LEGOLAND is Perfect for Your Young Family

A wrong turn here. Lots of Orlando traffic and road construction there. 100 miles just to get back to home base.

Don't worry, everything is awesome.

And when the entire crew can (and does) agree on such an assessment, you know you've invested your time and money into a winning family adventure.

I recently traveled to LEGOLAND in Winterhaven, Florida with my wife and three sons (ages 8, 6 and 4) on a journey of firsts. Would it be worth the time, effort and money of traveling halfway across the state? Would it live up to the ever-loftier expectations and excitement my kids had been brewing up for weeks? Would they even make it through the whole April day trip-especially with my youngest's Sensory Process Disorder challenges-during their first-ever theme park experience?

Would us two adults retain a shred of our sanity before it was all done?

And then a cascade of colors and bricks and not-so-minifigures. It was clear from the moment we walked through the LEGOLAND archway and past its "WELCOME" display made of LEGOS: We were right where we wanted to be.

"We market ourselves as built for kids," said LEGOLAND PR Director David Brady, who I met up with halfway through our day trip. "One might think a place like Disney is built for kids, but they really market themselves to everyone, including kids, but also honeymooners and empty nesters. They've got the flower festival or the food and wine festival. Those are not aimed at kids.

"We are laser-focused on kids. If we say that we're built for kids, we really felt we needed to mean we were built for all kids. Kids of every ability, interest and disability; Kids with cognitive disability, those in wheelchairs, whatever it might be."

That kid-first approach was apparent at every turn throughout the winding, multilayered, attraction-filled park. It was especially true of LEGOLAND's novel and appreciated approach to children, like my youngest, who are on the Autism Spectrum, as I recently detailed.

[READMORE] READ MORE: LEGOLAND Celebrates Autism Awareness Month With ASD Initiative [/READMORE]

Though we had a map and a small pre-trip wishlist of things to do, we collectively decided to just wander around and see what we could find. Tangents (the good kind) were everywhere, but that is by design, of course.

Yet, for every new "we gotta go do that!" endeavor, the family got to stay together.

"We are very open about the fact that our target age is 2-12 years old," explained Brady. "You might think that 2-12 is just 'young kids', but that's a pretty wide range. What's going to appeal to a toddler is very different from a pre-teen. We saw when we opened the park-and other parks are guilty of this too-the family is constantly having to split: Dad is taking the older kids on a roller coaster, while mom and the toddler were having to go completely to the other side of the park, for example.

"That's not a great experience, with a ton of walking back and forth. So we created something called Tot Spots. These are toddler-themed play areas that are typically located right next to our thrill rides. So the idea is not to split the family up. There are oftentimes less intense rides next to some of our roller coasters as well."

Though we talked my 4-year old into joining us for the first rollercoaster we came to (The Dragon), it proved intense enough that he didn't want to do any others the rest of the day. Yet, neither he nor we his parents were ever left out.

That's good because the two older boys quickly discovered their love for this type of new thrill. (Thank goodness for the FastPass option, which allowed us to bypass the lines and ride to our heart's content.)

"We like to say that our rollercoasters are 'pink knuckle, not white knuckle'", mused Brady, "and that this is really a good park to have your first rollercoaster experience. It can be very traumatic to go on a rollercoaster that is beyond your readiness level. And that could influence your decisions for years!

"So we want to make sure your first rides are something that you really enjoy, and so that it prepares you for when you outgrow us [and go to something bigger], then you're ready for those record-breaking coasters."

For every time someone was too small and/or apprehensive to ride one of the larger attractions, (such as Coastersaurus, Flying School, Project X or Mia's Riding Adventure), there was always something age appropriate right nearby to keep the fun rolling.

Ford Jr. Driving School, DUPLO Train and Safari Trek especially appealed to my youngest as "special things" that only he could do.

"We also have a few attractions that only the child can ride," agreed Brady. "So those are kind of aspirational in the fact that, 'mom, dad, I don't NEED you. I can go by myself and you can stand and watch.'

"We very consciously have attractions where kids can take the lead, including a boating ride and a driving ride that are not on rails. You can crash, or go backwards, or go through a stop sign. It's empowering the kids, knowing, 'oh, if I take my hands off the wheel, it's not going to just keep on going. I'm in charge.'"

Of course, the day wouldn't have been such a blast if we had stayed split up the whole time, even if in such close proximity to one another.

Some of our favorite attractions (and memories) came from the rides where all ages could overlap and have a great collective experience. AQUAZONE Wave Racers, Boating School, Rescue Academy and Island in the Sky are each effectively designed for full family-fun participation. Ditto for the Pirates' Cove Live Water Ski Show.

While nearly all of the rides are high on at least second and third-time repeatability, the consensus favorite happened to be LEGOLAND'S newest and most interactive experience, LEGO NINJAGO The Ride, which I recently reviewed in detail.

[READMORE] READ MORE: LEGOLAND's Cutting-Edge NINJAGO is a Smash [/READMORE]

Alas, there are likely a few of you already saying, "okay, this sounds like a fine theme park and all, but what about the LEGOS! Isn't that what it's really about?"

Indeed.

While every ride, attraction, show and structure is LEGO-themed-made to appear like giant incarnations of childhood dreams-come-true-it is indeed the small bricks that really give LEGOLAND its spirit and energy.

"We have an indoor play area called The Imagination Zone where you have all these themed areas and you can build with LEGO bricks in ways you can't necessarily do at home," said Brady. "So this is all very tactile. There's no lines or waiting. You just come up and start building. It's all indoors and air-conditioned; It's a great place for when the kids and/or parents want to take a little break and just sit, relax and build.

"It's funny because, in the theme-park world, we think of the roller coasters and the big, splashy attractions as the main draw. But to the kids, it's often just about getting to build with LEGOS in a way they've never done before. It's an eye opener for us adults to see that The Imagination Zone is really the heart and soul, the DNA, of what LEGOLAND is as a brand. It's not a $100 million ride on a track, it's building with LEGOS."

No point proves this more than the awe and wonder experienced by children and adults alike when entering the park's iconic Miniland.

While it was completely by accident, we saved this region until last, arriving as the sun began setting shortly before the park closed. The waning light made the truly enormous and detailed dioramas of downtown Washington D.C., Las Vegas and Daytona International Speedway (among many others) that much more lifelike and magical.

I'd be completely remiss not to mention all the Star Wars displays that have been added over the years as well. We all could have spent hours in that portion alone, simply marveling at all the fun details and easter eggs.

In fact, we never even made it to the Water Park after filling our entire day from open until close-just more reason to plan our next visit, I suppose.

Like any good LEGO set or display, the entirety of the LEGOLAND experience is impressive when zoomed out, but it's the little details and nuances around every corner that really shine.

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