December Legoland Trip - need your advice!!

Moushe

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 27, 2015
We are doing a short Orlando trip Dec 27-30th, driving up from Miami. (DH, and I with our 4 year old daughter and 6 year old son)

We decided not to renew our Disney AP when they expire next month. so this trip will not include any Disney parks (but I did manage to sneak in a character meal :rolleyes1)

The main destinations are the ICE exhibit at Gaylord Palms and LEGOLAND, both will be a first time for us.

This is the itinerary we first came up with:

Thursday 12/27 - drive up in the morning, arrive at Gaylord Palms around noon and do the different ICE activities for the remainder of the day. (will be staying at the hotel courtesy of Marriott Rewards)

Friday 12/28 - breakfast at GP, then head out to some I-drive attractions (The Orlando Eye, Wonderworks, etc.). Check in to LEGOLAND Beach Resort then head to our ADR at Mickey's Backyard BBQ. Spend the evening at Campsites at Wilderness lodge for campfire, carriage ride, etc.

Saturday 12/29 - LEGOLAND all day.

Sunday 12/30 - Disney Springs then head home.

We booked Gaylord Palms already and purchased tickets for the different attractions with a back to school discount code. We have the ADR for Mickey's Backyard BBQ as well.

BUT I haven't made the LEGOLAND Beach Resort reservation yet. For 2 nights it will be a little over $600 which I think is pretty high.

So my question is - is it worth it? Or should we just stay at the local Holiday Inn?

side note: We like to have a bit more room than a motel-type place allows. when we go to Disney we stay at Bonnet Creek, Marriott Residence/Vacation Club, or Springhill Suites. But there doesn't seem to be anything like that in the Cypress Gardens area.

I can possibly cancel the BBQ ADR to offset some of the cost of Beach Retreat. But will there be enough to do there that evening to keep us occupied? We are coming from Miami so the pool will be too cold for us.

Perhaps we should add a second day at LEGOLAND so we can go on Friday and Saturday (skipping I-drive).

Please give me your advice, experience, etc. I cant make up my mind!

Thanks in advance!
 
Please do not check into Legoland on the 28th if you are going to Mickey's BBQ, they are an hour apart on a good day, at Christmas it could be a nightmare. Gridlock. I have not been to the Orlando Eye.
Perhaps stay at Gaylord Palm an extra night or book into a hotel at Disney/Disney Springs.
You can spend two days at Legoland, there will be fireworks at night when you plan to go. The Legoland Hotel has a buffet dinner(I have not been) which has characters and activities for your children .
We were there on New Year's Eve 2017, it was not too busy, nothing like Disney. My youngest was six and he loved the park, we had been the year before and he was desperate to go back.
Have a wonderful time.:santa:
 
I completely agree! I would definitely not check into Legoland and then drive to Disney that day. It’s too far to go back and forth and the beauty of the Legoland Resort is that you are walking distance to everything. We stayed two nights and didn’t go to our car once. The Legoland Hotel is amazing and there is a lot to do there. They have building contests and a pajama dance party each night and they have a master builder class where you can keep the creation they show you how to build. The hotel rooms have a Lego scavenger hunt for the kids when you check in which is really fun. There are characters randomly roaming the hotel. The dinner is very good and the included breakfast buffet is amazing! There is a walking path on the grounds with Lego creations throughout that we didn’t even have time to visit. They were building the Beach Resort when we were there so I can only comment on the Hotel, but the reviews I am seeing seem to prefer the Hotel for its theming and proximity to the park. The room will feel tight to you if you are used to villas. It’s really just a regular hotel room that they compartmentalized into a king bed area and bunk beds and is pricey, but we really thought it was worth it! Our kids loved it and it gave that immersive themed experience that we love at Disney.
 
I concur. According to Bing Maps, it's roughly 35 miles from the Gaylord Palms area to Legoland.

If you take your trip as described (Gaylord Palms --> I Drive --> Legoland --> Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort --> Legoland), you're looking at 130 miles in the car.

Bing Maps showing your proposed trip: https://binged.it/2C9ojHZ

Don't underestimate traffic over New Year's. I was at Disney World last year (2017 into 2018). I was staying at the DoubleTree Suites by Disney Springs. My room had a direct view of Kissimmee-Vineland Road (State Road 535) and a side view of Interstate 4. Traffic in the area really was a nightmare. You'll want to limit time in the car to just essential trips.
 


Legoland is a 1-day thing. I live 40 mins away from legoland and have a 3 year old. We do everything a 3-year old would want to do there in 3 hours tops
 
I would agree with the others that are recommending not driving back and forth for an ADR at Disney. If you are going to stay at Legoland, my advice would be to do the Backyard BBQ another night. We did a day trip to Legoland right around Christmas a couple of years ago (thinking it was Dec 22nd or 23rd) and while the park itself wasn't that busy, the traffic getting there and back was insanity. I am glad we went to Legoland, but it was definitely not a two day park for us (I love LEGO and I found it terribly boring although seeing the Lego builds was super cool) - my DS was older (10) when we went and had just realized he loves thrill rides (we went after he had spent a few days at Universal with his Aunt and Uncle) which contributed to why it was a one day park for us. I think if we had gone when he was younger we may have gotten more enjoyment out of it but I still doubt it would have been a two day park for us. Maybe think about doing two nights at Gaylord Palms, then drive down to Legoland, spend all day plus the night. Then if you are really enjoying it a few hours the next morning before Disney Springs?
 
Legoland is a 1-day thing. I live 40 mins away from legoland and have a 3 year old. We do everything a 3-year old would want to do there in 3 hours tops

I don't agree with this. LEGOLAND is big and has a lot of rides and different attractions to see. We spent a full day there and another day for 4 hours doing the kids favorites. We stayed at the LEGOLAND hotel for 2 nights. The kids loved it and breakfast is included. It's fun and different and my kids still talk about it.
 



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