Legoland Florida vs. Legoland California

Legoland Florida vs. Legoland California. Should I still visit Legoland Florida if we’ve already been to Legoland California? How is Legoland California different from Legoland Florida? Which is the biggest Legoland park and which is the best Legoland to visit? We’ve finally visited Legoland Florida and can help you get answers by outlining the difference between Legoland California and Legoland Florida.


Legoland Discount Tickets:


legoland florida vs. legoland california

There are a lot of similarities and differences between Legoland California VS Legoland Florida worth noting. Would I recommend you to still visit even if you’ve already been to one? I’d say, if you and your kids love Legoland or LEGOs, then you should. The kids will enjoy the things they cannot find in the other theme park while also enjoying their old favorites at their local Legoland.

Biggest Legoland in the USA

The biggest Legoland in the USA is LEGOLAND New York. It opened this 2021 so there are now 3 Legoland locations in the US. Legoland New York is 150 acres big with seven themed lands on a property of 500 acres. We haven’t visited it yet, so for now we can only write about Legoland California VS Florida. Hopefully, next time, we can share Legoland New York VS California and/or Legoland Florida VS New York.

What age is best for Legoland?

Legoland is geared toward kids ages 2 to 12. Our girls are such big fans. We visit Legoland California a lot and we’re happy to have finally experienced Legoland Florida – the second biggest Legoland in the US and third biggest in the world. Here are 10 Things that are different between Legoland California and Legoland Florida:

LEGOLAND FLORIDA VS. LEGOLAND CALIFORNIA:

1. Price Comparison – Legoland Tickets

In terms of pricing, Legoland Florida is slightly cheaper than Legoland California. If you purchase online, Legoland Florida tickets starts at $84 (plus fees and tax) while Legoland California starts at $89 (plus fee and tax).

Legoland Florida Tickets – Right now there is a an $85 1-Day Legoland ticket for a 2024 visit using promo code SPRING. Legoland Florida Kids Go Free deal is also available. Check different deals on buying Legoland Florida Discount Tickets so you don’t pay full price.

You can also buy discounted Legoland Florida tickets if you’re planning to visit other Florida attractions by getting the Go Orlando Card. It gives you a multi-day pass to visit Legoland Florida and 27 other Florida attractions at 2 to 5-day increments within a 2-week time frame from when you first use your Go pass at a discounted rate. Other attractions you can visit include Kennedy Space Center, WonderWorks, Coca-Cola Orlando Eye, Ripley’s Believe it or not, Gatorland, Daytona Speedway, Everglades Tour, and many more. Check it out HERE.

Legoland California Tickets – If you are visiting Legoland California, check our Legoland California Discount Tickets for different ways to save on tickets. There is a Legoland Kids Go Free promotion and a Legoland 2nd Day Free offer (use code SPRING for 2024 visit), and many other Legoland promotions. And, similar to Orlando, there is also a Go San Diego card which enables you to visit Legoland and other theme parks and attractions near Legoland for one flat fee.

legoland minifigure exchange

Legoland Florida Minifigure Trading


2. Entrance – Legoland Welcome Sign

For photo opportunities at the entrance, I prefer the Legoland Florida sign. The Legoland California entrance sign has ticket booths at the bottom so there are more people in the background whenever you’re taking pictures. There’s also a separate “WELCOME” brick sign in front of the Legoland Florida sign so you have two options when taking pictures with the family.

legoland florida

3. Legoland Florida VS Legoland California Layout – Legoland Map

The layout of Legoland California is circular with Miniland in the middle that you can cross if you want to skip an area. With this layout, you can just either start from the right, go around, and finish to the left or vice versa, or cross to the middle if you want to skip a certain area.

At Legoland Florida, it’s like a long vertical layout with 3 areas in one row. If you are new or you’re not looking at a map, I feel like you’ll miss an area. Maybe we are just not used to it yet, but I prefer the layout at Legoland California. Tip: do check the map before going to Legoland Florida so you don’t miss out on anything.

legoland florida vs. legoland california
Legoland Florida Map

4. Rides at Legoland Florida VS Legoland California

As of 2023, a total of 14 Legoland rides are the same at both Legoland California and Legoland Florida. Legoland Florida has 11 rides that are not in California while Legoland California has a total of 13 rides that are not available in Florida.

legoland florida
Legoland Florida Grand Carousel

Out of the rides that are different between Legoland Florida VS California. The kids enjoyed the 2-story carousel (The Grand Carousel) & the flying cycle (Technicylce) at Legoland Florida. While they can’t get enough of the flying airplane (Cargo Ace), helicopter ride (Sky Patrol), and fairy tale boat ride (Fairy Tale Brook) at Legoland California. The newest ride at Legoland California is their favorite this year – Emmet’s Flying Adventure Ride.

legoland florida vs. legoland california
Legoland Florida Boating School

First, which Legoland rides are the same at Legoland Florida and Legoland California:

  • Beetle Bounce
  • Coast Guard Academy (Florida) or Skipper School (California)
  • Coastersaurus
  • Driving School
  • Jr. Driving School
  • Kid Power Towers
  • LEGO The NINJAGO Ride
  • Lost Kingdom Adventure
  • Rescue Academy (Florida) or Police and Fire Academy (California)
  • Royal Joust
  • Safari Trek
  • The Dragon
  • The LEGO Movie Masters of Flight (Florida) or Emmet’s Flying Adventure Ride (California)
  • Unikitty’s Disco Drop (New)

Which rides are only at Legoland Florida:

  • AQUAZONE Wave Racers (recently removed from California)
  • Battle of Bricksburg (New)
  • DUPLO Train
  • Legoland DUPLO Tractor
  • Flying School
  • Merlin’s Challenge
  • Mia’s Riding Adventure
  • Pirate River Quest (New)
  • Technicyle
  • The Grand Carousel
  • The Great LEGO Race
legoland florida rides
Legoland Florida Technicycle

Which rides are only at Legoland California:

  • Bionicle Blaster
  • Captain Cranky’s Challenge
  • Cargo Ace
  • Coast Cruise
  • Fairy Tale Brook
  • LEGO City Deep Sea Adventure
  • LEGO Technic Coaster
  • LEGOLAND Express
  • Queen Watevra’s Carousel
  • Pirate Reef
  • Sky Patrol
  • Splash Battle
  • The Dragon

5. Legoland Florida VS Legoland California – Activities

While there are more rides at Legoland California, in terms of activities, there seems to be a longer list at Legoland Florida. Check out all of them below. The girls found the Heartlake Stepping Stones Fountain at Legoland Florida to be a lot of fun.

legoland florida vs. legoland california
Legoland Florida Cole’s Rock Climb

Which Legoland activities are the same for both Legoland Florida and Legoland California:

  • Cole’s Rock Climb (Ninjago) – same concept but not the same look
  • DUPLO Farm (Florida – airconditioned)
  • Hideaways (California) or The Forestmen’s Hideout (Florida)
  • Pharoah’s Revenge
  • Kai’s Spinners

Which activities are only in Legoland Florida:

  • Botanical Gardens
  • Building Zone
  • Creation Zone
  • DUPLO Splash & Play
  • DUPLO Tot Spot
  • Flight Zone
  • Heartlake Stepping Stones Fountain
  • Jay’s Lightning Drill
  • LEGO Mindstorms
  • Technic Tot Spot
  • Tot Spot
  • Warner Bros’ Game Zone
  • Water Zone
  • Wheels Zone
  • Zane’s Temple Build

Which activities are only at Legoland California:

  • Adventurer’s Club
  • Jay’s Lightning Deal
  • LEGO Factory Tour
  • LEGO Life Zone
  • Swabbie’s Deck
  • The Model Shop
  • Dig Those Dinos

6. Legoland Florida VS Legoland California Shows

Florida is filled with lakes and with that – besides Legoland Florida is a giant lake so expect a water show that you won’t see in California – Brickbeards’s Watersports Stunt Show. Legoland California on the other hand took out the outdoor stage when they replace the LEGO Friends Heartlake City section with LEGO Movie World.

legoland florida
Lake at Legoland Florida

Both Legoland Florida & Legoland California have 4D Shows.

legoland florida
Legoland Florida 4D Theater

7. Legoland Florida VS Legoland California Food

For Legoland fans of Granny’s Famous Apple Fries. At Legoland Florida, you can order them a la mode. You can have soft-serve ice cream with your apple fries topped with caramel. At Legoland California, they only have whipped cream. I do love the whipped cream so on our visit to Legoland Florida, I asked to have both!

legoland florida
Legoland Florida Granny’s Apple Fries ala Mode

You can find a lot of similarities in the dining options like the pasta and pizza buffet, burger joints, and the market restaurant. Legoland California offers Asian fare though with baos at Ninja Kitchen and ramen at LEGO Movie World. We also always visit Smokehouse BBQ when we’re at Legoland California while Florida has a fried chicken restaurant.

legoland florida vs. legoland california
Legoland Florida Firehouse Ice Cream

For your sweet tooth, Legoland Florida has more ice cream options plus slushies while Legoland California has crepes and churros.

Legoland California Food:

  • Burger Stop
  • Castle Burgers
  • Castle Ice Cream
  • City Park Creperie
  • Fun Town Hot Dogs
  • Fun Town’s Urban Kitchen
  • Garden Restaurant
  • Granny’s Apple Fries
  • Knights’ Smokehouse BBQ
  • Ninja Kitchen
  • Snacks at LEGO Life Zone
  • Ocean Journey Cafe
  • Pizza & Pasta Buffet
  • Pizza Mania
  • The Market
  • Wok N Bowl Ramen

Legoland Florida Food:

  • Adventure Snacks
  • Burger Kitchen
  • Castle Burger
  • Dino Slush
  • Firehouse Ice Cream
  • Fried Chicken Restaurant
  • Fun Town Pizza & Pasta Buffet
  • Fun Town Slushies
  • Granny’s Apple Fries
  • Heartlake Ice Cream Parlor
  • Kingdom Cones
  • Market Restaurant
  • Panini Grill
  • Pepper & Roni’s Pizza Stop

8. Legoland Florida VS Legoland California – Miniland

For LEGO brick fans, the Miniland has scale models of various US cities, famous landmarks, and LEGO Star Wars models and shouldn’t be missed!

legoland florida
Legoland Florida Miniland – Kennedy Space Center

Legoland California’s Miniland appeared bigger and you can also see a few brick models by riding the Coast Cruise ride like scaled brick models of Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, Mt. Rushmore and a lakeside view of Miniland USA. I did enjoy looking at the Kennedy Space Center and Daytona International Speedway at Legoland Florida though.

legoland florida vs. legoland california
Legoland Florida – Miniland – Florida

Below are the LEGO brick models you can see at Legoland California and Legoland Florida:

Legoland California:

  • Block of Fame
  • New Orleans
  • Las Vegas
  • San Francisco
  • Southern California
  • LEGO Star Wars
  • New York
  • Washington D.C.

Legoland Florida:

  • Daytona International Speedway
  • Florida
  • Kennedy Space Center
  • Las Vegas
  • California
  • LEGO Star Wars
  • New York
  • Washington D.C.
legoland florida vs. legoland california
Legoland Florida – Miniland – Daytona

9. Legoland Florida VS Legoland California Hotels

When it comes to the Legoland Hotel – Legoland Florida VS. Legoland California. Legoland Florida has 1 hotel in front (steps away) of the theme park and 1 village-style resort across the street with shuttle service to the theme park. Legoland California, on the other hand, has both hotels in front of the theme park (steps away).

Legoland Florida can accommodate a total of 318 rooms while Legoland California will have a total of 500 rooms. If all in-house resorts are fully booked, there are more options to find off-site hotels at Legoland California that are nearby than in Florida. An example is Sheraton Carlsbad which is next door and has a back gate entrance to Legoland California. Below are details of all the Legoland Hotels:

legoland florida
Legoland Florida Hotel

Legoland California:

  • LEGOLAND Hotel is a 3-story, 250 room hotel that offers a variety of LEGO-themed rooms – Pirate, Kingdom, Adventure, LEGO Friends or LEGO NINJAGO. You’ll also enjoy interactive LEGO features throughout the Hotel, FREE buffet breakfast, nightly children’s entertainment, and an in-room treasure hunt with LEGO surprises for the kids!
  • LEGOLAND Castle Hotel offers a variety of LEGO fully themed rooms – Knights & Dragons, Royal Princess or Magic Wizard with a total of 250 rooms including 20 suites. You’ll also enjoy a FREE breakfast, nightly children’s entertainment, and an in-room treasure hunt with LEGO surprises for the kids!
  • The breakfast buffet at Legoland Hotel is really good, btw.

Legoland Florida:

  • Legoland Florida Hotel is a 5-story, 152 room hotel located steps away from the Legoland Florida Theme Park (in front). You can choose from Pirate, Kingdom, Adventure and LEGO® Friends themed rooms. There’s an interactive treasure hunt in every room! Each stay includes a free hot breakfast buffet, resort pool access and nightly entertainment! You can build with a Master Model Builder in the Master Model Builders’ Workshop and take home a LEGO souvenir! All rooms include a separate children’s area with a bunk bed and trundle bed. Lunch and Dinner options include Skyline Lounge à la carte menu and Bricks Family Restaurant Buffet.
  • Legoland Beach Retreat is a village-style property with 83 beach bungalows offering 166 separate whimsical LEGO® rooms. Each group of bungalows features an outdoor play area within view of shaded patios. It is located just 3/4 of a mile from LEGOLAND Florida Theme Park, with shuttle transportation included. Resort pool and hot breakfast buffet await at the centrally located Lighthouse. Bricks Beach Bar serves pizza and other à la carte lunch options. Sandy’s Castle Restaurant offers full-service dinner menu on site.

10. Extra Fun – Sea Life Aquarium & Legoland Water Park

legoland california waterpark
Legoland California Waterpark
  • Water parks – both Legoland California and Legoland Florida have water parks and are open seasonally. You can also only access the waterpark by going inside Legoland, they are located at the back end of the theme park.
  • For Sea Life Aquarium, Legoland California has it in front of the theme park and you can access the aquarium from the outside or inside the theme park. In Florida, Sea Life Aquarium is located in Orlando – an hour away from Legoland Florida which is located in Winter Haven, FL. Sea Life Aquarium is in International Drive – one of the Orlando areas pack with a lot of tourist attractions including the Orlando Eye, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, WonderWorks and many more.

Recap

So to summarize things, the difference between Legoland California and Florida is that the Legoland Florida tickets are cheaper, their apple fries come with ice cream, they have more activities geared toward toddlers (if you’re traveling with one), and it’s bigger while Legoland California has more rides, they have 2 Legoland hotels fronting the theme park (you don’t need to ride a shuttle after a long day), and they have Sea Life Aquarium which is not really big but it’s there for you to enjoy.

If you’re going to ask me which is better Legoland California or Florida, I’m going to say, I honestly can’t decide especially since we’ve only visited Legoland Florida once. Both Legoland California and Florida are worth visiting though and I recommend visiting for 2 days, one day for the Legoland theme park and another day for the water park (if it is open during your visit) and also staying at one of the Legoland hotels. We’ve stayed at both hotels in California. If you don’t know which one to book, read our post – Legoland Hotel VS Castle Hotel to help you decide.

We are big Legoland fans and I really want to visit them all! Legoland New York, here we come! LOL! Hopefully soon!


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6 thoughts on “Legoland Florida vs. Legoland California”

  1. I loved reading you post. I had no idea there was a fun place called Legoland (I did not grow up here) I had only heard about Disneyland and Disney world. My nieces will be visiting soon and I hope to take them on a fun trip. Will add both Legoland to our bucket list.

  2. Wow this is extremely detailed and helpful for people like me that have never been but want to go. It has always been in the back of my mind but wasn’t sure which location to check out. Now that I know the different attractions at each location that will help me make a good decision to ensure a happy trip!

  3. I have heard Legoland is awesome for the family. I never would have thought about how different each one would be from state to state but, after reading your post I see somethings are different. I figured price would be though. The water park and hotels are as well different. Pretty cool , either way my kids would enjoy this park.

  4. While both look amazing and I would love the chance to go to either I would prefer Floria. Not only due to the comparison you listed but I prefer Florida. I do love how you laid it all out. I agree if the kids and family love either place go to whichever you can!

  5. Love seeing the comparisons. We have always wanted to go to Legoland! We would probably go to Florida because it’s easy to get cheap flights. Love all the pics! We are a Lego family!

  6. Thanks for this thorough comparison of the CA Legoland versus the FL Legoland features. My kids would love either location. Since we are closer to FL, I’m sure we’ll end up visiting there before the one in CA. It’s amazing to see these incredible lego displays in both locations! Loved your photos.

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