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Legoland


California hotel The USA’s first Lego- themed hotel will open on April 5 at Legoland California in


Carslbad. Modelled on the Legoland Hotel at Legoland Windsor near London, it features play areas and rooms inspired by


the Lego Kingdom, Pirate and Adventure toy lines.


Additional features include a city skyline created from more than 200,000 Lego bricks. Outside the hotel, a pool area surrounded by Lego trees and lounge chairs will be the perfect place for guests to cool off after a day at the park, meanwhile a pirate ship docked next to a castle will host nightly entertainment. Pictured here are Lego’s Master Model Builders putting the finishing touches to the property. A similar Legoland Hotel will open next year at Legoland Malaysia.


Scottish castle swaps coasters for golf clubs


The former Loudoun Castle theme park in Scotland could get a new lease of life as a luxury hotel and golf resort. Plans have been announced to turn the 600-acre site in East Ayrshire into a £300 million ($445m/€345m) “environmentally- friendly” golf academy.


Based in the grounds of a 19th Century home,


Loudoun Castle first operated as an amusement park in 1995 and had several owners including Lands Improvement Holdings, Raymond Codona and Henk Bembom, who pulled the plug in October 2010. Falling attendance, the rising cost of new attractions, unfavourable bank terms, high tax rates and poor weather were some of factors cited for Bembom’s decision to quit the park after spending his entire career in the industry (his father founded Slagaren pony park in the Netherlands). Project management company Vicon UK is now working alongside investor FML on plans for the golf resort, with a local architect appointed to create a blueprint for the site.


“Since the closure of the theme park, there has been a great deal of interest in the future of the site,” notes Vicon UK’s Neil Rattray. “We have been working tremendously hard to ensure we


Blackpool attractions unite


for new Resort Pass After a trial last summer, attraction operators in the British seaside resort of Blackpool are co-operating again this season by offering visitors a resort- wide combination ticket – the first of its kind in the UK. The £52.50 ($78/€60) ‘Original’ Blackpool Resort Pass allows access to Blackpool Pleasure Beach (including Nickelodeon Land) and Merlin Entertainments' Blackpool Tower Eye, Blackpool Tower Dungeon, Sea Life and Madame Tussauds, Also available is a £77.50 Resort Pass+, which also includes Blackpool Zoo, Sandcastle Waterpark and Blackpool Model Village – offering a combined saving of £50. Each pass is valid for seven days and give users one visit to each attraction.


EAAPA 2013


Now in its sixth year, the Eurasian Amusement Parks and Attractions (EAAPA) Expo – a rival event to this month's RAAPA Expo in Moscow – took place at the same venue (VVTs/All Russia Exhibition Centre) – from 12 to 14 February. Attendance stood at over 3,000, according to organiser Smile Expo. As well as the wide range of products presented on the show floor, an accompanying conference programme tackled such topics as zorbing, ride safety, the automation of amusement parks, strategies for park


management and the introduction of new entertainment formats in Russia. At the end of the event, all exhibitors were awarded a certificates and also some chocolate hearts in honour of Valentine’s Day. A nice touch! The 7th EAAPA exhibition will take place from 10 to 12 February.


eaapa.ru 10 MARCH 2013


attracted the right investor and have put together a realistic proposal that will deliver significant economic benefit to East Ayrshire.” Henk Bembom, who still lives on site, is currently working on the development of a swipe- able electronic reporting system for monitoring the safety of amusement rides.


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