Ok so with that said we are covering Legoland Florida. Upon arrival to the property do not expect a big grand entrance like Disney or Universal or even Sea World. It is located in Winter Haven Florida and is on the old grounds of Cypress Gardens. As you park in their parking lot you are almost at a loss of where to go. no signs, no team members going ladies and gentlemen the entrance is right over their. so we found the entrance and got to the point to get our tickets, great staff at the ticket window and i love their name tags (name tags all made of legos)
Before we went into the park we wanted to check out the hotel on property and i must say its a kids heaven and a parents hell. they have a pit of legos and legos all over the floor (note to self if staying in hotel wear shoes in lobby) honestly the hotel was nice and we really want to go back and check that out (it was the best part of our day)
we then proceed into the park, now first and foremost let me warn you we are aware legoland was built for kids and we will not bash them for that fact but we will say they make adults visiting without kids feel very unwelcomed. time after time, attraction after attraction we were turned away due to us being 2 grown adults. but moving on….looking at the park as far as quality of rides and activities its a good match a lot to do and it can wear a kid out quick.
first we decided that a show was in order so we checked out their pirates show (this is where things start going downhill quick). Before i tell you more let me tell you about my history I served honorably 2.5 years in the USAF and done over 8 years in security from hotels to casinos to theme parks. and am a huge person when it comes to guest safety….back to the story….we started by being welcomed to the theater by 2 team members leaning on the balcony ledge looking down and no signs advising wet floors going up 2 steep wet ramps. we get seated and me and my wife always grab a handicapped row do to personal problems i received in the military (i do have a VA disability card) i got yelled at by a team member and told my disability does not qualify…...ummm wrong answer…. so we moved. put on the end of a bench where the end cap was hanging off and could cut someone….throughout the show we were finding more and more problems. we watched 1 team member that his job was to make sure no one went on stage from the bottom of the bleachers, leave his post and pulled back multiple times by another team member. and no water safety equipment in site if someone did fall in.
After the show we went for a walk through the old Cypress gardens…..this was the first time i was scared in a theme park. walking through a park with signs posted for snakes and spiders etc...so as we are walking their is no lights, no team members….and no security in fact we NEVER saw security our entire time in the park. but we did run into who we assumed to be part of landscaping wearing all black rain gear and hiding in the bushes. thats when we left that part of the park QUICK! but on the way out i found a spot i pointed out to my wife saying if i had kids this sealed the deal of them NEVER coming to the park, there was a path to a opening of bushes and a clearing by a tree where a predator or attacker could hide...and fairly easy since no one checks bags…..so we started to head out of the area we passed the other side of the theater we were just in and we see this huge hill with a hope fense (single rope draped between posts) at the bottom to keep people out….again no emergency equipment in the area just in case.
at this point i was so shocked and floored by our experience i wanted to hull butt home but my wife asked to see one more show and do one ride. so we went to their fire show…..i'm going to give them benefit here but it was just bad, all lip sync lines. bad acting, and any fire fighter will tell you putting the wet stuff on the hot stuff DOES NOT ALWAYS WORK! so why are we teaching kids this...for those who don't know fires, there are certain types of forest that placing water on can make it worse.
so after that we went on a ride that reminds you off buzz lightyear space ranger spin and Magic Kingdom but cheaper and didn't work. but we enjoyed the ride we could ride till the end….we pull up to the unload area to see 2 female team members in safety sensitive positions playing the game of slaps….if you don't know what that is look it up...lots of fun...after seeing that we had enough.
but with my security and safety background i could not leave the park without bringing some major concerns to light. so we went to Guest Relations and i must say the nicest people i met the entire day. and they forwarded us to email Tyler who is their Guest Relations Rep who handles all major problems. now understand something i didn't just get home and write this up. it's been just under a month since i reached out to them, giving them a chance to reach back out to me. and even waited ther 5-7 day waiting time till i should receive an answer. i reached out to them via twitter and tried to have them message me in private so i didn't call them out publicly and they gave me the same email again. and honestly at this point i can't tell you guys they tried to make things better. or even inquire of me when or where such events happened. a month later i can say they don't really care.
So let me end this before we have our longest blog yet. Is Legoland Florida recommended, NO in fact i won't give it a rating and i will recommend to you our friends that if you come to florida or you live here and want to visit that you run far and fast away from this property and forget it ever existed. It is not worth the cost, It is NOT NOT NOT SAFE, and it's not SECURE. Anyone could walk into their park with anything and NEVER be checked, so a pedofile or a criminal or a predator can walk in with a ticket and you have no idea.
Like i said i HATE doing bad reviews and i HATE talking bad about people but for everyone's safety this blog has to be written.
so everyone pay attention to our facebook and twitter for some new blogs coming out soon that i know you will enjoy.