The fifth Legoland opened in Florida in October 2011, adding to the busy theme park scene in central Florida |

How many Lego bricks does it take to build a theme park? If you’re looking at the recently opened Legoland in Florida, the answer is 30 million.

Park visitors enter Legoland Florida during its grand opening celebration in Winter Haven, Florida October 14, 2011. REUTERS/Pierre DuCharme

Family fun seekers in California have made that state’s Legoland such a popular attraction that a second Lego-based theme park opened this month in the United States. This one is in Winter Haven, just outside of Orlando, and it’s the largest Legoland on the planet.

A Lego Belle sculpture, in the tradition of the Cypress Garden Southern Belles, is featured in Legoland, Florida. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/MCT)

The first Legoland opened in 1968 in Denmark, where the blocks were created. That was followed by Legolands in England, California and Germany. Malaysia will become home to the sixth Legoland later this year. (More info on Legolands can be found by clicking here .)

Legoland’s target audience is kids aged two to 12, and its October opening in Florida adds another entry into the theme park business in the central region of the state, with Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Harry Potter World and Sea World also located in the area.

Visitors walk past the Statue of Liberty and part of the New York skyline, constructed out of lego bricks, at Miniland at Legoland Florida, where national landmarks and Florida cities have been recreated out of millions of Lego bricks. REUTERS/Pierre DuCharm

Here are a few other facts about Legoland and Lego:

It took 30 million Lego bricks to build the new theme park in Florida.

The new park features about 50 rides and attractions.

Legoland, Florida, was built on the site where Cypress Gardens once stood. That park closed in 2009 after 73 years of operation.

The first Lego blocks were created 79 years ago. Its official site can be found here .

Lego, a family-owned company, was founded in the Danish town of Billund.

The Lego company says that it employs 9,000 people around the world.

Lego blocks are sold in more than 130 countries.

The company estimates that children around the world spend 5 billion hours each year playing with Lego.

Two kids captain their Lego boats at the Boating School ride at Legoland Florida. REUTERS/Pierre DuCharme

Florida’s theme parks are some of the destinations you could choose to visit, if you’re a winner in this year’s Fly Free contest. To win free travel from WestJet and WestJet Vacations, read the Vancouver Sun, Edmonton Journal, Calgary Herald, Regina Leader-Post,

Visitors enjoy the Technic Test Track roller coaster ride at Legoland Florida during its grand opening. REUTERS/Pierre DuCharme

Saskatoon Star Phoenix, Ottawa Citizen or Montreal Gazette for details. If you’re in the Winnipeg or Halifax areas, you’ll also find the Fly Free contest in the Winnipeg Free Press and the Halifax Chronicle Herald.

You can also check out the related website of the PostMedia newspaper closest to you:  vancouversun.com/flyfree, edmontonjournal.com/flyfree, thestarphoenix.com/flyfree, calgaryherald.com/flyfree, leaderpost.com/flyfree, montrealgazette.com/flyfree or ottawacitizen.com/flyfree

Source: http://blogs.calgaryherald.com