Legoland water park expansion to open next summer

CARLSBAD (CNS) - Legoland California is building a three-acre expansion to its water park in Carlsbad, which will be ready in time for next summer.

The Legends of Chima Water Park will be the latest attraction at the ever-growing theme park, where a 250-room hotel opened in April. The water park opened three years ago.

The expanded area will have a theme based on “Legends of Chima,” a Lego product line and Cartoon Network television show that features tribes of animal warriors.

“This hasn’t been done before, and to come up with a really popular toy brand and express it as a water park, we think the young children will freak out when they see it — in a good way,” Legoland California General Manager Peter Ronchetti told 10News.

Children will be able to ride a water slide that comes out of a giant crocodile’s mouth, build their own Lego boats, play with water cannons, and enjoy a wave pool.

Legoland has also hitched its wagon to the “Star Wars” movie and television franchise, offering several exhibits based on its characters and spaceships.

The world’s largest Lego model is at the park — a Star Wars X-Wing fighter that’s 43 feet long, 11 feet tall, weighs almost 46,000 pounds and includes around 5 million Lego bricks. Park officials said it took 32 model builders about 17,000 hours to complete.

“Legoland California opened its gates in 1999, expanded with Sea Life Aquarium in 2008, we opened the world’s first Lego-themed water park in 2010 and the nation’s first Legoland Hotel this year,” Ronchetti said. “It only seems fitting that we give our guests another present and reason to keep coming back in our 15th year.”

Legoland California, owned by Merlin Entertainment of London, opened in 1999 and is one of two of its kind in the United States. The other is near Orlando.

Merlin also operates Legoland parks in Denmark, England, Germany and

Malaysia. The parks in Denmark and England also have hotels.