Disney and Universal theme parks are filled with E-Ticket rides that thrill older kids and adults, but they can leave younger siblings sitting on the sidelines. Legoland, which instead focuses on offering experiences that families with small children can enjoy together, has just launched its most ambitious attraction ever—on both coasts! Keep reading to learn if the new Galacticoaster is worth a detour to Legoland during your next Florida or California vacation.
Galacticoaster opened in late February 2026 at both Legoland Florida in Winter Haven (about an hour from Walt Disney World) and Legoland California in Carlsbad (about an hour from Disneyland). With a cost of over $90 million, the twin rides represent the largest investment Merlin has ever made in its North American parks, and it’s the first new roller coaster for the Florida park in 15 years.
Legoland Californa’s Galacticoaster is located inside the new Lego Galaxy land, accompanied by two space-themed spinning “flat rides,“ as well as a play zone for junior astronauts and several food outlets.
At Legoland Florida, the new ride is tucked behind Lego City, on the former site of the Flying School, and features a small play area and gift shop outside the attraction.
For the first time, Legoland gives the new Galacticoaster a complete story, told not only during the ride itself, but also through a pair of preshows. After entering the sleek space station-style queue, guests are briefed by “Biff Dipper,“ a larger-than-life animatronic Lego minifigure with nine different movement functions.
With the help of his onscreen friends, Biff brings us up to speed on the ginormous asteroid headed towards Earth, and our exciting mission is to lead a swarm of Separator tools to break it apart before disaster strikes.
For the second preshow, each group of four riders is given a pair of RFID wristbands and shown to a touchscreen to design their custom spacecraft, selecting tails, wings, and accessories from a catalog of over 600 combinations. This will seem very familiar to anyone who remembers the previous version of Disney’s Test Track, but you don’t have to worry about stability of aerodynamics here; your design choices are entirely aesthetic and aren’t scored at the end like on the old EPCOT ride.
Finally, following one last waiting area, it’s time to step onto a conveyor belt and board your ride vehicle, a four-across car with comfy lapbars that descend from above. After exiting the station, you’ll see yourself onscreen sitting in a CGI representation of the craft you just designed, before a surprising swift-tire launch sends you forward into the first section of coaster track. Simulated starlight twinkles on the black walls of the darkened show building as you zip past glowing Lego props at up to 40 miles per hour.
Halfway through the course, the coaster’s spinning function kicks in, and your vehicle will begin controlled rotations around the curves that create a fabulous floaty feeling. Best described as “baby’s first Cosmic Rewind,“ the Galacticoaster actually gives the far grander Guardians of the Galaxy a good run for its money in pure fun factor for its final 15 seconds, until the reentry tunnel brings the all-too-brief ride to an abrupt end.
Enjoy a complete tour of Legoland Galacticoaster’s queue and preshows, as well as front-and-back POV rides on the attraction itself, with this video from the media preview event:
Although Galacticoaster is simply too short a ride for us to recommend all-adult parties making the hour-plus drive from Disney, it is the perfect “pink knuckle“ experience for pre-tweens who are just building up to big-kid thills. While the ride isn’t too wild, lockers are available to secure your cargo; they are free for the first 2 hours, $5 per hour after that. A low minimum-height requirement of only 36″ (48″ without an adult) and sensory-friendly features like complimentary noise-blocking headphones make Legoland’s spacey thrills much more accessible than Space Mountain’s.
At both Legoland California and Legoland Florida, the Galacticoaster is located in the farthest corner of the park from the park’s main entrance, near the entrance to the water park. Head back there as soon as the park opens for the shortest standby wait, or use the paid FasTrack service or free single-rider option if lines become long. Legoland doesn’t see the same-size crowds and Disney or Universal, but the rider throughput of their attractions is far slower, so be prepared to have patience if visiting on a busy day.
Have you visited Legoland lately, and are you excited to ride the Galacticoaster? Let us know in the comments below!
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