Build Your Own Adventure

Imagine driving up to a hotel to discover a smoke-breathing dragon puffing away on top of a clocktower that you need to pass beneath to get inside.

But you don’t have to imagine: Just make a reservation at the 152-room Legoland Florida Hotel, part of the Legoland Florida Resort theme park complex in Winter Haven. 

Don’t worry. This dragon isn’t all that scary. Weighing 2,800 pounds, it’s made of 445,000 Lego bricks – and it’s only the beginning of the fun for Lego-lovers and families at the five-story hotel. 

While checking in, guests have time to admire a wall behind the reception desk made of more than 5,000 Lego minifigures, and more than 2,000 different Lego models adorn the hotel. Elsewhere in the lobby is a castle and pirate ship play area guarded by a giant Lego ogre and surrounded by a Lego-filled moat. Legoland’s Model Shop, where many of the park’s elaborate pieces are made, has a home in the hotel, too. 

Just getting to the rooms is an adventure at the kid-friendly Legoland Florida Hotel, which opened four years ago. A Disco-vator (elevator) playing groovy tunes allows you to boogie your way to your floor. There are five Lego-inspired themes for rooms: Adventure, Friends, Kingdom, Pirate and “The Lego Movie.” Each room boasts a minimum of eight Lego models (such as parrots, monkeys, pirates, etc.) as well as a bucket of bricks so kids can make their own creations. 

Grown-ups, don’t fret: There’s an adult area with a king-size bed and a TV for you. The separate children’s area has bunk beds and a trundle bed. When it’s time to sleep, little ones are assured – via a note on their beds – that their rooms are “monster free.” In the morning, a special newspaper, Legoland Times, written with kids in mind, arrives at the door.

Kids won’t have a chance to be bored because there’s so much to do, from character meet-and-greets and hero games (friendly competitions between different floors) to pajama parties and model-building competitions. A Master Model Builder Workshop is available exclusively to hotel guests, and kids take home what they make.

A breakfast buffet is included in the resort fee, but dinner costs extra. And, yes, there’s a huge heated pool with floating Lego bricks. It’s the perfect place for kids to cool off and splash around.

The hotel, at the main entrance to the theme park, has been so popular that a second venue, Legoland Beach Retreat, was added in 2017. The village-style resort, half a mile from the park, has 166 rooms in 83 separate lakeside bungalows. Like the first property, the resort offers a free breakfast buffet to guests, a large resort pool and multiple outdoor play areas. 

Brightly colored bungalows grouped into 13 horseshoe-shaped coves (named after popular Lego minifigures) carry the Lego theme inside and out. Each cove has an outdoor play area viewable from shaded patios, where parents can relax. At the Legoland Beach Retreat, the check-in process is done via a drive-through, so guests can get to their coves in minutes. What kid wants to wait, after all? Rooms sleep up to five, including a separate area for kids with a bunk bed, a trundle bed and a privacy curtain.

Families who have worked up an appetite can check out Sandy’s Castle Restaurant, with a menu of entrées, sides and desserts sure to please kids and grownups alike, and the Bricks Beach Bar, with an eclectic menu of made-to-order food, drinks and creative cocktails served poolside and indoors. Other highlights of the property include a retail shop, with building sets, toys, swimsuits and snacks, and a hands-on Lego building station, where kids can contribute their original creations to a giant sandcastle comprising thousands of Legos. 

Next spring, a third property ­– Legoland Pirate Island Hotel – will debut at Legoland. Just 130 kid-steps from the theme park, this new accommodation will immerse families in a unique pirate adventure with themed rooms, a resort pool, interactive activities and live entertainment. 

When families arrive at Legoland, they’ll find more than 50 rides, shows and attractions inspired by the Lego and Duplo brands, including experiences based on “The Lego Movie,” Lego Ninjago, Lego Nexo Knights, Lego City, Lego Technic and Lego Friends.

It’s the perfect vacation destination for young guests – and the young at heart. O

Legoland Florida Hotel is located at 1 Legoland Way, Winter Haven. Legoland Beach Retreat is located at 100 Legoland Way, Winter Haven. For more information, visit legoland.com/vacations.