LEGOLAND Florida recently released details about the new Central Florida theme park, set to open Oct. 2011. It will be the largest LEGOLAND Park to date and will offer visitors more than 50 LEGO-themed, family-friendly rides, shows and attractions. Located at the former site of Cypress Gardens, LEGOLAND Florida will have a botanical garden with plans to expand it and make it interactive. Perhaps a Southern Belle made from LEGOs will greet garden visitors.

The theme park will include one of the largest selections of LEGO merchandise in world, the LEGO factory where visitors can take a tour and see a slowed down version of how the plastic bits are made, Mainland USA with replicas of iconic landmarks (we’re told to look for a LEGO man sitting on a LEGO toilet in the New York City scene), Duplo Village with LEGO bricks eight times larger than normal and Castle Hill featuring a dragon steel roller coaster. Don’t worry, this coaster is a “pink” knuckle coaster meaning it’s appropriate for children.

In addition, the park will include a race track, driving school where passing students earn a LEGOLAND drivers license, water stunt show, LEGO City and the Imagination Zone where kids (and we’re sure adults will be sneaking in) can get their hands on LEGO products. Of course, there’s a whole lot more including some tasty food items including barbecue and deep-fried Granny Smith apple slices.

LEGOLAND Florida will be opening in Oct. 2011 but LEGO fans who purchase between now and Dec. 31, 2010, receive a special pre-sale price of $65 for adults (ages 13 to 59) and $55 for children (3 – 12) and seniors (60+) for one-day admission. Purchase a LEGOLAND Standard Annual Pass for $99 and it’s valid through 2012.

But for you die-hard LEGO fans, the Ambassador Pass may be for you. For a cool $2,500, receive free preferred parking, unlimited admission to LEGOLAND Florida for life, special discounts and invitations to events, dining and retail discounts, LEGOLAND newsletter and an exclusive model builder session.

All above prices exclude tax and certain restrictions apply so be sure to check out the LEGOLAND Florida website to learn more and book your tickets in advance.

Another Guinness World Record has been broken and we hope it doesn’t make the previous holders cry. In recognition of World Smile Day® on Oct. 1, 2010, five hundred smiling people from across the globe traveled to Orlando to set the Guinness World Record for the biggest smiley face.

The travelers forming the 50-feet smiley face hailed from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and Brazil and were flown in for the event by the Orlando Convention & Visitors Bureau. They were some of the storytellers behind the 20,000 smile stories collected by the Orlando CVB on the site, VisitOrlando.com/smile.

The world’s largest smiley face was nearly the size of a basketball court and participants dressed in yellow and black ponchos. They stood shoulder to shoulder for ten minutes atop the top parking deck of the new Amway Center mega arena, home to the NBA’s Orlando Magic. We assume everyone was smiling for the duration of the event.

“With our world-famous theme parks and more than 100 attractions, we thought we might just be the smile capital of the world.  Now, it’s official,” explained Gary Sain, president and CEO of the Orlando CVB.  “We have a world record and world travelers from the four corners of the globe told us that no other destination creates unique smile moments and memories like Orlando for families and friends to share for a lifetime.”

During the year-long World Smile Search campaign, the Orlando CVB also raised $19,825 for the charitable organization, Smile Train.  The donations will be used to provide more than 70 cleft lip or cleft palate surgeries for children so that they can smile.  Some of the children who have benefited from Smile Train’s work joined the smile ambassadors from all over the world at the record-breaking event.

We know what makes you smile so when planning your Orlando vacation, check out the affordable accommodations Resort Rentals Intl. has to offer.

Celebrities tweet, politicians do it and your neighbor probably does, too. Now, NASA has announced Robonaut 2 will tell its story in 140 characters or less via Twitter. The prototype robot is scheduled to travel to space in November to give NASA a better understanding of human-robotic interaction.

Nicknamed “R2″ the robot launched its Twitter account @AstroRobonaut on July 26 and at publication time, already has more than 1,100 followers. With assistance from its support team, R2 will document preparations for launch and work aboard the International Space Station.

Have a question for R2? The public’s first chance to interview the space robot is Aug. 4 at 10 a.m. Twitter followers just need to tweet their questions to @AstroRobonaut with the hashtag #4R2. So what does one ask a robot? Does it enjoy Tang?

R2 was created at Johnson Space Center and will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in September for final testing and packing and is scheduled to be aboard space shuttle Discovery’s STS-133 mission, scheduled to lift off in November.

Originally intended to be an Earth-bound prototype, Robonaut 2 was created as a joint project between NASA and General Motors in 2007. Once in space it will be the first humanoid robot to reach orbit and first American-built robot at the space station. Eventually, with modifications, robots could assist astronauts inside and outside the space station especially when tasks are deemed are too dangerous for humans.

Speaking of space shuttle launches, the end of the Space Shuttle program has been pushed back to early 2011. If you cannot attend a shuttle launch, a visit to the Kennedy Space Center is still worth the trip, especially if vacationing in Daytona Beach, just over an hour’s drive south and less than an hour’s drive east of Orlando.

See rockets, simulated International State Station living quarters, and experience a simulated space shuttle launch just like the astronauts in the Shuttle Launch Experience. Hear what astronauts have to say while paying tribute to them at the Astronaut Hall of Fame.

Yup, pretty cool. Visit the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex website to learn about all the other fab stuff happening and check out affordable lodging deals for Daytona Beach and Orlando.

Robonaut is just one of many NASA missions using Twitter and other social media sites. Find them all at: NASA.gov/connect.