Between 5 and 10% of the 1.3 million UK visitors to Florida every year could buy tickets to the new Legoland Florida theme park, according to DoSomethingDifferent.com owner Oliver Brendon.
He estimated that proportion of his own customers would buy tickets to the new park, due to open on October 15 – and said he expected that would reflect the UK market as a whole.
Brendon was speaking as DoSomethingDifferent and Legoland Parks held an event in London to mark 25 days before the park’s official opening at the former Cypress Gardens site between Orlando and Tampa.
“We’re finding attractions over and above the major ones in Orlando quite difficult to sell, but Legoland Florida has a better chance of being included in customers’ main itineraries than some other attractions,” he said.
“The brand is right up there so it could well get built in alongside the tier one attractions.”
Legoland Parks managing director John Jakobsen revealed that Legoland owner Merlin Entertainments, the second-largest attraction company in the world, was committed to investing much further in Legoland Florida and revealed that a Legoland waterpark would open in Spring 2012 and a new Legoland themed hotel as early as 2013.
“We have the scope, the land, the investment to open more ‘second gate facilities’ on the site. There is a lot of future ambition,” he said.
“There will be over 50 rides and attractions in the park – it will be our biggest Legoland park to date and customers can also look around the 30 acres of botanical gardens from the former Cypress Gardens as part of their ticket,” he added.
Photo: Legoland Florida general manager Adrian Jones with a map of the park. Courtesy of Legoland.