Out of The Loop: A glimpse at Legoland California’s hotel rooms – and possibly Legoland Florida

By Andy Guinigundo

Carlsbad, Calif. – Less than an hour north of San Diego, Calif. is the beach town of Carlsbad. Here resides the original North American Legoland. Open in 1999, its development has somewhat foreshadowed the development of Legoland Florida. For example, California opened a water park in 2010 with Florida’s following two years later. California opened Star Wars Miniland with Florida’s opening in November.

Legoland California will open its hotel in summer of 2013. Apparently, one can already make reservations for as soon as May 2013. They are offering packages that include resort hopper tickets. Legoland Park, Legoland Waterpark and Sea Life Aquarium have separate entry fees unless you purchase a resort hopper ticket. Additionally, there will be meal options.

The hotel will once again be a North American first for a Legoland Resort. It will have 250 rooms on three stories. It will have a themed, interactive décor, a buffet restaurant and a pool. Legoland just released a few preview room pictures.

One has to wonder whether a Legoland Hotel could fly in Florida. Legoland California is roughly the same distance to San Diego attractions as Legoland Florida is to the big three – Disney, Universal and SeaWorld. It is even farther from Los Angeles-area attractions. Legoland California does have Sea Life Aquarium. Without the aquarium, does Legoland Florida have enough attractions for guests to actually want to stay on site? These are questions yet to be answered.

• Andy Guinigundo is the author of the Out of The Loop column in “Orlando Attractions Magazine”. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife and three daughters. He grew up frequenting theme parks around Ohio and making trips to Orlando with his family. While for most of the year, he’s out of the Orlando loop, he tries to visit Florida at least once a year. You can follow Andy on Twitter at @AttractionsOOTL.