Merlin Entertainments started construction on the Legoland Shenzhen Resort last Thursday, the 26th of August. The resort in China, that is scheduled to open in 2023, is one of three new Legoland theme parks that are set to open in Asia in the upcoming years. Even though not every park has all of its rides confirmed, there has not been a single Legoland park or Discovery Centre that did not feature a dark ride. It is expected that all parks will feature multiple DRdb listed rides. Most of these rides are probably versions or even copies of existing rides.
The first to open will be Legoland Korea (Chuncheon – South-Korea). The park and resort is scheduled to open in the spring of 2022 and will feature seven themed zones. Among the attractions will be three DRdb listed rides. One of the park’s themed zones will be NINJAGO World and will feature a NINJAGO The Ride. This interactive dark ride was first seen in Legoland California in 2016. The Korean version will be the eighth version of the ride. The second dark ride will be the LEGO Factory Adventure Ride. This trackless dark ride will be the second version of the ride, with the first one opening in Legoland New York, earlier this year. The park in Korea will also feature the famous ‘Dragon’ semi-dark ride rollercoaster. The semi-dark ride part is based on ‘Dragen‘ in Legoland Billund, but like most Dragon rollercoasters, it will feature a different rollercoaster type built by Zierer.
Legoland Shenzhen (Meishan – China) will open one year later (2023) and will be the first Legoland resort in China. It is said that the Shenzhen resort will be the biggest Legoland resort in the world, featuring a large waterpark, three themed hotels and of course a Legoland theme park. The park will consist out of nine theme zones with over 100 rides, shows and attractions. The park has not announced any specific rides, but promotional images and park renderings feature a ‘Dragon’ type rollercoaster and a NINJAGO themed building. It is expected that both rides will appear in the park.
The last one of the three new parks will be Legoland Shanghai (Qingpu – China) and will be the second Legoland theme park and resort in China. Ground works for the resort are in progress, but Merlin Entertainments has not announced any designs for the park yet. The resort is scheduled to open in 2024.
