These days, LEGO has come so very far from being just a toy company producing children’s building-brick sets. They’ve got licenses to adapt from almost every intellectual property imaginable. Their own properties are now multimedia in reach and scale. They even have their own theme parks, the world-famous LEGOLAND chain.
Much like another theme park chain with a major brand name attached to it, LEGOLAND parks have a particular structure oft-used as a centerpiece image, that being a castle. It seems rather overdue for LEGO to make a set depicting one of their structures, but here it is at last.
The LEGOLAND Castle (40306) set is a mostly-gray model building with colorful accents like flag-topped pennants, surrounding greenery and even a dragon head popping out of one wall. The design appears to be mostly based on the LEGOLAND Castle Hotel at the LEGOLAND in Windsor, Berkshire in England, UK.
From the information gleaned by Brickset, the LEGOLAND Castle (40306) set will have 220 pieces and recommended for age 8 and up. Considering the building it’s depicting, the only place where set 40306 can be found would be as an exclusive offering of LEGO shops in the LEGOLAND theme parks.
That’s too bad for LEGO buyers who aren’t within easy travel of the parks or those who rely on Shop@Home instead. Still, there’s a chance that some LEGO brand stores in other theme parks might end up carrying LEGOLAND Hotel (40306) too. Its retail price is likely $9.99 as usual.