Legoland Castle Hotel Coming to Two Legoland Theme Parks

© Legoland

Continuing to expand the roster of amenities that help to transform their theme parks into destinations, two properties have new Legoland Castle Hotels planned for the near future.  The concept art featured in this story is from Legoland Windsor, which has already announced the new resort and actually started construction on it.

The hotel is firmly centered in the world of Wizards and Knights from epic Kingdoms, and visitors become kings, queens, princesses and princes when they stay at the property.

© Legoland

The hotels will be fully themed from the outside in, but I think that's fairly evident in these concept drawings.  It will be the second hotel at both Legoland Windsor and Legoland California, though the addition is still in the planning and approval states for California.

Features include 61 rooms at Windsor at 250 in California that are decked out in the style of Knights and Wizards, with additional themes being planned - especially at the larger California property.

© Legoland

As with the already successful regular Legoland Hotels, these new developments will feature other amenities such as their own restaurant and play areas both inside and outside.  At Legoland California, the addition will go up near the main entrance, similar to what was done with the first resort.

The Legoland Castle Hotel is planned to open in July of 2017 at Legoland Windsor, and if all approvals are gained construction may start at Legoland California in early 2017 with an opening date not yet announced.

The Lego Movie 4D A New Adventure Opening at Legoland Parks in 2016

Debuting at the Legoland Florida Resort in January of 2016, and soon after at the Legoland California Resort on February 6th, will be an all new 4D adventure film themed to the popular Lego Movie.

The Lego Movie 4D A New Adventure was previously hinted about by the chain of parks, operated by Merlin Entertainments, but now new details have been made available.  The film is being created in partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures and Lego Systems A/S, and will eventually premier at all the Legoland Parks around the globe and the Legoland Discovery Centers as well.

The film will follow a new journey for the characters of The Lego Movie, including Emmet, Wyldstyle, Unikitty, Benny and MetalBear.  A new villain character, voiced by Patton Oswalt and named Risky Business, will be added to the series.  The attraction is being directed by Rob Schrab, who is also directing the squeal to The Lego Movie in 2018, and will also feature many of the original voice actors from the feature film like Elizabeth Banks and Nick Offerman.

The plot finds the characters having received a "mysterious invitation leading them to a new theme park where all of the rides are based on the characters’ adventures in “The Lego Movie.” But not all is as it seems as the heroes are once again thrust into the middle of an evil secret plot, only this time, it will be up to the audience to use their Master Builder skills to help save them!"

The 4D attraction will feature special effects such as smoke, water, wind and lighting to create a "larger-than-life" experience for guests.  In a sense the film will also bridge the gap between the first Lego Movie and the next, still to come.

Weekly Rewind 5.21.11

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Legoland Windsor has opened their new Atlantis Submarine Voyage attraction, and it looks pretty darn good!  Check out a POV from Coasterforce.

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Nothing is final yet, but it looks like a deal is in the works to get Ghost Town In The Sky reopened as soon as 2012.

Legoland Windsor's Atlantis Submarine Voyage

Legoland Windsor, located in the UK, recently announced a very interesting attraction for the family-oriented theme park: the Atlantis Submarine Voyage.

Concept art provided by Legoland Windsor

The ride, which will cost over £8 million (almost $13 million) is part of an even larger investment in the park by Merlin Entertainments.  Atlantis Submarine Voyage will be the first LEGO themed underwater ride in the world when it opens.

Guests will board custom LEGO themed submarines, each holding up to 14 guests.  As they move through the ride building they will explore a gigantic 250,000+ gallon ocean tank.  Guests will pass over fifty species of rare sharks, rays, and tropical fish.

Concept drawing of the building's facade

To create the underwater world of Atlantis, professional LEGO builders will create almost 100 models and set features.  According to Legoland, "an estimated 2,683 hours of work creating the models will be completed ahead of the launch" of the new attraction.

The gigantic aquarium that the ride will feature will be the home of research projects and educational programs as well.

The Atlantis Submarine Voyage has a planned early-summer 2011 opening.