Politics
Unlimited playtime: Legoland Florida is helping shape the hotel industry for families
Inside the Legoland Pirate Island Hotel, parents desperate for a drink after a long hot day at the theme park grab a beer while they watch their children play a few feet away in a giant bin of Duplos.
Here, Legoland Florida’s three hotels are helping shape the tourism industry by catering to families and parents.
The Legoland hotel bathroom comes with amenities — not glamorous, but essential for parents of young children, like a built-in potty training toilet seat or a step stool for brushing teeth.
The hotel room also notably includes a little nook with a bunkbed and a TV to give kids their own separate domain, said Dani Meyering, managing editor of Attractions Magazine.
“When we were first there, I was blown away. I don’t think I’d ever personally seen any hotel that had these extra touches,” said Meyering, who often writes about her experiences traveling to theme parks with her son and recently reviewed the Pirate Island Hotel.
Nighttime festivities include a pajama dance party in the lobby. Legos are everywhere, from the carpet design to the gift shop, which sells exclusive Lego sets.
Meanwhile, play areas for kids to build and run around appear throughout the hotel — next to the adult lounge, by the check-in desk as parents stand in line, even at the restaurant if the food doesn’t arrive immediately. Every moment of waiting was replaced by something else: playing. Children were empowered.
“This is very unique in a sense that the kids almost make the decisions,” said Josh Pate, head of hotels for Legoland Florida. “The parents follow and it’s certainly unique to the industry.”
Meyering said normally when she goes on vacation, she’s usually far from relaxed with her family.
“When you’re going somewhere, you’re just parenting in a different place,” Meyering said.
Suddenly, she could take a breath on her Winter Haven trip, she said.
Legoland Florida’s newest hotel, which is pirate themed, opened in 2020. The company doesn’t have any immediate plans to add a fourth hotel, Pate said. But last year the company added to the Legoland Hotel and renovated about a dozen premium themed rooms.
The hotels are also expanding the footprint of the theme parks during holidays and festivals, Pate said. For instance, during the theme park’s recent Lego Festival, the hotel lobby offered a station to make friendship bracelets to get into the festivities.
Dennis Speigel, the CEO of International Theme Park Services in Ohio, called Legoland an early innovator in the industry for its approach.
Other family-friendly hotels are now trying to capture that market, from Universal Kids Resort in Texas, which opened this year, or the under-construction Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Orlando, opening in 2028.
“What we’re seeing today in the industry is a greater swath of hotels now being built in the industry,” Speigel said. “In today’s market there is so much competition that you have to continue to innovate and grow your experience.”
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