Opening day at Legoland Florida was full of excitement, pageantry and, well, bricks - 50 million of them. True to Lego's philosophy of imaginative play with an educational twist, it also included plenty of learning. Here are some things we learned on the big day.
1. No matter how old you are or how much cool stuff you've seen in your life, a confetti cannon is frakking awesome.
2. On a floorless roller coaster like Flying School, if you use the handrails to push against the seatback as hard as you can, it keeps your head from bouncing between the shoulder restraints like a bead in a maraca.
3. Bring minifigs to the park. Most staff members wear minifigs on their nametags, and if you see one you like, they'll trade with you.
4. It is possible to eat healthy at a theme park: The Market restaurant doesn't have fries, so you (and your kids) can't smell them and immediately crave them (although they're available elsewhere if you need a fix). The rotisserie chicken with two sides pictured above is $6.99.
5. Don't miss Cypress Gardens, an area preserved under the park's former name that has retained many of the native and exotic plants from the old attraction. This might sound like it would bore your kids to tears, but it's actually really cool, especially the humongous banyan tree.
6. If you're trying to work a Legoland trip into an Orlando theme-park vacation, you can hop on a shuttlefrom Orlando to the gates of Legoland - a 45 minute ride - for just $5 roundtrip per person. And yes, the shuttle bus has a bathroom.
7. At the Build & Test area of Imagination Zone, if you don't design your Lego vehicle to withstand the stress of high speeds and steep inclines, it will fall apart spectacularly before it completes the course. Physics learning ensues.
8. The Driving School in the Lego City area proves that kids as young as six can learn to obey stop signs and traffic lights and yield to oncoming traffic. As long as they're not texting.
9. After the plastic is melted to make Lego bricks, it takes on the consistency of bread dough. Learn all about how Lego bricks are made at the Lego Factory exhibit.
10. Things are not always what they seem. Take this kindly old lady for example. Is she feeding the pigeons?
Or will they end up feeding her?
It always pays to look closely at Legoland.
