Legoland California Resort's Major Water Park Expansion for 2014

Guests to the Legoland California Resort will find a major water park expansion when they visit in 2014, and the new area will be themed to the Lego Legends of Chima franchise.  The Chima brand was just used this year in a new land at Legoland Florida, which became an immediate success for the theme park.

Legoland California had a very busy 2013 season which featured the opening of the first Lego branded hotel in North America.  The park's General Manager, Peter Ronchetti, plunged a shovel into the sand at the park and uncovered a box full of CHI - the mystical power source that animal tribes in the World of Chima battle over.

The open space seen here will be the Chima water park.

“2014 is a big investment year for us. A great corner stone to the Resort’s success is listening to our guests and striving to increase the value of their experience,” said General Manager Peter Ronchetti. “We are excited to build an entirely new Water Park based on the LEGO Chima product line immersing children and their families into an interactive world of play!”

It sounds like the 2.5 acre Chima area will be an addition to the existing water park, which first opened in 2010.  Separately themed, the new addition will be aimed at families with smaller children and will be located adjacent to the Pirate Reef attraction.  While not an official number, it is expected that north of $10 million will be spent on the water park addition.

Legoland California has detailed four of the eight main areas of the new water park expansion, starting with the biggest - the Lion Temple Wave Pool.  Featuring a Lego archway entrance, the pool will feature water cascading down a 30 foot tall floating "Mount Cavora" along with plenty of waves and fun for families.

Cragger's Swamp will be a new hands-on play area that features water slides, blast water cannons and jets - one of the slides will exit through the head of a massive crocodile.  Eglor's Build-A-Boat will let guests building their own boat and "learn how to change the currents, build and dodge obstacles and race against their friends."

The final announced part of the expansion is the Wolves' Cantina, a food service location that will keep guests in the Chima water park fueled for their busy day.

With the addition of the hotel this year it makes an awful lot of sense to build onto the water park next year, creating further need for guests to stay and extra day.  The level of theming in the water park is expected to make it feel like its own world, further attracting guests to spend longer amounts of time in the water area.

No drawings of the expansion were ready in time for the announcement, so we will stay tuned to see exactly what the Chima water park will look like.