The Great LEGO Race Review - Legoland Florida

There's 2 1/2 hours of people in there.

The Great LEGO Race -- billed as the first virtual reality coaster for families -- opened on March 23, 2018 in Legoland Florida. We kicked the tires the following afternoon, and unlike the first wave of reviews coming from the March 23 media day that found reporters having the ride to themselves, we put Legoland to the test on a busy day with peak crowds. The wait when we arrived was 2 1/2 hours.

Yes, 150 minutes for a kiddie coaster.

The good news is that it's the best virtual reality coaster that we've been on in terms of how smoothly the effects correlate with the actual attraction. Anyone familiar with the original ride knows the swoops and sharp turns, and the virtual race between Lego minifigures has some clever scenes to justify the sharp movements. Neither of us felt queasy after the ride, something that mars some VR experiences.

The bad news is that the addition of VR slows down the throughput for a ride that was already a sluggish performer in terms of capacity. The process is also a bit clunky for those that have never experienced a VR ride, though considerably easier than the experience on the now failed Kraken Unleashed at nearby SeaWorld Orlando.

The Process

The line didn't seem outrageously long at first glance. The original switchbacks were full -- and the premium/Hero Pass entrance was packed to the entrance -- but that's typically a 45-60 minute wait tops for the regular line in that scenario. That's not the case anymore. The line moves slow. Vehicles are loaded two at a time and dispatched at intervals, but it averages out to about one car a minute. This may not seem too bad until you realize that each car is just four riders.

Kraken Unleashed got a bad rap for the long gaps between train dispatches. It was originally as long as 10 minutes when it first opened in the summer of 2017, though that was shaved closer to 6-7 minutes near the end of that coaster's rough rookie year. However, Kraken seats 32 passengers per train. It would take eight Great LEGO Race cars to match that, so its capacity is actually less than that.

Folks paying as much as $85 for a Premium Play Pass and those with disabilities taking advantage of the Hero Pass offered at Guest Services didn't have to wait 2 1/2 hours, but it was closer to 35-40 minutes. The ride attendants were sending four standby trains for every one Premium Play/Hero train.

Guests are then brought up eight at a time to the top of the loading platform. They are asked to place loose personal belongings in cubby holes, just as before. They are then handed the Samsung Gear goggles. They are handed with the goggles facing up and told to keep it that way. Jerking them around could mess up the calibration. They are adorned with Lego figure eyes on the exterior of the goggles so riders look like Lego characters. Nice. The Samsung Gear is secured to a headpiece that can be twisted one way to loosen and the other to tighten. There is also a hook that is used to hook onto the safety bar so the goggles won't fly off the vehicle for riders that abandon them mid-ride.

The goggles are optional, and despite waiting 2 1/2 hours some riders did choose not to don them. Parents with young kids are also asked to have one not wear the headset so he or she can monitor their child during the ride.

The VR itself, again, is pretty amazing. It definitely adds a new thrill to an old ride. You will just have to determine if the length of the line is worth it for you and/or your children. The staff was active and attentive, though the process got chaotic at times. Some folks waited to join their parties late, and on Saturday afternoon at least the staff okayed it.

The best advice we can offer is to arrive at the park open, and make a beeline for the ride. Legoland has a few notoriously slow-loading rides, but this one's popularity and the low capacity make it one to knock off early. We figured a stop near 3pm would be ideal as many guests would have ridden it already or been over at the waterpark, but that wasn't the case. If you can't be there at the open, avoid weekends and holidays if possible. Legoland Florida has a winner on its hands, but be prepared for a lot of salty reviews online from folks stuck in ridiculously long lines.