LEGOLAND Parks

LEGOLAND is a LEGO themed amusement park chain, which was not fully owned by The LEGO Group itself; rather they are owned and operated by the British theme park company Merlin Entertainments up until 2019. There are eight of these parks worldwide, with three more under construction.
The chain currently consists of the following theme parks:
* LEGOLAND Billund (Billund, Jutland, Denmark)
* LEGOLAND Windsor (Windsor, England, United Kingdom)
* LEGOLAND Deutschland (Günzburg, Bavaria, Germany)
* LEGOLAND California (Carlsbad, San Diego County, California, USA)
* LEGOLAND Florida (Winter Haven, Florida, USA)
* LEGOLAND Malaysia (Nusajaya, Johor, Malaysia)
* LEGOLAND Dubai (Dubai, Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
* LEGOLAND Japan (Nagoya, Aichi, Japan)
The following upcoming theme parks:
* LEGOLAND New York (Goshen, New York, USA)
* LEGOLAND Korea (Chuncheon, Gangwon, South Korea)
* LEGOLAND Shanghai (Shanghai, Shanghai, China)
*LEGOLAND Belgium
*LEGOLAND Sichuan Resort
And one upcoming water park:
* LEGOLAND Water Park Gardaland
==Attractions==
The parks are marketed to families with younger children (11 and under), 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 younger children. There are more rides currently in development that are suitable for all ages to make the park feel more alive and inclusive.
The parks are split into various areas, which are common between the parks. For example, all six of 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 features include a LEGO Mindstorms Center (fun-based learning), DUPLO Gardens (for smaller children), Driving area (including attractions such as the Driving school, Boating school, Ballooning school, Flying 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 six 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 rides vary between parks, although as with the Disney parks there is some overlap. Some feature very large LEGO built structures. The floors of the water parks are made out of huge LEGO bricks.
==Parks==
===Asia===
==== Legoland Malaysia ====
Legoland Malaysia was opened in Nusajaya, Johor, Malaysia on September 15, 2012, and it is the first Legoland in Asia. Initially, there are seven themed areas of attractions for all ages which are Miniland, The Beginning, Land of Adventure, Imagination, LEGO Kingdom, LEGO Technic, and LEGO City. The centerpiece of the park is Miniland, where almost all Asian landmarks were built using LEGO bricks.
==== Legoland Japan ====
==== Legoland Dubai ====
===Europe===
====Legoland Billund====
Legoland in Billund, Denmark, is the oldest. It was the first Legoland park ever made. It is divided into ten different worlds: Duplo Land, Imagination Zone, LEGOREDO Town, Adventure Land, Miniland, Pirate Land, Lego City, Knights Kingdom, Viking Land, and Polar Land. The park opened in 1968http://www.world66.com/europe/denmark/billund and has 1.6 million visitors annually, making it the largest tourist attraction in Denmark outside Copenhagen.
====Legoland Deutschland====
Legoland Deutschland is located in Günzburg, Germany, and opened in 2002. As of 2009, there are 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 in Windsor, Berkshire, and opened in 1996. As of 2010, there are twelve areas in the park, including: The Beginning, Imagination Centre, Miniland, Duplo Land, Traffic, LEGO City, Land of the Vikings, Kingdom of the Pharaohs, Pirates Landing, Knights Kingdom, and Adventure Land.
One of the models here is a model of London, with buildings such as Big Ben made entirely out of LEGO bricks.
====Legoland Sierksdorf====
There was an earlier Legoland Park in Germany, from 1973 to 1976. The park was the second Legoland park ever built. It was located in the city of Sierksdorf in northern Germany. In 1976, the park was sold; the former Legoland Sierksdorf is now Hansa-Park.http://www.rcdb.com/4873.htmhttp://www.hansapark.de/de/wissenswertes/wir-ueber-uns/geschichte/
===North America===
====Legoland California====
Legoland California is in Carlsbad, California, in northern San Diego County. The park opened on March 20, 1999, and is split into nine sections, which are: The Beginning, Dino Island, Explore Village, Fun Town, Castle Hill, Miniland USA, Imagination Zone, Pirate Shores, and Land of Adventures. A Sea Life aquarium is adjacent to Legoland California. In 2010, a water park opened on its grounds, and is one of the only two Legoland parks (the other one is Legoland Florida) to feature a water park.
====Legoland Florida====
Legoland Florida opened on October 15, 2011 as the second Legoland park in the United States, and the world's largest Legoland park.http://www.netnewspublisher.com/world%E2%80%99s-largest-legoland-park-legoland-florida-will-open-saturday-october-15-2011/ The park was built on the former site of Cypress Gardens, a historically famous Florida theme park. This park is divided into 10 areas: The Beginning, Fun Town, Duplo Land, Miniland U.S.A, Kingdoms, Pirates Cove, Imagination Zone, Technic, Land of Adventure, Lego City, and a restored replica of Cypress Gardens. Legoland Florida opened a water park replacing the former Cypress Gardens "Splash Island" water park on May 26, 2012.
== Future Legoland parks ==
Currently three further Legoland parks are being developed. Legoland Korea is planned to open in Chuncheon, South Korea in 2022. Legoland New York is opening in Goshen, New York in 2021. Legoland Shanghai is opening in Shanghai, China in 2022. LEGOLAND Sichuan Resort has broken ground with an expected completion date of 2023, and LEGOLAND Belgium was announced by the Brussels Times in September 2020. 
==Financial and visitor information==
The Californian,http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/01/28/business/news/12_02_461_27_05.txt Danish, and Germanhttp://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. The British park received approximately 1.65 million visitors in 2007, making it the 15th most visited park in Europe.
In June 2005, a 70 percent stake in the four theme parks was sold to Blackstone Group of New York, an investment and advisory firm, under its Merlin Entertainments brand. Lego Group retains a 30 percent stake.http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050714/news_1b14lego.htm
==See also==
*LEGOLAND Discovery Centre
== References ==
== External links ==
* Legoland
* LEGOLAND Travel The Official LEGOLAND Billund Accommodation Provider
* Hotel Legoland
* Legoland California Visitor Guide
+
Category:LEGOLAND parks