EDUTour to Legoland Florida Presents Best Practices

by Scott Fais

Taking advantage of Orlando’s proximity to globally admired attractions, EDUTours allow IAAPA members a unique opportunity to learn best practices and network at select theme parks and water parks in Central Florida. 
Legoland Florida Resort in Winter Haven opened the gates early on Monday for IAAPA members who began their day inside the new Lego Movie World, where they were treated like stars of the film.

“It’s a unique experience to have all these industry professionals here to learn about what we do best and take a note from our book,” said Tyler Pellerin, Legoland Florida’s product excellence manager. “We showed how we’re innovative and industry-leading in what we do.”

Members of the operations, retail, games, and marketing teams at Legoland provided participants with access and insight to how Legoland entertains guests. A rotating drop tower from Zierer, a flying theater from Brogent Technologies, and a splash battle from Mack Rides in The Lego Movie World opened early for attendees to inspect and enjoy the new ride systems.

“We’re all about sharing best practices with people, especially people in the industry,” said Lee McNeil, construction manager with the Williams Company, general contractor for The Lego Movie World. “We want to show how this process went, what the good things were, what the not-so-good were, and then try to replicate the good for the next job.”

EDUTour attendees also visited the park’s leading retail location before Mona Ostrowski led a walking tour of Legoland Florida’s games of skill. The vice president of U.S. operations with HB Leisure taught attendees three tips for success when generating revenue through games.

“The location of your game is the most important, followed by your choice of prizes. You have to know your demographic—what’s popular at the moment and what makes people tick. Third, my personal passion, is your people—you have to have employees who love people,” said Ostrowski.

Attendees enjoyed a keynote speech over lunch given by Ashley Thomas, head of marketing,  who shared how Legoland promoted The Lego Movie World during a year when every theme park in Orlando and Tampa also opened a new land or roller coaster.

“All the theme parks have the same pieces: renderings, videos, soundbites. We asked ourselves as a Lego theme park, how can we be a little bit more innovative and creative. You have to do that to break through some of that noise,” said Thomas.

EDUTours continue throughout the week to additional Central Florida attractions. For a complete listing, visit IAAPA.org/IAAPAExpoEDUTours.