Legoland New York Expanding in 2023 With New Water Playground

© Legoland

Legoland New York Resort is excited to open again in 2023 on March 31st, and is celebrating the 2023 season with a band new splashing-good-time addition.  The park will be adding a new water playground that is set to open on Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start to summer.

 

"New York summers are hot – which is one of the reasons we're so excited to give families a place to cool off this year," said Legoland New York Resort Divisional Director Stephanie Johnson. "We have no doubt our Water Playground will become the heart of the Park this season with its four water slides and new creative building opportunities for kids. Everything we do is for the love of fun, and we're committed to building unforgettable offerings that will keep families coming back to our Resort again and again."

 

© Legoland New York

The new water playground will feature many activities to keep the whole family busy, from simply cooling off to being able to "build and race a Lego boat, splash on water slides and be doused by a giant 318-gallon water bucket.  A changing area will be nearby so guests can move on with their day, enjoying the Park's seven themed lands and can't-miss attractions."  These types of water funhouse structures are common in water park and dry parks across the globe, and will be a nice addition to Legoland New York's lineup.

 

Legoland New York's upcoming season is once again filled with special events and activities, including the brand new Ninjago Days in April and May, Red, White and Boom! during the Summer for July 4th, spooky Brick-or-Treat in the Fall and the Holiday Bricktacular in December.  Guests visiting the park can stay in the Legoland Hotel located right next door to the theme park as well.

Legoland New York to Reopen April 8th + New Attraction and Changes

© Legoland New York

Legoland New York will kick off their 2022 season on April 8th, the theme park has announced.  This year will be their first full calendar season, which will last much longer than the park was able to during their pandemic-disrupted first year.  The upcoming season will see the return of the Brick or Treat Halloween event, but also for the first time the park will stay open in December to feature the Holiday Bricktacular.  The park will also celebrate July 4th with the Red, White and Boom! event.

The 2022 season will also see new live entertainment debut at the park, with shows including the  Academy of Arrrrr, Detective Trace and Earth BEAT! productions.  The park will open new stages in both the Lego City and Lego Pirates areas to accommodate the productions. 

 

© Legoland New York

Inside the park there will be a new water playground area within Lego City that families are sure to love.  While not a full water park, the new addition is sure to keep kids happy for a considerable amount of time as they splash and play.  The structure includes some smaller water slides and a giant tipping bucket, and kids can even build and race their own Lego boat as part of the attraction.

Legoland New York is also taking some steps to make the park even more easy to navigate, creating a central hub with paths and stairs that lead to several of the theme park's lands.  A new food and beverage location will also open in the hub area for guests to take a break at.

It's nice to see the park expanding already!

Legoland New York Showing Off Innovative Lego Factory Adventure Ride

© Legoland New York

When the Legoland New York Resort opens in 2021 one of its premier attractions will be the Lego Factory Adventure Ride, a brand new trackless dark ride that will feature first of its kind technology.  Using on-ride tracking technology, the attraction will identify the attributes of riders and map their position in virtual space in order to transform them into Lego Minifigures - allowing them to become a part of the ride!

The attraction is being created through a partnership between Legoland, Holovis (technology provider) and ETF (trackless ride system).  While on the ride visitors will join Professor Brick on a "thrilling and unpredictable adventure through the incredible LEGO Factory, meeting many whimsical characters along the way."

 

© Legoland New York

In the middle of the ride the vehicles will spin toward a screen when the big reveal happens, allowing them to see the Lego Minifigure version of each person in the car.  The Minifigures will even move just as the riders in the car do - I can imagine what an amazing experience that will be, especially for younger passengers.  Holovis' technology allows for facial detection that creates the images in less than half a second.

The images in this article were recently released by Legoland New York, showing off what some of the interiors of the Lego Factory Adventure Ride will look like.  For even more of what the attraction will be like, check out the animated video below shared by Attractions Magazine.

Legoland New York Delays Opening Until 2021

© Legoland New York

Citing the "evolving restrictions and guidance of the CDC and state and local governments in response to the coronavirus pandemic," Legoland New York has decided to delay their grand opening until sometime in 2021.  The new theme park was scheduled to open for the first time on July 4th, 2020, and will reveal their exact new opening date at a later time.

© Google Maps

With the country on pause, we've seen all the big theme park players continue to keep their parks closed indefinitely, and the regional players have all moved target reopening dates until the middle of May.  Legoland New York would have come online another six weeks after that, but considering the economic impact the virus will have on the world, it looks like they wanted to rethink that regardless of if the virus subsides in time.

The park has been under construction for some time now, the aerial is from quite a bit ago when buildings were just starting to go vertical.

© Legoland New York

In recent months, Legoland New York has been sharing photos of the park's rides being installed, such as a family roller coaster seen above.  With an original opening date about 3 months from now the park must be in a pretty finished condition, but now they can take a long pause and probably restart finishing construction later on.  Hopefully the greater situation will be better in 2021 for the park to have a successful grand opening.

For now, the park is offering a full FAQ on their website since many day, season, and vacation tickets have already been purchased.

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:

Legoland New York to Officially Open on July 4th, 2020

© Legoland New York

Legoland New York, the first major outdoor theme park to open in the Northeast in decades, has announced that its grand opening celebration will begin on July 4th, 2020.  Excited fans have been waiting for years to find out when the park will open, and now they can mark their calendars and begin the countdown.

“Our Park is in high gear and we’re on track for opening,” said Legoland New York Senior Divisional Director John Ussher.  “Buildings are going up, concrete is being poured and construction is buzzing across our site.  Ride components, such as the track for our Dragon coaster, are arriving in Goshen to be installed.  Our Lego models – more than 15,000 of them – are being shipped to our site from Merlin Magic Making workshops all over the world.  This is truly a global effort, with thousands of people working together to build the ultimate Lego theme park destination here in the Hudson Valley.”

© Legoland New York

Legoland New York is set to be the largest Legoland theme park ever constructed, sprawling over 150 acres with more than 50 rides, shows and attractions.  The park will feature seven different themed lands located over the rolling countryside of the Hudson Valley.  The park will offer attractions that have already proven popular at existing Legoland theme parks, along with some unique ones as well.  Next door to the park will be the Legoland Hotel, allowing visitors to easily experience the park for more than one day.

Tickets and season passes for Legoland New York are already on sale, and you can find out more about the park on the park's official website.

Legoland New York Details New Lands and Attractions Ahead of 2020 Grand Opening

Legoland New York recently held a ceremony to reveal all the rides and attractions that will open with the park in 2020.  The park, to be located in Goshen, New York (an hour outside of Manhattan) will reside on 150 acres on a total site that sprawls over 500 acres.  The park won't open until 2020, but crews are already starting to get the land prepared for the park to be built.

© Legoland New York

Described as already a "multi-day experience" upon its initial debut, Leogland New York will feature more than 50 rides, shows and attractions in eight themed sections.  To reveal these sections, the park built a giant Lego model of the park, which can be seen above and is made of 135,000 bricks and took 20 builders more than 1,300 hours to create.

© Legoland New York

This concept art also shows the park's layout, giving an idea of the park's scale.  Legoland New York will be the largest Legoland park ever developed, and will combine the best attractions at Legoland parks across the globe into one property.

© Legoland New York

This is an aerial view of the land currently being prepped for heavy construction, turning these open spaces into lands filled with rides and attractions.  It's hard to tell from this image, but much of the land the park will sit on features elevation changes, which is also different for a Legoland Park.

© Legoland New York

Here is the official park map for Legoland New York, we will use this to check out the different lands that have been announced.

The Factory is the beginning of park, an area that appears to be built from giant Lego bricks.  The land will feature a unique-to-New York ride, "Great Lego Adventure!," that will let riders feel what it is "like to be a Lego Minifigure, as you travel through the manufacturing process, into a box, and into the hands of a child just waiting to build!"

At the end of the street and just to the left is Bricktopia, a massive Lego building area that lets visitors get in some hands on Lego building with Master Model Builders.  You can also spin on the Imagination Celebration ride in this land.

Moving to the left again in the above map, we find Lego Ninjago World.  Similar to in other Legoland Parks, the main draw will be Ninjago: The Ride, along with a series of play elements that let you train to be a "master of the elements."

© Legoland New York

Next up, in the back left of the map and seen above, is Heartlake City.  Featuring Lego friends Emma, Olivia, Stephanie, Andrea and Mia, there will be a balloon ride, outdoor stage and also the home of Granny's Apple Fries, a well-known treat at Legoland parks.

The very back of the park is home to Knights' Kingdom, with the towering Lego Castle as its centerpiece.  The Dragon Coaster, mean for families, will roar through the area, but there will also be smaller coaster and the Dragon Rider School ride as well. 

Lego City is up next, and it's filled with interactive activities for young heroes, such as the fire Rescue Academy ride, and the Lego Driving School.  The land will all feature restaurants, shops and a theater.

© Legoland New York

Moving back closer to the main entrance, next we find Pirate Shores.  There will be a big play area here, along with the Rouge Wave Riders, which let kid "do battle with water spouts and hungry beasts."  Not mentioned in the release, there also appears to be some sort of car ride in the back of the area.

Finally, no park would be complete without Miniland, described as "a massive panorama of Lego built cities from across the country, with interactive features around every corner.  Go from the Statue of Liberty to Times Square in just a few steps, and see bustling streets full of busy, animated pedestrians – even a moving subway."

Legoland New York will also feature a hotel when it opens, and will operate on a seasonal schedule - Spring through the Fall each year. 

Legoland New York is Officially a Go, Slated to Open in 2020

© Legoland New York

After working though a considerable amount of hurdles to receive final approval, Legoland New York has been officially announced for a 2020 grand opening.

The third Legoland theme park in the United States, Legoland New York will require an investment of $350 million by owner Merlin Entertainments - the largest they've spent yet on a single new park.  The development covers nearly 500 acres in Goshen, New York, which is around sixty miles Northeast of Manhattan.

© Legoland New York

The park's specific offerings will model the other successful Legoland theme parks across the globe.  The site will eventually have a 250 room hotel, but it doesn't sound like that is planned for the 2020 opening phase.  Some images of the park, like those seen above, can be found in this clip from the formal announcement of the park.  It would appear that we can count on a Dragon themed roller coaster, which is pretty much a staple ride at all the Legoland parks.  This one looks like one of the larger models that have been installed in recent years.

© Legoland New York

The park will create around 1,000 new jobs, with hundreds more during the several year construction phase.

“Legoland New York is the first new major theme park in the North East of the U.S. for several decades, and is perfectly located for visitors from New York, Boston and Philadelphia and beyond,” Merlin Chief Executive Nick Varney said.  It will be located in an area that has a population of around 23 million within each driving distance to the park.  Unlike its sister parks in the U.S., Legoland New York will not be open year round, instead using an April through November operating schedule.

Stay tuned to the park's website and Facebook for additional updates as construction begins, which should be within six months from now.