New Legoland opening in Winter Haven, FL

[LegGodt]

ROAD TRIP!
Legoland

[Cale]

I am so going to the opening of this Park.

Cale

[Uniblab]

Can you say "Pick-a Brick"?

When I made my pilgrimage to LEGOLand in Califlornia they had a whole store for Pick-a-Brick. (That's where I got my giant zip-lock bag of grass/flower stalks.)

I filled an entire suitcase with stuff. However, it is expensive there. Its by the pound, not volume. Too bad it won't be open by BrickMagic (this year). Relatively speaking, it wouldn't be that much further to drive to Florida afterwards...

But (half) seriously... Maybe we could persuade LEGO to "invite" PennLUG to participate in the Grand Opening week with a large layout. At least a few of us could probably make it.

We'll have well over a year to set it up. We could quietly ask among the LEGO contacts we know, not just Steve W., to see who would be in charge of their Grand Opening Hoopla. Once we find out we could submit a proposal with diagrams, pictures and graphs to justify why they "need us" to be there... Perhaps it could even result in some sort of semi-permanent display, provided it would be protected from gropers. (At LEGOLand, CA there looked to be some fan-built MOCs on special display, inside plexiglas cases, in one of the cafes.) What a great way to get PennLUG on the path toward Global Domination!


ALL YOUR BRICK ARE BELONG TO US!



-Mike Tighe

[Kreativ Snail]

I think many of PennLUG is gonna go to the grand opening. Count me in.

[vyronwynter]

q

[P_Thorne]

Merlin Entertainments, the company that runs the LEGOLAND parks, is soon to open several of these LEGOLAND Imagination Centers. A teensy bit closer than Florida is the one at Xanadu (or more info), located in northern New Jersey. The Meadowlands Xanadu project, across the river from Manhattan, is a retail/entertainment complex with a Ferris wheel (like London or most every city in Japan), something like the Mall of America, Downtown Disney in Orlando (which has its own LEGO store with outdoor sculptures), or the abortive DisneyQuest project attempted in Philadelphia.

I don't know to what degree TLG is actually involved in the management of the LLICs; they may just provide the sculptures and merchandise. It might be that we'd need to negotiate with Merlin Entertainments.

[Cale]

Here's a press release.

World's biggest LEGOLAND park opens in Florida in 2011
By Pernille Stanbury, Corporate Communications - 21/01/2010


Fifth LEGOLAND park will be set up in an existing but discontinued theme park, and can open its doors in less than two years.

Merlin Entertainments, owners of the four present LEGOLAND parks, has acquired the Cypress Gardens theme park in Florida, USA. The park is situated in the town of Winter Haven, and will be the site of the fifth LEGOLAND park.

Cypress Gardens opened in 1936, and after faltering in recent years it finally closed its doors in September 2009. Until then had been one of the biggest attractions in Florida, known for its amusements, waterpark and botanical gardens and welcoming more than a million visitors a year. As the new LEGOLAND park will be established on an already existing theme park site, it will be able to open to the public at the end of 2011. In recent years more than USD 100m has been invested in infrastructure at Cypress Gardens.

Likely to include visitor accomodation
Merlin plans a significant multi-million dollar investment in the park, which will be the biggest LEGOLAND in the world. In a press release, Merlin Entertainments writes that in line with the company's resort strategy for its theme parks, the new location is likely to include both visitor accommodation and further branded attractions from the Merlin portfolio.

"We are extremely happy that the future of Cypress Gardens is secure. LEGOLAND is one of the most exciting names in family attractions and a welcome new addition to Florida," says Florida Governor Charlie Crist.

His sentiments were echoed by Bob English, Chairman of the Commissioners of Polk County, the administrative area in which the new LEGOLAND site is located:

"We are looking forward to working closely with Merlin. Their record speaks for itself. All of us at both local and state level really welcome their exciting plans for the site, the jobs this project will create and their commitment to the County in the long‑term. "

More than 1,000 new jobs in Florida
The park is expected to create more than 1,000 new jobs when it opens and will boost the Florida economy through the use of local contractors for transforming Cypress Gardens into a LEGOLAND park.

The Florida park will be Merlin's 13th tourist attraction in the US."It is a unique opportunity for us. Florida is the biggest family tourist centre in the world. We have been looking for the right site there for some time and in Winter Haven we plan to create one of the best and certainly most beautiful theme parks in the world. LEGOLAND California has already proven how much US families love the unique LEGOLAND concept. Now we are bringing that fun and experience to a much wider audience the millions of US and international visitors who come to Florida every year," says Nick Varney, Merlin Entertainments Group CEO.

London theme in LEGOLAND Windsor's Miniland.


A Florida flavour
The park design will mirror the concept of the four existing LEGOLAND Parks. However, as with the other four, it will also have its own unique "twist" reflecting its location and adding a Florida flavour.


Cale

[Brickadier General]

I really look forward to this. You know, the last time I heard anything about another Legoland opening up in the states, they were talking about putting it in Kansas. Glad to see that they picked a more suitable location. Now build one in PA, please. hehe

[Kreativ Snail]

i doubt PA would ever be a choice... the season of good weather is too short.

[Cale]

And the three parks in Europe are any better?

Cale

i doubt PA would ever be a choice... the season of good weather is too short.