Over 50 business and civic leaders attended the brainstorming event. To start the program, Tom Patton, Executive Director of the Central Florida Development Council and Mark Jackson, Director of Tourism and Sports Marketing for Polk County gave a presentation about the European Legoland parks and the impact Legoland is predicted to have on our community.

Next, Haines City Community Development Director Richard Greenwood and Tom Wodrich with Polk County’s Growth Management Department presented an overview of joint planning efforts, commercial zoning and land use designations for potential development, options for way finding and other signage, plus more.

Then the attendees separated into three groups to brainstorm about What Comes Next. At a meeting in Billund Denmark, the Lego development director described a simple matrix he uses to ensure a site develops into a successful park. Picture a three-legged stool. The top (the seat) is the Brand (Legoland in his case), (The Path to Legoland in our case). Supporting the Brand are three legs: Infrastructure (roads, signage, proper zoning, etc.), Attractions (lakes, parks, upscale shopping, and venues such as Fantasy of Flight and Bok Tower) and Services (restaurants, hotels, retail, chambers, etc.)

Each leg needs to be strong for the Brand to be successful. The groups’ assignment was to list what we have and what we need in these three categories. “WE” meaning the parts of Polk County that they represent and can influence. The goal is to ensure our Path to Legoland is filled with destinations - not just a road to somewhere.

Polk County didn’t change a great deal due to Disney’s development. Polk County has a chance to capitalize on the Legoland opportunity while keeping our real Florida charm, so important to visitors and residents.

The group considered the following questions:
What would entice you to detour from your destination, while on a vacation or business trip? What enticements does the Path to Legoland have?
What is missing? Let the sky be the limit here. We aren’t limited by money or other resources when we’re brainstorming.
When finished with the list, each group member used stars to vote for the top five needs. Below is the result of their work ranked by the number of votes received.

Infrastructure needs:
1. Consistent signage from 192 – Frostproof
2. Themed corridor Plan
3. Regional coordination/buy in
4. Mass transit
5. Parkway extension

Services needed:
1. Restaurants
2. Hotels/Lodging
3. Upscale shopping
4. Taxis
5. Bars/Pubs

Attractions needed:
1. Strong downtowns/sidewalk cafes/ “little villages”
2. Resort hotels with mini golf & mini water parks
3. Shuttles
4. Florida experiences unique to our area such as airboats , gator watching, our hiking/biking trail systems, fishing, lakes
5. Utilizing you-tube and social media websites

Attendees then signed up to participate on task forces to address those needs identified in the work session. Other work sessions will be held around the county to build consensus and develop a diverse task force to shore up each leg of the stool.

The Chambers will work together to coordinate task force meetings and help the task force members find resources necessary to implement the goals resulting from their action plans.
Someone said during the session, “We have a chance to get it right. When the visitors start coming next fall, we want to have our act together, so they will stop and play along the Path to Legoland.”

Stay tuned. This is just the beginning.