Legoland Florida - Updated Post 52 (September 2012)

[Cheshire Figment]

I went over to Legoland today for early pick-up of my Annual Pass (even though the AP previews don't start until October 10). I spoke with two Guest Services Managers about accessibility. Following information is random. I will be going again on October 10 and will update this thread with pictures.

Nobody was allowed past the Ticket Window area (except for a temporary store). So there was no entry into the Park. They only had eight windows open (looks as if they have 16) and it took almost two hours in line to get to the windows. But my AP number is 344 and has a (very bad) picture of me on it.

1. Companion Restrooms are located at all restroom locations.

2. There will be rental wheelchairs and ECVs available. They sent me an e-mail in response to one of my questions. Wheelchairs will rent for $10 and ECVs for $35.

3. All attraction queues are mainstreamed. There may be a couple of locations where lifts are used, where a person in an ECV may have to transfer to a wheelchair.

4. There will be a GAC system similar to WDW. There will be a Stroller As Wheelchair option. There are no alternate entrances as such, but if a person needs an alternate waiting area they will be given a time-marked slip to then enter at the exit.

5. They expect to have specific Guide-maps or Guide-books for people with disabilities, they have not been printed yet.

6. I was not happy with their benches. They are made of the wood composite that is used for house decks and is very strong. However, they are a dark green and absorb sun very well.

More after I visit next month. If you have other general questions which need answering let me know. And since it is a new Park, everything is supposedly in compliance with the requirements of the ADA.

 

[Mary976]

Thanks for the update! I think the thing that's most helpful for me to know is if attractions are at a height where w/c users can see them. I assume that since Legoland is targeted at families with younger kids that won't be an issue (since things will be at "kid" height), but I'd be interested in what you think.

Mary

 

[dclfun]

Thanks for the info! I doubt we'll be going too often, but since we live close enough I at least want to take the grandkids one time, esp. now that there are promos. Looks like a fun place!---Kathy

 

[kathyell]

Awesome info as always, CF.

I don't suppose they spoke about any accommodations for food allergies or sensitivities while you were talking about accessibility, did they? If not, has anyone else contacted LEGOLAND in any capacity and discussed what kinds of ways we can ensure our family members with food sensitivities and allergies will be safe eating in the park?

Thanks! Awesome report, and grats on the low annual pass number.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for the report.
Sounds like it might be fun.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

When I am there I will make it a point to find out about allergies.

The regular guidemap has the two following statements.

"Food & Alcohol - Outside coolers, food and beverages may not be brought into the Park. However, exceptions are made for infants and those with special medical needs. Alcohol may not be brought into LEGOLAND Florida Property."

"Dining - We offer an extensive menu selection of fresh, wholesome foods catering to every palate. All our meals are prepared with the frshest ingredients and contain 0 grams trans-fats!"

They have eleven locations listed on the guidemap. Ten are clearly quick service. The last is a Pizza and Pasta buffet. So it appears they have no full-service restaurants.

 

[seidelhd]

Thanks so much for the update! I came here specifically looking for this info. We have been planning to go next month for a while and our day at LL just happens to be Opening Day. Yippee!

We always get a GAC for DD, who is in a wheelchair. I hope that LL does it just as well as Disney in this regard.

 

[Amy5000]

Thanks for the update. I was planning to surprise the kiddies with this for our next trip! Can't wait to hear more.

 

[dclfun]

My dd and I both signed up at the Lego site for their VIP program since Jacob is now 4 and asking for Legos all the time anyway! There is a link for each of us to print two free passes to Legoland, so now we'll only have to buy one ticket for a 4 y.o.- all four adults will be free. I'm hoping we enjoy it enough to want to buy AP's ( or the kids/grandkids will want to) but this way we are not committing much money to check it out. For those who don't want to visit LL Florida, the VIP program also gives 2 free passes per member for the other LL sites.---Kathy

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Legoland Florida - The Good

Today I went to Legoland Florida, in Winter Haven. This is about an hour drive from WDW. I was accompanied by a Nephew and a Niece, both in their low 20's. It is important to understand, for a few of my comments below, that my Nephew is a roller coaster freak, who now has 255 Credits and really knows coasters.

We got to the Park shortly after opening (at 10:00). If I did not have a "Plus" Annual Pass, parking would have been $12. Disabled Parking is much closer to the entrance than General Parking. It looks as if there is a very high ratio of Disabled to General parking spaces.

ECV and Wheelchair rental, as well as strollers, is right at the Park Gate. There are two types of ECVs. One looks very much like Disney’s that are gray and four-wheel. The other appear to be heavier duty but three-wheel. The price is the same for either style.

There is an “access card” available at Guest Relations. This is similar to the Disney GAC but it does allow Front Of The Line Access. Personally I suspect that there will be changes to this in the future.

There is a very well-equipped First Aid location close to the entrance. I spoke with the Park’s Health Services Administrator who gave me a tour. They will store (and refrigerate if necessary) medicines, supplies, and equipment. It is always staffed by either an RN or an EMT/Paramedic. Normally they have five EMTs at various locations within the Park at all times it is open.

In the back they have three beds, each separated by a curtain. They also have a “special needs” room which has a bed, a changing table, and its own sink. This room has a door so it can be closed off from the rest of the beds.

I did comment that the door was manual only, which can be difficult. I was told that they are in the process of installing an automatic opener and it should be completed within a week. (Note this was a Passholder Preview and it is not open to the general public yet.)

With two exceptions all rides, shows, eaterys and restrooms are fully accessible. There are two rides which have stairs and no ramp, but they do have a lift with a 750 pound capacity which can handle a wheelchair or ECV with passenger. The lift is similar to the one going to Bistro de Paris in the France pavilion, and so slow that with my disabilities I could have climbed the stairs faster than the lift.

I checked out a couple of the Men’s restrooms, and my Niece checked out a couple of the Woman’s restrooms. In the Men’s room there were five urinals, two low and three at a more normal height. There were five toilet stalls, one of them about double size with a raised toilet and grab bars. In the Woman’s room there were ten stalls, two of them double size with raised toilets and grab bars. In addition, at each restroom location was a Companion Restroom. All of the restrooms have changing tables.

The Bad and The Ugly are in the next post

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Legoland Florida, The Bad and The Ugly

What disappointed me most was I was unable to ride three of the four roller coasters. I am 6'2" and weigh about 300 pounds. I am large, but not really Pooh shaped.

Coastersaurus is a wooden coaster. It is intended for smaller people and I was unable to get my legs in a position where my knees were not in contact with the seat back ahead of me and it was not possible to hook up the seat belt.

Flight School is an inverted coaster where the seats are below the track. There is a loop harness which comes down over the shoulders, similar to that is Rock ‘N Roller Coaster. However, there is also a strap which comes up between your legs which has to be latched to the harness. In my case this could not be done. My Nephew commented that he has ridden many similar coasters and has never seen a strap as short at this one.

Test Track is similar to Primeval Whirl in AK (Wild Mouse). There is a separate lap bar for each person. I was able to fit in and bring the lap bar down about four or five clicks. However this was not sufficient. One of the workers tried to assist by pushing down on the bar, and got about another two clicks out of it. However, on the console it said I was not locked. They then unlocked it. Later I was talking to a maintenance person about the ride and he said that the system is set to require 320mm (12.5 inches) as the maximum the lap bar can be above the seat. My Nephew said when he was a lead on a similar coaster at another park it was set so that as long as there was one click of lock the ride could be dispatched. He said especially in view of the workers going down the line and confirming the lap bars were really down this seemed as a random and not valid requirement.

The park has one of the same problems Animal Kingdom had shortly after opening. Other than the Gardens area, there is almost no shade. There are lots of trees, but they are obviously new and need a few years of growth so that they will be able to give a lot more shade. People with sun sensitivities should be careful.

The Gardens area is basically untouched from the old Cypress Gardens. One really unbelievable item is the 75 year old Banyan tree which, in my opinion, covers about a 1/4 acre (See the photo in Post #18). However, there is a lot of standing and swampy water in the area and all three of us felt we were being attacked by mosquitoes almost constantly in that area. It was not noticeable in the main part of the Park.

Saving the worst for last. If you have dietary restrictions or allergies you will have a problem. With the exception of the Fun Town Pizza & Pasta Buffet all food is prepared in a central kitchen in the Market Restaurant.

I spoke to the Executive Chef and asked specifically about Gluten Free. His response was that everything they had was fresh and the only gluten free bakery products they could get were frozen. I asked about allergens. He said normally they did not use nuts, except on some muffins, and they did not have eggs in anything served on property.

We had lunch in the Lakeside Sandwich Co, which the Park Brochure describes as “Fresh sandwiches, wraps and salads are made here fresh through the day.” I cannot eat raw cucumbers, and all the salads had cucumbers. Obviously I could not get a salad and remove them as there was contamination. I ended up with a ham and cheese sandwich where the lettuce and tomato overshadowed the taste of the ham and cheese.

On the way out we did stop in at the Market Restaurant. The closest I would say to this is the Sunshine Seasons Food Court in The Land, although it was not quite as varied. The bakery section had Peanut Butter Cookies, and the people behind the counter said that: yes, cross-contamination could be a problem. The salad section, unlike the pre-made salads they sent to the other food service locations, would make salads to order. However, again there is a strong possibility of cross-contamination.

Summation in next post.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Legoland Florida - Summary

It was a nice park. We enjoyed it. We did many of the rides and some shows. Hopefully they will do something about their food service. But, since park opening is currently 10:00 and closing at 5:00 at most you will eat lunch and snacks. Unlike Disney, Universal and Sea World, Legoland has a lot of commercial areas and a lot of restaurants very close by.

Following is a copy of their Guidebook For Guests With Disabilities:

 

[BillSears]

The rides where they state "A Helper is Required(recommended)" sound a bit illegal to me. I have never had any place require that I bring an additional person. I know I often travel alone and this would cause some problems for me in those situations.

I'm willing to take the risk of having to be evacuated by paramedics if needed. That seems to be the rules most places use.

 

[SueM in MN]

Nice review
Very complete

 

[Stag]

Wow. Their whole guests with disabilities guide is really disappointing, and I couldn't eat there.

 

[Mary976]

First of all, thanks for the fabulous review Cheshire Figment! Your descriptions are great.

The rides where they state "A Helper is Required(recommended)" sound a bit illegal to me. I have never had any place require that I bring an additional person. I know I often travel alone and this would cause some problems for me in those situations.

I'm willing to take the risk of having to be evacuated by paramedics if needed. That seems to be the rules most places use.

I was not pleased by the line about a helper either. There is NO WAY I'm getting on any roller coasters, and DD (w/c user) has always managed fine on her own. I might assist with a transfer on some rides so she can get on faster, but she has ridden some of the wildest coasters imaginable at the local Six Flags all by herself. Speaking of which, there was a major breakdown at our Six Flags and EVERYONE had to be evacuated by the fire department.

Obviously they are just getting going here, so hopefully things like w/c access and special dining will get worked out soon.

Mary

 

[SueM in MN]

Not having seen those attractions that say "helper required" makes me wonder if something about the transfer is impossible or extremely difficult for someone alone in many cases.
It's also possible that the transfer is not a problem, but the restraint is.

Legally, I don't think they can stop anyone who is alone and thinks they can do it, but putting "helper required" would be a 'stop' for their 'Model Citizens' to make sure people either have a helper or stop to discuss boarding at the attraction.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Now that I am awake, I can add some stuff I thought about overnight.

First of all, here is a photo of the warnings outside the entrance to Coastersaurus:

I received a PM asking about people with one arm where it says that "Upper Body Strength" is required. This is basically can a person stay upright and also not slide under any lap bars. I think they may be giving warnings toward excess caution. There clearly is one attraction (Wave Racers) that specifically states that use of both arms is required for stability and control, and they are not kidding.

As far as the helper recommended and required, Bill is correct in they cannot legally require a helper. Again, I think they are leaning toward the giving of stronger warnings for self-protection.

A item to remember, as I pointed out in Post #1 when I did my advance pickup of my AP the Guide of Guests With Disabilities and not been done. They may have done everything with more caution that really needed and may fine tune the Guide in the future as they get more experience.

Double measuring and double standards for height requirements

Many of the rides have two separate height requirements. The lower one, usually 42 inches, is the requirement to be on the attraction at all. The higher one, usually 48 inches, is the requirement to ride unaccompanied. For someone in the 42-48 inch range, in this instance, the companion must be a "responsible person" at lest 48 inches.

And there are two measuring locations for these attractions. One looks like a yellow ruler about a foot wide with marked black lines every inch, and one or two red bars going across at the minimum heights. These rulers are outside the start of the queue.

Just before boarding as a vertical pipe about two inches in diameter, with one or two horizontal pipes coming out. The bottoms of these horizontal pipes are the height requirements, so a person would have to be at least as tall as the pipes to be allowed to ride.

And one other thing, not directly related to accessibility. Below is a picture of part of the Banyan tree planted in 1931. This is not the entire tree.

 

[livndisney]

Not having seen those attractions that say "helper required" makes me wonder if something about the transfer is impossible or extremely difficult for someone alone in many cases.
It's also possible that the transfer is not a problem, but the restraint is.

Legally, I don't think they can stop anyone who is alone and thinks they can do it, but putting "helper required" would be a 'stop' for their 'Model Citizens' to make sure people either have a helper or stop to discuss boarding at the attraction.

I "hope" the helper required bit is an extra step to caution and not a rule. Having dealt with parks in the past where the rules are followed to the letter-I am much less excited about the opening of Legoland than I was yesterday.

Actually I am disappointed. When I first heard Legoland was going to open in Florida, I looked at the info they had for Ca. They have gluten free menus! I was really excited. I hope this will all "shake out" once the opening jitters have worn off.

 

[SteveMouse]

I was disqppointed in the two week notice for assistance with hearing issues.

I also wonder about not being able to leave a service animal with "other guests".
-steve