Legoland Billund Resort


Legoland Billund, the original Legoland park, opened on 7 June 1968 in Billund, Denmark. The park is located next to the original Lego factory and Billund Airport, Denmark's second-busiest airport. Over 1.9 million guests visited the park in 2011, and since the opening more than 50 million guests have visited the park. This makes Legoland the largest tourist attraction in Denmark outside Copenhagen. The Legoland parks that have since been built are modelled upon Legoland Billund, most noticeably the Miniland area, which is made up of millions of plastic Lego bricks.

History

The Lego company, led by Ole Kirk Christiansen, introduced plastic toys alongside their existing wooden toy line in 1949 after purchasing one of the first injection moulding machines in 1947. One son, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, was named the managing director of the family business in 1957 shortly before his father died and just two years later he bought out his three brothers. In the 1960s, GKC decided to open a Legoland Park adjacent to the Lego factory in Billund to promote his toy business; the factory itself was already drawing approximately 20,000 visitors per year by the mid-1960s, who came to view models produced for trade shows and shops. GKC hired Arnold Boutrop as the park's first general director and designer; after visiting Madurodam, the two men began finalizing plans for what would become Miniland, the main attraction of Legoland. Dagny Holm, a cousin of GKC trained as a sculptor who was hired as a model designer in 1961 is credited with much of the original design and building of Miniland. The park became an instant success, with 625,000 visitors in its first abbreviated season after opening on 7 June 1968.
Over the years, Legoland Billund has added many original models and rides. The park, which has now been expanded to cover, is divided into nine themed areas, including [|Duplo Land], [|Imagination Zone], [|LEGOREDO Town], [|Adventure Land], [|Lego City], [|Knight's Kingdom], [|Mini Land], [|Pirate Land], and [|Polar Land].
Today, Legoland Billund is the most visited tourist attraction in Jutland and the third-most visited attraction in Denmark, after Tivoli Gardens and Dyrehavsbakken. Several other Legolands have since been built in other parts of the world:
The Blackstone Group, an investment firm, bought a 70% controlling stake in Legoland in 2005, with the remaining 30% still owned by Lego. The parks are operated by Merlin Entertainments Group.

Themed Lego Lands

, the park has nine themed areas.

Adventure Land

This area contains some of the park's more exciting rides such as the wild mouse roller coaster, X-treme Racers. Jungle Racers jet ski ride has a jungle theme and spins the riders quite fast. In 2010, The Temple was introduced, an indoor ride where riders board Explorer SUVs and are equipped with laser guns to shoot at moving targets in eleven different scenes themed to ancient Egypt, the land of the Pharaohs. The Temple has a game area with an Egyptian theme as well, containing ring-toss, water-shooting, balloon-popping and a mummy game. The area contains two gift shops and two restaurants.
Flunck Fire Brigade is a ride where you take your assigned vehicle to the scene of a fire where you and your fellow firefighters have to put out a fire in a building, and the fastest team wins. Flunck Fire Brigade was previously considered part of the Lego City themed area which is now defunct; the other Lego City rides are now considered part of the Polar Land themed area.

Duplo Land

Duplo Land contains rides and attractions for young children, with the Lego Duplo brand name. The Duplo Playhouse is a play area for children ages 2–6, which is themed like a city in which children can play. They can build using Lego, or play on fake planes and fake cars. There are also slides, stairs, interactive elements and a role-play area. The Duplo Train, a kiddie train ride that looks like a train made of Duplo bricks, takes two minutes to complete its loop. Duplo Planes is a plane ride similar to Disney's Dumbo ride, but with a Lego theme. The land also used to feature Duplo Driving School. This was a car ride for children ages 2–6, who are not yet ready for the Traffic School ride.

Imagination Zone

This zone contains the Lego Studio, a purpose-built 600-seat 4-D theater, complete with special effects and a giant screen. Four movies play daily as of 2010; these are Lego Racers, Spellbreaker, Bob the Builder 4D, and.
Lego Atlantis by Sea Life was added in 2007. The attraction starts off with an animated movie, featuring Lego figures and a submarine that travels down to the submerged city of Atlantis. There is also a Sea Life aquarium featuring a walk-through underwater tunnel and other hands-on activities with more than 800 sea creatures. Numerous Lego figures and models are in and around the aquarium.

Knight's Kingdom

Knight's Kingdom contains The Dragon coaster, located inside a medieval castle. The ride starts with a slow-moving dark ride scene with Lego figures themed to medieval times, including a mighty dragon. Vikings River Splash is a Viking theme river rapids ride that was added in 2006 and has plenty of wet surprises. Riders' photos are taken at the end of the ride. Knight's Kingdom also has Granny's Apple Farms Restaurant, Knight's Barbecue Grill and Castle Burgers.

LEGO Movie World

Along with Legoland California, the park will be receiving a LEGO Movie world in 2020. Its location has yet to be disclosed as it does not seem to be taking over a pre-existing land like the US versions. It will feature the Masters of Flight and Unikitty's Disco Drop found in the California and Florida versions with its exclusive ride being a Technical Park Aerobat.

LEGOREDO Town

LEGOREDO Town is a Western-themed land that contains the rides Lego Canoe, LEGOLDMINE, Westernride, Timber Ride, LEGOLDMINE Train. There is also an Indian camp led by the popular Chief Long Ears. LEGOREDO also has its own band called "The Rattlesnakes" and they play country music all day long. The mountain terrain of Lego Canoe offers a scenic background
Directly opposite on the other side of the town was the hilly landscape of The Mine Train, which traveled through mines in the mountain. Mine Train was shut down in 2013 and a new haunted house attraction entitled Ghost - The Haunted House replaced it starting with the 2014 season.

Mini Land

Mini Land is the heart of any Legoland park. The 1:20 scale Lego brick models feature landscapes, sights and buildings from all over Denmark, as well as famous landmarks from other parts of the world. These include, in addition to the models listed below, the Acropolis of Athens and scenes from Star Wars. The LEGOTop observation tower offers a nice view of the entire park. The models and structures in Mini Land were made using more than 25 million Lego bricks.
CountryAddedClosedImageDescription
Denmark1968Featuring models of Billund Airport, Copenhagen, Dybbøl Mill, Klampenborg Station, Lilleby, Møgeltønder, Ribe, and Skagen.
Egypt?Featuring model of Abu Simbel temples.
Germany?Featuring models of Düsseldorf, Neuschwanstein Castle, and Tegernsee
The Netherlands?Featuring models of Amsterdam and the surrounding landscape.
Norway?Featuring models of Bergen and its harbor.
Scotland?Featuring models of Crail and Eilean Donan.
Star Wars2012?2019Models removed shortly after Disney purchased the Star Wars franchise.
Sweden?Featuring models of the Gota Canal.
Thailand?Featuring model of The Grand Palace.
United States?Featuring models of Hollywood, Kennedy Space Center, Mount Rushmore, and the United States Capitol Building.

Ninjago World

Ninjago World, which opened in 2016, features NINJAGO: The Ride, an interactive dark ride using gesture controls. The technology was developed by Triotech, who had previously developed the interactive Voyage to the Iron Reef dark ride at Knott's Berry Farm.
YearAttendanceRef
20051,490,000
20061,460,000
20071,610,000
20081,650,000
20091,650,000
20101,650,000
20111,600,000
20121,650,000
20131,800,000
20141,925,000
20152,050,000
20162,091,000
20172,120,000

Pirate Land

Pirate Land is a pirate-themed area. It features the Pirate Splash Battle where participants get wet. Other rides include Pirate Wave Breaker, Pirate Water Falls and Pirate Boats.

Polar Land

Polar Land is a North Pole and South Pole theme area that opened in 2012. This themed area was partially created from part of the Lego City themed area and the Event Center. It features the Polar X-plorer roller coaster, Penguin Bay featuring live penguins, and Ice Pilots School. In Polar Land, visitors can eat at Polar Pizza and Pasta with a view overlooking the Penguin Bay habitat.
Ice Pilots School was previously named Power Builders and carried a Bionicle theme when it was part of the Lego City themed area.

Attractions

Roller coasters

Water rides

Other rides

Ride nameTypeYear openedThemed landImageAdditional information
CaterpillarHimalayaMinilandRider height minimum 90 cm
Falck Fire BrigadeFire fightingAdventurelanddouse the fire yourself
Ghost-The Haunted HouseWalkthrough dark ride/drop towerLEGOREDO Towna walkthrough attraction with a drop tower at the end
Ice Pilots SchoolRoboCoaster G1Polar Landheight limit 120 cm.
Lego AtlantisAquarium2007Imagination Zonea sea life aquarium
Lego Studios4D film theaterImagination Zonea 4D theater in Imagination Zone that as of 2019 shows 2 movies — Lego Ninjago 4D and LEGO® City 4D - Officer in Pursuit
Lego TopObservation towerMiniland36 m high
Lego TrainTrain rideMinilanda themed 2-minute train ride
The LighthouseClimbing towerPirate Landpull yourself up 9 m tower
Lloyd's Lazer MazeMazeNinjago Worlda laser maze ride
MonorailMonorailMiniland
NINJAGO The RideInteractive dark rideNinjago Worlda dark ride where riders use their hands to shoot
Nintendo Game ShowPlay areaMinilandplay Nintendo games
Penguin BayLive animal display2012Polar Landlive penguins on show
Pirate CarouselTeacupsPirate Landspinning cups
The TempleInteractive dark ride2010Adventurelanddark ride laser shoot-out

Kiddie rides

Ride nameTypeYear openedThemed landImageAdditional information
Adventure PathPlay areaAdventurelandplay area in Adventureland
Chief LongearsMeet & greetLEGOREDO Townmeet and greet the Indian Chief
Duplo PlanesCarouselDuplo Landairplanes
Duplo PlayhousesPlay areaMinilandplay area
Duplo ExpressTrain rideDuplo Landa 2-minute train ride
Frog HopperDrop towerMinilandmini drop tower
Lego SafariOn-track drivingMinilandon track cars on a Safari
LEGONDOLFerris wheelDuplo Landmini Ferris wheel
Mini BoatsBoat rideMinilandwhere children can sail their own boats
Music FountainPlay areaImagination Zonewater play area
Pirate Wave BreakerRocking tug2009Pirate Land90+ cm
SEAT Traffic SchoolDriving simulatorMinilandelectric cars for 7 – 13 years old
Western RideCarouselLEGOREDO Townmerry go round

Shows

AttractionTypeYear openedThemed landImageAdditional information
The RattlesnakesCountry & western bandLEGOREDO Town
King's Castle ShowLive actionKnight's Kingdomaction and stunt show at Mini Castle
Legoland GardenMarching Bandthroughoutthe park's marching band

Extras

These attractions and activities all require an extra charge in addition to regular admission fees.
AttractionTypeYear openedThemed landImageAdditional information
LegoldmineGold panningLEGOREDO Town
Pirate GamesSkill gamesPirate Landtest your skill games
Temple GamesArcadeAdventureland

Special events

The park hosts many special events throughout the season, including a Halloween celebration, firework shows, and Star Wars days.

Retired rides and attractions

Ride nameTypeYearsThemed landImageAdditional information
Mine Traindark ride?–19 Aug 2013LEGOREDO Towna train ride journey through a dark mine where miners are hard at work
Pirate Mini Water FallsPlay areaPirate Landwater play area for the youngest children, has closed
Pirate Water FallsPlay areaPirate Landwater play area for children, has closed
Timber RideSteel roller coasterLEGOREDO Townreplaced by The Eagle
Duplo Driving SchoolDriving simulatorDuplo Landelectric cars for 2–6-year-olds, has closed

Accidents

On 29 April 2007, a 21-year-old female employee was killed by a roller coaster when she climbed over a security fence to retrieve a guest's wallet.

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