Coast Guard Academy and Merlin's Challenge Close Today at Legoland Florida, and the Boat Ride Now Has Two End Dates, October 24 and 30

Two LEGOLAND Park rides with low height requirements go down today, Monday, October 5, right in the middle of Brick or Treat season. The closures were on the calendar. The end dates have since moved, and one of them now appears twice.

When we first reported these closures on September 9, Legoland Florida's Temporary Closures page listed Coast Guard Academy and Merlin's Challenge as closed from 10/5 to 10/24. Here is the LEGOLAND Park list as it reads this morning:

• Pirate River Quest (no dates)
• The Great LEGO Race (9/8 - 10/2)
• Kid Power Towers (9/8 - 10/4)
• Coast Guard Academy (10/5 - 10/24)
• Merlin's Challenge (10/5 - 10/23)
• Coast Guard Academy (10/5 - 10/30)

So Merlin's Challenge's closure now ends a day sooner, with October 23 as its last listed day. Coast Guard Academy keeps its original 10/24 line, and a second Coast Guard Academy line, ending 10/30, has been added at the bottom of the list. The page does not say which one is right, and the ride pages list neither date. The page's usual note still applies: "Additional attractions may be closed without notice."

Coast Guard Academy, closed from today. Photo: Legoland Florida Resort

When it changed

We quoted the old dates again on September 24, when both rides still read 10/5 to 10/24. The resort's sitemap lists the closures page as last modified on the morning of September 28, between our September 24 check and today. Peppa Pig Theme Park's website carries its own copy of the same resort-wide closures list, and that copy still shows the old version: both rides through 10/24, and Mr. Bull's High Striker down until 9/25, even though Legoland's copy now says all Peppa Pig Theme Park attractions are open.

What it does to Brick or Treat

Brick or Treat has 12 nights left: October 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 30 and 31, plus November 1. Here is how the new dates line up:

• Merlin's Challenge (to 10/23): misses seven of those nights, and should be back from Saturday, October 24, which is also a Monster Skytacular drone show night.
• Coast Guard Academy, if the 10/24 line holds: misses eight nights and returns October 25.
• Coast Guard Academy, if the 10/30 line holds: misses ten nights, and the only Brick or Treat nights left for it are Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1.

That matters if you used our first post to plan. We said October 25, 30 and 31 were the only remaining nights with all four of the dated rides on that list scheduled to run. If the 10/30 line is the real one, Coast Guard Academy is out on October 25 and 30, which leaves Halloween night and November 1 as the safest picks for a boat-loving little one.

Merlin's Challenge, closed from today through October 23. Photo: Legoland Florida Resort

The good news

The Great LEGO Race and Kid Power Towers have both passed their listed end dates, 10/2 and 10/4, so both should be back for the rest of the event. Pirate River Quest is still listed with no dates. Brick or Treat comes with a regular park ticket, so there is no separate event purchase at stake, but the closures page is worth a look the morning you go.

Planning a Brick or Treat night around Coast Guard Academy? Would you hold out for Halloween, or chance it on October 25?

Sources

• LEGOLAND Florida Resort, Temporary Closures
• Peppa Pig Theme Park Florida, Temporary Closures
• LEGOLAND Florida Resort, Brick or Treat
• LEGOLAND Florida Resort, sitemap

Image credits: Legoland Florida Resort (both ride photos).