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Merlin buys Cypress Gardens, to be Legoland

^I do think they will have a height limit there, there are a lot of houses in the area. But not 100% sure on that one.
 
^ But again, a good ride doesn't havn't have to be tall i.e. Nemesis, mind you "ROOOAAAAARR!!" :?
 
Hmm, considering that a large amount of people who isit Orlando as a holiday destination are british (large amount, not most). I don't think that british people would go out of their way to go to a park which they can, in theory, go to at home (in windsor). The general british public would probably rather spend a day at the several unique parks rather than something we have back at home.
However, reviving CG is fantastic, if Merlin play their cards right, and down't inject Lego into it, it could be a great addition to the rest of the parks. I know it's definately left out in terms of "big theme parks" in the area. Merlin will definately have to come up with a unique selling point, which will be difficult considering the huge variation in theme parks in the area.

Maybe turning it into a Legoland would be the best idea financially, but I'd much rather they took a similar approach to AT, TP and Chezziwezzy. Considering that merlin haven't (yet) converted a park into Lego, and they've bought quite a few now, I think it's morelikely they'll leave it as Cypruss Gardens than change it to legoland. Plus, changing it to lego would destroy the "first theme park in orlando" selling point.

My post was a bit all over the place, but I'm very tired and I kept coming up with more things while I wrote it. Sorry!
 
The difference here is the park needs a lot of work, just painting it etc will not get people to go.

They need a big investment and new rides to get people there, people did not go before so just having new owners will not get people to visit.

Will be interesting to see what they do, we should know on the 21st.
 
Nemesis Inferno said:
Merlin are owned by Blackstone correct?

Blackstone own Busch and Sea World as well don't they?

Could see a new ticket come through for all 3 parks... And maybe a few coaches from Sea World to it like they do to Busch already...

They can certainly do something with it, just a case of what they do with it...
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There is a bus between Sea World and BGA, which is free if you've got one of the passes for BGA and Sea World. So it would make sense.

But isn't Universal ALSO partially owned by Blackstone? And yet, as far as I know, there's no transportation between Sea World and Universal offered by the parks? I bet there's a local bus, but, that's different. The parks certainly don't make a point of advertising any bus between the two.

Similarly, Thorpe and Chessington seem to advertise one another, but no advertisements for Legoland appear. It's almost as if it's part of their marketing to NOT show they are the same company.
 
That sucks, I don't want another Legoland, I'd rather something completely new than just another franchise.....

I suppose a Legoland in Florida would make tons though, and obviously the industry is still all about turning a profit, just hope we see some original attractions rather than clones of things in the other Lego parks.
 
The family market is completely owned by Disney in FL, look at all the other parks near by, they all have big thrill rides, lets hope this Legoland will follow suit...

And I hope the current rides will be kept, though I wont get my hopes up. Am I alone in having absolutely no interest in Legoland's at all?
 
Well it's official, Legoland Florida to open in 2011:

Central Florida will be home to the world's largest Legoland by the end of 2011, Merlin Entertainments Group said Thursday.

The park, which is planned for the former site of the historic Cypress Gardens, is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs. The historical gardens will stay intact, according to Nick Varney, Merlin's chief executive officer.

Varney announced the details of Florida's newest theme park at a news conference attended by government and tourism officials, including Florida Governor Charlie Crist.

Varney kicked off the event by calling Legoland Florida's "worst-kept secret," referring to the fact that details of today's announcement leaked out Wednesday, after an email surfaced confirming that it was indeed Legoland that was coming to Polk County.

Legoland, Varney said, "is without question one of the strongest brands in the world."

The Florida park is Legoland's second U.S. location, after Legoland California in Carlsbad, Calif. The addition of a Legoland in the Sunshine State is part of a broader push into the U.S. for Merlin.

"We see it as a big development market for us," Varney said.

Merlin Entertainments said it plans to make a "substantial investment" in the Polk County attraction. Governor Charlie Crist went further, saying the company will put hundreds of millions of dollars into the project.

In exchange for building a Legoland in Winter Haven, Merlin Entertainments will receive $5 million in incentives from Polk County over a 10 year period, plus road improvements. The package includes $150,000 per year for job creation and $350,000 per year in marketing support, sources said.

"Obviously in these challenging economic times, these jobs are fabulous," said Florida Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales.
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* Information by Orlando Sentinental and Theme Park Review
 
It will be interesting to see how they do.

Will people that travel from the UK bother with it?

Means new rides so I would go the once but I was not impressed at all with the one in the UK.

Blackstone/Merlin are taking over Orlando now Disney are going to have to up their game I feel or lose out. I do know a number of people that go to Orlando and do not even bother with Disney as they say its been the same for years now.

I have just been reading some news thats going round the web. The roads to the park are going to be improved as well. Merlin are going to build hotels and turn this into a multi stay resort, and in the future will possibly be adding a MT attraction and a Sea Life center. This will also be the biggest Legoland park in the world.

If they do the above this park will do very well. Alot of people are saying what I said about Disney as well and expect them to bring forward plans for a new park which will be great. Disney no longer have 2 rival companies in Orlando they now have 1 which can offer parks that cater for everything.
 
Yay, the biggest Legoland in the world!

I'm so lucky. :wink:

Seriously, I'm really glad that they're keeping the gardens, as that's like a landmark almost. Even if they are kinda boring. :lol:
 
I do know a number of people that go to Orlando and do not even bother with Disney as they say its been the same for years now.
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I know a quite a few people that say that, shame really. With people saying that, I'm not expecting much when I visit.

Will people that travel from the UK bother with it?
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Probably not, but I dunno. People wouldn't go especially for it, but it would probably become a part of the holiday. You've go to remember that its not just us Brits that holiday in Florida.

Legoland, Varney said, "is without question one of the strongest brands in the world."
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Rubbish is it! When do you ever here of Lego anymore? Its had its day and the theme parks are crap.

However, 'Brio land' would be on a completely differen't scale ;)
 
Just a thought.... As the Jungle Coaster is being removed from Legoland Windsor, could this mean that it will be moved to the new one in Florida? I doubt we will see it moved to any UK park, and the promotional advertisments at the press release showed one of these coasters advertised.
 
So are a lot of the rides just SBNO at this moment in time then? I hope they keep most of them and just re-theme, surely that's a lot easier and cheaper?
 
I think both of those would suit a 'Legoland Audience' so they should stay. But who knows, they may not be on the agenda. :(
 
Well I had hoped they might keep them but does not sound great. They are better than the normal coasters at a Legoland park.
 
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