Brick by brick, LEGOLAND is getting a little closer to Arizona.
In spring 2016, Poole, England-based Merlin Entertainments will open LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Tempe’s Arizona Mills.
“It’s absolutely fantastic,” says Scott Williamson, Merlin’s marketing head for new developments. “It’s just like you’ve jumped into the biggest box of LEGO bricks.”
Tempe was chosen for the $12 million attraction based on the success of LEGOLAND Discover Center’s sister project, Sea Life Center, Williamson explains. Construction will begin in June on the 60,000-square-foot attraction, which will be the centerpiece of the entertainment wing’s renovation.
Williamson calls the indoor amusement center a two- to three-hour experience that includes a brick pool (naturally), master classes from LEGO Master Model Builders, a LEGO ride, party rooms, a 4-D cinema and a Miniland exhibit.
“My favorite is Miniland,” Williamson gushes. “We use 3.5 LEGO brick and build iconic landmarks of the local city and the local area, which is fantastic. The little touches and all the interactive pieces are absolutely fantastic.”
Williamson wouldn’t reveal which Valley landmarks would be included in the exhibit, but we put our dibs in for Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“Sports venues are often the ones that people really want to see,” he says. “We always ask local people what they’d like us to do. We tend to run a Miniland vote through Facebook. We’ll put a bunch of the buildings we consider and ask the people in the area what they think. We’ll get them to choose the buildings we have in Miniland. Then we build them out and install them in the attractions.”
The target age for the LEGOLAND Discovery Center is 3 to 12, however, Williamson reveals that AFOL (or Adult Fans of LEGO) will get a kick out of it as well.
“It’s really important for us that the parents get involved and have fun,” he says. “We do adult-only evenings, where adults can come and experience the attraction in the evening. Master Model Builder (presentations) will be more geared to that audience. But really good fun way for people to experience the center.”
Keeping with LEGO’s playfulness, the attraction will host “Brick Factor,” a two-day “X-Factor”-like contest that helps Merlin Entertainments choose its Master Model Builders.
“It’s open to anybody,” he says. “We’ve had a huge range of people apply—school teachers, students, people with long-standing jobs.
“The LEGOLAND Discovery Center is perfect for anyone you who just loves playing with LEGO.”
