This time of year, Legoland Florida is loaded with festive bricks, Lego characters, holiday shows and parties and indulgent treats.
The Hallmark Channel sponsors this year’s Holidays at Legoland, decked out in seasonal decor and a shiny new Lego Christmas tree. The 32-foot tree is the star of the park, made from nearly 365,000 Lego and Duplo bricks and weighing 10,000 pounds.
Orlando Weekly was invited to Legoland last weekend to check out all the new and returning holiday festivities. There we tried all the festive fare, met Lego Santa and Holiday Elf Ivy, and saw the eventful Christmas tree lighting ceremony featuring Lego Masters champions Mark and Steven Erickson.
Food
There are 10 holiday offerings on the menus around Legoland — basically at least one holiday item at every restaurant or snack spot. There are a lot of sweets, including three ice cream treats.
- Home of the Holidays Sandwich: Roast beef and savory beef gravy topped with fried cheese curds on an open-faced bun. (Kick’n Chicken Co.)
- Snow Day Sundae: Blue-colored cookies and cream ice cream, chocolate fudge, snowman cookie, fudge brownie, whipped topping and snowflake sprinkles. The ice cream absolutely takes better because it’s blue. (Firehouse Ice Cream)
- Winter Warmer Bread Bowl: A sourdough bread bowl filled with house-made chili and topped with melted shredded cheddar and green onions. (Dragon’s Den)
- Season’s Greetings Swirl: Lime Dole ice cream swirled with cherry flavor and fondant star in a Belgian chocolate cone. (Kingdom Cones)
- Merry Maple Apple Fries: Legoland’s signature snack get à la moded with maple walnut ice cream, pearl sugar waffle, candied bacon and a drizzle of maple syrup. This religious experience comes in a souvenir Apple Fries bowl. (Granny’s Apple Fries)
- The Christmas Crepe: Green crepe shaped like a Christmas tree and filled with Nutella and banana; topped with candy-coated chocolates, strawberries and a fondant star. (Ice Cream & Shakes)
- Holly Jolly Candy Apple: Caramel- and chocolate-covered apple with holiday sprinkles and an icing snowflake. (Legoland Coffee Co.)
- Fireside Cheer Cocoa: Also at Legoland Coffee Co., snag a souvenir cup filled with creamy hot chocolate, whipped cream, cocoa powder and a toasted marshmallow Nutella s’more. Pro tip: Drop the candy cane in the hot chocolate for a peppermint twist.
- Gift-Wrapped Brownie: A fudge brownie gets wrapped in crispy red velvet tempura and a fondant ribbon; topped with whipped cream and a tiny icing Christmas tree. (Funnel Cake Factory)
- Santa’s Cookie Workshop: Grab a box with a giant cookie and all the fixings to decorate — icing, gumdrops and sprinkles. (Skyline Lounge in the Legoland Hotel)
- Elf Training Academy: Join Lego Holiday Elf Frode in Fun Town to put your holiday skills to the test.
- Holly Hype Dance Party: Lego Reindeer Girl hosts this new holiday dance party outside the Fun Town Theater.
- Festival of Flurries: At the Kingdoms stage, get a little bit of “snow” in Florida while dancing to festive tunes with Lego Snowman.
- The Very Merry Mix-up: Inside the Fun Town Theater, help Lego Gingerbread Man solve a delicious dilemma.
- North Pole Postal Service: Magically mail your letter to Santa and watch it arrive at the North Pole.
- Santa’s Toy Build: Fun Town
- Competition Sleigh Build: Kingdoms
- Build to Give: Build a heart of Lego bricks to give to a child in need.
- Lego Santa and Lego Holiday Elf Ivy: Heartlake Hall
- Lego Nutcracker: Duplo Valley
- Lego Gingerbread Man: Fun Town
- Lego Snowman: Kingdoms
Holidays at Legoland runs weekends and select dates through Dec. 31. Activities and shows are included with park admission. Kids’ New Year’s Eve also returns with an early countdown and fireworks show Dec. 26 to 31.
