| Legoland California | |
|---|---|
| Location | Carlsbad, California, United States |
| Website | Legoland, California |
| Owner | Merlin Entertainments |
| Opened | March 20, 1999 |
| Operating season | Year-round |
| Rides | 21 total
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Legoland California is a theme park located in Carlsbad, California, focused on Lego bricks. It opened on March 20, 1999. It is the third Legoland park to open, and the first Legoland outside of Europe. The park is split into nine major sections which are: The Beginning, Dino Island, Duplo, Village Green, Fun Town, Castle Hill, Miniland USA, Pirate Shores, Imagination Zone, and Land of Adventure. The theme park features a water park and is the only Legoland to feature a water park. The water park was built during 2009 and opened in 2010.
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The park opened on March 20, 1999. The Legoland parks were put up for sale in 2004, then a controlling interest sold in 2005.[1] The new controlling company is Merlin Entertainments, a brand of the Blackstone Group of New York, an investment and advisory firm. The company is the operator of the Sea Life Centres. On Aug. 11, 2008, the Sea Life aquarium opened on the grounds of Legoland California, the first in North America.[2]
In Dino Island, a mini steel roller coaster called the "Coastersaurus" curves and dips around giant models of Lego dinosaurs. Visitors can dig for imitation dinosaur bones in the "Dig Those Dinos" attraction.
Duplo includes the "Water Works" attraction, which has dozens of interactive water activities and is directly beside "Musical Fountain" where visitors hop up and down to make music play and water blow. A water ride called "Fairy Tale Brook" lets visitors ride a boat down a river lined with Lego models based on fairy tales. Playtown is a play area complete with Lego buildings, slides, and activities. There is a playground, pizza parlor, and a ride called "Safari Trek" which allows the rider to see many life sized Lego models of animals. There are two attractions on the top of a hill. First is the "Kid Power Towers", in which a pair of people pull themselves to the top of a rotating tower to enjoy the slow ride down. Guests can go up and down as many or as few times as per their whim before the ride ends. When visitors board another attraction- the "Sky Cruiser"- two people pedal in tandem around a track to see a large portion of the park. If riders cease pedaling, the vehicle slows down to a crawl.
Fun Town features two "driving schools" where children can learn to drive electric Lego cars on a closed course. There are two courses; one is a simple circuit - 3 to 5 year olds can enjoy there. The other one can allow from 6 to 13 year old children, features working traffic lights. Visitors can also take a tour of a Lego factory to learn how Lego bricks are made. At the "Fire Academy", families battle other families in a race down a street to douse a small "fire" and drive back in the fire truck- all using hand pumps. Guests who board "Flight Squadron" are raised into the air by Lego airplanes and those who visit "Sky Patrol" will experience the same feeling as "Flight Squadron" with the exception of being in a Lego helicopter, as they are moved up and down to see the extensive view of Legoland. It is also the location of Legoland Water Park which opened on May 28, 2010.
Castle Hill is a medieval castle-themed area. Its main attraction is the "Dragon", a roller coaster that slowly tours a castle, until a lego wizard casts a spell to open the doors to the outside, at which point the coaster speeds up and the ride functions as a regular coaster. Another ride is the "Knights' Tournament", in which guests ride around on a very large robotic arm, selecting levels from one to five - one and two do not go upside down, and five rarely has guests right side-up. The "Hideaways" is designed for younger children, and is a large multi-level wooden play structure with slides, rope ladders, and bridges. Small horses at the "Royal Joust" take guests ages 4–12 through a mock medieval joust. Recently added was a miniature golf course that replaced the popular "rock band" or "singing rock garden". The rock's original recording can still be heard on holes 12-18 on the course. Llamas are featured on the hill.
Miniland USA includes miniature dioramas of seven areas of the United States, altogether built with over 40 million LEGO bricks in 1:20 scale and took 3 years to finish. The major cities are viewable from various areas in the park. From the Coast Cruise ride, one can see some mini models otherwise hidden from view, such as the Taj Mahal and Eiffel Tower. Miniland is also home to the Model Shop, the main design and build office for LEGOLAND California's two Master Model Builders. A large viewing window at the front allows guests to watch the builders at work, usually on new models for the park.
The Empire State Building is also a model in miniland.
Cities replicated in Miniland:
Other areas of the United States replicated in Miniland:
In the Imagination Zone, visitors can ride a Wild Mouse-style roller coaster called the "Technic Coaster-Test Track"(formally Project X), choose from three different "4-D" movies called "Bob the Builder", "Spellbreaker", and "Clutch Powers" (a racing movie). Kids can also race Lego cars that they build themselves in Build 'n Test, play the "Maniac Challenge" in which guests play LEGO PC games, and program robots in "Mindstorms". Guests can also ride on "Bionicle Blaster", which is a version of the teacup ride, or the "Aquazone Wave Racers", the first ever duel water carousel. In that you get use a steering wheel to control a rudder that makes you either come in closer to the center or fly out through the waves, all the while being squirted with water by the bystanders.
Pirate Shores has 6 rides and attractions. "Splash Battle" is a ride where guests enter their very own pirate ships to do battle with other guests on the ride and on land also while trying to avoid on-ride blasts of water. "Soak 'N Sail" is an interactive two-story water playground. Children and adults play with water pouring down all around them, for example, there are two buckets filled with 500 gallons of water that pour water on unsuspecting people. "Treasure Falls"; the mini-log flume, is a great training ride for little riders that aren't quite ready for the bigger log rides at other parks. "Swabbie's Deck" is the little kids water area, for little kids from infant all the way up to 7 or 8 to get their feet wet, before attempting Soak and Sail. "Captain Cranky's Challenge" is the newest ride for Pirate Shores that opened on May 24, 2007. Pirate Shores also has a "Skipper School" where parents and kids can pilot Lego boats.
Expanded seating and locker facilities for Pirate Shores were added on Summer 2007.
This is the newest section of the theme park (opened in May 2008), which is designed to replicate the 1920s in Egypt. "Pharaoh's Revenge" involves guests firing foam balls at targets and at each other. On "Beetle Bounce" guests bounce nearly 15 feet (4.6 m) to nearly touch the enormous beetles above. "Cargo Ace", lets guests board one of eight planes to fly six feet into the air. "Lost Kingdom Adventure" is Legoland California's most recent attraction. Guests board and ride a roadster to recover stolen treasure by blasting targets with laser guns along their journey. Another recently opened attraction is "Dune Raiders", which is a slide.
This is a water park area in Legoland California. Construction began in September 2009. It opened on May 28, 2010. It is located next to the buildings in Fun Town. It is the only Legoland which features a waterpark. It is not possible to buy a separate admission ticket solely for the water park.
A legoland hotel will open summer 2013
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