I guess I’m just a big kid, but I am so excited about Legoland coming to Florida.

A front-loading tractor was positioned Thursday morning outside the Magnolia Mansion at Cypress Gardens. It wasn’t there to move any dirt.

Instead, a driver tilted down the scoop and dumped 100,000 Lego bricks onto a stage. That was a mere down payment, with 39.9 million more to follow when Legoland Florida opens by the end of next year.

Cypress Gardens is nearly in my front yard, less than a 15 minute drive. If pushed, I could practically walk there. It was a destination for travelers long before the mouse moved in.

The possibility of 1000 local jobs is great news for the area, but I am excited about being so close to 40 million Legos.

[Merlin Entertainments Group CEO Nick] Varney said Legoland Florida will be larger than any of the company’s four existing Legoland parks – one in California and three in Europe. He said the park will eventually become Legoland Florida Resort and will contain at least one hotel.

Legoland Florida will follow the same model with a central “Miniland” exhibiting elaborate Lego models depicting scenes from the area. He said the company’s designers are already at work designing Lego constructions for the Winter Haven attraction.

The Legoland parks are geared toward children 2 to 12 years old – and, of course, their parents. Varney, calling Lego one of the world’s best-known brands, said the parks are unique among tourist attractions in presenting children the opportunity for “playful learning,” as opposed to passive entertainment at other theme parks.

The projected opening is October, 2011. I’ll be there.

Photo Credit: SCOTT WHEELER | The Ledger

Yes, bRight & Early is where I do the majority of my writing, but it’s not the only place. Consider this a PSA for the other sites I work on. They need a variety of things, but mostly more eyes.

Reclaim Conservatism — http://reclaimconservatism.com/blog is a group effort with the aim of reclaiming conservative values. We are looking for bloggers (frequent or not so much) to contribute on that theme. You can follow @ReclaimCons on Twitter.

Blog News Co-op — http://blognewscoop.com/blog/ is a great idea that needs a push. I’m looking for original reporting by bloggers to use in a shared setting. That’s why our tag line is “by bloggers, for bloggers.” I’m looking for bloggers who want to contribute stories that other bloggers can use and link to. The only criteria is that it has to be original reporting rather than commenting on the writings of someone else. It doesn’t have to be a big national story. Coverage of a local council race or regional news story, interviews with local politicians or celebrities, and even your personal coverage of local events are all the type of stories I’m looking for. You can follow @BlogNewsCoop on Twitter.

FloridImagine.com — http://floridimagine.com/blog/ is my business site for web hosting and design, specializing in setting up WordPress blogs for others. Of course I do other sites as well. It is also a site for Florida news and information. I am looking for people who would like to write on Florida sports, events, news, people, and attractions. If you are a writer from here in the Sunshine State please let me know if you are interested in contributing. And if you are a blogger ready to move to your own domain or someone looking for a web site, please get in contact. On Twitter you can follow @FloridImagine.

Last, and far from least, is a blog I didn’t start but I am proud to be a part of — Blogs4Bauer — http://blogs.4bauer.com As you probably know, this is a site for all of you 24 fans. Season eight will be starting in January, and Blogs4Bauer will once again be the most irreverent fan site out there. The unique combination of snark and dedication is always a lot of fun. And while the real fun starts when the clock starts ticking on yet another long day in Jack Bauer’s life, we don’t rest during the “off season.” Casting news and other tidbits are up all year long. Check us out.

Well, that’s the roundup. Check out those other sites and see what’s going on there. Hopefully you’ll find something interesting, or even somewhere that you can contribute.