INSIDE LOOK: Why we love HOLIDAYS at LEGOLAND® Florida Resort
HOLIDAYS at LEGOLAND® Florida Resort will kick off the ultimate holiday event for kids, November 29 through December 31, 2024, and we can’t wait!
This is one of our favorite holiday events in the Tampa Bay region, and we’ve attended every year for the last several years with our boys, so we feel pretty good about being able to dish on all of the details to help you build your most AWESOME day ever!
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So, let’s dive in! Here’s what you can expect when you go and our favorite things to do!
But, first…HOLIDAYS at LEGOLAND Florida Dates
This is the most important detail since you need to know WHEN to attend HOLIDAYS at LEGOLAND® Florida Resort, which is being celebrated on select days, November 29 & 30, and then December 1, 7-8. 14-15, 21-31, 2024, and then, they will also host a bricktastic Kids’ New Year’s Eve on December 26-31, 2024.
We love that this event is included with general park admission and most LEGOLAND Annual Passes, so there’s no stress about purchasing additional tickets.
As far as what time to arrive, you can get there when the park opens or arrive anytime throughout the day. There are multiple time slots for most shows and event-exclusive character meet and greets, so you shouldn’t have an issue if you need to squeeze in a naptime first.
What’s NEW in 2024
LEGOLAND Florida will debut an all-new LEGO® Christmas tree, towering 32 feet high and made from nearly 365,000 LEGO and DUPLO® bricks. Here’s a fun fact–this tree took Master Model Builders more than 2,800 hours to build. Topping the 10,000-pound tree will be a LEGO star built out of 5,200 LEGO and DUPLO bricks and weighing 176 pounds.
Don’t forget–if you want to see what it’s like to be a LEGO Master Builder at LEGOLAND Florida, you can book one of their VIP Tours for a behind-the-scenes look at their workshop and even build alongside a master builder!
Event-exclusive characters at HOLIDAYS at LEGOLAND
One of our favorite things about holiday events at the theme parks is the event-exclusive characters, and there are several to meet at HOLIDAYS at LEGOLAND. Here are the LEGO characters on schedule for 2024 so far:
- LEGO Santa
- LEGO Gingerbread Man
- LEGO Nutcracker
- LEGO Snowman
- LEGO Holiday Elf Frode
- LEGO Reindeer Girl
There is a staff member on-site to take a picture for you with your phone or camera in case you want a family photo. There is also a park photographer if you’d rather purchase a professional photo.
Tip: We were able to see LEGO Santa pretty quickly by waiting to head his way at about 2 pm, which is half an hour before he goes on break for an hour until he starts up meet and greets again at 3:30 pm.
In general, we have found that the character lines move pretty quickly, so don’t be deterred by a long line.
LEGO Build Activities at HOLIDAYS at LEGOLAND
Our kiddo absolutely loves LEGOs, so next to the characters, our favorite thing to do at HOLIDAYS at LEGOLAND was the themed LEGO builds. There are two themed areas:
Santa’s Toy Build outside of the Pizza Pasta Buffet and the LEGO Competition Sleigh Build in LEGO Kingdoms.
At Santa’s Toy Build, kids can create a LEGO toy to add to the giant LEGO Santa bag. This is a great way to keep kids busy while you wait in line for LEGO Gingerbread Man and even the North Pole Postal Service experience (which is amazing–we’ll get to this in a moment).
Over in LEGO Kingdoms at the LEGO Competition Build, kids and kids at heart are challenged to create a sleigh on a LEGO baseboard which will be judged each day for a prize. We spent a good amount of time here since our son loves to build. Be on the lookout for an occasional ‘snowfall’ too!
There are several LEGO build areas throughout the park that are open daily throughout the year too including one of our favorites, the LEGO Space build in the Imagination Zone. There is also a new DREAMZzz build area in Fun Town where kids can create creatures from nightmare and dream worlds! Rebuild the World is another must-stop for a LEGO building break. You’ll find it near the entrance of the park. Don’t forget to check out the new LEGO Ferrari Build & Race Experience that opened this year if you haven’t seen it yet!
North Pole Postal Service experience
Need to send a letter to Santa? Don’t fret! The North Pole Postal Service experience is another must-do at HOLIDAYS at LEGOLAND and our favorite way to send a letter to Santa. You’ll find it in Fun Town in the North Pole Village area of the event.
Kids are given everything they need to write down their holiday wishes for Santa by friendly elves and then can place them in the LEGO mailbox and watch the magic as their letter appears in the mailroom for the jolly old LEGO Santa! It’s super cute and the elves who work in the North Pole Postal Service are the best.
They do a really good job of keeping crowds down to a couple of families at a time inside the Post Office, so you don’t feel cramped and the experience feels much more personal. The line ebbs and flows, but we only waited about 10 minutes tops. My son was able to build at the Santa’s Toy Build area while I held our spot in line. I was able to keep an eye on him and call him over when it was our turn.
Other fun things to do:
DUPLO Valley is home to two additional event-exclusive activities:
- Holiday Traditions Scavenger Hunt: 11:00 am-5:30 pm
- Creative Ornament Coloring: 11:00 am-5:30 pm
The Shows at HOLIDAYS at LEGOLAND Florida
A great way to take a break between rides and builds is to experience a themed show! There are six shows, including the LEGO City Holiday Light Spectacular, where you can watch the giant LEGO tree illuminate with dazzling lights every 15 minutes.
LEGOLAND Florida shared these details about the news shows they have on schedule so far for 2024:
- Elf Training Academy featuring a new festive friend, LEGO® Holiday Elf Frode!
- LEGO Reindeer Girl is also getting into the spirit of the season with the new Holly Hype Dance Party!
- Over in LEGO Kingdoms, get swept away into a winter FUN-derland during the high-energy, frost-filled Festival of Flurries with LEGO Snowman! Sing and dance to favorite tinsel tunes while you await a snowy surprise.
- Inside Fun Town Theater, stir up more holiday spark and join LEGO Gingerbread Man to solve a delicious dilemma during The Very Merry Mix-up!
MiniLand is decorated for the holidays, too!
We love how LEGOLAND’s master builders add special holiday touches to Miniland during the holiday season! We turn it into a sort of scavenger hunt to see how many LEGO Santas we can find throughout the entire area…and there are a lot!
We love what they did to LEGO Tampa! Can you spot LEGO Santa??
Yummy sips and treats!
There are several special menu items you can sip and taste during Holidays at LEGOLAND! There are 12 items available for a limited time only including our favorites: CRO-IGNET (pronounced crow-neigh) at the Funnel Cake Factory and the Better than Santa’s Cookie Milkshake at Kingdom Cones.
Build the Perfect Gift
Stuff a whole year of awesomeness underneath the tree with a LEGOLAND Florida Resort Annual Pass! Annual Passes start at less than $13 a month and give you the chance to build family memories and traditions throughout the year. For a next-level parenting win, add a holiday bonus with hotel and vacation packages to create a staycation experience with uninterrupted days of fun.This is a great year to purchase an annual pass with NEW experiences heading our way in 2024 including a Ferrari build in the spring and SEA LIFE Florida Resort opening in the fall which will feature a family-friendly aquarium.
Note: LEGOLAND Florida invited us to attend Holidays at LEGOLAND, but we’ve also been annual pass holders for years and would have gone anyway (we love taking advantage of the Black Friday sale for future reference since the sale has ended.)