The LEGOLAND theme parks have weathered the global epidemic that started in 2020 with some poise and dignity. They closed when mandated and resumed operating whenever circumstances and regulations allowed. For LEGOLAND New York, originally set to open in June last year, the pandemic dealt a heavier blow. Not until this May until July that the theme park in Goshen, NY could finally welcome its LEGO-loving guests. And they’re certainly making up for lost time. LEGOLAND New York has been busy promoting itself over the past few weeks. Their latest impromptu attraction is a life-sized fusion of a New York symbol with a LEGOLAND icon.
As detailed in the LEGO Group’s official Twitter page, professional builders have assembled a 1:1 scale brick-built photo-op spot. For the most part it looks like a LEGO New York City yellow cab. Then you notice the LEGOLAND Dragon head on the hood and tail on the trunk. The whole thing was built out of 95,410 LEGO bricks. A professional building team took 370 hours to assemble it. It was recently unveiled on the streets of NYC as an ad for the theme park. By now it’s back in LEGOLAND New York as a new park attraction piece.
It’s easy enough to pose for photos or videos in this LEGOLAND NY Yellow Cab/Dragon brick sculpture. The right side of the “vehicle” is actually wide open, allowing easy access for tourists to sit and pose. This is sure to become a prime photo-op spot at the theme park, which most recently opened its Hotel last August 6. If conditions are cool then a day trip to LEGOLAND New York can cost a minimum $67.99 via online booking. It’s better than the $89.99 price if buying a ticket on the day itself.
For LEGO fans, the various LEGOLAND Resort theme parks are already places where everything is great. But in LEGOLAND Florida in particular, it’ll soon be getting an expansion section where, like the movies it is based on, “Everything is Awesome.”
Just to remind everyone, the LEGO Movie World area in LEGOLAND Florida is opening next month on March 27, as revealed by their sneak peek announcement last January. Fans will get to explore and have fun on this park section, based on the “LEGO Movie” city of Bricksburg, where they can go on new rides and eat at new restaurants.
While the expansion is only for the Florida resort, all LEGOLAND theme parks are expecting to be making awesome business at this part of the year. As Merlin Entertainments puts it, they certainly have “The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part” helping to drive ticket sales for all their resorts.
For instance, while LEGOLAND Windsor in the UK has no LEGO Movie World yet, they’ve still got a grand event planned that ties in to the “LEGO Movie” sequel that premiered early this February. LEGO Movie Days will run for two-day periods over three weeks of March in LEGOLAND Windsor.
Back to LEGOLAND Florida, aside from the aforementioned LEGO Movie World itself, the Resort Hotel will also have several of its rooms re-themed after the films, with decorated walls and amenities like a Unikitty shower.
All in all, Merlin Entertainments looks to report strong profits of £271 million (before taxation) when the theme park company makes its latest full-year financial report this Thursday, February 28. And part of it is thanks to the ticket sale boost from “LEGO Movie 2.”
LEGOLAND Florida Resort is adding another attraction that will make everything in the theme park more awesome. It will be dedicating a significant portion of the park to what is call as The LEGO Movie World, featuring new attractions based on the first LEGO Movie and its sequel, the LEGO Movie 2. Furthermore, the wait will not be that long since Merlin Entertainment Group has announced a March 27 opening just roughly two months from now.
Read on for the official press release of the opening of the LEGO Movie World, followed by a video announcement from Merlin Entertainment courtesy of BricksFanz.
The LEGO Movie 2 is set to open in theaters next week, February 8, 2019. Just be sure not to get caught with the LSS-inducing effects of its Catchy Song.
WINTER HAVEN, Fla, Jan. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Opening March 27, LEGOLAND Florida Resort is taking guests from the theater to the theme park with the launch of THE LEGO MOVIE WORLD. Created in partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, this impressive expansion features three new rides and numerous attractions, all inspired by the characters and themes of the worldwide blockbuster THE LEGO MOVIE™ and the exciting new big-screen animated adventure sequel THE LEGO MOVIE™ 2: The Second Part.
The creative masterminds from Merlin Magic Making, the global creative and delivery division of parent company Merlin Entertainments Group, re-created Bricksburg with its lovable characters, creative eating spaces and authentic city scape where guests can experience Emmet’s Super Suite.
“THE LEGO MOVIE WORLD is our largest addition to date and will provide guests around the world with the ultimate movie-to-theme park experience,” said Keith Carr, project director of Merlin Magic Making. “The park just screams fun everywhere you look; kids and families alike can interact with various characters, enjoy ride technology that’s the first of its kind and dine on tasty tacos at Taco Tuesday Everyday. Not to mention, we have a spaceship playground!”
While the Park’s theming and immersion of THE LEGO MOVIE universe will captivate guests of all ages, the three brand-new rides stay true to LEGOLAND Florida’s kid-friendly experience.
“The rides truly capture the whimsical fun and quirky nature of the popular LEGO movies,” said Rex Jackson, general manager of LEGOLAND Florida. “The Masters of Flight ride will be iconic to our park, Unikitty’s ride sings and spins with her ever-changing emotions and the Battle of Bricksburg is themed around huge LEGO DUPLO® aliens. With great partners in Warner Bros. we’ve developed a park that will bring a lot of smiles to children and their families. We’re thrilled to be the only location for fans to experience THE LEGO MOVIE WORLD.”
THE LEGO MOVIE Masters of Flight takes guests on a suspended ride aboard Emmet’s Triple Decker Couch surrounded by a full-dome virtual screen, giving the sensational feeling of flying through a world created completely from LEGO® bricks. The attraction is the first in the world at a major theme park that embeds a 180-degree turn in the ride experience. The ride animation will feature a humorous and magical adventure as guests soar through Cloud Cuckoo Land, dive to Middle Zealand and splash down on the waters of Pirate’s Cove.
Unikitty’s Disco Drop takes guests through a rainbow-filled journey based on Unikitty and her many moods. Once on the ride, guests will swoop to the tiptop of Cloud Cuckoo Land, then drop, spin and bounce back down to earth, creating a thrilling and frenzied experience.
At Battle of Bricksburg, the only water ride in THE LEGO MOVIE WORLD, riders are challenged to stop DUPLO aliens from invading and stealing LEGO bricks by spraying water at targets from their boats. The riders aren’t the only ones who can enjoy playing in the water, outside of the ride will be water cannons for guests to spray and help the riders save the day.
THE LEGO MOVIE WORLD will also feature Taco Tuesday Everyday eatery, The Awesome Shop, filled with take-home collectables and a space-themed playground structure inspired by Benny’s spaceship which will include special photo opportunities and character interactions.
To continue the fun, guests can enjoy the ultimate vacation (or slumber party) just steps away at LEGOLAND® Hotel in the new THE LEGO MOVIE themed rooms. Designed with familiar scenery and beloved characters from the movie, no detail is left untouched. Adults can relax in their own room inspired by Emmet’s apartment, while kids dream of spaceship adventures in a separate children’s room themed after Benny’s Spaceship.
No matter where you stay or how you choose to spend your adventure, awesome awaits at THE LEGO MOVIE WORLD!
Some good things never last, and sometimes the end comes all of a sudden. For the majority of LEGO fans who are looking forward to next year’s LEGOLAND LEGO Star Wars Days, then it might be prudent to consider that there is none to expect any more from Merlin Entertainment (owner of the LEGO Star Wars Days hosting locations). A report from LEGO and Star Wars insider Rebelscum mentions the sad news that the much-anticipated celebrations will no longer take place in all LEGOLAND locations, with the very last of these events held last month at the LEGOLAND Discovery Center Westchester, NY.
Rebelscum states that they’ve received official word from Lucasfilm that says, “2018 would be the last year they do them”, referring to the highly attended LEGO Star Wars fan event. Word on the streets has it that Lucasfilm and Disney are now focused on preparing to reset the longstanding franchise, with expenditures being rechanneled so as to minimize and limit Star Wars exposure. It seems to be part of a master plan to somehow help the Star Wars faithful move on from the Star Wars that we used to know, towards new and unchartered territories that will somehow reboot the decades-old franchise.
WINTER HAVEN, FL — April 5, 2018 — Captain Phasma and Darth Vader preview for LEGO Star Wars Miniland display. (PHOTO / LOCK + LAND, Edward Linsmier for LEGOLAND Florida Resort)
It is also possible that Disney is now consolidating all of its Star Wars related properties and theme parks in order to bring them under one roof. Only time can tell if this will be the path that Disney and Lucasfilm have chosen. But what is sure right now is that fans of the LEGOLAND LEGO Star Wars Days is better off not to look forward to another event like this, that yielded so many attractions such as a large-scale LEGO Millennium Falcon made out of 250,000 bricks, and several hard-to-find minifigure promos.
In the shadow of a certain mega-complex of theme parks in Anaheim, California there’s a smaller but no less popular destination in Carlsbad, for families who are fans of one of the world’s biggest toy brands, operating for almost two decades. Come 2019, LEGOLAND California Resort will be turning 20.
So while the bigger theme park complexes are celebrating the birth of the world’s most famous animated mouse (something LEGO also has a hand in), LEGOLAND California Resort for its part is gearing for a most enjoyable promo next year to celebrate their opening back in 1999. What they have in mind will blow guests’ minds.
Considering the topic is “birthdays”, on 2019 LEGOLAND California will allow free admission to children age 3-12 if they visit the theme park on their birthdays. To quote LCR general manager Peter Ronchetti, “2019 is our 20th birthday and we’re proud to announce that all year in 2019, children of 12 and under will come in free on their birthday.”
This promo is effective in LEGOLAND California Resort from January 1 to December 31, 2019. Parents can avail this for their birthday celebrant children by presenting a document to prove birthdate (original birth certificate, passport or government ID). The free admission tickets are for Sea Life aquarium, LEGOLAND + Sea Life Aquarium, and LEGOLAND + Sea Life + Water Park.
Of course, in the event that a child’s birthday falls on a day when LEGOLAND is closed, there are two options available: the celebrant can go to Sea Life Aquarium for free instead, or they can come back on the closest date to the birthday when LEGOLAND California Resort is operating.
These free admission tickets for children under 12 are non-transferable, though the terms and conditions may change without notice throughout the year. As for children age 2 and under, they’ve always been admitted free to LEGOLAND, and that won’t change.
Much in the mold of other multi-location theme park chains like Disney, the LEGOLAND Resorts from LEGO and Merlin Entertainments have their own theme areas that are common across their park locations. There’s the Miniland scale-sized famous building area, the Heartlake City zone for LEGO Friends and the classic Knights Kingdom theme for LEGO Castle. Still, individual LEGOLAND Parks can work on their own unique expansion areas which, if good enough, might be replicated with the others. So LEGOLAND Florida has made a big announcement about its new LEGO Movie World based on LEGO’s big-screen blockbuster LEGO Movie film series.
The LEGOLAND theme park in Winter Haven expects their new area, named the LEGO Movie World, to be open next year in the spring. The zone, will comprise characters, settings and elements from not only the first LEGO Movie in 2014 but also the sequel, which may premier roughly the same time as the opening.
At least three distinct rides have been announced for LEGO Movie World. The “LEGO MOVIE Masters of Flight” will have passengers take a high-flying ride on Emmet’s triple-decker couch (coaster), famous for having a 180-degree turn (the first in a major US park, they say).
Next is “Unikitty’s Disco Drop” which will have riders being bounced up and down and spun around with a dizzying view of Cloud Cuckooland. Finally, the “Battle of Bricksburg” attraction draws on The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part by having participants engage in a water-gun fight with Duplo invaders.
Among other extra features are new LEGO Movie room theme options at the LEGOLAND Hotel, plus a Taco Tuesday Eatery and Awesome (gift) Shop. LEGOLAND Florida GM Rex Jackson is pleased to have LEGO Movie World as an exclusive themed area for their park. (though hopefully other LEGOLANDs may follow)
The LEGO Movie 2 premieres February 8, with LEGO Movie World in Florida following soon.
It’s October and the various LEGOLAND Resort theme parks and Discovery Centers around the world are now kicking off their various Halloween-themed celebrations as the month rolls by towards the day itself. Most of these party periods go by Brick or Treat, but even when the name isn’t used, there are plenty of spooky attractions to be had in LEGOLAND.
For instance, LEGOLAND Dubai Resort in the UAE doesn’t have a Brick or Treat label for its Halloween seasonal attractions, but nobody should care once the park is properly dressed up for trick or treating and more starting next week.
The centerpiece of LEGOLAND Dubai’s Halloween “spooktacular” fun attractions is the Cobweb Castle, where the park’s child guests can dress up as skeletons or witches and whatnot (in LEGO style too) and explore the indoor haunted castle with a giant LEGO Frankenstein at the head of a host of other scary monsters.
Other attractions include a LEGO pumpkin patch filled with brick-built Jack-o-Lanterns watched over by Ernie the Scarecrow. Cobweb Castle also has a stage where Halloween costume contests and dance-offs are held. Finally, actual trick-or-treating activities in LEGOLAND Dubai are made all the sweeter by the free Goldbear candies courtesy of LEGO’s Halloween confectionery partner Haribo.
Finally, LEGOLAND Dubai is offering a special LEGO brick during their Halloween events, a commemorative piece illustrated with the occasion on its side. Most LEGOLAND parks in the US and Europe no longer give commemorative bricks, but here’s one to be found in Dubai for the duration of Halloween festivities
LEGOLAND Dubai’s Halloween attractions are on from October 16 to the 31st, All Hallows’ Eve itself. Tourists who might be headed to the UAE at the time with children in tow can try booking ahead for a fun time in LEGOLAND Dubai on their website.
LEGOLAND Windsor Resort has been quite busy in recent weeks. Last month they opened their first “Total Sensory Space” for the benefit of their guests with special sensory needs. And of course, they’re gearing up for the start of the annual Brick or Treat festival this coming October. That’s all a lot of exhausting work. Perhaps it’s so much work, in fact, that LEGOLAND Windsor, or rather its parent company Merlin Entertainments, is looking to hire any LEGO builder in the UK with good enough skill and confidence in said skill to work as a LEGO Model Maker for the park.
It’s said that all brick-built models in LEGOLAND Windsor, when taken apart, will amount to more than 90 million individual LEGO pieces. That pretty much tells you what mount of work a newly minted LEGO Model Maker can expect when he takes up this job at LEGOLAND.
What’s more, the new modeler’s first major undertaking with LEGOLAND Windsor is the building of “spooky new models” to decorate the Brick or Treat “Haunted House Monster Party” attraction. They can expect to be putting together “creatures crawling in search of blood to terrorize your neighborhood” once they get hired.
And it will be a quick hiring to be sure. Applications sent to Merlin Entertainments for the new LEGO Model Maker at LEGOLAND Windsor will only be until September 28, at 11:59 PM. Whoever gets hired can enjoy a competitive salary, an employee’s 40% discount on LEGO products, 28 days of holiday and 20 free tickets to all Merlin Entertainments park attractions.
It’s no secret that The LEGO Group has been investing quite a lot lately in Asia: from opening the world’s largest LEGO Flagship Store in the heart of Shanghai, to their exciting partnership with online gaming platform Tencent Games, LEGO is now expanding its horizons in the Chinese region by planning out the details of its second LEGOLAND China theme park in the next four years.
LEGOLAND Florida’s The Great LEGO Race.
Soon to be located in Sanya in the Island of Hainan, this second LEGOLAND China theme park will be the 5th LEGOLAND located in Asia after those from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Shanghai, China. Construction for LEGOLAND Hainan will begin in 2020 and once finished, will offer a one-of-a-kind LEGO experience for the entire family. LEGOLAND Hainan is also expected to take advantage of the booming tourism in the region considering that the island takes pride for its beautiful beach front and scenery. Here’s a rough Google translation of the official press release originally published in Chinese.
“On the afternoon of September 6, Hainan Provincial Governor Shen Xiaoming, Sanya Municipal Party Committee Secretary Yan Chaojun, Sanya Mayor A Dong, Chinese Media Group Chairman and CEO Li Ruigang, Vice President Xie Li, and Merlin Group Asia Project General Manager Ray Dubowa, in the Beijing Hotel on the cooperation and landing of the “LEGOLAND” project in Sanya, launched a tripartite dialogue and exchange.
According to the agreement, Chinese Culture and the Merlin Group will jointly develop a large outdoor family entertainment theme park, LEGOLAND, in Sanya. The two sides will combine the theme elements of LEGO bricks and the tropical atmosphere of Sanya to create a world-class integrated tourist resort featuring water parks. For families of children ageds 2-12, the park offers a variety of fun entertainment experiences and interactive puzzle activities that allow each child to create their own world in play. Among them, the mini-city built by thousands of LEGO bricks not only reflects the Chinese elements and Sanya scenery, but also is a wonderful stage to stimulate children’s imagination and wisdom. LEGOLAND Sanya Resort has an immersive parent-child interaction experience to create a family holiday destination based in China and radiating Southeast Asia.”
The LEGOLAND Water Park in LEGOLAND Malaysia.
The Chinese Cultural Group and Merlin Entertainments Group are two of the world’s largest theme park and family entertainment development companies. Merlin Entertainments is second only to Disney as a live entertainment company, and is responsible for the establishment of other LEGOLAND theme parks and LEGOLAND Discovery Centers in various parts of the globe.
Image credit for the featured image above: The Forbidden City and Great Wall of China as seen in LEGOLAND Malaysia
Last week, the US LEGOLAND theme park resorts and Discovery Centers began announcing their respective schedules for Brick or Treat, their annual afternoon-evening Halloween events extravaganza for October and November (with some starting late September too). Now, other LEGOLAND locations are reporting their schedules, such as Windsor in the UK.
Every LEGOLAND park has several activities and shows in common during Brick or Treat, and it’s the unique ones to every location that makes each celebration stand out. For LEGOLAND Windsor, one of them is the refurbishing of one of their oldest ride attractions, Hill Train, into the Haunted Hill Train that will take its passengers through the Enchanted Forest.
The Forest itself will serve as a venue for more Halloween-themed fun, with booths for building LEGO pumpkins, brick mosaics and good old coloring activities for the young ones. There’s also a Brick or Treat Trail mystery-style treasure hunt that sends its participants around the park searching for missing potion ingredients and a chance to win a special Halloween prize.
But if that’s too much walking for you, then why not hang out at Frankie’s Monster Disco? It’s only for the Brick or Treat period at the Miniland area, where guests can boogeyman-boogie with their hosts Frankie, Orange Brick and Lord Vampyre. Halloween costume contests will be going on too.
For LEGOLAND Windsor guests staying at the Hotel, they’ll have their own unique experience with Ollie’s Campfire Stories. Lots of food and drinks get Halloween makeovers as well. Now’s no better time to go to LEGOLAND Windsor Resort and get your pants scared off in a totally fun way. Check out their official website for more details and ticket booking.
