morning or evening.
18. You can sweeten your evening with some s’mores.
You can purchase s’mores kits for $10 to prepare at the massive fire pit located right next to the mini golf area. We typically bring our own s’mores fixings and no one has ever said anything.
19. Model Citizens are there to help.
The staff, referred to as Model Citizens (or MCs), are extremely friendly. Ask questions if you aren't sure about something and they will find the answer for you. You can also trade minifigs with them just like you can in the theme park.
20. Book during Black Friday!
LEGOLAND is typically always running a deal, but I’ve never seen anything better than the deals offered during Black Friday. Just for instance… our three-night hotel stay with three days park hopping between LEGOLAND, the water park, and Peppa Pig Theme Park in a standard room for a family of four was $1,200 after tax. And that is AWESOME.
BONUS: Pack plastic bags.
You will definitely want something to store all your new LEGO!
learn more about legoland
Check out all of our LEGOLAND videos featuring our experiences at the theme park, water park, and Peppa Pig Theme Park.
Comments