Just in time for spring break season, Legoland Florida has opened an attraction that lets you build, customize and race your own Lego Ferrari cars.
Lego Ferrari Build & Race is an interactive play attraction right next to The Great Lego Race roller coaster. Decked out in red, black and white race car theming, the building sports a giant Lego race car to mark the entrance to its garage. Inside is a life-sized fire engine red Ferrari 296 GTS — all made out of Lego bricks.
“Inside that garage you’re also going to see a little bit of Ferrari history,” said Ryan Wood, the park’s master model builder and model shop manager. “We’ve got some video running, talking about Ferrari as a company and the different cars and models they’ve made over the years. Other models include a race helmet, tools, a steering wheel; guests can see and touch those as well.”
As for the Ferrari race car, the 296 GTS is made from more than 424,000 Lego pieces, according to Wood. He said the model took “more than 1,850 hours to design, build and animate to get it in a state where guests can check it out and sit in it themselves.”
Car buffs and kids alike will be impressed with the Lego-fied surrealism of the model, which features an original Ferrari steering wheel and tires. Everything else inside and outside the vehicle is made of bricks — from the brake pads and rear engine parts to the license plate and Ferrari label.
“I don’t know if we’re advertising this, but our car has zero horsepower because it’s not meant to roll out of the building,” Wood said. “But it’ll feel like you’re ready to drive a Ferrari 296 GTS.”
The Winter Haven park’s Ferrari is Legoland’s fourth model. The others are in similar attractions at Legoland parks in Denmark, England and California.
While the Lego Ferrari model is the pièce de résistance of Build & Race, the rest of the attraction is all about play. The two rooms are filled with building stations where you pick up a Lego chassis and spend time customizing your racer with red and black bricks.
Once your build is done, take it over to one of the testing ramps to race against others and make any modifications. Then, the final room features a massive digital race track replica of Ferrari’s Pista di Fiorano testing track in Italy.
Simply place your build into one of the boxes underneath the track screen for it to be scanned and appear on the track. Nearby buttons allow you to control speed and lane changing.
Once you’re done building and racing, place your Lego Ferrari creation on the display shelf to earn a Build & Race button on the way out.
“Today is also a kickoff day; it’s the kickoff of spring break here at Legoland Florida, so what better way to do it than to open a brand-new attraction?,” Rex Jackson, the managing director of Legoland Resorts, North America, said during the March 8 grand opening ceremony.
Lego Ferrari Build & Race is open now and included with park admission. Lego Ferrari Build & Race is open now and included with park admission. Tickets and vacation packages are available at legoland.com/florida.
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