Topple the Evil Empire at LEGOLAND California’s STAR WARS days

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Guests came face to face with pure evil at LEGOLAND California. Flanked by his 501st Legion of Storm Troopers, Darth Vader descended upon the park for LEGO STAR WARS Days. The two-day event, which ends today, consists of a number of geek-friendly activities (appealing to a guy like me) including a Droid Hunt, video game battles, building, trivia competitions and a costume contest.

According to LEGOLAND California:

One of the most popular LEGO STAR WARS™ Days events is the Droid Hunt. Guests of all ages receive collectible “droid badges” if they are among the first in line at The Beginning of the Park. When guests wearing the collectible droid badges are “caught” within the Park by members of the 501st Legion, they must respond to the question “How long have you had these droids?” to receive a raffle ticket for the chance to win fantastic LEGO STAR WARS™ and LEGOLAND California merchandise.

Showing up in costume comes with the potential to win, with prizes valued at more than $500. Packages include LEGO STAR WARS toys, collectibles and tickets to LEGOLAND California Resort.

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LEGOLAND Water Park to follow 6th year of growth

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The first looks at the world’s first LEGO® water park were revealed recently at LEGOLAND California Resort. So far, it’s only an artist’s rendering of the new water park, but that’s the first step toward getting drenched.

This new initiative follows the park’s successes with the new Bob the Builder™ 4-D movie and the presidential inauguration scene in Miniland U.S.A. These new developments come on the heels of a sixth consecutive year of growth for the California resort, with 2009 turning in a 6 percent increase … and guest satisfaction ratings in the high 90s.

“2009 was a record year here at LEGOLAND California Resort,” said the resort’s general manager, Peter Ronchetti, during the press conference. This comes, he continues, as “Many theme parks across the country have reported difficult trading and necessary cost control actions as a result of the challenging economic climate over recent months. So we feel very fortunate with all of the expansion here at LEGOLAND California Resort, to be able to report that our attendance continues to grow.”

The trajectory is expected to run through 2010, with more than $15 million invested in the park. The LEGOLAND Water Park is set to open in June (behind Fun Town) and will be ideal for families with children aged 2 to 12. “LEGOLAND Water Park will be lots of fun, constructive play including slides, LEGO friends and, the feature I am personally the most excited about – the Build-a-Raft concept where kids customize their own raft made of soft LEGO bricks before floating down a lazy river,” said Ronchetti.%Gallery-73517%

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Legoland hotel planned for Carlsbad

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I haven’t been to southern California in a while, but it looks like I just got a reason to go back. A Legoland hotel is in the works at the theme park of the same name in Carlsbad, California. The city council approved the move this week. When construction is finished, a serpentine-shaped hotel will have 254 rooms, sit right next to the theme park and put Lego-loving nerds like me in the middle of an environment we’ve always fantasized about.

The basic rooms will have Legos printed on wallpaper and the carpets … along with instructions on how to build different Lego creations. The top-end rooms, however, will take the fanaticism to a new level: you’ll be able to live the Pirate Shores attraction in an appropriately themed room.

Unfortunately, an opening date hasn’t been announced yet, so we have to wait. This may be easier for the hotel’s target demographic – kids between two and 12 years old – than it will be for those of us who grew up with Legos and are eager to relive a creative part of our youths. Construction is said to be deferred until the market improves, after which it should take a year and a half to complete.

[Photo by joedecruyenaere via Flickr]