General manager Adrian Jones poses for a portrait as he speaks to the media at Legoland Florida, the largest Legoland Park in the world, is transforming from blueprint to brick and mortar in Winter Haven, Florida, March 23, 2011.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Legoland Florida, which opens Oct. 15, is a massive construction site, crews bustling about, the remnants of Cypress Gardens more recognizable than anything that was built of colorful, snap-together bricks.

Over here is Swamp Thing, a suspended roller coaster that Cypress Gardens added in 2004 in hopes of drawing more tourists. It will become the Flight School ride. Over there is Triple Hurricane, a wooden coaster that will be renamed Coastersaurus and rebraked to slow it down for Legoland's younger visitors.

The old stadium where guests watched water ski shows on Lake Eloise will become Pirates Cove and feature a water stunts show. The beautiful botanical gardens, which were badly overgrown when Legoland took over, have been cut back and reclaimed and will get Lego flowers.

The old Splash Island Water Park is being ignored for now. It won't reopen when the park does, and a Legoland spokeswoman wouldn't comment on plans for the slides and flume ride.

Despite appearances, though, Florida's newest theme park is well under way. The concrete-lined canals for Boat School are in, the foundation for a two-story carousel with Lego-themed horses has been built, Castle Hill's castle is going up, and the existing buildings in what will become Fun Town are being refurbished. The first of the landmarks for Legoland's iconic Miniland — Washington, D.C. — was built of Lego bricks overseas and arrived a couple of weeks ago.

The park will use 30 million bricks, and even the buildings and attractions not made of Legos will look as if they were.

Legoland Florida will be the fifth — and at 150 acres, the largest — Legoland in the world and the second in the United States. The first opened in 1968 in Billund, Denmark, where the toy blocks were invented. The others are in Windsor, outside London (1996); Carlsbad, Calif. (1999) and Germany (2002). A sixth is scheduled to open in Malaysia in 2012.

Merlin Entertainments Group, Legoland's parent company, also owns Madame Tussauds, the London Eye, Discovery Centres and other attractions that drew more guests in 2009 than any amusement park company but Disney, according to the Themed Entertainment Association. That same year, though, Legoland California was not among the top 10 highest-drawing U.S. parks.

For Central Florida, where theme parks had 63.4 million guests in 2009 (the same year Cypress Gardens went into bankruptcy) building a park with a smaller niche market was not the obvious choice. But to Merlin, it made a lot of sense.

Adrian Jones, Legoland Florida's general manager, noted that Cypress Gardens, which opened in 1936, is considered Florida's first theme park.

"That site in general has a lot of heritage, a lot of history, and Cypress Gardens is a brand name," Jones said. "We're looking at parents who came here as children. It has personality, character."

The Winter Haven site had certain other attractions. The zoning, mature trees and landscaping and much of the infrastructure already were in place, although some of the infrastructure has required more updating than Merlin had expected.

The new park has a ready market in the millions who travel to the Disney, Universal and SeaWorld parks. Legoland is 37 miles from the Magic Kingdom and has formed partnerships with hotels including several in and around Orlando. Legoland California, on the other hand, is 64 miles from Disneyland and even further from Los Angeles.

One of Legoland's competitive advantages, Jones, said, is that like the brand's popular Quatro, Duplo and Lego bricks, it is designed for a niche audience: kids ages 2 to 12.

That means no thrill rides, just "pink knuckle" rides.

"There are no inversions, no loops; they are for the whole family," said Jackie Wallace, a Legoland spokeswoman.

Legoland will have more than 50 rides and attractions in 10 "zones," Wallace said. Many will be the same as attractions in other Legoland parks, but the Winter Haven park will have some only-in-Florida features as well. Some highlights:

Castle Hill, site of the former Cypress Gardens amphitheater, will be a medieval-themed zone. The old Okeechobee Rampage is being remade as the Dragon coaster, which goes through the Legoland castle. It will also have the Royal Joust, where kids ride a Lego horse through an enchanted forest, and Merlin's Challenge, a train ride.

Land of Adventure will have Coastersaurus, the only wooden coaster in any Legoland; Pharaoh's Revenge, a dark ride where guests fire foam balls at targets and each other, and Lost Kingdom Adventure, an Egyptian-themed dark ride where guests fire laser blasters.

Miniland USA, as at the California park, will have national landmarks built with Lego bricks but also some specific to Florida including Kennedy Space Center, Bok Tower and Daytona International Speedway, where kids can race Lego cars, plus a whole section devoted to pirates.

Lego City will have two driving schools, boat school, the Flight School roller coaster, and the rescue academy. The boat school and driving school units won't be on tracks, and their young drivers will be able to turn the vessels and vehicles around and even go backwards.

"We really do put the kids in charge of the experience," said Wallace. "A lot of parks talk about interactivity, but here at Legoland we really do it. There is nothing passive about Legoland. The kids are in control."

Imagination Zone will have a build-and-test area where kids play with Lego toys, and three Kids Power Towers, where youngsters in a seat can haul themselves up by rope, then "free fall" down.

Other features will include a theater that shows 4-D movies; Duplo Village, geared toward the tiniest guests; the Lego Technic Test Track Coaster, a twist on a wild-mouse coaster; a water cannon fight on Lego jet skis; Island in the Sky, a 100-foot-high platform with a 360-degree view over the park, plus shows, shops and restaurants.

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IF YOU GO:

Legoland Florida, 1 Legoland Way (6000 Cypress Gardens Blvd.), Winter Haven; 877- 350-LEGO (877-350-5346); www.legoland.com.

Opening: Oct. 15.

Admission: $65 adults; $55 kids (3-12) and seniors (60+). Annual pass $129 adults, $99 kids and seniors. Other deals available on website.

Hotels: Legoland also offers package deals with 13 partner hotels in its "Bed & Brick" program that can be booked on the website at the same time that park tickets are purchased or call 800-979-9983.