WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (AP) -- Legoland Florida plans to lay off 234 workers, primarily performers, in an effort to be more competitive in central Florida's thriving theme park market, company officials said.

The theme park resort in Winter Haven, Florida, said in a notice to the state of Florida last Friday that the permanent layoffs would start at the end of March and last through the beginning of April.

Three quarters of the workers cited for layoffs were performers, and another fifth also was involved in the entertainment side of the theme park, according to the notice.

The theme park resort, whose workers are nonunion, has about 1,500 employees.

The theme park resort is owned by Merlin Entertainment. A Merlin spokeswoman didn't respond to an email inquiry on Wednesday. Julia Estrada, the company's public relations director for North America, said in a statement to other media outlets that the change would allow it to operate more flexibly in a competitive market.

"We will continue to have a core in-house entertainment offering, which we will scale up to meet our brand and guest experiences during the year," Estrada said.

Besides the Lego-themed park, the resort has a Peppa Pig-themed park, a water park and a soon-to-open aquarium.

Winter Haven is located between Tampa, home to Bush Gardens Tampa Bay, and Orlando, home to Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld Orlando.