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Atlantis Submarine


Finding Lego Industry observers will be quick to realise that Atlantis Submarine Voyage bears several similarities to Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage at Disneyland in California. You may even choose to call it Finding Lego. Its routes with Merlin, however,


When Legoland Windsor decided to add an underwater ride – the first at any Lego park


worldwide – it didn’t have to look far for marine


expertise. Park World takes a submarine voyage with Sea Life


Atlantis Submarine Voyage is latest and most elaborate Legoland attraction to exploit the parks’ connection with Sea Life – the world’s leading aquarium brand – as part of the Merlin Entertainments portfolio. Drawing upon children’s fascination with the sea and


combining it with a sub-aqua ride system by Mack, it also integrates the Lego Atlantis toy range. The result is a fun, educational family experience that is perfectly “on brand” as part of the Legoland offer. “There is a lot of brand synergy in there,” acknowledges Sue Kemp, divisional director for the park near London. “The fact that both attractions [Legoland and Sea Life] are part of Merlin Entertainments and we as a company have a very strong ethical, conservation and educational focus, meant it was just a perfect fit. Obviously the Lego toy range helped too.”


After several weeks’ soft opening, the new attraction was officially unveiled in Windsor last month, where it represents an £8 million ($13m/€9m) chunk of the ongoing £30 million ($50m/€34m) being ploughed into the British park as it moves towards a destination resort model.


can be traced to Legoland Billund in Denmark and Legoland Deutschland, which each feature an aquarium attraction called Atlantis by Sea Life. The experience In Billund begins with a pre show inside a “submarine,” however guests travel beneath the water on a moving walkway inside a glass tunnel, a signature attraction of most Sea Life centres. At Legoland Windsor, the submarine itself is the mode of transport.


Boarding above “sea level,” passengers climb down inside the 14-seater vessels, which are driven on overhead rails, and prepare for a four-and-a-half minute voyage along 75-metres of track through a doughnut-shaped tank. A “bubble curtain” creates the illusion of the submarines diving deep into the ocean, as guests enjoy a magical marine journey. Peering out through the windows in the bottom of each sub, they see over 50 species of sharks, ray and tropical fish, as well around 100 Atlantis-themed Lego figures. “The ride system is not completely new as such, however it’s never been done through water like this before with all the creatures and Lego models in the tank,” notes Kemp. “As usual we went through the tender process and Mack came up with the best concept with the most efficient and reliable ride system. Reliability and the safety of our guests are obviously very important for a theme park like us.” As the 10th most visited park in Europe last year,


Voyage Underwater adventures at Legoland Windsor


RIGHT: The yellow submarines in the loading area


26 JULY 2011


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