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The 1st Asia LEGOLAND theme park in Malaysia

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This is a news, captured from this link.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Fri...icle/index_html

JOHOR BARU: Work on the first Legoland theme park in Asia is expected to start

here next year.

Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB) will sign a deal tomorrow with the Lego Group,

the Danish manufacturer of interlocking plastic bricks, to develop the theme

park in Nusajaya.

The theme park, an integral component of Iskandar Malaysia, will be Lego Group’s

fifth after Billund in Denmark, Windsor in the United Kingdom, Carlsbad, California,

in the United States and Günzburg in Germany.

The skyline of Iskandar is set to change once the 200ha project, with an initial

investment of RM800 million, is completed.

Legoland will be one of the three theme parks to be built in Nusajaya.

Sources said IIB was negotiating with other global theme park players to set

up operations in this economic region in southern Johor.

They are Universal Studios and Disneyland.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will witness the signing of the

deal between Lego and IIB.

Legoland theme parks are built from Lego’s interlocking plastic bricks of different

colours to create mini structures such as buildings and vehicles, among others.

The name Lego is an abbreviation of the two Danish words — leg godt, meaning

“play well”.

It was founded by Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1932. The Denmark- based company has

passed from father to son and is now owned by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, a grandson

of the founder.

Lego is a global enterprise and the world’s sixth largest manufacturer of toys.

IIB, the investment arm of Iskandar, will be the local partner in the project.

At the Cityscape property exhibition in Dubai in October, IIB managing director

Arlida Ariff had been reported as saying that three theme parks were being considered

in Iskandar.

“We have learnt from the Disneyland Hong Kong’s experience, which is operating

with insufficient visitors and revenue. It is better and more appealing to operate

a cluster of theme parks.

“If Iskandar has only one theme park, visitors from Singapore may return to the

republic the same day.

“We want them to stay at least one or two nights so that there would be multiplier

effects on the economy.” The plan at Nusajaya is to have a core theme park and

a few smaller theme parks. About 1,200ha have been set aside for theme parks,

including supporting commercial developments.

Other supporting sports and recreation to be built are golf courses and eco-tourism

facilities.

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sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. the weather will weather the bricks quickly, requiring frequent maintenance which cost money - thus cutting into profit. or they can let the bricks weathered and result in a "cheapen" theme park.

a quick lookup of the economy shows most locals can't afford the entrance fees much less the sets from the gift shops. i doubt they can retail the lego sets at cheaper prices than TRU. surely TRU will balk if they can't set the price.

even if they have lots of theme parks it's just theme parks. if they are trying to follow dubai's route and create mega tourism hubs, well, how many can the world absorb? dubai has lots of rich expats to support local businesses. the only rich locals there are probably the neighboring singaporeans. is singapore a major destination of cruises? probably not. that means most tourists will have to fly there. i kinda doubt ppl visiting asia would like to visit theme parks. just unheard of. ppl visit asia to get a taste of the exotic, not a taste of the "western" fun.

sorry but i dont think asia is ready yet for expensive theme parks. if theme parks in the heart of europe with lots more disposable income have problems generating revenue, how do you expect theme parks in asia to make money? the entertainment and gaming sector will need to take a break until the salaries and wages can support it.

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Snip

I agree but Japan is in Asia.

Meh can't stand LEGOland, another where ever it is makes me feel bad... is this the price of no more Woolworths?

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Refer to this link:

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/292319.asp

ASIA’S first Legoland theme park, and only the fifth in the world, will be coming

up at the Johor development corridor of Iskandar Malaysia. Work on the RM750-million

($312-million) project on a 145-acre site in Nusajaya, near Johor’s second link

with Singapore, is expected to start early next year and be completed in 2013.

It will be developed and operated by the Blackstone Group of New York, an investment

and advisory firm, under its Merlin Entertainments Group brand. Ownership, however,

will be largely in the hands of Iskandar Investments with Merlin taking a minority

stake.

The park is aimed at families with children between the ages of two and 12. Legoland,

which started in Denmark, has sprungsimilar parks in Germany, England andCalifornia,

and annual visitorship is around 1.5 million people at each of the parks.

The parks all have rides which are Lego-themed and made to appear as if they

are built out of Lego bricks. They tend to be based on one particular line of

Lego: For example, a popular ride at all four parks is the Dragon Coaster, which

is loosely based on the Knights’ Kingdom Lego sets.

All the parks include a Lego miniland, a model village which includes models

of landmarks and scenes from around the world made from millions of genuine Lego

bricks.

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This is another news which was released in 3 hours ago.....

Captured from http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_...s.php?id=378151

JOHOR BAHARU, Dec 13(Bernama) -- The RM750 million investment to open the first Legoland theme park in Asia in Iskandar Malaysia is clear proof of the confidence of investors in the corridor launched in 2006.

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that although the global economy was uncertain at present, the momentum for the development of Iskandar Malaysia was unaffected.

He said that to date, Iskandar Malaysia had received RM40.25 billion in both local and overseas investments, representing 86 percent of the RM47 billion targeted for the first phase until 2010.

"The RM750 million is a big investment. It is a symbol and proof of the confidence of investors in wanting to continue to invest in Iskandar Malaysia.

"Iskandar Malaysia has displayed convincing progress to enable it to emerge as a high quality and successful development area," he told reporters after witnessing the signing ceremony for the building of the Legoland theme park here today.

The agreement was signed between the managing director of Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB) Arlida Ariff and the managing director of Legoland Parks, John Jakobsen.

Apart from Malaysia, similar Legoland theme parks are found in Denmark, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States.

Merlin Entertainments will design and operate the theme park with a 20 percent stake in the project, whilst a consortium led by IIB will own the balance.

The Legoland theme ark will be built on a a 145-acre site in Medini Iskandar, known previously as Node 1, and is expected to be opened by the end of 2013.

According to the Prime Minister, the emergence of Asia's first Legoland theme park in Malaysia was good as the country did not have any competitiors in attracting tourists to a similar facility.

"This means if tourists want to visit a Legoland theme park in Asia, they have to come to Johor Baharu and Malaysia.This is very good as we do not have to compete with other Asian countries," he said.

He also said that the authority responsible for developing Iskandar Malaysia would strive to get more companies to open theme parks in the corridor.

On the development of the other corridors in the country, the Prime Minister said that Iskandar Malaysia had achieved more progress as it was launched earlier.

He said that while Iskandar Malaysia was launched two years ago, the other corridors were only launched last year.

"However, I wish to see the other corridors also succeed. Various incentives and government financial resources have been given to the authorities concerned and they need to think of multiple strategies to succeed," he said.

He wanted the authorities responsible for the development to redouble their efforts to promote their corridors to investors, especially those from the Middle East,China, India and also throughout the world.

However, he stated that, development in the corridors was for all investors, both overseas and local.

The Prime Minister, who is also the joint chairman of the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) attended its fifth meeting and the third for the Iskandar Advisory Council.

Also present was the Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, the managing director of Khazanah Nasional Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, the managing director of IRDA Datuk Ikmal Hijaz Hashim and the Johor state secretary Datuk Abdul Latif Yusof.

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This news is captured from The Straits Times Online on December 14, 2008, Singapore

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNew...ory_314267.html

Legoland park coming up

To be ready in 2013, it will be on a 51ha site near Second Link in the Iskandar

development region

A RM750 million (S$311 million) entertainment park offering roller coasters,

boat rides and adventure walks themed on the famous Lego bricks, will rise in

Johor in five years' time.

The Legoland Malaysia theme park will be a 15-minute drive from the Malaysian

immigration checkpoint at the Second Link which leads to Tuas.

The park will have a built-up area of about 51ha, equivalent to the area of about

72 football fields. In comparison, the Universal Studios theme park coming up

at the Sentosa integrated resort will be 20ha in size.

Legoland Malaysia will be the second such project outside of the US and Europe,

with Legoland Dubai slated to open in 2011 - two years earlier than the one in

Johor.

There are also Legoland parks in Denmark, Germany, the United States and Britain.

The Johor entertainment park forms part of the ambitious Iskandar development

region which Malaysia wants to build up as an economic, leisure and residential

hub next door to Singapore.

Last month, the government gave details of international names which are coming

to Iskandar's education hub, including Newcastle University's medical faculty,

a British boarding school and a Swiss hospitality school.

Speaking at the signing ceremony for Legoland Malaysia yesterday, the chairman

of government-backed Iskandar Investment, Mr Azman Mokhtar, said: 'This is a

significant first step in developing Iskandar Malaysia as an international tourist

destination.'

He sees the project attracting 'more tourists from neighbouring countries and

the Asia-Pacific region'.

Legoland Malaysia will be managed by Merlin Entertainments, which manages all

Legoland parks as well as attractions such as Madame Tussauds and the London

Eye in Britain.

The Johor park is 20 per cent owned by Merlin and 80 per cent by Iskandar Investment.

Merlin is owned by US private equity firm Blackstone Group, Dubai International

Capital and Lego Holding/Kirkbi.

Officials said while details of the Malaysian park are still being worked out,

it will be based on what is found in the other Legoland parks.

Some 55 million Lego bricks were used in Britain's Windsor Legoland, including

those used to form a near-lifesize replica of a Boeing 747 jet's cockpit.

In Legoland California, 35 million Lego bricks were used to shape a dinosaur

and an Egyptian pharaoh, among other attractions.

Mr John Jakobsen, managing director of Legoland Parks, said he expects visitors

to the Johor attraction to top one million.

For Singaporeans, the Johor park with its 40 attractions will be the closest

to home after the Universal Studios park in Sentosa, which is slated to open

in 2010.

Asked whether Universal Studios Singapore will pose competition to the Johor

park, Mr Jakobsen said: 'I think it will be very complementary. They are completely

two different products.'

Other theme parks in the region include the 126ha Hong Kong Disneyland, the 51ha

Tokyo Disneyland and the 49ha Tokyo DisneySea.

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sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. the weather will weather the bricks quickly, requiring frequent maintenance which cost money - thus cutting into profit. or they can let the bricks weathered and result in a "cheapen" theme park.

No matter where they build LEGOLand parks the weather is an issue.

They ran tests in California for a year before starting the park.

The same tests have been done in Dubai.

The last time I spoke to a modelbuilder in the Danish LEGOLand park, he said that they'd developed a new coating that allows the bricks to survive for several years before needing replacement. And they do a lot of replacement of models in the parks.

They don't allow models to get seriously decoloured or deformed by weather before replacing them, so that isn't an issue.

The motto isn't "The best isn't good enough" just for fun.

How about seeing this as something good?

I agree but Japan is in Asia.

Meh can't stand LEGOland, another where ever it is makes me feel bad... is this the price of no more Woolworths?

You're mixing things here.

I am sorry that you can't stand LEGOLand parks - I love them.

I fail to see what this has to do with your beloved Woolworths shutting down.

Don't blame the parks.

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Hi,

If you filter "LEGOLAND theme park" in Google or Yahoo, you can find out more news about the 1st Asia LEGOLAND theme park in Malaysia".

I don't think I should copy those news and paste it at here, since they are quite similar with past few days.

I think more and more LEGO fans in South East Asia and East Asia would be very excited.

Hope this dream would become truth.

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Info from Jan Beyer TLC:

Agreement signed to build East Asia's first LEGOLAND Park in Iskandar Malaysia

Johor Bahru, 13 December 2008 – Iskandar Investment Berhad ("IIB") today signed a landmark agreement with Merlin Entertainments ("Merlin"), the world's second largest visitor attraction operator, to build East Asia's first LEGOLAND Park in Iskandar Malaysia.

This exciting RM750m joint venture - LEGOLAND Malaysia – is expected to be opened to the public in 2013 – and will be located in the northeast corner of Medini Iskandar Malaysia ("Medini"), a 2,300 acre international mixed-use development in the heart of Nusajaya, on land being developed by Global Capital and Development Sdn Bhd. Merlin Entertainments will design and operate the Park, and will become a 20% shareholder, whilst a consortium led by IIB will own the balance. The LEGOLAND Park will be the centrepiece of a 145 acre integrated complex, with a Gross Floor Area (GFA) of 5.5m square feet that will include a unique lifestyle retail centre, offices, hotels, serviced apartments and residential units. This integrated complex, which will be substantially complete by 2013, will have a Gross Development Value of over RM3.5bn.

LEGOLAND Malaysia will be similar to the company’s four other hugely popular and successful LEGOLAND Parks - LEGOLAND Billund, LEGOLAND Windsor, LEGOLAND Deutschland, and LEGOLAND California.

Targeted at families with children between the ages of 2 to 12 years, LEGOLAND Parks are based on the universally popular LEGO® construction toy range. They offer families the opportunity to let their imaginations run free, and be immersed in LEGO® experiences with a unique mix of kid-powered rides, building challenges, spectacular LEGO® models, interactive attractions, family-friendly coasters and shows that pull the audience into the action. LEGOLAND Malaysia will feature more than 40 interactive rides, shows and attractions on the day it opens.

"IIB selected LEGOLAND as the partner for its first international theme park in Iskandar after many months of discussions and engagements with various operators and potential brand partners," said IIB’s Managing Director Arlida Ariff.

"Given the significant increase in the number of themed tourism offerings expected in the Asia Pacific region over the next 20 year period, IIB felt that the product offering in Iskandar Malaysia had to be unique and focused."

"Based on this rationale, IIB chose Merlin Entertainments/LEGOLAND because it provides educational entertainment that will attract families with young children to Iskandar Malaysia as a vacation destination," said Arlida, adding that families with young children were a fast growing demographic group in South East Asia.

Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, commenting for KIRKBI Invest A/S – owners of the LEGO® toy company, and shareholders in Merlin Entertainments - said, "LEGOLAND is the ultimate experience of LEGO® values and potential. We therefore welcome this cooperation between Merlin Entertainments and Iskandar Investment Berhad to bring the LEGOLAND experience to East Asia, and we are confident that LEGOLAND Malaysia will be extremely successful."

IIB believes that Iskandar Malaysia will benefit strongly from the presence of several key tourism catalysts into the area. Theme parks have a proven record of attracting a large volume of new visitors, as well as increasing the length of stay and expenditure by regular visitors - thus creating a strong multiplier for the local economy. Theme parks also create a vast number of jobs both during the construction phase, and once they open. Current estimates are that almost 5,000 jobs would be required, both directly and indirectly, during the various phases of the project.

The LEGO® brand is well recognised among Asian families, the very group that Iskandar Malaysia is targeting as its core tourist base. LEGO® is a strong brand in Malaysia and this is why IIB expects a strong following for LEGOLAND Malaysia from local Malaysian and Johor families.

"The Comprehensive Development Plan for Iskandar Malaysia identified the Tourism sector as one of the nine key economic pillars of the Region," said Tan Sri Dato’ Azman Mokhtar, Chairman of IIB and Managing Director of Khazanah Nasional Berhad.

"At the end of 2006, we commenced a study to evaluate the feasibility of establishing an International Destination Resort anchored by a theme park in Iskandar Malaysia to further develop and deepen the Tourism sector."

"We are pleased that such efforts have borne fruit and culminated in this signing of an agreement between Merlin and IIB, that will attract more tourists from neighbouring countries and the Asia-Pacific region into Iskandar. This is a significant first step in developing Iskandar Malaysia as an international tourist destination. We expect further visitor attractions to be developed in the coming years," he said.

John Jakobsen, Managing Director of LEGOLAND Parks, said that he was looking forward to the rollout of East Asia's first LEGOLAND Park, saying, "We love the location of Iskandar Malaysia and are delighted by our partnership with IIB. The LEGOLAND Malaysia Park will build upon the success of our other internationally recognised LEGOLAND Parks in Europe and North America, and we have no doubt that once open it will become the ultimate destination in the region for families with young children."

Concluding, Merlin Entertainments' Chief Executive, Nick Varney said: "We are very excited by this development which underlines our continued confidence in the market despite the current global economic situation. Our strong belief is that while not recession proof, quality branded attractions such as ours are recession resilient. Even when times are hard people will choose to get away from the ‘gloom’, and have fun together with family and friends. However they will choose destinations which offer real value for money and which they know will not disappoint. LEGOLAND Parks offer just that sort of reassurance and quality."

CopMike

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Sounds good to have more LEGOLAND's spread across the world. Won't it be the sixth though, what with LEGOLAND Florida?

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I had scanned the news report and photos which were found in local Chinese newspaper today.

Summary:

1. LEGOLAND Malaysia is expected opening in 4th quarter of Year 2012.

2. It plans to have 2 branch offices in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore for visitor inquiring.

3. The whole theme park will be classified into 9 zones: entrance, mini park, extreme games, castle, imagination world, adventure world, city park, administration centre and reserved land for future plans.

4. It will have about 950 job vacancies.

5. LEGOLAND Malaysia will display some new elements: eg. The feature buildings found in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

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Hi, 2 videos here.

Both are about the model builders working on the Malaysia LEGOLAND models. You can also see some of the models. It's pretty near where I stay, so am looking forward to visiting when it is finally open. :laugh:

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Sounds good to have more LEGOLAND's spread across the world. Won't it be the sixth though, what with LEGOLAND Florida?

This topic is over two years old. At the time of the article posted, LLF hadn't been announced yet.

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I am hoping to post some images of the pre-opening here, which is provided by the Singapore LEGO members in the local forum. Let me see if I can get these here.

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Below is some of the images taken by LUGSING member, Devilcloud. These pictures were taken earlier last week at the pre-admission. Thank you DC.

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Somemore new pictures, shared by S0937FG, Leroy.

What were the price of the LEGO sets like? Similar to USA RRP or more like aussie/euro RRP?

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Wow! This looks like another nice Legoland! Wish we could be there for the grand opening in a couple of weeks!

Being close to Singapore is a huge plus with its massive population and relatively high incomes. And Singapore is a huge destination tourism-wise, so that should help. Locating it near other theme parks is a wise idea as shown in Orlando where multiple parks draw decent crowds and a wider range of ages, which is so attractive to the entire family.

I hope this effort produces another run of sets based on Moorish inspired designs because they are such gorgeous creations and so easy on the eyes with their many curves. Every time I think of Moorish designs, my mind returns to the features that make the Alhambra (in Granada, Spain) so special. The Prince of Persia sets gave us a glimpse of this style of design. Lego needs to incorporate styles of buildings from other parts of the world, and Malaysia is a great source of these designs.

Anyplace in Asia is fine with me for new Lego themes. China, India and Japan await Lego themes....my collection of old Orient Adventure sets is one of my favorites. And while not everyone in these countries can afford Lego, there are many who can. And Lego has to include all of Westerners who adore Asian themes.

Lego will figure out how to deal with the extreme sunshine in the tropics; maybe a roof covering some fo the permanent structures would be a good idea with all of the heavy rain they experience.

My only regret is that my son spent a semester abroad in Singapore (at NUS) two years ago, and this park was not open then. So I guess it means a trip to Singapore for our family at some point.

Cheers!

Edited by Legogal

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