Merlin Entertainments is well underway with their expansion of the Legoland brand to the Asian market. Last week, construction has officially started on the next park in China. Legoland Shanghai is the second in a series of three Legoland parks in eastern Asia, and it will be the 11th Legoland park. The third park of the series, and the 12th Legoland park, will also arise in China: Legoland Sichuan in China is planned to open in 2025.
Only one year ago, the previous Asian Legoland park opened in Korea. Legoland Shanghai is expected to open in 2024, and will feature many of the beloved recent Legoland rides, as well as some classic Legoland rides. Even though a full list of attractions is not yet available, it is known already that the well-known classic Dragon semi-dark ride will be featured in Shanghai, combining a dark ride in medieval style with a family roller coaster ride. The first Dragon opened in Legoland Billund in 1997, and it is featured in all Legoland parks, albeit with some difference in the type of roller coaster.
Another returning ride is the interactive dark ride Ninjago: The Ride, where guests use their own hand to shoot at screens in the style of the Lego Ninjago franchise. The ride, using a special motion-based interactive technique provided by Triotech, debuted in Legoland California in 2016 and has been built in 8 Legoland parks ever since.
A new offering will be an area based on the Lego Monkie Kid sets, being the first Legoland to receive such an area. The Monkie Kids are a Lego theme aiming at Chinese children, drawing inspiration from the Chinese legends of The Monkey King and The Journey to the West, creating a world of action heroes and villains. Apart from the rides and areas, Legoland Shanghai will be accompanied by a themed hotel with 250 rooms, bringing the total amount of developed land to 318,000 square meters.
Legoland Shanghai is located near the Oriental Land recreation area, about 50 kilometers west from downtown Shanghai. Merlin Entertainments has joined forces with the Shanghai Jinshan Urban Construction Investment Group to bring the park to reality. With groundbreaking already taking place back in 2021, construction of the park has now officially started. The companies aim for a 2024 opening, with more than half of the resort’s civil engineering work being complete by the end of 2023.
