LEGOLAND Florida

Legoland Florida is 90 percent complete as October grand opening nears     Winter Haven, Florida – With Legoland Florida’s grand opening fast approaching, as many as 500 workers a day are busy getting the park ready for visitors.  Officials say the park is now 90 percent complete, with some rides like the Royal Joust and Island in the Sky already getting the all-clear from inspectors.

“We are definitely going to open on time. We’ve got some landscaping to finish up, we’ve got some interior design to finish up and then some cleaning, so yes, we are going to open on time,” said Kim Iseman, Legoland’s director of sales and marketing.   On Tuesday, members of the media were given a two hour tour of the park as work continues toward an October 15 opening.

The 150-acre park will feature 50 different rides, shows and attractions with the target audience being kids aged 2 to 12.   “Their eyes are going to get big. I think they are going to go absolutely bonkers in here when they see it, I think,” said Construction Supervisor Craig Reibel of the reaction he expects from kids after they enter Legoland for the first time.   Among the main attractions will be four roller coasters and Island in the Sky, which will take guests up 150 feet for a 360-degree view of the park.

As part of the transformation from Cypress Gardens to Legoland, Reibel says they have moved 700 different plants and trees.  He says that’s been no small task for a park originally designed around Mother Nature.   “Some of the trees that we moved were a hundred years old and weighed about 75 tons. It cost pretty close to $12,000 (each) to relocate them.”

The transformation to Legoland has also meant replacing most of the park’s old electrical, sewer and lines.   Once the park opens, general admission tickets will be $75 each for adults and $65 for kids aged 3-to-12. However, a $10 discount is being offered for all tickets purchased before the park opens in October.   Parking at Legoland will be $12.