LEGOLAND® California Resort Announces Multi-Million Dollar Investment in 2012
Record Year Leads to Pirate Reef, STAR WARS™ Miniland Expansion and CLAWS!
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CARLSBAD, Calif. (Jan. 19, 2012) – Not only is the Force returning to LEGOLAND® California Resort this year, but a swashbuckling pirate adventure ride, Pirate Reef, awaits guests coming to the family theme park in Carlsbad announced General Manager Peter Ronchetti today at the annual press conference. Ronchetti reviewed LEGOLAND California’s 2011 business results and announced the addition of Pirate Reef, a new LEGO® Star Wars™ Gallery, expansion of LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland and Claws at SEA LIFE™ Carlsbad Aquarium.
“Last year we reported to have the most successful year in the history of LEGOLAND California Resort….today, I’m thrilled to be able to report that LEGOLAND California’s growth streak continues,” said Ronchetti. “The attendance in 2011 has topped 2010 making this our eighth year of continuous attendance growth with a double –digit increase over last year!”
Ronchetti attributed the growth to the continuous efforts to expand the Resort each year. “We are always giving our guests something new to experience. And when I say experience – I truly mean that in every definition of the word – unlike some theme parks where you watch things happen around you, we take pride in giving families an interactive personalized experience where each guest can say they are the ones to make things happen.”
“As LEGOLAND California Resort grows, so does our parent company, Merlin Entertainments Group, here in the states,” Ronchetti continued. Merlin Entertainments is the world’s second-largest and fastest-growing visitor attractions operator adding 14 new attractions in 2011 alone. North America remains one of Merlin’s most important development areas and in 2012,four new attractions are opening including a SEA LIFE Aquarium and LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Kansas City; a new LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Atlanta and a LEGOLAND Water Park in LEGOLAND Florida.
“We expect continued success in 2012 with a multi-million dollar investment going into LEGOLAND California Resort,” Ronchetti said as he went on to describe each of the new additions flanked by Stormtroopers one minute and battling pirates the next.
LEGOLAND® California is expanding its popular LEGO Star Wars™ Miniland to include new LEGO® models in each scene as well as a never-before-seen LEGO Star Wars Gallery. Guests can already enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO bricks and built in 1:20 scale. But on March 29, Star Wars and LEGO fans alike will be delighted to find even more detail in each episode. For example, in the Naboo area, guests will discover an “underwater” scene featuring an opee sea killer as it pursues Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn and Jar Jar Binks as they try to reach the city of Theed. Other new LEGO models include a Jawa sandcrawler in the Tatooine scene; Rebels caught in a net trap set by Ewoks on Endor; and a new crystal tower standing more than 6-feet-tall on Christophsis.
For the first time, guests will be further immersed into the Star Wars experience as they walk through the LEGO Star Wars Gallery encountering LEGO “friends”, similar to giant mini-figures, from each episode. Each LEGO model will be 3-feet-tall and displayed on a podium for guests to get an up-close look. The 12 characters feature: Wicket, Princess Leia, R2D2, Clone Captain Rex, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Anakin, Boba Fett, Chewbacca, Yoda and Darth Maul. In fact, two new Darth Maul LEGO models will be introduced honoring the release of Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace in 3-D on February 10, 2012. One of the Darth Maul models will stand in the LEGO Star Wars Gallery while the other LEGO model will be life-sized, posed in a combat position grasping his double-bladed light-saber in one hand and reaching forward with the other.
The new models for Star Wars Miniland are being developed and built by LEGOLAND Model Builders all over the world but it will be up to the Master Model Builders at LEGOLAND California to bring the scenes to life with the help of animation, electricians, technicians and landscapers.
On May 24, LEGOLAND California is investing millions of dollars into Pirate Reef. The new attraction invites guests to battle each other on the high seas as they blast water cannons, try to avoid getting drenched on the main bridge and plunge 25-feet down a chute that splashes through the battle between Captain Red Brick and Captain Blue Brick. The splash bridge, water cannons and brick building play area are the three main interactive components of this new attraction which will be the first to be accessible not only through Pirate Shores within LEGOLAND California, but also via LEGOLAND Water Park, the worlds’ first LEGO–themed water park which opened in 2010.
“The biggest thing they are going to be excited about is getting to stand on board a large life-size LEGO pirate ship and they’re going to get really wet,” exclaimed Project Designer Lindsay Burroughs when speaking about what guests can expect of Pirate Reef. “Each ship is about forty-feet long and more than twenty-feet high,” she continued. Burroughs also explained that LEGOLAND surveyed thousands of guests to find out what they’d like to see as the next attraction. “Through research, it was determined that with Pirate Shores, our current pirate-themed area, being so strongly liked and our new LEGOLAND Water Park being so popular, we wanted to do something more with Pirates and make it a big ride with a big splash!”
This spring, crustaceans will scuttle to SEA LIFE Carlsbad Aquarium at the LEGOLAND® California Resort with the opening of its newest interactive exhibit, “Claws”. The five new displays include Japanese spider crabs, which can grow to 13-feet across, and coconut crabs, named for their ability to crack open coconuts with the power of their claws.
For the first time, SEA LIFE Carlsbad Aquarium allows guests to see the extraordinary weapons and defenses of these fascinating clawed creatures. Along with the gigantic Japanese spider crabs and coconut crabs, the exhibit features land crabs, lobsters and nephrops, commonly referred to as “prawns”. Claws also includes an interactive floor projection that reacts when kids move over it; a touch display allowing guests to feel the shell textures of different crabs; plus a new daily educational presentation and feed.
Media and VIP guests attending today’s press conference walked by fences at the entrance of the Resort where the nation’s first LEGOLAND Hotel is currently under construction. Guests entering the Resort can now see images of what the guest rooms will look like when the unique hotel opens in 2013.
All of the new guest experiences are included in the cost of admission to LEGOLAND California Resort properties. For ticket prices, operating schedule and additional information, visit www.LEGOLAND.com or www.sealifeus.com or call 760-918-LEGO.
STAR WARS™ and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.
LEGOLAND® California Resort includes LEGOLAND California and SEA LIFE™ Carlsbad Aquarium, both geared for families with children between the ages of 2 and 12. At LEGOLAND California, you’ll find more than 60 rides, shows and attractions including the 5.5 acre LEGOLAND Water Park, the all-new Star Wars™ Miniland and Pirate Reef opening May 2012. SEA LIFE incorporates LEGO® models into a child’s voyage to the depths of the ocean and features play zones, fun facts and quiz trails and Claws coming this spring . For more information, log on to www.LEGOLAND.com or call (760) 918-LEGO.
MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS is the leading name in location-based, family entertainment, and has seen the most successful and dynamic growth of any company in the sector over the last five years. Europe’s Number 1 and the world’s second-largest visitor attraction operator, Merlin now operates nearly 80 attractions, six hotels/two holiday villages in 17 countries and across four continents. The company aims to deliver memorable and rewarding experiences to its 44 million visitors worldwide, through its iconic global and local brands, and the commitment and passion of its managers and more than 17,000 employees. Merlin Entertainments operates the following attractions - SEA LIFE, Madame Tussauds, LEGOLAND, The EDF Energy London Eye, Dungeons, Gardaland, LEGOLAND Discovery Centres, Alton Towers Resort, Warwick Castle, THORPE PARK, Chessington World of Adventures Resort, Blackpool Tower, Heide Park, Earth Explorer, Sydney Aquarium, WILD LIFE Sydney, Sydney Tower Eye and SKYWALK, Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter Underwater World, Oceanworld Manly WILD LIFE Hamilton Island. All brands which are distinctive, challenging and innovative – and which have great potential for growth in the future. Visit www.merlinentertainments.biz for more information. Merlin currently has twelve attractions in the USA including the stunning LEGOLAND Florida theme park which opened in October this year; LEGOLAND California theme park with its exciting Water Park, and SEA LIFE aquarium (a hotel will also open in 2013); Madame Tussauds attractions in New York, Washington DC, Las Vegas and Hollywood; LEGOLAND Discovery Centers in Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth; and SEA LIFE aquariums in Phoenix, Arizona; Dallas/Fort Worth; the Mall of America in Minneapolis, underlining the company’s position as the world’s biggest global aquarium operator. Three more Merlin attractions are also already scheduled to open in the USA in 2012 - a SEA LIFE and LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Kansas City; and LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Atlanta, Georgia.