photo by Orlando Sentinel

A Ford Explorer replica made of 382,858 logo pieces has made it’s voyage to Central Florida. It is just one of the many items being put into place in the last few days before the grand opening of LegoLand Florida October 15. This extraordinary life-size version of a real working vehicle will be placed outside Legoland’s Ford Driving School, where children at least 6 years old can get their Lego driver’s licenses and drive vehicles up to 3 mph.

The Lego version of the Ford Explorer was built by 22 employees in Connecticut. It weighs 2,654 pounds and took 2,500 hours to design and build. The replica has a Ford logo, dual exhaust, a button to pop the hatch, a spare tire beneath, gas tank lid, grill, side mirrors and license plates that read LEGOLAND. It looks real, but the doors don’t open, and it doesn’t run – even though it has an engine.

The Lego Ford Explorer was shipped to Chicago for its debut, and was recently displayed in Orlando. It travels aboard a truck with see-through panels so drivers and passengers along the roads it travels on see it. The trailer traveling with it encourages on-lookers with graphics that read, “Follow me to LegoLand Florida.” It will make a few additional stops then make its way to Winter Haven for everyone that attends the Central Florida theme park to enjoy. It will be welcomed by many other spectacular Lego-built replicas.

Do you plan on attending the grand opening of LegoLand Florida? If so, or if not, we want to know. Feel free to comment.

Last Updated on October 3, 2011