How widespread are flight cancellations around the country? So widespread that even Legoland is cancelling flights. (Rimshot!)
Legoland Florida announced today that the "final flight" for its Flying School roller coaster will take off on August 16. That's National Roller Coaster Day - a date when parks typically announce new coasters rather than close them. But in its press release today, Legoland said that Flying School's closure will "make way for future awesomeness," so perhaps such an announcement will be coming soon.
Flying School is a Vekoma Suspended Family Coaster that opened in 2004 as Swamp Thing in what was then Cypress Gardens, before Legoland Florida took over that park in 2011. The 1,122-foot coaster stands nearly 49 tall with a top speed of 26 mph.
When I last rode Flying School in 2019, I called it "a headbanger's ball from beginning to end," and said that it "would be my first choice for an addition-by-subtraction upgrade should Legoland need a site for a future attraction," so I guess I finally am getting my wish? [Trip report: There's plenty for even grown-ups to enjoy at Legoland Florida]
As that trip report title suggests, there will be plenty left to fill a visitor's day at Legoland Florida, even while the park works on Flying School's replacement - such as the recently opened Pirate River Quest, Lego Movie World, and the ever-impressive Cypress Gardens, plus the usual line-up of classic Legoland attractions, including three family roller coasters.
For savings up to $20 on park admission, please see our partner's Legoland Florida tickets page.
And for more theme park news, please sign up for Theme Park Insider's weekly newsletter.
If they were to bring Mythica, it probably wouldn’t include the flying theater ride since there’s already one inside the park at Lego Movie World.
@James - I haven't been to Legoland Florida since they built Lego Movie World - didn't know that attraction used the Dynamic flying theater ride system. I thought it was a moving seat 4-D theater. If it is the same ride system as Mythica in Windsor, then they probably wouldn't duplicate it on the other side of the park.
It’s a Brogent flying theater system at LLF, not Dynamic, for the record here.
@Russell - There is a second one at Coney Island in New York called Phoenix. I rode it just a few days ago - I wasn’t expecting much as it’s a bit charitable to even call it family ride looking at it, but it blew me away with how smooth and interesting it was. The larger Dragonflier model would be a dynamite addition to Legoland Florida. New Vekoma is making headway in the US with the Dollywood coasters and now the Holiday World family boomerang, so it wouldn’t be too surprising.
rode this when it was new in 2004 (swamp thing/cypress gardens)...since it's such a short ride, it ran the circuit twice. this was nothing but a hang and bang and we were begging them to not make us go around for the second circuit. whenever i visited legoland, i steered very clear of this ride
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
I wouldn't be surprised if they replace this with one of the newer Vekoma family inverts, which are really popular in Europe. Dragonflier at Dollywood is the only one I'm aware of in the US, but it's an excellent coaster given its accessibility, something that can't be said for Flying School.
Another option would be a clone of Mythica, which was installed a couple of years ago in Windsor. It uses a ride system very similar to Soarin', but has a CG-animated film. Given the location of Flying School at a dead end in the park, creating a new land here would make more sense then a simple replacement coaster.