LEGOLAND Florida
From the end of 2011, guests staying at Avalon at the Windsor Palms Resort will have another attraction to visit. Staying at a vacation rental home affords guests the independence to experience new parks and attractions like LEGOLAND Florida. Opening in 2011, it will be an easy journey from Avalon on the Windsor Palms Resort to the new park.
Merlin Entertainments Group to open LEGOLAND® Florida
Merlin Entertainments Purchases Cypress Gardens
Winter Haven, FL (January 21st 2010)
Merlin Entertainments (“Merlin”), Europe’s No 1 and the world’s second largest visitor attraction operator, announced today a multi-million dollar investment in the biggest family tourist centre in the world with the planned opening of LEGOLAND® Florida.
Merlin has purchased the historical Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven Florida from property investment company Land South Group and will open LEGOLAND Florida on the site at the end of 2011. The deal to buy the 145-acre site includes the freehold on the current theme park and waterpark as well as an operating lease in perpetuity on the historic botanical gardens. Merlin plans a significant multi-million dollar investment over a number of years, up to and beyond opening, in what will be the biggest LEGOLAND to date. In line with the group’s “resort” strategy for its theme parks this is likely to include both accommodation and the addition of further branded attractions from the Merlin portfolio. This will build on the $100m invested over the last few years in improved infrastructure on the site.
A proven concept
The Florida development will be Merlin’s second LEGOLAND Park in North America and will play an important role in the group’s continued growth in the US. It will provide a full-day, year round, theme park experience geared towards families with children between the ages of two and 12. Its design will mirror the successful concept of the four existing LEGOLAND Parks in Denmark, Germany, UK and California. However, as with the other four, it will also have its own unique “twist” reflecting its stunning location and adding a Florida flavour.
The decision to open a LEGOLAND Park in Florida follows considerable research in the area by Merlin over a number of years. This indicated a high recognition of the LEGOLAND Park brand and a 90%+ intention to visit by families in this target market. The issue therefore has been to find the ideal site. Cypress Gardens has long been a popular location for millions of visitors. Merlin believes its central Florida location, approx 30 minutes from Orlando and also close to Tampa, is the perfect site for a leisure brand as powerful and compelling as LEGOLAND.
The development follows the outstanding success of LEGOLAND® California which opened in 1999. LEGOLAND California was recently voted the country’s best children’s theme park by Amusement Today for the sixth year running. It is also recognised as the fastest growing theme park in the US, enjoying an increase in visitor numbers year-on-year, including 6% in 2009.
LEGOLAND Florida will be the biggest LEGOLAND Park ever opened and will offer a unique mix of more than 50 rides, shows and attractions, including spectacular LEGO models and other interactive elements for the whole family to enjoy together.
The Park is expected to create more than 1,000 new jobs by opening; as well as boosting the Florida economy through the use of local contractors for development.
Nick Varney, Chief Executive of Merlin Entertainments, said:
“LEGOLAND Florida will be one of the most exciting and important projects Merlin has ever developed. It is a unique opportunity for us; Florida is the biggest family tourist centre in the world. We have been looking for the right site there for some time and in Winter Haven we plan to create one of the best and certainly most beautiful, theme parks in the world. LEGOLAND California has already proven how much US families love the unique LEGOLAND concept. Now we are bringing that fun and experience to a much wider audience - the millions of US and international visitors who come to Florida every year.”
John Jakobsen, Managing Director of Merlin’s LEGOLAND Parks Operating Group, said:
“LEGOLAND Parks are based on the universally popular LEGO Toy products and offer families the opportunity to let their imaginations run free and become completely involved in LEGO Experiences. A LEGOLAND Park is the ultimate platform to showcase the LEGO Values and the endless possibilities of the LEGO idea. LEGOLAND Florida will add a completely unique, exciting dimension and experience for families visiting the area.”
Charlie Crist, Florida Governor, said:
“We are delighted at this news. We are extremely happy that the future of Cypress Gardens is secure. LEGOLAND is one of the most exciting names in family attractions and a welcome new addition to Florida.”
Bob English, Chairman of Polk County Commissioners, said:
”We are looking forward to working closely with Merlin. Their record speaks for itself. All of us at both local and State level really welcome their exciting plans for the site, the jobs this project will create and their commitment to the County long term.”
Merlin Entertainments is firmly establishing itself in the important US market. When it opens, LEGOLAND Florida will be the company’s thirteenth attraction here. It joins LEGOLAND California; SEA LIFE Carlsbad; Madame Tussauds – New York, Hollywood, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.; LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Chicago; and the Underwater Adventures Aquarium in Minneapolis, all of which are already successfully operating. Four more attractions are also in development - SEA LIFE Phoenix; LEGOLAND Discovery Centres in Dallas Fort Worth and New Jersey and the Pepsi Globe observation wheel in New Jersey.
Trip Insurance - Do I need it?
In Europe you normally never take a vacation without purchasing trip insurance, but here in the USA it is often overlooked. Perhaps because most Americans take a vacation within their own country, they don’t believe that trip insurance is necessary. Perhaps Europeans are used to traveling to different countries and therefore having to deal with different health systems, travel issues and the unknown problems that may arise either leading up to your trip or during your trip.
If you are traveling to Orlando to visit Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, Seaworld or one of the many other attractions, you may wonder if you really need trip insurance. You may not even think about it.
The majority of time on vacation or in the run up to vacation, nothing goes wrong. You arrive in Orlando, stay at a hotel or a vacation home in the area and have a great time. Wonderful memories are made. Magical times are had.
But there are always the “What ifs….” What if Aunt Edna is sick and we can’t go? What if the airline goes bankrupt and we can’t fly? What if something happens and we have to go home early? What if weather delays our arrival? etc.
The list of “What ifs…” are endless - and get more if you are traveling to another country. What would happen to your vacation if something happened? How would you be able to manage? Would you be able to write of non refundable monies that you have already paid? Have you read the terms and conditions relating to your bookings? (Car, flights, accommodation).
Trip insurance is insurance to protect your trip from not being able to happen or if it gets cut short. Think about this. You have a vacation booked to Kissimmee, visiting Walt Disney World. It may be a regular trip for your family, it may be a trip of a lifetime. What would happen if you were unable to go? Lets work on the principle that you do not have trip insurance of any kind. What part of your trip is non-refundable? Can you afford to absorb those costs?
Most of us what good value for money. We may want the cheapest we can get or we may just want good value. Most of us would not pay full fare for flights unless we really had to! We may look for good deals on hotels via a website where we have to pay upfront for a good rate or We may look at renting a vacation rental for the extra space it offers. We may have pre-paid our rental car to save an extra 10% of the cost. Hey, we did good. We saved a lot of money. But this is where we could lose money if we were not able to go. Prepaid flights, car and accommodation may be non-refundable or may have a large penalty to change. Cruises are generally non-refundable after a certain date. For a small percentage of our costs, we can insure our trip against most of all of the “What if” scenarios.
Trip insurance runs approx 6% of the trip cost. A small price to pay for peace of mind. On a $6000 vacation, that would be an extra $360. Not bad value should you need it, but perhaps you are thinking “I can’t afford an extra $360″ at this time - but think how much it would cost if you didn’t have trip insurance and were not able to go.
There are various things that you can consider to reduce the cost of your trip insurance.
- If you have paid for your vacation using a credit card, sometimes that card will give you some protection for trip related things. Check the terms and conditions of your credit card and see what it offers you. Then you can decide if you can purchase a reduced form of trip insurance for less money as you don’t have to cover x, y and z.
- Shop around for insurance. There are many different policies and options. Depending on how much risk you are willing to assume yourself, you can get a cheaper policy without options. For example, there are policies that allow you to cancel for any reason but these are more expensive than policies that allow you to cancel for a limited set circumstances.
- If purchasing a travel package, don’t automatically take the package insurance. Take time and look for alternatives which may save you money. For example, if taking a Disney Cruise, they offer their own insurance. Its an easy option to just take it, but if you look around, you can get alternative insurance for a lot cheaper, with better coverage.
Some people will say “Lets just take the cheapest trip insurance option we can find.” That may not be the best option for you. Often cheaper insurance is lacking some benefits. The key is working out what you want or need to be covered for and then finding the policy that best suits those needs and gives you best value for money. On a recent trip I compared several policies and actually went for a policy that gave me more protection in certain areas - it may have cost a little more than the cheapest policy, but I felt I had the right coverage - just in case. Thankfully, we didn’t need to use it, but we were covered.
Pre-existing condition clauses can trip a lot of people up. If any of your family have any pre-existing conditions, book your vacation, then book your trip insurance. Pre-existing conditions are usually waived provided the insurance is purchased with 14 days of the first payment on your vacation. The time limit can vary from insurer to insurer, so check the policies carefully, otherwise you may not be covered for pre-existing conditions.
Hopefully you and your family will not need to use the trip insurance, but once you have purchased it you have the peace of mind knowing that you are covered for unforseen events that may cause you to cancel or alter your trip.
That reminds me, I must go and review insurance for our trip in 2009!
Happy insurance shopping.
