Adventures in Legoland

This past weekend our family ventured to Legoland in Winter Haven and it was such a fun time! Our family has never been to Legoland so we were extremely excited to see what the park had to offer. We stayed one night at the Legoland Pirate Hotel and then spent the next day at both the park and water park. Another amazing weekend of family fun and memories created that our family needed before we begin the homeschooling journey.

Saturday night we began the hour and a half trip to our hotel at Legoland and that was surely filled with lots of singing, laughing and snoozing for the kiddos. We arrived at the Pirate Hotel around 5 PM and were met instantly at the door by an employee who gave us a car pass so that our car could stay on premises and told us that we all had to be temperature checked when entering the hotel as well as to make sure that we wear a mask when inside. I went inside first to check us in while my husband waited in the car with the kids before all coming in. I was temperature checked and given a wrist band that I was told needed to be on when inside the hotel because it let everyone in the hotel know that I had passed the tempertaure check and did not feel like I was sick. Checking in was a breeze and was instructed that there was automatic check out and we could keep our hotel keys as souvenirs which I thought was really cool! Also, all meals inside the hotel are done through reservations via OpenTable. I had already set up our dinner reservations a few days prior but while I was checking in, I was asked if we wanted to make breakfast reservations and was able to pick a time that would work best for our family. Due to COVID, they have to limit the amount of people in the areas to make sure everyone stays 6 feet apart so they do this by every guest making a reservation. However, if you can’t get a breakfast reservation (it is included free with your stay) you are able to grab the breakfast to go so you can take it upstairs to your room and eat.

We entered our hotel room around 5:30 and the kids were in complete heaven! There was a king sized bed for my husband and I which was absolutely so comfy but the best part was the separate kids area that had a bunk bed with a pull out bed on the bottom if you needed 3 beds for your kids, their own TV and an area for them to build and play with legos. It was like they had their own separate room without being away from us. Another fun thing inside your room would have to be the treasure hunt that you do inside the room! A few questions with answers that can be found in your room unlocks a safe full of goodies. Every day there will be a new treasure hunt for your kids which keeps it so entertaining!

That night we had reservations to eat downstairs at the Shipwreck resturant so we quickly settled in and got ready for dinner. The fun thing about the food at the Legoland hotels is that the food is family style. So we got to choose between two platters of food for our family that came with a few sides. This way we are all sharing a meal and spending that quality time together without worrying about what if this person wants this and they don’t have it. It was such a nice change of pace! You also get to choose between two deserts to share as a family, a cookie skillet or fondu. Our cookie and ice cream loving family definitely chose the cookie skillet. The food was absolutely delicious!

We then went up to the room after dinner to relax and get a good nights sleep as we had breakfast reservations in the morning before heading into the park. The kids played with legos and watched TV till they couldn’t keep their eyes open anymore and then my husband and I turned in for the night. It was so cool seeing the kids step away from their electronics and really have some serious playtime together creating a little city with their legos in their area.

The next morning we were up bright and early (thank you Gracelyn) and got ready to leave the room before heading into breakfast since our stay was only for the night. Breakfast is served at the Skyline Lounge on the main floor near check in where there is also a little play area for the kids while you wait. There is also another restaurant in the area named Bricks that you can eat lunch and dinner at. Breakfast was served family style once again and the kids dug in like no other! Afterwards, we let them play for a bit while we waited for it to get closer to the park opening time. Legoland was open from 10 AM to 5 PM with the waterpark opening 12 PM to 4 PM. Around 9:30 AM we headed towards the park which is literally a few short steps from the hotel which makes it so nice because everything is right there and you don’t have to walk far! Even our car was not that far from the front door of the hotel.

Once inside the park we made our way through the little lands getting on rides that the kids could get on or wanted to get on. Most shops were closed due to COVID and the need to make sure everyone was social distancing. The kids didn’t mind though and were just so excited to be able to get one some rides and have a bit of a sense of normalcy. At Noon, we made our way to the back of the park to head into the water park because our kids are water babies and kept asking if it was time yet. We spent the entire time the water park was open inside it and ate lunch there as well. There is a little splash pad area that was a tad overcrowded for my liking because every kid obviously wants to play there and that’s okay so we just stayed near the Duplo Splash area which was perfect for Giovanni and Gracelyn. Adylee is such a good sport about it that she said it was okay and she just wanted to go down the lazy river a couple times so we made sure that we did that as a family.

There are a couple slides as well that teens and adults can do plus the wave pool which has these cool little “islands” that you can build with the extra large legos on. Plus the lazy rives has tubes that has the ability to build on with the extra large legos. Everything is about building and imagination which I just loved seeing! In a time where our kiddos are inside mainly, it was nice to see them having fun and using their little minds to create.

After the water park closed, we headed back into the park and did the last few rides before the kids just couldn’t hang anymore and we left the park as it was closing. Our kids are still asking to this day when we can go back and I’m so thankful that we took this little trip and that Legoland hosted us because the memories will last a lifetime!

Some things that I wanted to touch on regarding the safety measures Legoland is taking during this time are:

• Masks are required when inside the hotel, any dining areas, rides and any shops within the park.
• All rides have markers where you need to wait to keep everyone 6 feet apart as well as on rides, they skip seats to keep everyone socially distanced.
• Temperature is checked prior to entering park as well as capacity is limited.
• There are constant reminders over the loudspeaker in the park to safely social distance and remember to wear masks.

All in all, it was a great experience and our family felt very safe! Families safely social distanced from each other and with the exception of the crowding in the splash pad area at the waterpark, we never felt the need to stay away from any areas. Enjoy some more photos below from our trip!