FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Legoland Windsor

Legoland made local news in the last week of February, after a controversial chain of events occurred. They were due to host a “Muslim-fun” day, (which Alton Towers attempted to do in September 2007), but made the difficult decision to cancel it last minute. This decision came after many threats were made towards the event, Legoland staff, and the private party organising it, as Legoland unfortunately couldn’t guarantee the full safety of guests and staff due to the nature of the threats made.

The “Muslim-fun” day was due to take place on Sunday the 9th of March, with the Muslim Research and Development Foundation (MRDF), the private party supposed to hire out the theme park looking for a second event, after their Eid Fun Day at Chessington last November was described as “highly successful”. One thousand Muslim families were estimated to attend Legoland, with tickets costing around £19 per head.

Legoland Windsor

The Legoland Windsor Resort will officially open on March the 14th for the full 2014 season, hosting the Lego Movie Weekend. With several special events being held, Legoland Windsor can celebrate the recent success of the Lego Movie in cinemas on their first full weekend of opening, over the 15th and 16th of March.

Chessington World of Adventures

In February, Chessington confirmed more details of their newest hotel. The Azteca Hotel, which shares the same name as an exhibit in Chessington’s Sea Life Centre, is scheduled to open on the 3rd of August 2014 - surprisingly quite a way into the 2014 season.

Chessington have now revealed several artists impressions of the rooms on offer at the Azteca Hotel, with budding explorers getting to choose between the Discovery Room, Temple Treasure Room or Temple Summit Room. The Azteca Hotel will sit alongside Chessington’s current Safari Hotel, and offers 69 rooms across 3 floors in a heavily themed environment for those wanting an overnight stay to compliment their time at the theme park.

Guests are now able to book the Azteca Hotel online, so Chessington are clearly confident the hotel will open on time this August.

Merlin Entertainments

Finally, in other Merlin-related news; this February a new attraction in Central London was revealed by the world’s second largest visitor attraction operator, adding to Merlin’s handful of themed attractions near City Hall.

Based on the Shrek movie franchise, Merlin have promised a “landmark attraction” by the name of “Shrek’s Far Far Away Adventure”, which will be a “live interactive adventure” and the first of 6 attractions of its kind over the course of 9 years.

It is worth noting that this is not Dreamworks' first time dipping its toes into the themed entertainment/theme park industry. In the past, DreamWorks’ movies have been the focus of several theme park attractions, having struck previous deals with Universal and Ardent Leisure (the owners of Dreamworld, Australia). Many of us are familiar with the extremely popular Shrek 4D attraction at Universal Studios Florida, which went onto inspire an entire theme park land, Far Far Away, at Universal Studios Singapore. Universal Studios Singapore is also home to a water ride and theme park land based on DreamWorks’ 2005 movie, Madagascar. Dreamworld Australia is host to a vast theme park zone, with several rides and attractions based on Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda.

Shrek’s Far Far Away Adventure will debut in summer of 2015, and Merlin have promised us it will be “unlike anything that currently exists”. With Merlin’s recent dedication to more detailed and meaningful theming, this is certainly exciting and promising news, and it comes without a doubt that fans will be able to experience an enjoyable, in-depth and immersive environment next year. You can find out more about the attraction by reading our in-depth analysis of the plans.

So, there we have it. The start of our 2014 season is a mere few weeks away, with another several months of thrills awaiting us. Will The Smiler have a much happier 2014? Will many of us grab the opportunity to scale a lift hill or go backstage at Thorpe Park for the first time? Only time will tell, but for now, it’s safe to say that most of us are happy the past 4 months of closed parks are now behind us, as gates open, turnstiles activate, and screams and laughs echo around bustling theme parks that have once again been brought out of winter hibernation – just like their guests.

 
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Add new comment

About Theme Park Tourist

Theme Park Tourist is one of the web’s leading sources of essential information and entertaining articles about theme parks in Orlando and beyond.

We are one of the world’s largest theme park guide sites, hosting detailed guides to more than 80 theme parks around the globe.

Find Out More About Us...

Plan Your Trip

Our theme park guides contain reviews and ratings of rides, restaurants and hotels at more than 80 theme parks worldwide.

You can even print them.

Start Planning Now...