01 Dec 2016
Forrec details 'best of' plan for Legoland New York
BY Tom Anstey
Merlin Entertainments has confirmed plans for a Legoland development in New York state, with its designer Forrec revealing to Attractions Management new details about the highly anticipated project.
The US$500m (€470m, £401.7m) development in Goshen – around 65 miles away from New York City – will feature more than 50 rides, shows and attractions, in addition to a 250-bedroom Lego hotel.
The park, which will be Merlin’s tenth Legoland, will be a “best of”, taking the best elements from every Legoland park worldwide and combining them to create an ultimate Lego experience.
Speaking to Attractions Management, Cale Heit, executive vice president of Forrec, detailed the plans for the New York attraction.
“As time goes on there have been more and more changes made to Lego’s parks,” he said. “They’re looking more and more like the Lego product lines, creating this immersive Lego world.
“We’re working with Merlin on the masterplan right now. We’re going to take the best from the other parks, put it together and then add more to it as the new park comes to life.”
The 523 acre (2.1sq km) development, which is currently going through the final approval stages, could open as early as 2019.
“One thing very unique for a Lego park is the property is very hilly,” said Heit. “It’s a really beautiful green environment and we’re utilising the hills as an opportunity to help engage guests as they walk through. The topography of the area to pulls people through the park, incorporating it into the story and the theming.”
Locally there has been some opposition to the development, with concerns raised about increased thoroughfare in the town and disruption caused by the new attraction, something Forrec is addressing in its masterplan.
“The project has faced some obstacles but we’re using those challenges as opportunity,” said Heit. “The site itself is quite large, so we’re using the trees to frame the park to try and mitigate any impact on the neighbours, while simultaneously making sure it's a very beautiful green space.
“There have also been concerns about traffic and we’ve really tried to focus on how to prevent that. What we’ve elected to do is set up the entrance so guests pay to park as they leave rather than enter, eliminating long tailbacks for people trying to enter. It should have a significant effect.”
Merlin has said it expects between 1.5 million and 2.5 million visitors a year – in line with figures at its US parks in Florida and California. The operator recently launched its newest Legoland park – part of the multi-billion-dollar theme park destination Dubai Parks and Resorts – at the end of October.
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