Making the largest investment in the history of LEGOLAND California, Merlin Entertainments last month announced plans for a $20 million expansion that includes a two-story aquarium and a 1920s Egypt-themed adventure area.
Sea Life LEGOLAND, a 36,000-square-foot aquarium near the Carlsbad amusement park's ticket booths, will be a separate attraction with its own admission price when it opens in the summer. It will be the 29th to open in the world and is the first ever to open in North America.
Merlin Entertainments, a United Kingdom-based company that purchased LEGOLAND in 2005, has Sea Life centers in nine European countries.
Nick Varney, CEO of Merlin Entertainments Group, said LEGOLAND has formed a partnership with two neighboring hotels, the Grand Pacific Palisades Resort & Hotel and the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa opening in February, to market the theme park and aquarium as a resort destination worth visiting for two or more days. He said LEGOLAND also has plans to build its own hotel in coming years.
More than a standard aquarium, Sea Life provides an educational and interactive dynamic unlike any other. Featuring play zones, fun facts and quiz trails, the attraction is designed to be a child's guide to the life of the sea.
It will feature creatures commonly found in local waters. The voyage begins in the freshwaters of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and ends with a journey to the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Along the way, families will discover a lost ancient city and sunken shipwreck that is explored by miniature submarines and scuba divers made of Lego bricks.
The aquarium also will include a seahorse kingdom, a bay of rays and a shoaling ring where children are surrounded 360 degrees by schools of fish. An interactive discovery zone will give youngsters the opportunity to talk with marine experts, touch sea creatures in a tide pool and build their own coral reef out of Lego bricks.
“(Sea Life) is 100 percent aimed at inspiring and captivating children on a level that can't be found anywhere else,” said John Jakobsen, president and general manager of Legoland California.
He added that with the additions of Sea Life and the Land of Adventure, 17 new attractions will have been added to the 128-acre theme park over the last four years. Land of Adventure, the eighth major themed area in the amusement park, is slated to open in March.
It will feature four attractions, including the Lost Kingdom Adventure, which will be guarded by a Lego pharaoh standing more than 16 feet tall. During Lost Kingdom, guests ride inside desert jeeps and are taken on a journey through ancient temple ruins to recover stolen treasure by blasting targets with laser guns.
Cargo Ace will help imaginations soar as children become airplane pilots, Beetle Bounce will boost kids to new heights and at Pharaoh's Revenge youngsters can fire thousands of foam balls at targets and each other.
“We believe our components here at LEGOLAND, combined with our North County location in Carlsbad … makes for a perfect family vacation,” Jakobsen said.
For more information, call (760) 918-LEGO or visit www.LEGOLAND.com.
Sea Life LEGOLAND, a 36,000-square-foot aquarium near the Carlsbad amusement park's ticket booths, will be a separate attraction with its own admission price when it opens in the summer. It will be the 29th to open in the world and is the first ever to open in North America.
Merlin Entertainments, a United Kingdom-based company that purchased LEGOLAND in 2005, has Sea Life centers in nine European countries.
Nick Varney, CEO of Merlin Entertainments Group, said LEGOLAND has formed a partnership with two neighboring hotels, the Grand Pacific Palisades Resort & Hotel and the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa opening in February, to market the theme park and aquarium as a resort destination worth visiting for two or more days. He said LEGOLAND also has plans to build its own hotel in coming years.
More than a standard aquarium, Sea Life provides an educational and interactive dynamic unlike any other. Featuring play zones, fun facts and quiz trails, the attraction is designed to be a child's guide to the life of the sea.
It will feature creatures commonly found in local waters. The voyage begins in the freshwaters of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and ends with a journey to the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Along the way, families will discover a lost ancient city and sunken shipwreck that is explored by miniature submarines and scuba divers made of Lego bricks.
The aquarium also will include a seahorse kingdom, a bay of rays and a shoaling ring where children are surrounded 360 degrees by schools of fish. An interactive discovery zone will give youngsters the opportunity to talk with marine experts, touch sea creatures in a tide pool and build their own coral reef out of Lego bricks.
“(Sea Life) is 100 percent aimed at inspiring and captivating children on a level that can't be found anywhere else,” said John Jakobsen, president and general manager of Legoland California.
He added that with the additions of Sea Life and the Land of Adventure, 17 new attractions will have been added to the 128-acre theme park over the last four years. Land of Adventure, the eighth major themed area in the amusement park, is slated to open in March.
It will feature four attractions, including the Lost Kingdom Adventure, which will be guarded by a Lego pharaoh standing more than 16 feet tall. During Lost Kingdom, guests ride inside desert jeeps and are taken on a journey through ancient temple ruins to recover stolen treasure by blasting targets with laser guns.
Cargo Ace will help imaginations soar as children become airplane pilots, Beetle Bounce will boost kids to new heights and at Pharaoh's Revenge youngsters can fire thousands of foam balls at targets and each other.
“We believe our components here at LEGOLAND, combined with our North County location in Carlsbad … makes for a perfect family vacation,” Jakobsen said.
For more information, call (760) 918-LEGO or visit www.LEGOLAND.com.