EINSTEIN'S face has developed a rather nasty-looking crack. Not that anyone should be surprised at seeing a few lines in the craggy face of the genius scientist. When the face is made of thousands of Lego bricks however, the sensation is rather different.

Lego has come to Florida and the combination of plastic bricks and intense southern US heat, although a winning combination for the rest of this new theme park, didn't seem to be doing old Albert's giant Lego effigy much good when I paid a visit on opening day.

Click here now for amazing offers to Florida!

Luckily the rest of the 150-acre theme park, near Winter Haven in Polk County, is impeccable. It took 300 people two years to build. The launch coincided with the ceremonial laying of the 50 millionth brick on a giant red octopus. Although it faces stiff competition from nearby Walt Disney World Resort, last week it was already swarming with youngsters and their equally Lego-obsessed parents.

For me the visit to the fifth and biggest Legoland was a potentially cathartic experience. Aged seven, I visited the original Legoland in the toy's home country of Denmark and managed to crash my motorised Lego go-kart into a ditch, only to be fished out by a supervisor and my dad.

There's a new track at the Florida park. "There are no ditches on this track," says a tanned ride operator proudly. "It's impossible to crash. At least nobody has so far." Since it's for under-12s only, I don't get the chance to see if my driving has improved in the intervening 25 years.

The adult rides are described as "pink knuckle" as opposed to white but the all-wooden Coastersaurus rollercoaster is thrillingly fast and the Flying School ride is stomach-churningly exciting, with great views over the park and the surrounding farmland and swamps.

For adults and children alike, the Miniland USA area is impressive, containing incredibly accurate replicas of American landmarks including the vast casinos of Las Vegas, the Kennedy Space Centre and a San Francisco street scene complete with moving trams.

The site itself is steeped in history. In the Thirties the area was known as Cypress Gardens. Situated on the edges of the vast, alligator-filled Lake Eloise it was renowned for its Southern Belle beauty pageants and cypress trees, one of which was so big that it had to be surrounded by radiators in winter to keep it alive. Visitor numbers eventually declined and the gardens closed in 2008. A huge legal battle ensued to prevent the site being sold off for real estate. Thankfully the builders lost and Lego stepped in to revive the park.

Want incredible deals to Florida? Click here now...

THERE were no signs of alligators in Lake Eloise on my visit (despite some rather large warning signs) but this was probably a relief to the actors performing the live Pirates' Cove waterski show based around a spectacular all-Lego pirate ship. Be prepared to get wet.

After a day at the park it is actually a surprise to find that the surrounding area isn't also made of plastic bricks. Rural Polk County itself is a great introduction to the American South. The Everglades is a protected wilderness of swampland which I explored on an airboat, spotting bald eagles and flocks of egrets.

Most intriguingly of all are the remains of old bootleggers' huts. Dating back to Prohibition days, these remains, hidden deep in the swamps, were once home to illegal distilling operations the products of which, in the dead of night, were hauled on to boats and taken to towns like Winter Haven for the thirsty populous.

Hunters camp in the wilderness but not fancying my chances with mosquitoes I checked in to somewhere more cosy.

Chalet Suzanne is an eccentric cluster of Swedish and Austrian-themed rooms, bars and restaurants built in the Thirties.

Still run by the Hinshaw family, the dining and drinking area has wooden dressers, old pianos and sepia-tinted photographs of former visitors including Robert Redford.

This could be the only retro boutique hotel with its own soup cannery. Started in the garage of the hotel, the Romaine lettuce soup (now filled with spinach) was chosen by Nasa astronauts to accompany them into space on Apollo 15 in 1973.

Now called Moon Soup, owners Erik and Dee sell it in the gift shop and serve it as part of their huge, and good value, five-course dinners which include broiled grapefruit and lobster Newburg.

Alligators and Captain Brickbeard seem a long way away as a flamingo-coloured sunset descends. The thrill of being a child again in Legoland takes a while to diminish, although my efforts to create an Einstein face with the Lego I brought home remain less than impressive.

GETTING THERE

British Airways (0844 493 0758/ba.com/florida) offers seven nights at the Ramada Gateway Hotel, Orlando, from £449pp (two sharing), room only. Includes return BA flights from Gatwick to Orlando. Seven days car hire can be arranged from £110. Legoland Florida (florida.legoland.com) tickets available to buy from (ba.com/experiences) from £39 per adult, £33 per child. Visit Central Florida: (dialling from UK) 001 800 828 7655/visitcentralflorida.org