Star sighting: Bucs linebacker Shaquil Barrett at Legoland Florida

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett recently became the first Buc to board the new Pirate River Quest boat ride at Legoland Florida.

The NFL player and his family took the 20-minute experience that travels via canal through the Cypress Gardens area of the Winter Haven theme park amid Lego-themed adventures and floating family activities.

“It’s chill, for sure. It’s a nice, relaxing ride. But it’s also participation. You get to enjoy it together as a family,” Barrett said. ”It’s kind of like a competition, too, so there’s a little bit of everything in that ride.”

He also noted a punny joke midstream that plays off the word “buccaneer.”

Pirate River Quest, a captain-guided journey that also has a stretch onto Lake Eloise, debuted in January.

Barrett, who played college football at Colorado State, has played on two Super Bowl champion teams, the Bucs of 2020 and the Denver Broncos in 2015. His 2022 season was abbreviated by an Achilles injury.

Barrett and family’s photo at the attraction is part of the Sentinel’s “Stars in the Theme Parks” photo gallery, recently revived starting with celebrity visits of 2023. The photographs can be viewed at OrlandoSentinel.com.

Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com. Subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters or the Theme Park Rangers podcast at orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/theme-park-rangers-podcast.

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