Legoland declares it has permission to open June 1
Legoland on Friday declared it had state permission to reopen on June 1, but the governor’s office later said that wasn’t the case.
Helen Ferre, spokeswoman for Gov. Ron DeSantis, told the Orlando Sentinel that the only major theme park to receive approval to reopen on Friday was Universal Studios in Orlando.
A Legoland spokeswoman said company officials had been under the impression that the plan was approved until a reporter called to inform them otherwise. They sent out news releases touting the decision and said the park would begin to bring back an unspecified number of employees on furlough.
Legoland general manager Rex Jackson was trying to track down state officials Friday evening for clarification, the spokeswoman said.
Earlier Friday, Legoland described its plan, which has received the blessings of local governments. But under DeSantis’ reopening rules, the state also must sign off before it can go into effect.
Among the restrictions are a 50% capacity limit along with temperature checks that would turn away visitors who read 100.4 degrees or higher. The limit means about 6,000 people could attend, Jackson told Winter Haven city commissioners this week.
All employees will wear masks, and the theme park will offer free masks and encourage anyone age 3 and older to wear them. In addition, visitors will also be required to make cashless payments.
The Winter Haven attraction also has added 200 hand sanitizer stations along with signs that encourage social distancing.
Character meet-andgreets would be suspended and visitors encouraged to use the park’s mobile app to virtually line up for rides.
“As part of Merlin Entertainments, our leaders across the globe have been sharing best practices daily, and we’ve been able to apply what we’ve learned from other successful Merlin attraction reopenings to be confident with our resort’s reopening plan,” said general manager Rex Jackson in the release, adding that the theme park also received guidance from AdventHealth officials.
Universal Studios had its reopening plans OK’d Friday by DeSantis, and SeaWorld is expected to file one soon with the goal of opening in June. Disney World has not yet said when it might petition the government to resume business.
The pandemic has affected Legoland as severely as any theme park in the region, with the expected April debut of a third on-site hotel postponed.
The park took a hit earlier this month when its social media pages were bombarded with customer complaints that Legoland did not refund money for trips canceled after the park closed because of coronavirus in March. Legoland apologized for the slow response and said it was working to pay people.
The pandemic also has stalled what had been years of expansion, during which Legoland became one of Polk County’s top businesses.
County leaders said its reopening will help the region rebound as tourists and workers return to the community. Tourism employs 21,000 people in Polk.
Legoland is “the largest and most powerful economic engine we have to get our citizens back to work and the wheels of commerce moving again,” said Mark Jackson, director of Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing, in a news release. “It’s one thing to bring more money into our community, it’s another to spend, or recirculate, those new dollars. Legoland and the rest of the tourism industry do both.”