- Legoland
Legoland is a chain of
Lego themedtheme park s:
*Legoland Billund (Billund, Denmark )
*Legoland Windsor (Windsor, Berkshire ,England )
*Legoland Deutschland (Günzburg, Germany )
*Legoland California (Carlsbad, California ,USA )Legoland Billund is the oldest, having opened in 1968.Attractions
The parks are marketed to young families, and although they have a number of
roller coasters , they are not as numerous or as extreme as those in other parks, and there is a greater emphasis on rides suitable for young children.The parks are split into various areas, which are common between the parks, for example all the parks include a Lego miniland, a model village which includes models of landmarks and scenes from around the world made from millions of genuine Lego bricks. Other common features include a
Lego Mindstorms centre (fun-based learning),Duplo Gardens (for smaller children), Driving area (including attractions such as Driving school, Boating school, Ballooning school and Fire Academy), My Town, Wild Woods and Knight's Kingdom.The parks' rides are all Lego themed; many are made to appear as if they are built out of Lego bricks. They tend to be based on one particular line of Lego: for example, a popular ride at all four parks is the Dragon Coaster, which is loosely based on the
Knights' Kingdom Lego sets. Another popular ride is the Driving school, in which children can drive small electric cars made to look like Lego cars around a small road network, after which they gain a mock driving license. The exact set of rides varies between parks, although as with the Disney parks there is some overlap.Parks
Legoland Billund
Legoland in
Billund, Denmark , is the largest and the oldest. It is divided in 8 different worlds:Duplo Land, ImaginationZone, LEGOREDO Town, Adventure Land, Miniland, Pirate Land, Lego City, Knights Kingdom and Viking land. The park opened in 1968 and has 1.6 million visitors annually, making it the largest tourist attraction in Denmark outsideCopenhagen .Legoland California
Legoland California is located in Carlsbad, in North San Diego County. The park opened
March 20 1999 and is split into nine sections which are The Beginning, Dino Island, Explore Village, Fun Town, Knight's Kingdom, Miniland USA, Imagination Zone, Pirate Shores, and Land of Adventure.Legoland Deutschland
Legoland Deutschland is located in Günzburg, Germany and opened in 2002. There are currently seven areas in the park, including: Imagination Center, Miniland, LEGO X-treme, LEGO City, Knights Kingdom, Adventure Land, and Land of the Pirates.
Legoland Windsor
Legoland Windsor was built on the site of the previous
Windsor Safari Park inWindsor, Berkshire and opened in 1996. There are currently ten areas in the park, including: The Beginning, Imagination Centre, Miniland, Duplo Land, Traffic, LEGO City, Land of the Vikings, Wild Woods, Knights Kingdom, and Adventure Land.Financial and visitor information
The Windsor park receives approximately 1.3 million visitors annually. The Californian [http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/01/28/business/news/12_02_461_27_05.txt] , Danish [http://www.world66.com/europe/denmark/billund] and German [http://www.lego.com/legoland/deutschland/press/pressrelease.asp?locale=2057&id=14406&yearcode=2005&archive=True] parks all receive approximately 1.4 million visitors per year.
Despite this, the parks have struggled to make money, and have not fully maximised their potential ticket sales. In June 2005, a 70 percent stake in the four theme parks was sold to
Blackstone Group ofNew York , an investment and advisory firm, under its Merlin Entertainments Group brand. Lego Group retains a 30 percent stake. [http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050714/news_1b14lego.html]External links
* [http://www.legoland.com/ Legoland]
* [http://www.legolandtravel.com/ LEGOLAND Travel] The Official LEGOLAND Billund Accommodation Provider
* [http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/legoland/ Legoland Survival Guide]
* [http://gocalifornia.about.com/od/casdmenu/fr/legoland.htm Legoland California] Visitor Guide
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Legoland&ll=33.127813,-117.311507&sll=33.127620,-117.311947&spn=0.004067,0.007522&sspn=0.004281,0.007918&t=k&hl=en Satellite image of Legoland California] from Google maps
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=48.424132,10.299382&spn=0.01236,0.026994&t=k&om=1 Satellite image of Legoland Deutschland] from Google maps
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=55+44+7+N,+9+7+50+E&spn=0.059279,0.080316&t=k&hl=en&z=0 Satellite image of Legoland Billund] from Google maps
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ll=51.463393,-0.650382&spn=0.005535,0.014806&t=k Satellite image of Legoland Windsor] from Google maps
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