Legoland New York is using new technology to go dark

LEGOLAND® NEW YORK RESORT, HOLOVIS AND ETF RIDE SYSTEMS REVEAL THE WORLD’S FIRST RIDE EXPERIENCE FEATURING TECHNOLOGY THAT TURNS GUESTS INTO LEGO® MINIFIGURES!

Largest LEGOLAND® Theme Park Opening July 4, 2020, Reveals LEGO® Factory Adventure at IAAPA EXPO in Orlando ORLANDO, FL (November 19, 2019) – When it opens on July 4, 2020, LEGOLAND® New York Resort will introduce the LEGO® Factory Adventure Ride featuring the world’s first use of on-ride tracking technology. By identifying the attributes of guests and mapping their position in the virtual space, the ride transforms riders into LEGO® Minifigures right before their own eyes! The family theme park revealed the news at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) annual Expo in Orlando in tandem with the ride technology designer, Holovis.

“Merlin Entertainments continues to grow in North America with more than 30 attractions and is already pushing boundaries with the LEGO Factory Adventure before LEGOLAND New York even opens,” said Head of Public Relations North America for Merlin Entertainments Julie Estrada. “Imagine traveling through a LEGO Factory and suddenly seeing yourself as a LEGO Minifigure! With vision in hand, we looked to two of the world’s leading developers, Holovis and ETF Ride Systems, to create this first of its kind dark ride experience. I can’t wait to see the looks on our guests’ faces when they experience it.”

In the narrative-led experience, LEGOLAND New York guests will join Professor Brick on a thrilling and unpredictable adventure through the incredible LEGO Factory, meeting many whimsical characters along the way. Halfway through the ride experience, the ride vehicles, created by ETF, will spin guests until they end up face-to-face with a screen. First, guests will see their ride vehicle transformed into LEGO elements and then, a magical moment occurs as they see themselves appear as LEGO Minifigures! The on-screen recreation is customized based on guest’s attributes to present a unique experience…with the potential of surprises as well. Motion tracking even allows the Minifigure to move as the guest does. Holovis’ proprietary HoloTrac platform leverages advanced computer vision and tracking technologies underpinned by deep neural-network-based facial detection and recognition algorithms – all in less than 0.5 seconds!

“At Holovis, we pride ourselves on the ability to own the entire technical experience, so the delivery of the LEGO Factory Adventure is the perfect project for our turnkey, in-house capability. Working alongside Merlin Entertainments, we have created the ultimate in on-ride guest personalization and the ETF trackless motion vehicle integrates perfectly with the non-linear ride experience” said Holovis Creative Director Peter Cliff. “The LEGO Minifigure transformation is the textbook use for our HoloTrac technology, and since it’s completely invisible to the guest, the experience feels like real magic when the moment occurs.”

“The vehicle we created for the LEGO Factory Adventure is meant to make guests feel as if they are a part of the automatic robot machinery that you would see in a LEGO factory,” said CEO of ETF Ride Systems Ruud Koppens. “We’ve never done this kind of ride before that is based on reality versus fantasy and we are very excited to work with Holovis and Merlin Entertainments to make this happen!”

Opening in New York’s Hudson Valley, 60 miles northwest of New York City, LEGOLAND New York Resort will be the largest LEGOLAND theme park ever built, featuring more than 50 rides, shows and attractions across seven themed “lands” on 150 acres.

The theme park’s three tiers of Annual Passes are on sale starting at $119.99, along with single-day tickets starting as low as $62.99. All are available for purchase on LEGOLAND New York’s website: www.legoland.com/new-york/.

Here we become Minifigures at the demonstrator set up on the show floor: