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Legoland Florida

Amusement park in Florida, USA
Legoland Florida
Winter Haven, Florida, USA
Status
Opened
January 2, 1936 (Original)
2004 (as Cypress Gardens Adventure Park)
October 15, 2011 (as Legoland Florida)
Part of Legoland Florida Resort

Legoland Florida, originally known as Cypress Gardens, is an amusement park in Winter Haven, Florida, USA. It is currently run by Merlin Entertainments and is the largest park in the Legoland chain.

History

The park opened on January 2, 1936 and was built by Dick and Julie Pope. It was bought by Harcourt Brace and Jovanovich in 1985, however it was sold to the Busch Corporation in 1989. On January 4, 1995, it was sold to a group of the park's managers.

The park was closed on April 13, 2003 due to declining tourism following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.[1]

Kent Buescher, owner of Wild Adventures, purchased the park in 2004 and reopened it as Cypress Gardens Adventure Park. In 2006, the park filed for bankruptcy largely due to damages caused by hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne.[2] The park was purchased by Florida-based Land South Adventures, LLC, who operated the park for two seasons, closing on September 23, 2009.

On October 15, 2011, the park reopened under Merlin ownership. Its rides were re-branded to fit in with the Legoland theme.[3]

Roller coasters

Present

Name Manufacturer Type Opened Status
Coastersaurus Martin & Vleminckx Wooden November 26, 2004 Operating
Dragon Vekoma Sit-Down November 26, 2004 Operating
The Great Lego Race Mack Rides Wild Mouse October 15, 2011 Operating

Past

Name Manufacturer Type Opened Closed Fate
Fiesta Express Zamperla Kiddie November 26, 2004 November 16, 2011 Relocated to Gillian's FunLand
Galaxy Spin Zamperla Wild Mouse August 17, 2005 November 16, 2008 Relocated to Fun Spot America
Starliner Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Inc. Wooden July 14, 2007 November 16, 2008 Sold - stored
Flying School Vekoma Inverted roller coaster December 9, 2004 August 12, 2023 Scrapped

Attractions

This list is incomplete, please expand it if you can.

Present

Name Manufacturer Type Opened
Aquazone Wave Racers Zierer Jet Skis 2011
Battle of Bricksburg Mack Rides Splash Battle 2013
Beetle Bounce S&S Worldwide Junior Drop Tower x2 2011
Coast Guard Academy Garmendale Boat Ride 2011
Duplo Tractor Unknown Track Ride 2011
Duplo Train Unknown Junior Railway 2011
Grand Carousel Bertazzon Gallopers 2011
The Lego Movie Masters of Flight Brogent Technologies Flying Theatre 2019
Lego Ninjago The Ride Triotech
ART Engineering
Tracked Dark Ride 2017
Lost Kingdom Adventure Bertazzon Tracked Dark Ride 2011
Merlin's Challenge Unknown Sea Storm 2011
Mia's Riding Adventure Zamperla Disk'O 2015
Pirate River Quest Unknown Boat Ride 2022
Rescue Academy Metallbau Emmeln Fire Academy 2011
The Royal Joust Metallbau Emmeln Pony Trek 2011
Safari Trek Metallbau Emmeln Track Ride 2011
Technicycle Zamperla Magic Bikes 2011
Unikitty's Disco Drop Zierer Junior Drop Tower 2019

Closed

Name Manufacturer Type Opened Closed Fate
Delta Kite Flyers Zamperla Kite Flyer 2004 2008 Relocated to Gillian's FunLand
Dizzy Dragons Sellner Manufacturing Junior Teacups 2004 2008 Relocated to DelGrosso's Amusement Park
Fundangler Intamin Junior Paratower 1980 or earlier 1980 or later Unknown
Paradise Sky Wheel Chance Rides Ferris Wheel 2004 2008 Relocated to Luna Park Mamaia
Pharaoh's Fury Chance Rides Pirate Ship 2004 2008 Relocated to DelGrosso's Amusement Park
Power Surge Zamperla Power Surge 2004 2008 Relocated to Luna Park Mamaia
Rockin' Tug Zamperla Rockin' Tug 2004 2008 Relocated to Gillian's FunLand
Storm Surge WhiteWater West Spinning Rapids Ride 2004 2008 Relocated to Thorpe Park
Tilt-A-Whirl Sellner Manufacturing Tilt-A-Whirl 2004 2008 Relocated to Casino Pier
Thunderbolt A.R.M. (USA) & Larson International Drop Tower 2004 2008 Relocated to DelGrosso's Amusement Park
Yo-Yo

Chance Rides

Waveswinger 2004 2008 Relocated to DelGrosso's Amusement Park
Island in the Sky Intamin Flying Island 2011 2017 Standing but not operating
Junior Fire Academy Unknown Fire Academy 2011 2013 Unknown

Water slides

Legoland Water Park is located at the back of Legoland Florida. It originally opened in 2005 as Splash Island when the park was called Cypress Gardens.[4] It closed alongside Cypress Gardens in 2009, and reopened under its current name on May 26, 2012.[5] The park operates as an extra paid facility for existing Legoland guests and cannot be accessed on its own.

Name Manufacturer Class Type Opened
Duplo Splash Safari WhiteWater West Body Kiddie 2012
Joker Soaker WhiteWater West Body Water Play Structure 2005
Splash Out WhiteWater West Body Speed 2005
Twin Chasers WhiteWater West Tube N/A 2005

References

  1. "CYPRESS GARDENS TO CLOSE ITS GATES".
  2. "Cypress Gardens files bankruptcy".
  3. "LEGOLAND Florida announces grand opening date of October 15, 2011".
  4. Edwards, Amy L. (July 28, 2005). "Cypress Gardens betting on 'Splash'". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  5. Reinstetle, Matt (May 24, 2012). "Public Gets Free Preview of Legoland's New Water Park". The Ledger. Polk County, Florida. Retrieved 13 May 2019.


Amusement parks owned/operated by Merlin Entertainments